ketogenic diet for weight loss

Today, one of the most fashionable and common ways to lose weight is to follow a ketogenic diet. It is worth noting that if such a diet is observed, a person does not go hungry, but consumes fatty and high-calorie foods. The positive effect is achieved by limiting the amount of carbohydrates consumed and reducing their use in food to zero.

ketogenic diet

Research scientists prove that following a ketogenic diet helps with conditions like: epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, autism, Alzheimer's disease, cancer.

This diet is one of the varieties of low carb diets, when the body does not get carbohydrates with food, it is forced to expend fats for energy. In this case, the fat burning process is very effective. Metabolic changes or ketosis, where ketone bodies go directly to the brain, which the body uses as energy.

With this diet, the level of sugar and insulin in the blood decreases, so this diet is also prescribed for diabetics, but only if the patient has type 2 diabetes.

Rules for the ketogenic diet

When following a ketogenic diet, you need to follow some simple rules and recommendations, only in this case you can get a positive result in the shortest possible time.

1. One of the main tenets of the ketogenic diet is to drink plenty of fluids a day – at least 3-4 liters.
2. Any snacks during the day, except main meals, should be excluded.
3. Active exercise is recommended while following a ketogenic diet.
4. The amount of protein ingested should be gradually reduced and brought to 1. 5 g per 1 kg of weight.
5. The level of carbohydrates consumed per day should also be reduced gradually, ultimately their amount should not exceed 20 g per day.
6. The main source of energy on the ketogenic diet is fat, so don't worry about eating it.

approved products

Following the ketogenic diet, you can eat the following foods:

1. Seafood - squid, oysters, crabs, lobsters, clams and mussels.
2. Fish - salmon, cod, catfish, halibut, mackerel, trout, tuna, halibut. You can eat fish in any form - fried, steamed, boiled and baked in the oven.
3. Meat - beef, pork, rabbit, poultry, veal. As in the case of fish, the meat can be used in any way - you can cook chops, roasts, steaks, the only thing that follows is that the loin is denser.
4. Chicken and quail eggs, which can be eaten fried and boiled.
5. Offal - the liver, stomach, tongue, heart and lungs are some of the main sources of nutrients.
6. Sausages - bacon, ham, sausage. When buying such products, you should carefully read the composition so that there are no additives and sugar.
7. Raw cheeses - goat, cream, mozzarella, cheddar.
8. Healthy oils are natural olive and coconut oils. You can also eat avocado oil.
9. Nuts - Peanuts, walnuts and pine nuts, cashews, almonds, pumpkin and flax seeds, hazelnuts.
10. Vegetables - all green vegetables, low in starch and carbohydrates, plus onions and tomatoes can be eaten.
11. Butter and cream.
12. Strawberry.
13. From drinks you can drink green tea, weak black tea, mineral or boiled water.

prohibited products

The following foods should not be consumed while on a ketogenic diet:

1. Products that contain a lot of sugar: juices, drinks, candies, cakes, marmalades, candies, ice cream, marshmallows.
2. Foods that contain grains and starches: Wheat flour cakes, bread, cereal, rice and pasta.
3. All kinds of fruits.
4. All varieties of legumes.
5. Tubers and tubers: turnip, carrot, potato, Jerusalem artichoke.
6. Diet and low-fat products - they go through several stages of processing, so they may contain an excessive amount of carbohydrates.
7. Sauces like ketchup and mayonnaise as they contain sugar and unhealthy fats.
8. Unhealthy fats, whose main sources are margarine and processed vegetable oil, so the use of these products should also be eliminated from the diet or at least reduced.
9. Alcoholic products. Many alcoholic beverages contain a lot of carbohydrates and therefore their use can nullify all dietary measures.
10. Sugar-free diet foods. These products are often highly processed and full of harmful chemicals.

Before starting to follow a ketogenic diet, you should consult a specialist, as the list of allowed and prohibited foods may vary for each patient, according to the individual characteristics of the human body.

Ketogenic diet: menu of the week

An approximate weekly menu for people on a ketogenic diet is as follows.

Monday

1. Breakfast. Egg and cheese.
2. Lunch. Curd with cream.
3. To have lunch. Chicken breast, cheese and brown rice.
4. afternoon tea. Cheese and some nuts.
5. To have lunch. Vegetable salad, fish in any form, garnished with brown rice.

Tuesday

1. Breakfast. Omelet, ½ grapefruit, spinach.
2. Lunch. Cottage cheese.
3. To have lunch. Vegetable salad, chicken breast, cheese.
4. afternoon tea. Cottage cheese.
5. To have lunch. Steak with brown rice, salad with vegetables.

Wednesday

1. Breakfast. Omelet, homemade yogurt.
2. Lunch. Cheese, nuts.
3. To have lunch. Chicken breast with broth, salad.
4. afternoon tea. Kefir, fruit.
5. To have lunch. Fish, lettuce, brown rice.

Thursday

1. Breakfast. Cheese, boiled eggs, orange.
2. Lunch. Homemade kefir.
3. To have lunch. Beef broth, brown rice.
4. afternoon tea. Cheese, almonds.
5. To have lunch. Fish, broccoli.

Friday

1. Breakfast. Boiled eggs with parsley.
2. Lunch. Bacon or ham.
3. To have lunch. Meat casserole with vegetables and mushrooms, salad.
4. afternoon tea. Kefir, lettuce.
5. To have lunch. Chicken breast, rice

Saturday

1. Breakfast. Omelet, salad.
2. Lunch. A cheese sandwich.
3. To have lunch. Offal soup, fish.
4. afternoon tea. Cheese, hazelnuts.
5. To have lunch. Pork steak, toast.

Sunday

1. Breakfast. Fried egg, oatmeal or corn porridge.
2. Lunch. Kefir and fruit.
3. To have lunch. Vegetable soup with meat, chicken breast.
4. afternoon tea. Kefir and boiled meat.
5. To have lunch. Fish, lettuce, brown rice, cheese.

Pros and cons of this diet

Following a ketogenic diet has several pros and cons that should be considered before embarking on such a diet.

Benefits:

1. The diet is quite easily tolerated, because a person, observing it, does not go hungry.
2. A small amount of carbohydrates consumed reduces the production of insulin, thus preventing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Disadvantages:

1. Uncontrolled adherence to the ketogenic diet is fraught with a decrease in the level of acidity in the blood, which in turn can lead to the development of ketoacidosis, which in most cases ends in the death of the patient. However, this phenomenon develops very rarely, especially in people with diabetes.
2. The state of ketosis is dangerous for human health, since in this case the load on the kidneys is greatly increased and therefore there is a risk of developing urolithiasis and osteoporosis.
3. It is impossible to follow this diet for a long period of time, as a person begins to have digestive problems - constipation and nausea from the constant use of fatty foods.

contraindications

It is impossible to follow a ketogenic diet for disorders such as: pathologies of the cardiovascular system, liver and kidney diseases, diabetes mellitus, metabolic disorders, progressive encephalopathy.

Before you start following a ketogenic diet, you need to consult an expert, weigh the pros and cons, and prepare for it. When following a diet, to avoid unpleasant consequences, it is necessary to constantly consult your doctor and strictly follow all his recommendations.