Article #06
Introduction
The ketogenic diet is one of the most popular weight-loss diets in the world. Its popularity is mainly attributed to its effectiveness in helping people lose weight as well as enhancing overall body health and wellness.
So, are you thinking of following the ketogenic diet but wondering if you are making the right decision? If that is the case then today you are in the right place. Although the keto diet is one of the best weight loss programs in the world, how you follow the diet will determine whether you will get the results that you are looking for or not.
The reason why many people don’t get what they are looking for is that they make costly mistakes. In this article, we will discuss in detail the mistakes to avoid on a ketogenic diet.
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What is the ketogenic diet?
The ketogenic diet, commonly referred to as the keto diet is a diet that aims to restrict carbohydrate intake so that your body breaks down fat for energy. The idea is you cut back on most carbs that are easy to digest like soda, sugar, and white bread, and get more calories from fat and protein. The Keto diet is based on the principle that when you deplete the body of carbs, which is usually the primary source of energy, you will force it to burn fat for fuel thus aiding in weight loss.
Glucose is the simplest form of energy and that is why the body usually uses it first before it burns stored fat for fuel. When you restrict the consumption of carbohydrates, your body will be forced to break down fat for fuel. Fat is broken down by the liver to produce ketones, which are then used to fuel the body.
The ketogenic diet’s main goal is to drive your body into ketosis, where it burns fat for energy instead of carbs. The process produces acid known as ketones which is a more efficient fuel than glucose.
Warning to dieters
Over the last couple of years, the number of food companies claiming to manufacture “keto certified” and “keto-friendly” diets have mushroomed. Unfortunately, a majority of the food manufacturers use techniques that have no scientific backing. They are using these two terms: “keto certified” and “keto-friendly” to trick the user to think that they are buying a genuine keto-friendly diet but in reality, the diet does work as they claim.
Before buying any food that claims to be keto-friendly, ensure that you read the label carefully to know the ingredients used and their nutritional facts. This way, you will know if the diet is keto-friendly is not. For instance, if a diet claims to be keto-friendly, but it contains high carb content, then that is a clear indication that the food is not keto friendly as they claim. A keto diet should contain a considerably low amount of carbs (less than 5%). If you fail to read the label on the food carefully, you may end up buying food that is not keto certified, meaning it will not give you the results that you are looking for.
Mistakes to avoid on a ketogenic diet
- Not getting enough electrolytes
The first mistake that most people make when using the keto diet is not getting enough electrolytes. Electrolytes are chemicals that conduct electricity when mixed with water. They play a crucial role in regulating nerve and muscles functions, balance the body acidity and pressure, hydrate the body, help rebuild damaged tissues, and much more.
If you don’t get enough electrolytes when following a ketogenic diet, you are likely to suffer from keto flu symptoms, which include muscles ache and weakness, fatigue, nausea, and brain fog.
When you start using the keto diet, your body will burn glycogen (stored glucose) rapidly because of decreased intake of carbs. As a result, you will urinate frequently. Although the increase in urination will be temporary until your body stabilizes, if you don’t have enough electrolytes in your body, then you may not like the experience that you will get while following this diet program.
Additionally, it may take longer before your body enters into the state of ketosis. To prevent this, ensure that body maintains healthy electrolyte levels. You can also consume high-quality electrolyte supplements. Also, drink salty water every morning and before you perform your work. This will help boost your electrolyte level. Important electrolytes that your body needs to have include calcium, chloride, phosphorous, magnesium, potassium, and sodium.
- Not eating enough greens
Another mistake that most people make when following the keto diet is not eating enough greens. If you are the kind of person who prefers eating fat and protein, only, then you are making a huge mistake. Vegetables are also an important source of nutrition that you need when following the keto diet. They contain minerals, vitamins, fiber, and much more that will not only help to enhance your health during this crucial time but will also help you get to ketosis quickly.
Make sure you eat vegetables that are low in carbs such as zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, mushroom, and much more. High carb vegetables to avoid include squash, beans, potatoes, peas, and corn.
- Not exercising
There is a common misconception that people who follow the keto diet don’t need to exercise. That is not true. In fact, you will do more harm than good to your body if you don’t exercise. Combining exercise with the keto diet when helps to control your blood sugar as well as reduce insulin resistance. This will help your body get into ketosis quickly, thus ennobling you to achieve your weight loss goal fast.
Exercise will also accelerate your metabolisms and burning of calories. The Keto diet mainly comprises high-fat foods that contain a lot of calories. Exercise will help to speed up the fat-burning process. Important exercises that will help you while following the keto diet including running, cycling, aerobic exercises, and strength training. Create an exercise routine that works for you and be consistent.
- Not getting enough sleep
Getting enough and quality sleep is crucial when following the ketogenic diet. When following this diet your hormones will be operating over time. You need to get enough sleep of at least 7-8 hours to avoid stressing your hormones. For instance, if you don’t get enough sleep, it will result in a high cortisol level which could lead to increased cravings, fat gain, and in some cases, complete disruption of your sex hormones.
Getting enough sleep will help your body repair damaged tissues after a workout. Research has shown that getting enough sleep while following the keto diet will encourage your body to enter into the state of ketosis quickly.
Sleep is crucial nutrition for the brain and not getting enough of it could trigger your body to react in ways that could reverse the strides you have made when following the keto diet. So, ensure that you get quality sleep every night.
Some of the things you can do to increase your quality of sleep include sleeping in a chilly room and also ensuring that the room is completely dark. You can also use an earplug to minimize sound distractions.
- Not getting enough water
Not staying well hydrated when following is a big mistake that most people make when following the keto diet. A Keto diet involves limiting your car intake. This means you need to drink a lot of water to prevent your body from dehydrating. Consuming plenty of water each day will help prevent constipation, which is a common side effect while following the keto diet.
