The Ketogenic diet for beginners

You might have heard about the ketogenic diet from a friend or online.

A lot of the terminology might sound like French to the beginner, so I am going to break everything down into simple terms and explanations. It will be easy to understand for the novice who is not so sure about what the ketogenic diet is all about.

Let’s get straight into it.

What is the ketogenic diet?

The ketogenic diet is a diet where you eat high amounts of fat, moderate levels of protein and a low percentage of carbohydrates. The goal of this diet is to encourage your body to use fat for energy instead of sugar or carbohydrates.

The objective of people who follow a ketogenic diet is to get into a metabolic state called ketogenesis. Ketogenesis is a state where fats are used as the primary source of fuel for the brain, the muscles and the rest of the body.

What products do I need to go on the ketogenic diet?

The great news about this specific diet is that you don’t have to buy any products.

You simply eat certain foods while avoiding others to change the way that your body handles nutrients. 

All of the ingredients that you need can be bought from the grocery store.

Here are good supplements to help you along your keto journey if you would like to use them.

Keto pills helped one of our writers when he tested them out to see if they were any good.

What are the recommended fat, protein and carbohydrate eating ratios on the ketogenic diet?

Three quarters (75%) of your food should come from fats. 20% of the remaining foods should come from proteins while only 5% of your daily food intake should come from carbohydrates.

Don't eat more than 20-50 grams of carbs per day to stay in the ketogenic state.

Some fats are healthier than others.

Avoid Trans fats (fats made by adding hydrogen to plant oils). They are found in processed foods and damage your health.

You can find saturated fat in beef, pork, fish, dark chicken, cream, butter, cheese, coconut oil, cocoa butter, and lard. This will probably make up the majority of your fat consumption.

Monounsaturated fat is healthy fat. You can find it in avocado, olives and olive oil, tree nuts and nut butters. These fats reduce inflammation (which is now known to be the cause of chronic disease) and actually lower cholesterol levels! Your fat intake should come from as many of these fats as possible.

Polyunsaturated fats are also super healthy. You can find them in walnuts, seeds, tofu, oily fish like salmon, flax seeds and chia seeds. They lower cholesterol, blood pressure and risk for heart disease. Omega 3 belongs to this class of fat. Omega 3 is the reason why fish oil is so good for you.

Choose nutrient dense food.

Compared to keto, how does a normal diet affect our metabolism?

Most diets are high in carbohydrates and sugars

A typical, western diet contains a lot of sugar and refined carbohydrates.

The average American eats about 305.1 grams of carbohydrates and 3036 calories across three normal meals.

12 ounces of soda, for example, floods your system with 97 times more sugar than what is normally found in your entire blood stream.

Carbohydrates break down into sugars in the digestive tract.

Simple carbohydrates break down into sugars very quickly, while complex carbs take longer to break down and give the body a slower, more stable release of sugar. 

How the body reacts to sugar

When we eat foods that contain sugar or carbohydrates, the sugar turns into glucose (sugar in the blood).

Insulin is released to shuttle this sugar into the cells, muscle tissues and brain to be used as energy. Excess sugar is stored as fat.

Insulin works very quickly to shuttle sugar out of the blood because high concentrations of sugar in the blood can damage the blood vessels, organs and nerves if it stays there for too long.

This is why people who have diabetes may suffer from blindness, nerve damage, organ failure and other symptoms associated with a lack of blood circulation.

Sugar and carbohydrates are addictive

Eating foods that are high in sugar make us feel good. They give us a quick form of energy and stimulate the feel-good, reward-based hormone called dopamine.

Insulin quickly shuttles sugar out of the blood stream to mitigate its negative effects. This causes a rapid drop in blood sugar and crashes our energy levels.

Dopamine levels also drop and urge us to return to our previous state of high sugar. The drop in energy and dopamine causes us to crave for more sugar.

This creates a negative cycle with intensified sugar cravings every time that we eat a lot of sugar.

Regular sugar consumption leads to weight gain

Every time we eat more sugar or refined carbs, the excess energy is stored as fat and we crave for more sugar before the body can burn through the newly acquired fat stores.

