So, this magical diet. There are so many rumors and speculations about her, how many hopes have been pinned on her, how many hours have been spent on the toilet because of her. Keto apologists preach rapid melting of fat glaciers, incredible performance, crystal clarity of mind, etc. and so on. in a similar spirit. We don't know where this data comes from, because scientists are just beginning to study this diet under a microscope.
Let's discuss all the pros and cons of a high fat diet.
The gist for beginners: what it is in simple words
Let's clarify an important point right away: a high-fat diet (ketogenic diet) is not yet a low-carb diet, it is primarily a super-high-fat diet.
The keto diet is a low-carb diet for weight loss with a moderate amount of protein in the diet and active fat consumption.
If you are counting calories, the % calorie distribution would be:
- 80% of calories come from fat,
- 15% protein kcal. ,
- The remaining 5% are carbohydrates.
That means, at least 75% of the calories in your diet should come from fat; the sources of which can be eggs, bacon, sausages, avocados, vegetable oils, coconut oil, butter.
We also want to emphasize that this is not a diet based on animal fats, so-called. meat-only diet, not at all! Vegetables are consumed, but with moderate or complete avoidance of starchy vegetables such as potatoes.
What is important to know for beginners? What is a "fat diet" in simple terms?
So the essence of the ketogenic diet is simple in words. With such a nutritional system, the body enters a state called "ketosis" and begins to synthesize ketones for the subsequent generation of energy (hence the name "ketogenic" diet), and such a transition is possible only if the intake of carbohydratesis strictly limited.
Our body is able to fully meet its needs from fat reserves. But the lack of carbohydrates is terrible for our brain and nervous system, which need glucose: the brain cannot use fatty acids for its energy supply.
When we ignore carbohydrates, the body, in order not to stretch the legs, begins to distort and create ersatz carbohydrates - ketone bodies.
Ketone bodies are organic, water-soluble biomolecules that are synthesized in the liver from fatty acids when food intake (especially carbohydrates) is reduced. Once transported to extrahepatic tissues, these biomolecules can be used as an energy source.
Ketone bodies are constantly synthesized in small amounts in the human body, but normally the concentration of ketones is so low that they are not detected in a urine test.
However, when the level of ketone bodies in the blood increases (a condition known as ketonemia), they begin to be excreted in the urine (known as ketonuria); ketonemia and ketonuria taken together indicate the transition of the body into a state of ketosis.
The ultimate goal of the ketogenic diet is to put the body in a state of nutritional ketosis (not to be confused with pathological ketosis), which ultimately directs the metabolism to use fatty acids and ketone bodies as the primary source of energy.
In the initial stages, the main thing is not to overdo it with the amount of protein.
If you eat too much protein (more than 20%), the body starts the process of gluconeogenesis and eventually all the excess protein is converted into glucose, which prevents you from entering a state of ketosis.
So it is important to choose fatty foods with some protein. It is not necessary to rely on chicken, but to buy fatty cuts of beef. Instead of turkey bacon, buy regular bacon. Only 20% of your calories should come from protein.
Also remember, you need to drink a lot, a lot. Because the main sign of ketosis is the smell of acetone on your body and breath. Nice, isn't it?
The fact is that excess fat derivatives are excreted from the body, giving this specific smell. Earlier we discussed that fat energy factories are the most "polluting".
It is not always possible to remove the smell completely. But most of the smell can be removed with plenty of clean water.
Those. When you drink a lot of water (from 3 liters a day), excess ketones are excreted in urine and sweat. This removes most of the scent after showering. In addition, it improves well-being (eliminates lethargy).
Interesting fact: the keto diet was originally invented for epileptics.
Why we don't recommend: the dangers of eating fat
For one simple reason: this is not a balanced diet. And such diets, which openly demonize any food, are absolutely not included in our concept: "Beauty does not require sacrifice, beauty requires health. "What freedom from the pressures of the Pope can we talk about when you exclude a large amount of food from your diet? . .
We do not deny that the body can exist more or less adequately under conditions of minimal or complete lack of carbohydrates, subject to adequate protein intake and the physiologically necessary amount of fat, but ideally we still ensure the presence ofof the three nutrients in the diet. that isUse a balanced diet to lose weight!
Is it possible to lose weight?
Often people, in search of slimness, begin to believe in all kinds of fairy tales like "exclude this group of foods and the weight will go away by itself. "This is where such monsters as the paleo diet are born.