Crucial functions in your bossy such as digestion need plenty of water. Additionally, you will also sweat a lot when performing an exercise. The only way to maintain the healthy function of crucial organs in your body while following the keto diet is by rehydrating regularly.
You need to ensure that your water bottle is not far from you all the time. Hydrate all the time even when you are not thirsty. Most people usually hydrate when they are thirsty. However, that is a big mistake. You should drink plenty of water to prevent constipation and dizziness.
- Eating too much protein and too little carbs
Although protein is crucial when following the keto diet, eating too much is not a wise idea. Eating too much protein may trigger a metabolic response that may increase your blood sugar level. This is dangerous and may get you out of ketosis. Ensure you consume the recommended amount of protein (20%) when following the ketogenic diet.
Some experts argue that you can eat as much protein as you wish. However, a recent study showed that consuming a lot of protein may lead to gluconeogenesis (excess protein is converted to glucose) and that may kick you out of ketosis.
Additionally, you don’t need to consume too few carbs. As much as your body will use fat for fuel, you also need some small carbs to provide supplemental energy, especially when performing strenuous activities like exercise. Make sure you consume the recommended amount of carbs (5%) when following the keto diet for optimal functioning of your body.
- Eating the wrong fats
Fats should comprise almost 75% of your diet while following the ketogenic diet. However, the type of fat that you consume matters a lot. The mistake that most people make is eating any fats they come across, including those that are bad, thinking they are beneficial.
When you eat saturated and trans fat, you will increase your bad cholesterol level and that will increase the risk of getting type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Although it is not possible to completely eliminate bad fat from your diet, you should try as much as possible to limit their intake and increase the intake of good fats.
- Not eating enough fat
Besides avoiding saturated fat, you also need to ensure that you consume enough good fat. Monounsaturated fat will help boost your good cholesterol and also play a crucial role in ensuring that you are into ketosis quickly.
Remember the main purpose of this diet is to force your body to enter into ketosis and that can only happen if you consume enough fat. Your diet should contain 75% of good fat in order to operate 100% on fat. If you are used to eating a lot of fat, you may struggle at first but you will get used to it over time.
- Being obsessed over losing weight
This is a huge mistake that most people make when following the keto diet. Although your main goal is to lose weight, you should not let it get over your head. If you become obsessed with losing weight, chances are that you may end giving up if you don’t see tangible results after following this diet for a while. As much as you want to lose weight, need to be realistic and know that it may take time before you get the results that you are looking for.
Losing weight is not an overnight process, is a continuous process that takes time and needs consistency. So when you start following this diet program, don’t be obsessed about losing weight because you may become depressed if you fail to achieve your goal. Instead, have an open mind and know it is not the end of the world if things don’t go as you had planned.
- Eating too many calories
The main goal of following the keto diet is to lose weight. When you consume too many calories, then it will be very difficult to achieve your weight loss target. You need to ensure that you don’t consume too many calories.
The recommended calories intake per day when following the keto diet is between 600 and 800. A majority of your calories should come from fat, a little protein, and very few carbs. Ketosis will only occur if you consume the recommended amount of calories.
- Eating too many cheating foods
It is okay to have cheat meals once in a while but eating too many is a huge mistake. Cheat meals are usually high on carbs and if you eat them frequently you may get out of ketosis, meaning you will be forced to start all over again.
If you want to have cheat meals you have to be smart about it. You need to ensure that your cheats don’t take you out of ketosis. For instance, instead of eating meals that are high in carbs, you should opt for those that are low in carbs like cauliflower crust pizza. This way, you can enjoy your favorite meal but still not get out of ketosis.
When you eat meals, keep in mind that a single miscalculation will get you out of ketosis and it will take you up to one week to get back on track. So be smart when you do cheats.
- Forgetting about fiber
Just because your diet should mainly comprise fat and protein does not mean that you should forget about fiber. A study published in Annals of Internal Medicine showed that eat 30 grams of fiber each day while following a keto diet can help you lose weight quickly.
Fiber will also help you feel full for along, thus reducing your food craving. This means you will eat less meaning you will lose weight faster. So, when following this diet, don’t forget about fiber because it will help you lose weight faster. Fiber will also help to enhance your metabolism, thus help your body burn food faster.
- Not doing the research before you start
Another big mistake that most people make when following this diet is not doing proper research before they start fowling this diet plan. In fact, one of the reasons why most people don’t get the result that they are looking for from this diet plan is because they don’t know a lot about it.
Just because this diet plan has helped your friend lose weight does not mean that it will also have the same effect on you. So, you need to research to know more about this diet plan before you make your final decision. The more informed you are about this diet plan, the better decision you will make.
Research to know what this diet plan is all about, how it works, how long it takes before you get the results that you are looking for as well as the results to expect. This way you know whether keto is suitable for you or not.
- Not having a plan
If you want to succeed when following the keto diet plan, you need to have a good plan of how you are going to achieve your weight loss goal. The reason why main people fail to achieve their goals is because of a lack of a well-thought-out plan.
There are many techniques that people use to achieve their goals when using these diet plans. If you use your friend’s plan, chances are you that you may fail. The best thing to do is to research then come up with a custom plan that suits your needs. You need to know the types of food that you will eat, when to eat and how often to eat. You also need to have a fallback plan, just in case your first plan fails to give you a good result. You will only succeed in the keto diet if you create a good plan that works for you.
Conclusion
If you are planning to try a keto diet plan, you are making the right decision. The Keto diet is one of the most effective diet plans for those who want to lose weight. It gives quality results within a short time without subjecting users to nasty side effects, as is the case with other weight loss diet plans. However, in order to get the quality results that you are looking for, there are some mistakes you need to avoid as discussed above.
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