Ketosis diet: pros and cons and 10 keto recipes!

1. You probably know low-carbohydrate diets. However, fewer people have heard of the ketogenic diet - also called ketosis diet or keto diet. High time to devote an extensive blog post to it, in other words!

1. The ketosis diet is, in short, a diet where you eat even less carbohydrates than with a regular low-carbohydrate diet. Your body is therefore forced to use fat reserves as a primary source of energy. If you create a calorie deficit, you will quickly lose body fat. But how exactly does this process work, and is the keto diet really recommended? Everything about that in this blog!

What is the ketogenic diet?

1. As mentioned, the ketosis diet is a kind of extreme form of a low-carbohydrate diet. Most â € standardâ € ™ low-carbohydrate diets still allow about 100 grams of carbohydrates per day. With the ketosis diet, that's really out of the question. The limit that is often mentioned is about 30 grams. Enough to be able to eat vegetables, so, but really no more than that. Even fruit is out of the question.

1. Furthermore, the ketosis diet consists of proteins and especially a lot of fats. The latter fill more than half of your calories. Lots of fish, eggs, meat, nuts and dairy, in other words! All of this is to get your body into ketosis.

What is ketosis?

1. What exactly do we mean by that? Normally carbohydrates are the main energy source. That's not for nothing: glucose is simply a very easy fuel to transport and use. However, if you (practically) no longer eat carbohydrates, your body must come up with a different solution.

1. You then enter a ketogenic state, or ketosis for short. That is really just an expensive way of saying that (body) fat is the primary source of energy. Of course this does not happen automatically, because fats are not as easy a source as carbohydrates. They must therefore first be converted into ketones.

2. You then enter a ketogenic state, or ketosis for short. That is really just an expensive way of saying that (body) fat is the primary source of energy. Of course that does not happen automatically, because fats are not as easy a source as carbohydrates. They must therefore first be converted into ketones.

What are ketones?

1. One of the major disadvantages of fat as an energy source is that fat particles cannot reach your brain through your blood. That means it is difficult to provide your brain with energy when you are in ketosis. Fortunately, your liver can convert fats into ketones, which can reach your brain. Ketones are also necessary for the further energy supply.

2. One of the major disadvantages of fat as an energy source is that fat particles cannot reach your brain through your blood. That means it is difficult to energize your brain when you are in ketosis. Fortunately, your liver can convert fats into ketones, which can reach your brain. Ketones are also necessary for the further energy supply.

1. Once your body 'switches' to a position where fats from your diet are an important source of energy, it also becomes easier to burn body fat. However, the same chemical conversion process is behind this. That way, a keto diet will help you shed those extra pounds more easily.

2. Once your body 'switches' to a position where fats from your diet are an important source of energy, it also becomes easier to burn body fat. However, the same chemical conversion process is behind this. That way, a keto diet will help you get rid of those extra pounds more easily.

Benefits of the keto diet

1. What exactly are the advantages of this setup? The keto diet has two important advantages, which we will briefly mention and explain here:

1. Fats saturate more than you probably realize now. The chance is therefore very small that you will ever go hungry with a ketosis diet. Moreover, due to the lack of carbohydrates you no longer have fluctuations in your blood sugar level.

2. Fats saturate more than you probably realize. The chance is therefore very small that you will ever go hungry with a ketosis diet. Moreover, due to the lack of carbohydrates, you no longer have fluctuations in your blood sugar level.

1. If you now often eat a lot of fast sugars through binge eating, that will probably also decrease! Finally, the meals you eat are often quite tasty, precisely because of the high fat content. Only the variety is not particularly impressive.

1. One of the apparent drawbacks of fat as an energy source is that fat particles cannot reach your brain through your blood. That means it is difficult to energize your brain when you are in ketosis. Fortunately, your liver can convert fats into ketones, which can reach your brain. Ketones are also necessary for the further energy supply.

2. One of the apparent drawbacks of fat as an energy source is that fat particles cannot reach your brain through your blood. That means it is difficult to provide your brain with energy when you are in ketosis. Fortunately, your liver can convert fats into ketones, which can reach your brain. Ketones are also necessary for the further energy supply.

1. Once your body 'switches' to a position where fats from your diet are an important source of energy, it also becomes easier to burn body fat. The same chemical conversion process is behind it. That way, a keto diet will help you get rid of those extra pounds more easily.

2. Once your body 'switches' to a position where fats from your diet are an important source of energy, it also becomes easier to burn body fat. The same chemical conversion process is behind it. That way, a keto diet will help you shed those extra pounds more easily.

Disadvantages of the keto diet

1. A diet where you are not hungry and you lose weight â € “that sounds like the perfect combination! Yet there are still some catches in the grass. The keto diet also has several disadvantages, of which we list the three most important below:

1. The first month you are on a keto diet, you will often just feel bad. The reason is that your body is not used to the primary use of fats as an energy source. That makes it especially difficult in the beginning to actually maintain sufficient energy.

1. You will therefore feel very weak for a few weeks to a month, and possibly even just plain flu. Headache, fatigue and drowsiness are well-known complaints. Fortunately, this â € ˜ketogenic fluâ € ™ will resolve itself over time.

1. A more structural problem is the one-sided side of the diet. You mainly eat meat, fish, eggs and dairy, supplemented with oil, avocados, nuts and some vegetables here and there.

1. So what you miss completely are whole grains, for example. While they can also provide important nutrients, such as fiber! As a result, you often need to supplement with a keto diet to make sure you don't build up major deficiencies.

1. One last problem that will be important to many of our readers: a ketogenic diet is not ideal if you exercise fanatically. As an athlete you just need carbohydrates because you use a relatively large amount of energy.

Following the ketosis diet?

1. Is it useful for you to follow a keto diet, or should you not do that? In any case, we do not recommend following the diet for a longer period of time. Over that time, you build up too many deficiencies, and the lack of carbohydrates can be bad for your insulin sensitivity. Moreover, after a while you will also just get tired of the limited variety of foods.

1. But want to try an alternative way to lose fat? And are you not so fanatic that you really need your carbohydrates? Then it is definitely worth trying the keto diet for a limited period of time!

How do you get into ketosis?

1. Do you choose to start with the ketosis diet? Then, as mentioned, it is important to really leave all carbohydrates except vegetables. Not only does that mean no more bread, oatmeal, pasta, rice and potatoes. Fruit is also prohibited. You cannot drink even the smallest amounts of soft drinks and alcohol.

1. Your diet should consist of about 70% fats, 25% proteins and 5% carbohydrates. What is left then? As said: lots of vegetables, proteins and fats. Sounds a bit one-sided (and admittedly, it is), but you can still do quite a bit with it. We give you a few short examples below.

Keto recipes

1. Certainly because you can of course vary endlessly with vegetables and meat, relatively much is still possible.

Ketones in urine

1. Then one last point. Now suppose you've been following the ketosis diet for a week - how do you know if you are actually doing the right thing? After all, it is the intention that your body really comes into a state of ketosis.

1. Fortunately, this can be tested, with the help of the aforementioned ketones. These must also be excreted by your body. Part of it comes out through your breath: that's why bad breath is a common complaint in people who follow this diet. However, a large part is also excreted in your urine.

Ketosis test

1. The latter is useful for a ketosis test. There are the so-called ketostix: test sticks with which you measure the ketone levels in your urine. So you can easily perform a test at home. Simply dip the swab in your urine, and if it discolors, you will know you are in ketosis. Congratulations: your body is burning fat!