It is easier to use sugar for energy than fat because the molecular structure of sugar is less complex.

The body only needs to work to pull 4 calories out of a gram of sugar, while it needs to work harder to pull 9 calories out of a gram of fat.

How does the ketogenic diet work?

The ketogenic diet works to counter the weight-gaining effect of sugar by training the body to run off of fat instead of sugar.

The body initially struggles to do this because sugar is easier to turn into energy compared to fat. By eating a higher concentration of fats, your body is forced to adapt to fat metabolism.

As your body gets better at using fat for energy, it will convert existing fat into ketones. Ketones are made in the liver from fat cells and are released into the blood to give the body the energy that it needs.

Does the ketogenic diet work?

It takes some time for the body to get used to the decrease in sugar consumption. This will initially lead to negative energy and mood changes.

As the body adapts by creating ketones for energy, you will have more energy than before because ketones are more stable than sugar as an energy source.

Ketones don’t rise and fall as quickly as sugar does. When your body uses ketones for fuel instead of sugar, you lose cravings for sugar, sweets, sodas and other high-sugar products.

Keto means ‘ketogenic diet’ or a ‘ketogenesis state’ 

Keto is a short term for ‘ketogenic’ (diet) or ‘ketogenesis’ (metabolic state). For example, you can say that you’re on keto (You’re on a ketogenic diet). You can also say that you’ve entered keto (you’ve entered into a state of ketogenesis).

What foods can I eat on Keto?

The proteins that you can eat are lamb, chicken and turkey, beef, pork and bacon, steak, fish and eggs.

The fats that you can eat are avocados, nuts and seeds, ghee, olive and coconut oil, butter and cream, almond milk (without added sugar), full fat unsweetened yogurt and cauliflower.

Avoid simple sugars, processed food and refined carbohydrates.

What foods should I avoid on keto?

There are unhealthy products that you shouldn’t eat, regardless of diet, that are high in sugar and need to be avoided when doing keto.

These include sodas, sweets, candy and chocolates.

Check the labels of ordinary products and you will be surprised at how much sugar is added.

For example, did you know that ketchup is made with more sugar than any other ingredient?

Other foods include sugary fruit and vegetables like apples. Carbohydrates that should be avoided include bread, rice, potatoes, cereals, cakes, pastries and pies, cookies and pasta.

Why should I avoid sugary fruit and vegetables on the keto diet?

The point of a keto diet is to train your body to use fat instead of sugar for energy. There are natural foods that are high on the glycemic index (I.e. they have a high amount of sugar that gets released into the bloodstream quickly). You can check this list to see which foods are high on the glycemic scale.

What does a typical ketogenic diet look like?

A daily keto diet can be 2 eggs fried in butter with sauteed greens for breakfast, a large burger patty (no bun) with cheese, avocado and mushrooms with a green salad for lunch and pork chops with sauteed greens for dinner.

You can also have an omelet with mushrooms for breakfast, a tuna salad with a green salad and a tomato for lunch and chicken with cream and broccoli for dinner.

If you would like to build your own keto diet, this a great guide on how to do so.

Are there any setbacks to the ketogenic diet?

There are disadvantages to the ketogenic diet.

Some would argue that the exclusion of sugary fruits and vegetables (and the high amount of fat) decreases the amount of important vitamins and minerals that you consume on a daily basis.

They also argue that the only way to lose weight is to consume fewer calories than what you out in, regardless of the food itself.

Can you build muscle on the ketogenic diet?

You can exercise, improve stamina (through endurance exercise) and even build muscle on the ketogenic diet. It might even help your muscle building efforts.

You can use these easy pre-workout and post-workout meals to fuel your workout if you are on the ketogenic diet.

My verdict on the keto diet

I definitely think that the ketogenic diet can help you to lose weight because it forces you to avoid sugary foods that are highly processed like cereals, sodas and pastries.

When I need to lose weight, I simply cut out sugar and simple carbs so that my diet consists of meat, diary, fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds exclusively.

One of my biggest rules is that the less processed the diet, the healthier it is for you. I also believe that no diet is complete without a good exercise plan.

