Anyone of you who have ever tried dieting to loose weight or to be fit may have heard the ketogenic or simply keto diet, because, keto diet is now became one of the most admired techniques to loose weight and to improve fitness all over the globe.

If anyone just want to start your health and fitness goal this year then you may checkout the keto diet plan. The keto diet is a nutrition plan contains very low-carb and high-fat diet that forces your body to burning fat for energy. Over 20 studies showed that the keto diet can actually help you to loose fat and improve your well-being.

This article explains what to eat and avoid on a keto diet and some meal idea for you perusal. A detailed beginner’s guide to the keto diet is as follows:

About ketogenic diet

The ketogenic diet is mainly contain very low-carb and high-fat that drastically reducing carb and increasing fat intake. Carbohydrates are considerably reduced to more or less 50 grams per day while fat takes the place of carbs and deliver about 75% of total calorie intake. Proteins and carbohydrates should provide 20% and 5% of calories. This type of diet is called standard ketogenic diet (SKD) [1].

This low carb diets can puts your body into ketosis, a metabolic state, when your body depends on ketones. Due to this process, your body can efficiently burn fat for its energy. Along with the body turns the fat into ketogens in the liver in the absence of glucose [2]. It takes three days to enter the state ketosis after starting the diet.

This low-carb diets have diuretic effects, so, you have to drink at least 8 glass of water per day otherwise you may feel constipated and dizziness. Another point is you have to add enough salt to your diet to balance electrolytes.

At the beginning time of diet you may feel sluggish, so, to avoid this you have to stay active trough low-intensity workout like walking and yoga. You can start your high-intensity workout after you feel energized.

Benefits

Ketogenic diets may have some benefits against several diseases like type 2 diabetes, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease and even cancer. It lowers blood sugars and the insulin levels [3].

It can also improve the symptoms of Perkinson's disease [4] and polycystic ovary syndrome [5]. Ketogenic diets reduce hunger and you may feel full longer time that is very helpful during weight loss. It increases good cholesterol, reduces risks of cardiovascular disease. It may decrease appetite and cravings. Those who have epilepsy or type 2 diabetes please consult their doctor before to start the diet.

Some types of keto diet

Different types of ketogenic diets are there based on its strict or loose version which are as follows:

ü Standard ketogenic diet (SKD): Very low-carb, moderate-protein and high-fat diet.

ü Cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD): Five ketogenic days followed by 2 high-carb days.

ü Targeted ketogenic diet (TKD): This may allow carbs.

ü High-protein ketogenic diet (HKD): include more proteins [6].

The cyclical and targeted diet are used by the athletes and bodybuilders. Extensively studied diets are standard and high-protein ketogenic diet. Many research has approved that keto diet is much better than very low-fat diet in weight loss programme. Study found that a keto person loss 2.2 times more weight than a low-fat diet person [7].

In keto diet, it is not necessary to eat 4 to 6 meal per day, eat only when you are hungry, it is a key step to keto diet, whether, it naturally suppress appetite [8].

What to eat:

You may eat following food items on a keto diet:

Eggs
Poultry: Chicken, turkey
Fatty fish: Salmon, tuna
Meat: Beef, pork
Dairy products: Butter, yogurt, full fat cream, cheddar, mozzarella, cream cheese
Nuts and seeds: Almond, walnuts, peanuts, pistachios, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds
Butter: Peanut, almond and cashew butter
Oils: Healthy oils like coconut oil, olive oil, sesame oil, avocado oil
Vegetables: Non-starchy veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, raw garlic, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, leafy green veggies like spinach, lettuce
Fruits: Lemon, cucumber, avocado, strawberries
Herbs and spices: All fresh herbs and spices, salt, pepper, vinegar
Beverages: Green tea, water, coffee (sugar free)

What not to eat:

High-carb food must be avoided during the keto diet. Put a restrictions on following foods:

Breads: All breads (white and brown), cookies, doughnuts
Sugary foods: Sugar, candy, ice cream, maple syrup, honey, pastries, chocolate
Beverages: Soda, sport drinks, packaged health drinks, juice, beer
Grains: Rice, wheat, oats, corn
Noodles: Pasta, spaghetti
Vegetables: Starchy veggies like potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, squash, peas, onion
Beans: Chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans
Fruits: Bananas, pineapples, grapes, oranges, apples, raisins
Unhealthy fats: Margarine, corn oil, soybean oil
Processed food: Junk food, fast food, packaged food, processed meat, ketchup