The ketogenic diet is based on the principle that by depleting the body of carbohydrates, which are its primary source of energy, you can force the body to burn fat for fuel, thereby maximizing weight loss. When you consume foods that contain carbohydrates, the body converts those carbohydrates into glucose, or blood sugar, which it then uses for energy
Because glucose is the simplest form of energy for the body to use, it’s always used for energy before your body turns to stored fat for fuel
On a ketogenic diet, the goal is to restrict carbohydrate intake so that the body must break down fat for energy. When this occurs, fat is broken down in the liver, producing ketones, which are by-products of your metabolism. These ketones are then used to fuel the body in the absence of glucose.
How to Follow the Ketogenic Diet
There are several types of keto, but essentially, to achieve a state of ketosis, you have to severely reduce the amount of carbs you eat. (You can use a ketogenic calculator to create a custom food plan.) Data suggest the average American man age 20 or older consumes 46.4 percent of his daily calories from carbs, and the average American woman older than 20 consumes 48.2 percent of her daily calories from carbs.
But in the classic ketogenic diet, which was originally used to manage seizure disorders, 80 to 90 percent of calories come from fat, 5 to 15 percent come from protein, and 5 to 10 percent come from carbohydrates.
A modified version of the ketogenic diet, which allows you to eat protein more liberally — at 20 to 30 percent of your total calories — with the same carbohydrate restriction, is the more commonly used version of the diet today. Some of the aims of the latest version of the ketogenic diet are weight loss, weight management, and improved athletic performance.
