Originally used as a therapeutic measure for children with epilepsy and for people with type 2 diabetes, the ketogenic diet now known as an effective weight loss method.
Experts with ‘Business Insider‘ said, however, caution that the keto diet can quickly become frustrating and discouraging. They advise other methods to lose weight.
Keto means strict control and abstinence
On a keto diet, 70 to 80 percent of your daily calorie needs come from fat and 20 to 25 percent from protein. Carbohydrates are hardly allowed and sugar not at all.
This change in diet causes the body to switch to starvation mode after a short time and begins to draw energy from its fat stores. This state is called ketosis.
That Ketosis can lead to rapid success in losing weight is undisputed. However, many find the high-fat, low-carb keto diet difficult.
Especially at the beginning of the diet, eating becomes a pure arithmetic task. The diet also requires a completely new way of thinking: foods that are actually considered healthy are suddenly taboo.
Some types of fruit and vegetables contain a comparatively large amount of carbohydrates. Cauliflower and avocados could be considered staples of the keto diet. On the other hand, you have to stay away from carrots and apples – they naturally contain too much sugar for the ketogenic diet.
Experts see this as a problem.
The keto diet can help, but not so much processed foods to take and the reduce consumption of sugar. However, due to the severe restrictions, consistent keto followers have missed out on many valuable foods, some of which are also anti-inflammatory.
Eating a varied diet, at least within the permitted foods, is becoming an urgent duty for everyone who wants to follow a ketogenic diet. Otherwise, the increased protein and meat consumption can affect kidney health and promote gout.
In the picture gallery: 10 basics of a healthy diet
Social isolation through dietary regulations
Wendy Wood, a habit-forming psychology professor at the University of Southern California, explains why keto is failing so many people. It starts with the role in the social environment:
“You can’t just hang out with your friends and go out for a quick meal or meet someone for a drink after work anymore because most of the time the food on offer doesn’t fit the diet,” says Wood, describing the situation for those trying keto . This can lead to a feeling of social isolation.
Too many food choices
Even more of a hindrance to following the keto diet is the natural convenience of people. Every day, those on a keto diet have to make countless decisions about what is and isn’t edible.
For most people, this is too exhausting in the long run. Because we all work with an inner autopilot: Around 40 percent of our daily routine consists of habits that we don’t think about.
“If you’re constantly struggling and thinking about what to do and what not to do, there’s a good chance you’ll eventually give up and go to your usual routine habit patterns returns,” says Wood.
New habits as an individual weight loss program
This is where the alternative proposal of the nutrition experts comes in. They advise: Establish simple and conscious eating routines that you can easily stick to and that have the potential to become a habit over time.
Two nutrition experts — Mayo Clinic’s Jason Ewoldt and Cleveland Clinic’s Julia Zumpano — told Business Insider what they eat on a typical workday:
Both prepare their lunch at home and then take it to work. Both select foods that rich in dietary fiber and protein but low in sugar, such as nuts, cheese and fresh vegetables.
Wood says, “Once you make a habit of eating healthy, you stick with it, even when presented with unhealthy options.”
The main thing is balanced and easy to implement
A 2009 in ‘New England Journal of Medicine‘ published study supports this claim by finding that it doesn’t matter how much fat, protein and carbohydrate you eat…
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