Keto diet tips

Here are some good keto tips:

Make sure that you get enough electrolytes (like salt, magnesium and potassium). When insulin drops from a lack of dietary sugar, your body will lose a lot of important electrolytes.

You lose of a lot electrolytes from exercise and sweat as well.

Minerals and electrolytes are important for every function of your body.

Avoid processed food as much as you can because a lot of them have hidden added sugars.

Eat enough nutrients in the form of fat. Your body will need these to create energy.

You might go through a period of adaption when your body switches from sugar metabolism to fat metabolism. This might take a while (around 2-3 weeks) and produce flu-like symptoms in the process. Hang in there while your body adjusts.

Just as much as you need to make sure that you eat enough nutrients to give your body energy, you also need to make sure that you don't overdo it. You won't lose weight if your body has more energy to store than it has to burn. Find a healthy balance.

Now it’s your turn

If you know somebody who might benefit from learning about how the ketogenic diet works, feel free to share this article with them.

Did you learn anything new about keto? What are your thoughts on this kind of eating plan? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Stay Strong!

Intermittent fasting on keto

Boost your weight loss efforts with ease.

You have all heard about the keto diet by now. Whether through reading one of my many articles or books on the subject (or through seeing an ad on social medial or TV), the keto diet has taken off like wildfire.

What started off in the early 1900’s as a new and effective way to treat epileptic seizures has been re-branded and reinvented as our generation's newest and biggest 'fad diet'. The level of popularity that this movement has achieved is no small thing - and it's definitely not undeserving.

The keto diet, by itself, is an incredible way to get your body to burn body fat instead of storing it. You essentially turn your body into a walking, talking, fat-burning furnace. People routinely report losing up to 30 and 40 lbs. in as little as 30 days.

This rate of weight loss is completely mind blowing on its own, but what if I told you that there was a way to take this already super-effective diet to a whole new level? Let's talk about intermittent fasting.

What is intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting is not a diet (which tells you what food to eat). Intermittent fasting governs when you eat. It is the practice of limiting your food consumption to a limited period of time. Intermittent fasting is most commonly done for 16 hours a day, or on alternate days.

Intermittent fasting is not as bad as you think.

Upon first hearing the name, it's easy to begin picturing the traditional thoughts that the word “fasting” has a tendency to bring up.

Hunger Pains… Fatigue… Headaches… Depriving your body of food for days or more… It all sounds awful.

Let me assure you this is not what we are talking about. The first thing you should understand is that intermittent fasting is not a diet. Intermittent fasting is a very specific type of fasting that is commonly used by lots of people as a safe and effective way to control weight.

Essentially, it is just a practice of limiting your food consumption from the traditional 3 meals (spaced morning, noon, and evening) to a much more limited window of time. This is typically done in 8 hours.

Intermittent fasting became popular after studies were done that showed that fasting has some substantial health benefits.

The only problem is that people don’t want to go without food. So what they found is that if you follow a regular scheduled window of limited caloric intake, you can actually mimic the benefits of extended fasting without having to go without food for long periods of time.

Types of Intermittent Fasting

1. 16:8 Split - Eat for 8 hours, fast for 16 (including sleep)
2. 2 Day on / 1 Day off - Fast every 3rd day
3. 1 Day per Week - Fast for one day every week
4. Multi Day Fasting - Fast for more than one day

The types of intermittent fasting

1. 16:8 Split intermittent fasting

The 16:8 split is, easily, the most commonly practiced form on intermittent fasting around today.

The idea behind the 16:8 Split is simple. It’s as easy as skipping breakfast. What you would do here is set an 8-hour time block where you consume all of your meals for the day.

Most people will begin eating for the day at 12:00 pm and allow themselves to eat until 8:00 pm. This allows them to sleep through most of their 16-hour fasting period.

Depending on your schedule and lifestyle, these times can change to anything that suits you. The important thing is that you get one 8 hour window to eat and one 16-hour window of fasting window per day.

