What is the Ketogenic Diet?

This diet is suited for athletes and people who want to lose weight. Through this way of eating, they put their body into a state of ketosis that's very similar to the one that happens with intermittent fasting.

So, you haven’t heard about the ketogenic diet yet? In this next article, we’ll explain what this diet -that’s suitable for athletes and people who want to lose weight- consists of. Keep reading to find out if it’s a healthy diet or a bad choice.

What is the ketogenic diet?

The ketogenic diet is also known as the keto diet and it’s trending right now. Its main characteristic is the reduction of your carbohydrate intake. This helps you to burn fat fast.

How do I follow the ketogenic diet?

If you want to begin the ketogenic diet, and whether it’s because you want to lose weight or because you do sports, the first thing you must remember is to seek advice from a professional. This way, they can monitor your health, and in case you’re at any risk or your body lacks a nutrient, a specialist will instantly be aware.

The goal of this diet is to put your body in ketosis. To do this, you must replace carbohydrates with proteins and healthy fats. Therefore, you can’t eat certain types of foods. These foods are: butter, fried foods, ready-made foods, baked goods, soy or peanuts.

To replace these foods, you must eat other types. The key foods in this diet are: fish, eggs, coconut, almonds and omega 3.

Pros of the ketogenic diet

Many people follow the ketogenic diet and most of them are satisfied with the results. Therefore, it’s safe to say that as it’s such a popular diet, it must have benefits for your body. We’ll now explain what these are:

1. Your body burns more fat. This is because your body is in ketosis.
2. It’s a satiating diet. One of the main advantages of the ketogenic diet is that you’re never hungry. This is because you mainly eat fats and proteins, and they have the ability to make you feel full. Besides, they take longer to digest than other foods, so the feeling of hunger doesn’t appear again, soon after eating. It’s also a satiating diet because your portions aren’t limited or small. We don’t mean that you eat large amounts of food, but it’s important that you eat enough.
3. It’s a diet that works. Even though this may seem absurd, in reality, there are many ‘miracle‘ diets that don’t actually work. However, you must keep in mind that, it’s a short and medium-term diet, and you should not follow it for a long time.

Cons of the ketogenic diet

Of course, not everything is perfect. And the ketogenic diet is no exception, it also has some inconveniences. Let’s look at what these are. 

The main disadvantage of this diet is that when you decrease the amount of carbohydrates that you eat, your body stops receiving the essential nutrients it needs to function properly. These nutrients are mainly: fiber, minerals and vitamins. This decrease is also because you reduce how many fruits and vegetables you eat, even though the main goal is to eliminate carbs. You do this to make it easier for your body to go into the state of ketosis and burn more calories.

The lack of vitamins and minerals makes your body tired. Therefore, if you follow this diet for a long time you can feel tired and have very little energy and vitality.

On the other hand, fiber ensures that your bowels work correctly. If you decrease the amount of fiber you eat in a noticeable way, you’ll eventually become constipated. This is why people who are usually constipated shouldn’t try this diet.

After reading about all the inconveniences this diet has, it’s clear that if you want to follow it, you should do it with the supervision of a health professional, and only for a limited amount of time. This way, you’ll eliminate all of the risks associated with this way of eating.