The Ketogenic Diet is for those who want to discover true fat loss, or to preserve muscle for those involved in athletics. The key to this diet or lifestyle is to cut down on high glycemic index carbs and focus on dietary fat and protein intake. Although the body is still in carb burning mode from the high level of physical activity, the lack of carbs available to burn leads the body to utilize dietary fats.
When you continue burning energy, the body needs to accommodate the loss by burning carbs. However, when you run out of both carbs and dietary fat, the body has no choice but to take from your body fat. It is important to note that the protein in the body cannot be converted into the free-fatty acids needed.
This doesn't mean you need to cut carbs altogether. That would be very difficult and in most cases you would not succeed in this lifestyle.
To start, take your lean mass body weight and eat enough protein to match that weight. Then multiply by four to find your protein calories per day. The average calories needed per day are about fifteen times your total body weight. This will help you maintain your current weight.
To eventually increase fat burning, you should subtract about 500 to 700 calories from your total caloric intake. Finally from Friday to Sunday is a weekend carb load in which you replenish your carbs and begin the cycle over again.
Not as hard as you thought, huh? If you have any experience with the Ketogenic Diet, let us know some tips and tricks in the comments below or learn more about how coconut oil affects the body or get these great vegan, gluten-free coconut oil recipes.