How to Get into Ketosis (and Stay There)

How to Reach Ketosis

The following are the steps that you need to take to achieve ketosis:

1. Restrict your carbohydrate intake. – To reach optimal ketosis, you will need to consume 20 digestible grams of carbs per day or less. The quantity of fiber that you consume is not restricted.

2. Decrease your protein consumption. – You need to also be careful about the amount of protein that you consume. Your consumption of protein should be at a moderate level. Your target should be about one gram of protein per kilogram of body weight daily.

What this means concretely is that if you weigh 70 kilos, then you should have no more than 70 grams of protein daily. The most typical problem that people encounter in achieving ketosis is the consumption of too much protein.

3. Increase your fat intake. – Fat is not restricted in the same way that protein is. The trick to achieving a sustainable diet is to satisfy yourself from fat intake. If you starve yourself, you will not be able to keep to your diet. Only sensible diets work.

4. Limit snacking. – If you are not hungry, then you should not snack. When you snack, it impedes your weight loss and reduces ketosis.

The state of ketosis is not an all-or-nothing thing. The optimal state of ketosis, where fat burning is maximized, is measured at 1.5 to 3 mmol/L of ketones.

How Long Does It Take to Reach Ketosis?

The rate at which a person achieves ketosis varies from person to person. Each person has a unique metabolism. As well, people have varying resistance to insulin, and other biological issues pertain.

Generally speaking, you can expect that you will achieve ketosis within a period of 2-10 days from the outset of your diet program. Some people have claimed that they have reached ketosis in a single day.

Typically speaking, you will not achieve ketosis if you eat more than 30 grams of carbohydrate per day.

How to Choose Foods on the Diet

Essentially, you will need to drastically reduce the amount of carbohydrate you consume daily to reach ketosis. What this means is that you will need to decrease your consumption of:

1. Grains

2. Sugar

3. Alcohol

4. Starchy vegetables, such as potatoes and artichokes

Coconut Oil

Ccoconut oil can help you get into ketosis. Apparently, coconut oil contains fats called medium-chain triglycerides. These fats are rapidly absorbed and transported directly to the liver. There, they can be used directly for energy or converted into ketones.

When you wish to add coconut oil to your diet, it’s good to do it slowly. This will diminish any digestive side effects, such as cramping or diarrhea.

Increase Your Physical Activity

Being more active can help your body get into the state of ketosis. When you exercise, you deplete your body of its glycogen stores. If carb intake is minimized, these stores stay low. In reaction to this, the liver increases the production of ketones.

Try a Short Fast or Fat Fast

You can actually achieve ketosis by fasting for several hours. Many people go into a mild state of ketosis between the time of dinner and breakfast. Intermittent fasting can be useful in achieving ketosis.

Fat fasting can mimic the effects of fasting. To do this, you will eat about 1,000 calories daily. 85-90% of those calories will be from fat. It has been shown that a fat fast can help people lose weight.

A fat fast can only be followed for a maximum of three to five days, however. Otherwise, there is a risk of losing muscle mass.

The Signs and Symptoms of Ketosis

Here are 10 common signs and symptoms that will indicate that you are in a state of ketosis:

1. Bad breath

People often say that they have bad breath when they go into full ketosis. Elevated ketone levels are responsible for acetone being present in your urine and breath. The bad breath usually goes away after you are on the diet for a while.

2. Weight loss

Ketogenic diets are great for losing weight. Rapid weight loss can occur during your first week on the diet.

3. Increased ketones in the blood

You will experience a reduction in blood sugar levels and an increase in ketone levels.

4. Increased ketones in the urine

5. Decreased appetite

Many people on the diet say that they have decreased appetite. The reason for this is currently being investigated.

6. Increased focus and energy

Although people report some tiredness when they first start the diet, in the long term, ketogenic dieters often say that they have increased focus and energy. Ketones are a potent fuel source for the brain.

7. Short-term fatigue

8. Short-term decreases in performance

9. Digestive issues

Although some people get constipation and diarrhea in the beginning of the diet, these issues should subside in the long run.

10. Insomnia

Although some people on the diet report insomnia at the outset of the diet, this should also subside in a few weeks.

Conclusion

This article has given a simplified version of what ketosis and ketogenic diets are. The biology that surrounds the state of ketosis is complicated, and more information is available on the internet about it.

Essentially, the take-away lesson from this article is that you can safely lose weight by reducing your intake of carbohydrates and increasing your consumption of fat. This puts the body in a state where it will burn your fat stores.

The ketogenic diet is easy to keep and allows you to be satiated from the foods that you eat. For this reason, it is a wise and sensible choice for the dieter. You should always consult your doctor before going on any diet to make sure that your plan is safe and effective.

Article source: https://dietingwell.com/how-to-get-into-ketosis/