How Keto Diet Works – Ketogenic Diet for Beginners

I was impressed when I found out what is Keto Diet. When I learnt what Keto Diet means and how the Keto diet works I also learnt how my body works! So, I am sharing with you what I learnt.

If you have been inspired by the series Lose a Stone in 21 days with Michael Mosley, you will find this post helpful with practical information about the delicious Keto diet.

Yes, I call delicious because it is! The food that you are allowed to eat to lose weight are very yummy.

Firstly you need to understand what a specific diet means before start making changes in nutrition as it can be dangerous. 

It is essential to know if it would benefit you and the pros and cons of choosing a different diet.

At the end of this post, you will find a link for Keto Diet Menu for beginners or click here if you are ready to start your diet and start to make your keto recipes.

This diet is based on Ketosis, which is a metabolic process that our body does naturally to keep working.

Click here if you are ready to start your diet.

How does Ketosis work?

The basics that everyone knows is that our body needs the energy to function. But how the body gets power?

From the food, of course, but what the body does with it and why a Keto diet would help with weight loss?

The energy our body needs frequently come from glucose. Glucose comes from carbohydrates like sugar and starchy foods as in fruits, milk yoghurt, bread, and pasta.

Don’t’ you feel energetic when you eat chocolates?

If you are a chocolate craving, good news: Chocolates are allowed!!!!  BUT! Just dark chocolate if they contain a minimum of 70% cocoa! Why? Because they have zero grams of sugar and sugar is a big no in any diet.

When our body doesn’t have enough carbohydrates from food (when we do not eat enough carbs), our body will burn fat instead. The natural process of our metabolism called Ketosis. Our bodies are so smart!

This diet is based on the intake of high-fat food and modest consumption of protein. So, Dark Chocolate is high-fat food!

Click here if you are ready to start your diet.

Still, confused? let’s break down the molecules

What are carbohydrates, high-fat food, and protein?

Each time we eat something or the body starts to break down the food into pieces and for each type of food, it starts the process of metabolism to transform the nutrients into what our body needs.

What does our body do with carbohydrates? Our body uses it for energy. They cannot be stored as long as fat because they can be transformed into glucose and energy very quickly.

They make the central nervous system and muscles work. How does the keto diet work?

Keto Diet Pyramid

Which foods are allowed in Keto Diet? The Delicious Keto Diet

High Fat Food. Examples: avocado, whole eggs, cheese, dark chocolate, fatty fish, nuts, extra virgin olive oil, coconut, and full-fat yoghurt.

What does our body do with it? Our body uses it for energy. The fat from food is fragmented into fatty acids and stored in fat cells. These cells have unlimited capacity, and that’s the key to Keto Diet!

Click here if you are ready to start your diet.

Ketogenic Diet Foods Not to Eat

Carbohydrates. Examples are sugars, vegetables, milk products, starches (bread, croissants, etc.),  fruits and grains.

What is Burger King Keto and Macdonalds Keto?

I heard these expressions so much, and the simple answer is that if we follow the ingredients allowed on this diet, we can eat in any restaurant.

So, we could eat a burger without the bun, bread, biscuit and any sauces. 

That’s the principle. No carbs !!! So, if we understand what carbs (carbohydrates) are it will be easier to choose the food we eat. This is important in any diet!

However, I just found a book where you can find with a low carb bread recipe and easy keto cheesecake and other amazing keto desserts and bread recipes! So this means that we might not need to give up completely our favourite food and all carbs at once, but might be reducing the number of carbohydrates that we eat could make a difference in our weight loss. This might be a perfect balance!

There are two books that I found: one where you learn how to make delicious keto desserts, keto vanilla cake, brownies, pies and tarts, cookies, ice-cream, soufle and so on.

The other book will show you how to make pizza, flatbread,  and believe it or not: keto burger bun! Click here to know more.

Benefits of Keto Diet

When carbohydrates are rare, the body runs mostly on fats. If the energy that our body needs surpass what is providing by fats in our diet, the body must transform the fat into energy. That’s how the “Keto diet” is explained!

A ketogenic diet may be an option for some people who have had difficulty losing weight with other methods.

Protein

Proteins: Helps with hormones and muscles. 

Keto Diet Risks

Proteins can also be converted into energy if there is a deficiency of fats or carbohydrates; therefore, this can become dangerous as the body starts eating muscle cells.

Some of the risks related to Keto diet are: Brain cells can’t run on fatty acids directly, threats to people with existing medical conditions as diabetes/chance to develop diabetes.

Summary

With the Keto diet, our body would not have carbs or will have fewer carbs (if you decide just to reduce) and sugar to transform in energy, so it will need to break down fat for fuel, so it forces the ketosis process (explained above)

Some say that it is not a sustainable diet for the long run as the Keto diet eliminates entire food groups, such as fruit. However, maybe the option would just reduce the carbs and not get rid of it completely. But if you are thinking on try a new diet, it is recommended that you consult your doctor or a dietitian first. It would be good to do a health check-up and tests to monitor any changes in your metabolism and discuss the effects of the Keto diet or any other diet into existing health conditions and to prevent nutritional deficiencies.

Follow the links below where you will learn more about Ketogenic Diet Menu for beginners, Keto Recipes Chicken Selection, Low Carb diet.

If you are watching the series Lose a Stone in 21 Days with Michael Mosley on Channel 4, this book will help you out with recipes!

Click here if you are ready to start your diet.

Click here to keto recipe books.

Disclaimer:

The content on this website is not medical advice; therefore, it’s intended for informational purposes only, and before starting any Nutritional Diet, it is recommended that you consult your doctor.

Coking Related post: Interested in Brazilian Party Food? Click here to read more.

If you’re considering a plant-based diet check out my post-Plant-based Recipes

Love x

Lia