What is Keto?

Keto is short for ketogenic. Being on the ketogenic lifestyle, or adopting the ketogenic diet as a lifestyle, means you are making a conscious effort to:

  • consume unprocessed fatty cuts of red meats
  • consume whole eggs, unprocessed fatty cuts of white meats, and unprocessed seafood
  • consume limited amounts of dark green leafy vegetables, broccoli, asparagus, and cauliflower.
  • avoid consuming processed foods, sugars, sweeteners, and carbohydrates
  • avoid consuming all grains, seeds and nuts
  • forcing the body to produce ketones as a result of carbohydrate restriction
  • putting you in a consistent state of ketosis – nobody remains in a constant state of ketosis
  • eventually conditioning the body to be ketone-adapted (fat-adapted) – preferring to use blood ketones instead of blood glucose as it’s primary energy source

The ketogenic lifestyle is NOT

  • a short-term diet
    • you will NOT reap the benefits of being ketone-adapted in a short period of time
  • chasing blood ketone levels
    • higher blood ketones doesn’t mean it’s better for you
  • chasing the state of ketosis
    • becoming ketone-adapted is the key, not staying in ketosis all the time
  • chasing weight loss
    • weight loss is a beneficial side effect of being ketone-adapted
  • eating “keto foods”
    • most foods which are labelled “keto” are highly processed with faked nutritional counts
  • consuming supplements or exogenous ketones to stay in ketosis
    • the cost of exogenous ketones will eventually make the lifestyle unsustainable
    • consumption of exogenous ketones does NOT allow the body to burn stored fat

Benefits of being on the ketogenic lifestyle

  • body runs on cleaner energy as a result of using ketones instead of glucose
  • weight loss due to the body metabolising stored fat to ketones for energy
  • better control of blood glucose levels due to low carbohydrates consumption – reversal of diabetes
  • lower body inflammation levels due to avoiding high-inflammation oils in seeds and it’s
  • an overall healthier lifestyle from choosing to eat more whole foods over processed foods

Types of ketogenic diet

  • Healthy Keto (Strict Keto) Diet
  • Carnivore Diet
  • Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) Diet
  • Low Carb High Protein (LCHP) Diet
  • Cyclic Keto Diet
  • Dirty Keto Diet or Lazy Keto Diet

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