Do you ever wonder if you should follow a Ketogenic diet or low-fat diet?
What's the ketogenic diet? It's a low-carb diet to the extreme.
Keto diet suggests that 75% of your daily calories should come from fat, 20% from protein, and only 5% from carbohydrates.
So it only takes a few days of being on this diet for your body to enter ketosis. Ketosis is when your body burns fat instead of glucose/carbohydrates for fuel.
Many celebrities like Katie Couric, Kim Kardashian, and Gwyneth Paltrow are fan of the Keto diet.
So what is the real difference between a ketogenic diet and a low-fat diet?
While many may still believe that reducing fat intake is the way to lose weight. Studies have shown that low carb diet plans (which Keto diet is one) are actually more effective for both weight loss and also reduce high cholesterol.
What Is Ketogenic Diet?
There are many kinds of low carbohydrate diets. The ketogenic diet restricts your carb intake to 20 to 50 grams a day. With such low carb intake, your body will go into a metabolic state called ketosis.
Ketosis generally occurs when you are consuming about 20 grams of carbohydrates per day.
Example Of A Ketogenic Diet Menu Plan:
Breakfast: bacon and eggs, black tea with cream and stevia
Snack: some cheese with celery, or plain yogurt with some low sugar fruits like berries, nuts, string cheese, eggs, a small portion of plain popcorn, hard boiled egg, turkey lettuce wrap
Lunch: Tuna salad with avocado, lettuce and baby greens, or burger wrapped in lettuce
Snack: avocado, cottage cheese, plain greek yogurt, veggie stick with nut butter
Dinner: wild-caught salmon with a side of vegetables cooked in coconut oil, or grass-fed beef with vegetables in butter or a side salad with olive oil and vinegar
Low Carb Versus Low Fat Diet
You Don't Have To Feel Hungry
With a ketogenic diet, you won't feel deprived because you have a wide choice of whole food to pick from. Keto diet includes foods like meats, seafood, cheese, non-starchy vegetables and fruits, nuts and seeds, and healthy fats.
So it is easier to stick to a Keto diet than a low-fat diet because low carb foods help to control appetite. Also, low carb foods tend to be less addictive so you feel satisfied after eating.
Eliminating carbs from your diet also helps to control your blood sugar level, preventing it from spikes which will cause more craving for carb.
What Is A Sustainable Diet?
A sustainable diet must taste good and be enjoyable or else you may abandon it. And if a diet is sustainable then the success rate of long term weight loss is higher.
So in regards to what we just talked about, a low carb diet wins over a low-fat diet. That is because if you feel satisfied and not deprived, the chance of sticking with a particular diet is so much higher.
Sticking to a low carb diet is more of a lifestyle change, at least for a period of time to achieve ideal weight loss.
What The Studies Show
Studies have shown that a ketogenic diet program is very effective in helping people lose weight fast in a short time period.
A study by the Duke University Medical Center showed that a low carbohydrate diet retains more of the participants than the low-fat group did. And they also lost more weight and achieved a higher decrease in triglyceride levels.
Low-Fat Diet Has Many Restrictions
Because a low-fat diet has a lot of restrictions, you will be tempted constantly to satisfy your cravings. On the other hand, a ketogenic diet does not restrict you to the same level. Thus it's easier to stick to a Keto diet.
At the same time, it is easier to maintain your weight loss plan. And make it a lifestyle change instead of a fad diet.
More Studies Support Low Carb Diets Over Low Fat
There are more than 20 randomized controlled trials published since 2002, in peer-reviewed journals, about the Ketogenic diet. They demonstrated that low carb diets are in fact more effective in weight loss and completely safe if used for a period of time like a few months.
Even though many studies support the fact that low carb diets win over low-fat diets in terms of weight loss, you should always consult your doctor before starting any diet plan.
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