A Ketogenic diet plan is focused on getting you just the adequate amount of protein and carb required. It is more focused on helping you burn your fat reserves. A ketogenic diet plan is most suitable for treating disorders like epilepsy and heart diseases. But it can be adopted to help suite the benefits of a person trying to slim up. So while it is not tailored for weight loss, it can help in that department as well. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you master your ketogenic diet.
Eat only when you are hungry
The basic principle of a ketogenic diet is to eat only when hungry. Seems a bit stupid, doesn’t it? Like who would eat when they are not hungry?
What we mean to say is that you should not engage in lavish food habits when you are on a ketogenic diet. It can backfire. The ketogenic diet is not exactly a workout. You cannot have a so-called “cheat-day” where you can eat whatever you want. It is a focused plan of diet, and you should follow it.
The diet is meant to burn your fat reserves. If you eat without consideration, then what’s the point of it all? You would just be storing all the carb from your incessant eating as fat. So if you are on a ketogenic diet with a plan to focus on weight loss or treatment for epilepsy, then make sure to follow the diet plan instead of making your own rules.
Eat High in Fiber
A ketogenic diet plan focuses on giving you fiber-rich food. As we all know, fibers are quite beneficial for our body. For instance, if you are a person with diabetes, then fiber consumption can help you increase insulin activity in your body. Other benefits include a reduced risk of cardiovascular disorder and better gut health. Fiber-rich foods promote blood regulation. They help in keeping your blood pressure under control. There are many foods like the whole class of whole-grains which are rich in fiber and form an excellent breakfast.
You should always consume fiber-rich foods. This includes fruits and vegetables as well. Vegetables like cucumber, broccoli, and kale are really good for your health. They might not taste so good, but if you want to make your health a priority, then these are very important.
Fibers promote digestion. Fibers are not digested themselves. As a matter of fact, they get excreted from the body. But their presence during digestion helps your body digest food faster. Because they themselves are not digested and they have a bulky structure, they help you stay full for a long period of time. Thus, fiber-rich foods help promote health, which is why they are recommended when you are on a ketogenic diet. If you consume fiber-rich foods, then you won’t feel the hunger pangs, and this would also give your body a chance to get you back into shape.
Use Low Carb Food
Carbohydrates are not good. That is the general tagline. But the thing is that carbohydrates are the main source of energy for our body. Our body might store the excess carb as fat, but it cannot use that fat directly to give us energy.
Only carbohydrates can give you unadulterated energy for a long duration of time. Snacks like snicker have gained so much prominence because they provide “energy”. In reality, they are just bars of pure carb which your body burns.
But carbohydrates can be a double-edged sword. If you take carbohydrates in excess of your limit, then you risk getting obese. Carbs which are not used are converted into fats and stored between organs and muscles and under your skin for future use.
A ketogenic diet plan helps you burn this “future” reserve. So if you take something which is high in carbohydrates, this mechanism can stop, which is why, when you are on a ketogenic diet, it is best recommended that you stay on a low-carb food.
Use Non-Starchy Vegetables
Vegetables can be of all kinds. There are starchy veggies. This include, and you guessed it right! Potatoes. And then there are the leafy and non-starchy veggies. The ‘yuck’ veggies. Potatoes are starchy vegetables. No surprises there. But hey! It turns out beans and corns contain starch as well. So you should probably stay off these veggies if you are on a low carb diet.
If you want to have a healthy diet, then you should opt for vegetables like bean sprouts, cauliflower, cabbages, and spinach. Yeah, that’s right, Popeye’s favorite “spinach”. For a ketogenic diet, it is important that you adhere to the low carb mantra. And because starch is just a complex form of carbohydrate, it should be avoided as well.
Not just as a part of a ketogenic diet, even in everyday life, staying off starch can have immense health benefits, the likes of which include decreased chances of cardiovascular diseases. Taking a healthy choice is never bad. It might seem that way when you are getting started, but trust us, when you start seeing the changes, you will surely stick to it.
Limit protein intake
Seems counterproductive that you would need to limit your protein intake when you are on a ketogenic diet, doesn’t it? Well, no one is asking you to completely abandon protein. After all, proteins are one of the major nutrients needed by our body to survive.
Proteins along with a few other minerals form “macronutrients”. Macronutrients are those nutrients which the body cannot manufacture on its own. So they are needed in large amount to account for the deficit. Protein promotes muscle growth. It is an important part of a child’s diet. Protein is also important for proper brain functioning.
But the idea of a ketogenic diet is to stay off too much protein. If you completely stop consuming proteins, then you suffer from dietary deficiency diseases. Taking protein while on a ketogenic diet would help you preserve your lean muscle. But you should only take the adequate amount. If you are a fitness buff on a ketogenic diet, then it might be a bit difficult for you since proteins form an important part of your diet. But you have to deal with it. There are many arguments on either side of the protein spectrum regarding its consumption, but all agree, too much of protein is never good.
