Is ketogenic Diet answer for fat loss, what about muscle gain?

In recent time term keto, has been used many times. Before we dive into Keto Diet, let’s understand what is ketosis and keto-adaptation and what they have to do with keto dieting.

Our metabolism is normally Carb adapt, means we use Carbs/glucose/glycogen as the primary source of energy in our body. Ketosis is the state of metabolism when we use ketones as the primary source of energy. So, where do these ketones come from- from eating lots and lots of fat. I know the idea of eating fat when you are already overweight or looking to shares some body fat so that you look more muscular sounds a little bizarre but this is how ketosis works. To get into ketosis so our body can convert fat to ketones to power itself takes 2-3 weeks because our metabolism is too habituated to glucose and it takes time to shift whole metabolic process, during this period you may feel out of energy and little dizzy but once our metabolism completely enters ketosis you feel more energetic and full.

How does Macros look like for ketogenic diet- 75% Fat + 20% Protein+ 5% Carbs

This is a lot of fat, I mean really. Damn!!

So, Keto is all about fat and the optimal amount of protein which is required for muscle growth and almost zero Carbs. The good part is you need not look for sources of Carbs, you will get enough from your vegetable’s intake. All you have to care about is run behind fat, just make sure it’s not processed and avoid vegetable oils. Once your body starts producing ketones and uses them for energy requirement you are keto-adapted. Once you become keto-adapted eating a few carbs once in a while won’t throw you out of ketosis but remember not every day and not too much of it.

Common mistakes we make while trying to become keto adapt –

People misunderstand the most basic thing about ketosis and assume low carbs and high fat intake is what ketosis means or maybe this happens because of fear of muscle loss during ketosis and that makes them increase their protein intake multifold which induces “gluconeogenesis (GNG)”.

• Why Gluconeogenesis is Bad for Ketosis-

Our body’s preferred source of fuel is glucose, which it gets first from carbs on a standard diet. However, if enough carbs aren’t present, which is the case when you’re eating low-carb or ketogenic, the body will have to turn to other sources of energy.

The purpose of the keto diet is to have the body break down fatty acids, which then produces ketones for energy. However, there’s another way the body can create carbohydrate-style energy in the body—by breaking down amino acids from the protein in your muscles. Gluconeogenesis (GNG) is the process by which body turns protein into glycogen that can be used as glucose to burn for fuel. This causes two problems

1. When the body turns to protein for fuel, it will never let the body to enter into ketosis. So, we may be assuming as we are eating low carb and high fat we are in ketosis but this is not the case.
2. Protein is for muscle recovery and growth but if our body starts using it as fuel, our muscle mass will start declining which we don’t want.

So, remember ketogenic Diet is – High fat + Low carbs + Moderate protein

How it will cause body fat loss-

Once our body becomes keto adapt- breaks fatty acids to make ketones and uses them to fuel itself. What we have to make sure is to eat little calorie deficit than our maintenance calories (calories needed to maintain same body weight). When our body is calorie deficit on ketones it starts using stored fat on cells to meet its energy requirement and bang we start losing body fat, as simple as that.

Can we use ketosis for muscle gain and still stay shredded and lean-

If your body composition is already muscular and you are planning to go into ketosis to become more shredded, it will be equally effective for you. One thing to remember is to do not fear for muscle loss during the phase and increase your protein intake because it will either not let you enter to ketosis or can through you out of it. Stick to the basic definition of ketosis and you are going to do well.

If you are planning to gain muscle while in ketosis, you have to add surplus calorie to your maintenance calorie level and these calories have to come from fat only. Don’t fear still you will be able to burn excess body fat and gain muscles.

How much amount of protein is optimal for ketosis-

First, you have to find how many calories you have to eat per day if you want to lose weight(calorie deficit), there are many calorie calculators that you can find online. 20 % of those calories have to come from protein intake (protein shakes + protein-rich food), rest of the calories are reserved for fat.

Million-dollar Advice –

Ketosis can cause electrolyte imbalance if you don’t include a good amount of sodium (salt), and magnesium/ potassium-rich food in your ketogenic diet. If you get magnesium/ potassium deficient, you have to take supplements or pills to get out of deficiency, so be careful about this. You can also go for blood and liver tests to any local labs once you are keto adapt for 3-4 months, that’s not going to cost much and can find ketones level or any salt deficiencies in your body.

Grocery list for keto diet-

• Eggs
• Avocados
• Heavy cream, half and half, almond milk, coconut milk
• Coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, butter, ghee, duck fat, tallow, schmaltz, bacon grease
• Vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes, green beans, kale, spinach, swiss chard, eggplant, Romaine lettuce, zucchini, mushrooms, asparagus, cabbage, bok choy, spaghetti squash
• Various hard cheeses, cream cheese
• Nuts and nut butter
• Various salami and deli meat
• Meat: chicken breast, chicken thigh, whole chicken, pork shoulder, pork loin, pork belly, bacon, goat, lamb, steak (sirloin, ribeye, flank, hanger, flat iron, chuck), ground meat (turkey, beef, pork, lamb)
• Fish: shrimp, crab, salmon, tuna, sardines, swordfish, mackerel, cod
• Bouillon cubes or bones for homemade stock

Get back to me, if you need any clarification Cheers.