2. 2 Day off / 1 Day on intermittent fasting

This is the 2nd most common intermittent fasting method around. It’s as simple as the name makes it sound. 

You would spend 2 days eating as per your normal schedule. You would then fast for 1 entire day. 

Depending on your lifestyle and schedule, you may find this to be the easiest option. They great thing is that it’s completely up to you.

3. 1 Day per week intermittent fasting

A less common option is the 1 day per week method. It is also as simple as it sounds.

You would fast for one entire day per week. It does not matter which day you choose.

Consistency is important, so it is generally a good idea to stick with the same day each week to stay on a consistent schedule.

4. Multi day fasting

This is traditional fasting. It is extremely important to plan these out in advance and know what you are going to do before you attempt any sort of extended fasting.

Fasting has amazing benefits, but it is also important to know your body's limits. Take your time to expand on those limits. Too much, too soon, may do more harm than good.

Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

1. Ketosis - Intermittent fasting makes you burn fat for energy
2. Autophagy - Intermittent fasting gives the body time to recycle damaged cells
3. Anti-aging - Intermittent fasting may prolong your life
4. Brain health - Intermittent fasting improves your brain's ability to function optimally

Fasting improves health because it is a natural process.

Now that we’ve discussed the different methods of fasting, let’s talk about all the great benefits that you can achieve from intermittent fasting.

Great research has been done on the subject of fasting. The practice of fasting has been around for thousands of years and is still practiced religiously by monks and priests of different faiths all over the world.

Thankfully, this great deal of research has given us an amazing understanding of the benefits that come along with intermittent fasting.

1. Intermittent fasting puts your body into ketosis

One of the biggest reasons why intermittent fasting and the keto diet seem to go together so well is the fact that intermittent fasting actually stimulates ketosis.

If you are unaware of what ketosis is, it's basically a metabolic state that your body naturally goes into when it runs out of glucose (or sugar) stores. Glucose is your body's traditional source of fuel. After roughly 8-10 hours, your body will have used up all its stored energy in the form of glucose.

It then begins to run off body fat, instead of glucose, as its primary energy source. The act of switching its fuel source from glucose to fat is called ketosis.

Check out my blog J.P. Wells Fitness if you’d like to learn more about Ketosis and the Ketogenic Diet

2. Intermittent fasting stimulates autophagy

A huge benefit of intermittent fasting is the stimulation of a process called autophagy. Autophagy, simply put, is your body's natural way of cleaning out damaged cells.

Our bodies promote the natural degradation and recycling of cellular components to be used for the creation of new, healthy cells. This is essentially your body's way of building a newer, healthier you.

A lot of autophagy processes will only start when you haven't eaten in a while. The body spends less time absorbing nutrients and starts to turn damaged cells into fresh nutrients instead.

3. Intermittent fasting has anti-aging benefits

Who doesn’t want to look younger and healthier for longer?

Another benefit to intermittent fasting is its stimulation of natural HGH (Human Growth Hormone) production.

Many famous actors and actresses use techniques to promote HGH production as a way to keep them looking younger and more physically fit. Terry Crews, for example, has talked about the fact that he has used intermittent fasting for years to help him keep his body on point for his career.

4. Intermittent fasting supports brain health

Brain health plays a significant role in our everyday lives - whether we realize it or not. Our brains have a powerful effect over how we feel, how we think and how we act.

Studies have shown that intermittent fasting helps to stimulate a protein in our brains called BDNF (brain-derived neurotropic factor). BDNF has amazing effects on our brains.

It increases neuro-plasticity, which is our brain's ability to change itself. It stimulates the creation of new brain cells, increases synaptic connections and allows us to learn and think faster. Intermittent fasting has been shown to increase our BDNF levels by up to 400%.

Intermittent fasting will overhaul your health.

Conclusion

As you can see from everything that we’ve discussed in this article, intermittent fasting can be an extremely powerful tool in your health and fitness tool belt. The great thing is that it works with almost any diet. You are not restricted to one specific diet to enjoy all the benefits that intermittent fasting will bring to your life.

