The current-day most popular diet trend is the Keto Diet. The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet helps your body burn fats quickly by turning fats into fuel. Studies have shown that being on Keto diet can have benefits against diabetes, cancer, and epilepsy.
When you participate in these low carb eating habits, your body is put in a metabolic state called ketosis. Ketosis forces your body to burn fat for energy because you no longer have enough carbohydrates to burn to create fuel.
I know that cutting out carbs is a lot to ask for, so there are a couple different ways to approach Keto diet. The standard Keto diet consists of 75% fat, 20% protein, and 5% carbs but you can try a cyclical Keto diet instead. This form of Keto consists of 5 days of standard Keto style followed by 2 high-carb days. Some people approach it wanting more protein and eat 60% fat and 35% protein instead of the standard model. Really, as long as carbs are cut out, you will soon see results
Obviously, a high-fat diet does not mean high in sugar and unhealthy fats. The best fat for Keto diet is through avocados. Avocados also contain fiber and essential vitamins to kick start your day. Adding avocados to salads or to make guacamole is a given, but feel free to add it to smoothies or make a dressing out of it as well. Another filling addition to your diet should be nuts. Nuts are a great snack and are filled with good fats. Make yourself a trail mix with almonds, Brazilian nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios, and walnuts. Another great way to incorporate them into your diet is to sprinkle them onto salads for a crunch rather than croutons. One of the easiest ways to add these healthy fats to your diet is through flax seeds. Flax seeds are a delicious addition to soups and salads but mainly in a yogurt parfait. Another great way to make flax seed an eating habit is to add it to keto-friendly muffin, cookie or pancake recipes. Another Keto staple is fatty fish. You may be eating less protein, red meat and chicken, but fatty fish like salmon and tuna can be a great food to make a dinner around.
One type of food that you should be avoiding on Keto are root vegetables. Many people don’t realize the negative effects of root vegetables when you are on Keto. Generally, root vegetables, or vegetables grown under-ground like carrots and onions, have more carbs than a vegetable grown above-ground. Rule of thumb for this: if it is green, you are most likely in the clear. Spinach, asparagus, cucumbers, broccoli, zucchini and green beans are all Keto friendly and grown above-ground.
The best part about this high-fat diet is that it fills you up quicker than the empty carbs you were snacking on before. With this being said, be careful in your first week or so of Keto. Many newbies experience the “Keto Flu”. This is just your body adapting to the new fuel you are putting into your body, but it can cause some temporary side effects like hunger, nausea, and digestive discomfort. To maintain these symptoms, make sure to ween yourself off of carbs for the first few weeks. Cutting them out cold-turkey can be painful for your body.
