This is part one of a three part series explaining the Ketogenic diet, the Cyclical Ketogenic diet and the Targeted Ketogenic diet.
Part Two and Part Three
What is a Ketogenic Diet?
A ketogenic diet is a very low-to-no carbohydrate diet that is adequate in protein and dietary fat. The purpose of a ketogenic diet is to force the body to use fatty acids as the primary energy source as opposed to glucose provided in the form carbohydrates. The brains preferred source of energy is sugar (glucose), but when carbohydrate intake is restricted, the ingested fat will be converted by the liver into ketones. When glucose is not readily available, the brain will then use ketones as its fuel source. A ketogenic diet actually mimics the starvation response; the body has to utilize fat (or body fat when in caloric deficit) for fuel.
The typical ketogenic diet usually has a fat to protein ratio of 4:1. This means that only 25% of intake will be provided by protein energy. While this is probably a sufficient amount of protein on a maintenance caloric intake, this ratio, when on a fat loss diet, will not provide enough calories from protein to maintain the lean body mass of a fitness athlete or bodybuilder. This especially rings true when taking into account their training and caloric deficit.
Some folks who are insulin resistant have been known to use a standard ketogenic diet for maintenance. These people tend to function well on very low to no carb diets.
So for bodybuilders, figure and fitness athletes, they should not follow the typical 4:1 ratio of fat to protein. Generally they should focus on a daily minimum amount of protein and fill the rest of their caloric intake with dietary fat in order to meet their desired deficit. This deficit can be any reasonable amount and as long as adequate protein is provided, maintenance of lean body mass will not not be an issue.
What is happening while following a Ketogenic Diet?
There is nothing magical or spectacular happening in terms of fat loss. The body is simply adjusting to a different fuel source: dietary and body fat. Whilst making the transition from a carb based diet to a no carb diet, the liver and muscle glycogen stores are slowly depleting and the body begins to use dietary fat and body fat for fuel. It’s important to remember that even a minimal amount of carbohydrates will take someone out of ketosis. Ketosis is not essential to fat loss, but if one chooses to diet in this fashion, it’s imperative they do so properly. It’s even more imperative to follow the guidelines especially if one is following a Cyclical Ketogenic Diet or a Targeted Ketogenic Diet, which I will discuss later in this series.
My Thoughts
If you are one of those who function well on low carbohydrates, this is the diet for you. If you do not do well on a low carbohydrate diet, I highly recommend utilizing another approach if your goal is weight loss. It usually takes a few days for your body to adapt to functioning on ketones as opposed to glucose. So give yourself at least a week to test the waters. Make note to take a fiber supplement and/or eat a few servings of green fibrous veggies daily to promote regularity. Pooping is a good thing.
In part two, I will be discussing the Cyclical Ketogenic diet.
Do any of you follow a strict ketogenic maintenance diet? Have you used a ketogenic diet in the past for fat loss?
