If you’re looking to lose weight, you’ve probably heard of the keto diet. Most people have, because it’s one of the fastest-growing fad diets, claiming to be both sustainable and effective. If you want to jumpstart your weight loss journey on the keto diet, then check out this article about how much weight you can lose in a week on the diet!
The Basics Of The Ketogenic Diet
First off, let’s talk about what exactly is the ketogenic diet. The keto diet differs from traditional low-carb diets in that it focuses more on fats and proteins rather than carbohydrates. This is essentially because it promotes ketosis, which is a metabolic state where your body doesn’t utilise carbohydrates for energy but instead relies on fats and proteins for survival. When you enter ketosis, your body starts producing ketones which are then used for energy by your cells.
When you eat foods high in carbohydrates, your body doesn’t enter ketosis and therefore doesn’t burn ketones for energy. This is why carbohydrate-rich foods like cake, pasta, and rice cause you to gain weight while on a keto diet, rather than you losing weight as you would on a low-carb diet.
When you enter ketosis, your body starts producing ketones which are then used for energy by your cells. When you don’t consume carbohydrates for a long period of time, your body starts adapting to a high-fat, low-carb lifestyle, and you start losing weight. For this reason, people who want to lose weight and avoid unnecessary medications often turn to the keto diet as a viable option.
How Much Weight Can You Lose in a Week On Keto?
When you’re in ketosis, your body starts losing weight automatically. Most people in ketosis lose between 1 and 2kg per week. This is a lot of weight to lose in a week. You’re going to need a lot of motivation to get yourself into ketosis and keep it for the whole week. Luckily, there are several ways to make the keto diet more sustainable as well as make it easier for you to lose weight. Let’s have a look at them.
Eco-Friendly
A lot of people turn to the keto diet to help save the environment. With fewer carbohydrates being produced as a result of the diet, the environment benefits too. According to a report published in the journal Current Environmental Medicine, cutting out carbohydrates causes less air pollution from transportation and agricultural sources. When you consider that more than 60% of the world’s population now lives in urban areas and that food is becoming a common source of air pollution, this information becomes highly significant.
Some experts even go as far to say that the keto diet may be more eco-friendly than vegetarian or vegan diets. However, while the keto diet reduces your personal carbon footprint, it doesn’t mean that you have to cut down on the amount of food that you consume. You can reduce your carbon footprint by buying carbon offsets or by reusing and recycling plastic. Both of these options help to preserve resources and reduce the impact that humans have on the environment. If you want to learn more, you can start by looking into your local green lifestyle magazine or searching for “eco-friendly recipes” on a site like Epicurus Vegan.
Health Benefits
The keto diet is associated with several health benefits. First off, it’s been shown to dramatically reduce the levels of cholesterol in the body. Elevated cholesterol is a major cause of heart disease and stroke, so maintaining healthy cholesterol levels is highly beneficial. The diet also encourages the body to produce more “good” (HDL) cholesterol and to lower the “bad” (LDL) cholesterol levels, which puts it in the good cholesterol camp.
Another significant advantage of the keto diet is that it’s been shown to improve the health of diabetics. A study published in the journal Diabetes Care in 2008 noted that patients who followed the keto diet “reported significant improvements in all aspects of their diabetes including weight loss and a reduction in blood glucose levels.” If you’re a diabetic looking to reduce your medication or sugar intake, then the keto diet is a viable option. It’s also important to note that since the keto diet limits the intake of refined sugars and processed foods, it helps to reduce the risk of some cancers as well.
Sustainability
One of the most significant advantages of the keto diet is how sustainable it is. It promotes sustainability in several ways. First off, it encourages the body to use resources more efficiently. When you enter ketosis, your body starts producing ketones which are then used for energy by your cells. Therefore, it becomes more fuel-efficient for your body to use fats for energy than it is to use carbohydrates. This means that you use less resources to satisfy your energy needs on keto than you would if you were eating a traditional diet.
Additionally, as we’ve already established, the diet encourages you to produce more “good” (HDL) cholesterol and to lower the “bad” (LDL) cholesterol levels. When you cut down on the amount of food that you consume, you reduce your carbon footprint, which is good for the environment. Last but not least, let’s not forget that food is one of the main sources of pollution. When you reduce the amount of food that you consume, you reduce the amount of pollution that you’re contributing to.
On the whole, the keto diet shows a considerable amount of promise for both dieters and the environment. However, you’re not limited to just these two groups. The keto diet can be very beneficial to people with diabetes as well as those who want to lose weight. If you’re reading this, then it’s probably fair to assume that you’re at least somewhat interested in the keto diet. If this is the case, then keep reading! We’ve got more information on how to get started on the keto diet and the various ways in which it can be beneficial.
Summing Up
In this article, we discussed the basics of the keto diet and how much weight you can lose in a week on the diet. There are several ways in which the keto diet is more sustainable as well as easier for you to follow than other diets. The diet promotes health benefits for both the individual and the environment. In the next section, we’re going to discuss the pros and cons of the ketogenic diet and how to make the most out of it.