Let's look at this interesting question with you: "Is it possible to lose weight by eliminating proteins, carbohydrates or fats from the diet? " The excellent Line McDonald will help us with this (the following are excerpts from his work).
Let's imagine that you eat a certain amount of calories, but you get them from different sources: in the first case, you will get them mainly from carbohydrates; in the second - from proteins, and in the third - from fats.
On carbohydrates
Let's imagine that we get most of our calories from carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are rarely converted to fat (a process called de novo lipogenesis) under normal dietary conditions.
There are exceptional situations, for example, chronic overeating of carbohydrates. That means 700-900 grams of net carbs per day for several days.
In this situation, carbohydrates overload glycogen stores, exceeding the required number of calories for the day, and you end up turning carbohydrates into body fat.
But when you eat more carbs, you burn more carbs and less fat. And that's why, even if carbs aren't directly converted to fat, too many carbs make you fatter.
In general, by inhibiting the breakdown of fats, an excess of carbohydrates forces you to store all the fats you eat in the form of subcutaneous reserves, preventing you from burning the existing ones.
Yes, carbs don't make you fatter through fat storage, but an excess of carbs still affects your fat stores, preventing you from burning the fat you eat during the day.
That's why exceeding your daily caloric intake by 500 calories of fat or 500 calories of carbs makes you fat, they just do it for different reasons and in different ways.
The extra 500 calories of fat are simply stored under the skin, and the 500 calories of carbohydrates make it so that all the fat eaten during the day goes into reserves, because the carbohydrates will be oxidized, not the fats.
Bottom line: When you eat more carbs, you burn more carbs and less fat; when you eat less carbs you will burn less carbs and more fat. Unexpected, right?
In a squirrel
Protein friend is never converted to fat or stored that way. But if you eat too much protein, the body will use it for energy (instead of carbohydrates and fats), which means other nutrients will go into storage.
As a result, eating too much protein will make you fat, not directly, but because all the fat you eat goes under the skin.
Of course, protein has the highest thermic effect, so more of the incoming calories will be used to digest food. Too much protein is less likely to make you fat anyway, but if the calorie balance is exceeded, you'll still gain weight.
But not through the direct conversion of protein into fat, but through a decrease in the number of other nutrients burned.
Bottom line: if you eat more protein, you burn more protein (and therefore less fat and carbs); eat less protein and you'll burn less protein (and therefore more carbs and fat). Introducing your face, you now clearly look something like this:
In fat
Dietary fats are mostly stored; if you eat more of them, it does not significantly affect the oxidation of subcutaneous fat.
When you eat fats, their fate is to be deposited in the fat reserves, because. . . their consumption has very little effect on fat oxidation. It also has no significant effect on the oxidation of proteins or carbohydrates.
Bottom line: All three options make you fatter, but the mechanisms are different.
The only difference is that fat is directly stored, and protein and carbohydrates force you to store the fat you eat.
Of course, there will be those who misunderstand that low-carb and/or low-protein diets have no advantage over others in terms of burning subcutaneous fat.
But with these diets, even though you burn more fat, you also eat fatty foods. So the overall fat balance remains the same, despite the changes in other components. No matter how you look at it, it all comes down to energy balance and calorie deficit.
You probably have a logical question, why not stop eating fat?
This is because carbohydrates are converted to fat by de novo lipogenesis. This is the case when the amount of fat consumed through the diet falls below 10% of the total calories consumed. In this case, your body starts the process of lipogenesis de novo, so you will still gain weight.
The body is smarter than us. In a situation of adequate fat intake (ie, over 10% of total calories), the fate of the fat we eat must be stored in fat stores, and proteins and carbohydrates are used for other processes.
And when the amount of fat consumed is too small, the body begins to convert carbohydrates (and most likely proteins, although much less often) to store them as fat.
Lie or truth
Of course, under certain conditions, the keto diet will work and you will lose weight. But it is not about him, nor about fats, nor about a special menu. The fact is, you'll just eat less!
Diets have been reviled for so long, but people don't believe them: and rightly so, because diets work!
Here, for example, is a meta-analysis of about 50 studies that compared 11 popular diets that can be grouped: low-carb (Atkins, South Beach, Zone), low-fat (Ornish, Rosemary Conley), balanced (Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers).
It turns out that (surprise) any weight loss diet is better than no diet at all.
After six months, people on the low-carb diet lost more weight. But the overall difference in weight loss (changes in indicators) between all diets is insignificant: a few hundred grams.
For example, on low-carbohydrate diets for 6 months, the average weight loss was 8. 73 kg and 7. 25 kg at 12 months, and on low-fat diets 7. 99 kg at 6 months and 7. 27 kg at 12month.