Obviously, because intermittent fasting naturally promotes ketosis, this is a favorite among those who practice a ketogenic lifestyle - but it is by no means exclusive to keto. No matter where you are at physically, or what diet you decide you want to try, intermittent fasting will improve your health.

It could be a health-boosting habit that can not only speed and improve your weight loss results, but promote good mental health through the production of new brain cells. This will allow you to deal with stress and other emotions more easily. It will help you think and learn faster through the production of BTNF.

It also promotes Autophagy which aids your body in its efforts of cleaning house by identifying and getting rid of old, unhealthy cells and making room for new, healthy cell growth.

It may not be for everyone, and if you have any concerns about how this practice might affect your health, talk to your doctor before giving it a try.

If you do decide to try it out, you may find that intermittent fasting is the key to pushing you through to the next level regarding your fitness and weight loss goals.

If you enjoyed this article, please let me know by leaving me a comment below! I love hearing from you and connecting with you. You guys are the reason that I’m here.

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About J.P. Wells

J.P. Wells has spent the last 13 years of his life learning about - and pursuing - a healthy and active lifestyle. After sustaining a life changing injury during his time serving in the United States Military, he dedicated his time to learning and researching ways to heal (and re-build) his body and get back to the active lifestyle that he grew up loving.

JP Wells

On his blog J.P. Wells Fitness, J.P. Wells shares the knowledge and passions that he has come to learn from the fitness industry - and fitness culture. He understands that health and fitness is not just a one-time choice. It is a lifestyle. Success with your goals is not made up of large, single decisions. It is rather a series of small choices made well throughout every day.

Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Support our website and buy these awesome Socks.

How many carbs will break ketosis?

Your lifestyle and your body will determine the answer.

How many carbs will break ketosis?

20 grams to 50 grams of net carbs will break ketosis. You will break ketosis if you consume over 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates per day, depending on various factors. The exact number depends on your activity level, everything else that you eat and your body's physical make up.

Introduction

You have certainly heard about the ketogenic diet by now. Most of you have probably read a few of my other articles (and hopefully one or two of my eBooks) about it.

Keto in a nutshell

The entire diet is based around lowering your carbohydrate intake to the point where your body begins to look for alternative sources of energy. This allows you to effectively burn fat and increase your energy (because fat is a much more stable from of energy).

How many carbs is too many?

You may be asking, “How many carbs is too many”? In an effort to help clear the waters I will do my best to give you some general rules of thumb when it comes to carbohydrate intake on the ketogenic diet.

Let's make it simple so you don't have to stress about it.

The difference between total carbs and net carbs

Total carbs refer to all of the carbohydrates in a specific food. Net carbs are the carbohydrates that your body can actually absorb. Subtract fiber from total carbs to get the net carb value. Net carbs = Total carbs - Fiber.

The importance of net carbs and total carbs on a keto diet

Before we even begin to discuss the topic of carbohydrate intake, it is very important that you have a good understanding of how we generally count carbs on the ketogenic diet. The difference between the two will give you greater control over the amounts of food that you can eat.

Surly we’ve all found ourselves standing in the grocery store looking at the nutritional facts on the back of the box.

What are nutritional facts on labels?

This is the area where the manufacturer discloses nutritional information about the product such as calories per serving, protein amount and fat percentages and, of course, carbohydrate amounts per serving.

Image by the FDA

Where to find net carbs and total carbs on a food label

If you look closely, most product labels will list total carbs. The specific carbohydrate sources will be listed underneath total carbs (dietary fiber, total sugar and added sugar). Subtract fiber from total carbs to get net carbs. In the above label, there are 39 grams of net carbs (46 grams of total carbs minus 7 grams of fiber).

Why are net carbs important on keto?

People who practice a low carbohydrate diet like keto are only concerned with net carbs instead of total carbs. Net carbs are the carbohydrates that your body can absorb. To calculate your net carbs, simply subtract out your dietary fibers from the total carbs. This will give you your net carbs.

Should you work on net carbs or total carbs on keto?

There is some debate within the keto community about whether you should count net carbs or total carbs. I have personally found that I am just fine counting net carbs exclusively.

When I talk about carbs in this article, I will be referring to net carbs specifically.

