How To Optimize The Low Carb Keto Diet To Your Needs
Every person’s body is different. So the results of the low carb keto diet are different from person to person. Learn how you can optimize it to work best for you.
When you look at all of the popular diets right now, the ketogenic diet certainly gets more discussion than most. But taking it as gospel and failing to make any deviations from the path will prove ineffective.
In order to get the sort of results you desire, you must optimize the low carb keto diet to your individual needs.
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What Is The Ketogenic Diet?
You’ve heard your friends talk about it and maybe even done a little research of your own. But to optimize the low carb keto diet to your personal health needs and objectives, you have to begin by understanding exactly what it is.
In essence, the ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that’s designed to improve health, shed excess weight, and enhance your overall sense of well-being.
There’s also evidence to suggest it may help with serious and chronic health conditions such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, and even some types of cancer.
In a general sense, the low carb keto diet shares many of the same principles as the Atkins diet.
The goal is to significantly reduce carbohydrate intake and replace it with healthy fats that place your body in a metabolic state known as ketosis. This causes the body to burn fat for energy and reduce blood sugar and insulin levels.
How To Make The Low Carb Keto Diet Work For You?
“There is no one size fits all plan. Your genetics, lifestyle, current medical status and goals all need to be taken into consideration when formulating a plan for long term success,” London Wellness explains. “In addition, in our current culture of social media and access to information, it is easy to become confused about what the facts are.”
There are a handful of different versions of the ketogenic diet, including:
- Standard ketogenic diet (SKD),
- Cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD),
- Targeted ketogenic diet (TKD),
- High-protein ketogenic diet (HPKD).
But even beyond this, there are other ways for people – such as yourself – to optimize this low carb diet. Here are some specific things to think about:
1. Get Your Gut Right
When you look at people who follow the low carb keto diet and don’t get the results they’re looking for, it can often be traced back to poor digestive health.
Since fats are one of the main sources of nutrition in this diet, it’s imperative that you make sure your gut can absorb them well.
“Studies have shown that having specific strains of gut bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract regulates the digestion and absorption of fats,” Hyperbiotics explains, “with some strains promoting the production of the digestive enzymes needed to break down certain fats and others regulating the uptake of fat into the intestines for use in the body.”
If you’ve never taken the time to study your gut health, now would be a good time to see a qualified nutritionist. He/she can run some tests and help you understand what’s happening deep inside your body.
2. Prioritize Exercise And Fitness
The low carb keto diet isn’t designed to be a permanent diet. Doing it for too long can actually lead to excessive muscle loss when combined with a rigorous exercise routine.
Having said that, you still need to engage in physical activity when on the diet. The goal, as always, is to burn more calories than you consume. Daily exercise will help you achieve this objective.
3. Eat Foods You Enjoy
How many times have you done a diet and thought to yourself, “This is terrible; I can’t live like this!”
Well, the low carb keto diet shouldn’t be like this. If you’re miserable on this diet, you’re doing something wrong.
In order to keep yourself on track, eat foods that you enjoy. There’s flexibility in this diet, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find meals that you like.
This will give you the motivation to keep pushing through.
4. Take Your Diet And Nutrition Off Autopilot
It’s time to stop looking at your diet, nutrition, and overall health and wellness as something that can be automated.
Even when you run across a diet that’s as regimented and “proven” as the ketogenic diet, you should be wary of being too strict.
Every person is unique and your health history, unique characteristics, and wellness goals should all be considered when following the low carb keto diet.