Research has shown that compared to a calorie-restricted diet, a low-carb diet may be slightly more effective for short-term weight loss.
This is partly due to the decrease in glycogen stores in the body (in the liver and muscles) and the accompanying fluid loss (which amounts to about 2 kg for a typical adult). But as we can see, in the long run there is very little difference between them.
A study comparing low-carb and low-fat diets over the past 2 years found that there was no significant difference in weight loss between the two.
By the way, please note that the diet was most effective in the first six months. And after a year, the weight in general began to increase. A wonderful example of metabolic adaptation.
Benefit and effect
The ketogenic diet does not make people hungry and does not cut calories. Roughly speaking, we simply compensate for the decrease in carbohydrates with proteins and fats.
Of course, this does not mean that by significantly reducing the intake of carbohydrates, you can eat fatty and protein foods. Calorie intake should be kept within normal limits. Another undoubted advantage of the keto diet is appetite control.
Many people who have been on one diet or another know that the strongest appetite comes precisely during the diet. The keto diet eliminates the feeling of hunger. Fatty and protein foods, which the keto diet is rich in, allow a person not to experience a brutal appetite and at the same time lose weight.
INJURY
Considering that the ketogenic diet emphasizes fatty and protein foods, digestive disorders are possible - heaviness in the stomach, bloating, constipation.
This is because the diet practically does not contain fiber, which is found in bread, potatoes, fruits and vegetables. To avoid digestive problems, you should consume some vegetables and fruits in minimal quantities. For example, cabbage and sour grapes are suitable.
Another disadvantage of the keto diet is the unpredictability of the lack of glucose. It is not known how your body will behave if you deprive it of such an important source of energy.
It will take time for the body to convert to ketone bodies. As a rule, in the first week a person feels regret, dizziness and general weakness. It is important to stay for at least 21 days to see the results of the diet.
A decrease in the amount of micronutrients (vitamins/minerals, etc. ) is a common occurrence with any low-carb diet, because most of the micronutrients come from carbohydrate foods. Therefore, you should use vitamin-mineral complexes.
A decrease in the acidity of the blood occurs in response due to the increase in the amount of ketones in it.
If you have problems with carbohydrate metabolism (for example, diabetes), then vomiting and "ketoacidosis" are possible. In a healthy body, ketones are used without consequences. By the way, the smell of acetone confirms this (a sign of the use of ketone).
We're already seeing keto people rushing to the comments screaming "I've been in ketosis for 116 days and I'm more active than ever! " Let's give you our personal opinion, keto people are worse than vegans in online battles. Not all, but for some reason many.
Go to any article on this topic and you will see how they pour buckets of dirt on the author, simply because he does not write odes praising fat. We always advise them to eat buckwheat and calm down.
This probably comes from the fact that a person projects his personal, internal discord onto others. This happens especially often in matters of nutrition/sports/religion. For example, a person's mind is forced to constantly argue with many factors, and such a person seeks to express arguments against them out loud, in a dispute with an external opponent, in order to feel like a winner.
Another example is that a neophyte of any food system suppresses his doubts in such disputes. In short, these people are not arguing with you, but with themselves, you better not bother them, they will bite you to death, you are made of protein and fat.
Moreover, if you personally "everything is a lie, I don't eat coal and I feel good", then this does not mean that this happens to others! An individual's personal experience cannot prove or disprove anything.
Why? Yes, because these "personal opinions" and your comments are a cart and a small cart and everyone is different. Who will you trust, who has the best nickname?
Contraindications for use
For any deviation from health, any diet or exercise should be used only after consulting a doctor. People with kidney, digestive system or intestinal diseases should not use the keto diet.
Lack of glucose at first greatly affects brain activity, so such a diet is undesirable for mental workers.
And by the way, the American Dietetic Association does not recommend the keto diet because of ketoacidosis, but recommends other diets that contain more carbohydrates.
Reference: diabetic ketoacidosis (ketoacidosis) is a variant of metabolic acidosis associated with impaired carbohydrate metabolism resulting from insulin deficiency: high concentrations of glucose and ketone bodies in the blood.
On the one hand, the keto diet is simple, on the other hand, it is very difficult. Of course, it all depends on the chosen form. Some people behave so fanatically that the diet ends badly. You can't neglect the rules of the diet, you have to listen to your body and give it a break. After all, the main thing is health, you should not forget about it. Think for yourself, decide for yourself.