Learn how to find your carbohydrate limit.

Everybody is different when it comes to carbohydrate metabolism

The question about how many carbs is too many for a specific individual can be a very hard question to answer. This is simply because everyone’s answer will be totally different. Here is a good example:

What works for me does not work for my wife. Our metabolic rates are very different. I carry more lean muscle than my wife. Thus, my body naturally burns more energy at rest than her.

This is even truer during an intense workout. My body has more lean muscle mass to fuel my workouts than hers does. It therefore requires significantly more energy to keep me going during intense activity.

I have found I can personally get away with an average of about 50 grams of carbohydrates per day without affecting my fat adapted state. My wife, on the other hand, would be completely kicked out of ketosis at anything over 20 grams. It all depends on your body and how it reacts to the carbs.

Activity level determines carbohydrate metabolism.

The role of exercise in carbohydrate metabolism during ketosis

Physical activity is as important as individual metabolism when it comes to your individual carbohydrate limit.

If you spend a few hours every day on a mountain bike or on a running trail, you will ultimately be able to get away with more wiggle room in the carbohydrate department than someone who works at a desk all day with little to no physical activity.

Carbohydrates are a fast burning from of energy. If your body is in need of that immediate energy, carbs will be used up and burnt off almost immediately.

The targeted ketogenic diet (TKD)

In my article, Keto for Bodybuilding and Muscle Growth, I begin do discuss the 'Targeted Ketogenic Diet (TKD)'. Top athletes who want to practice a low-carb lifestyle commonly use TKD.

What is the targeted ketogenic diet (or TKD)?

This is an adaptation of the traditional keto diet. It allows for you to 'back-load' carbs with your workouts. During times of intense physical activity, your body will immediately use these carbs rather than hold on to them. You drop out ketosis when carbs are not burnt up.

Physical activity affects your carbohydrate limits on keto

Your allowable, daily carbs will range significantly - depending on your lifestyle. A typical daily carbohydrate level for someone getting little to no exercise throughout the day would be around 20 grams. That could go up to as much as 50 grams for someone who lives an extremely active life.

I would suggest that no matter how active you are, don't go over 50 grams as a general rule. But, again, remember that everyone’s body is different. It is only through a little trial and error that you find exactly where you fall on the spectrum.

Physical activity will determine your carb limit.

Conclusion

To really sum things up regarding the question about how many carbs you can have per day, the answer is: It all depends.

You are truly the only one that can answer that question. There are simply too many variables in play to allow me to give you a blanket answer. The generally accepted numbers are roughly 20 grams per day for the average person and up to 50 grams per day for top athletes.

This will give you a good target to shoot for when you initially start out on your low carb journey. Note that this is just a guideline and not gospel. These numbers will more than likely change as you gain experience and, most importantly, learn to listen to your body.

Once you learn to speak your body's language, you'll find that it will tell you exactly what it wants and what it needs. It will become much easier to focus in on your body’s optimal nutritional needs with practice.

If you enjoyed this article please leave me a comment or question below and let me know what you think! I love hearing from you and connecting with you. You guys are the reason that I’m here.

Keto Strong – A Beginners Guide to High Performance Keto

Check out my eBook!

If you are interested in learning more about keto as an athlete, pick up my brand new book Keto Strong – A Beginners Guide to High Performance Keto. Let me help you to get a jump start on your keto journey!

J.P. Wells

J.P. Wells has spent the last 13 years of his life learning about, and pursuing, a healthy and active lifestyle. After sustaining a life-changing injury during his time serving in the United States Military, he dedicated his time to learning and researching ways to heal and re-build his body to get back to the active lifestyle that he grew up loving.

JP Wells

On his blog J.P. Wells Fitness, J.P. Wells shares the knowledge and passions that he has come to learn from the fitness industry and fitness culture. He understands that health and fitness is not just a one-time choice. It is a lifestyle. Success with your goals is not made up of large, single decisions. They are determined by a series of small choices that are made well throughout every day.

Check him out on Facebook and Twitter.

Support our website and buy these awesome Socks.