The Negative aspects of the Ketogenic Diet: What You Need to Know

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate eating plan originally developed to treat epilepsy. However, it’s been found to be an effective weight-loss diet. While it’s still not a “popular” option, several high-profile people, such as Chris Pratt and Laverne Cox, have been following the keto diet.

The negative effects of the keto diet are exactly what make it so effective. If you’re planning on trying this out for yourself, you’re in the right place. Let’s look at the downsides of the ketogenic diet so you know what to expect.

How to go about following a ketogenic diet

The ketogenic diet claims to be a high-fat, low-carb eating plan proven effective for people with epilepsy. However, the eating plan is very flexible. You can consume the Keto diet in several forms, including strict “keto” or “keto- with low-carb, moderate-carb, and even “milk” forms.

“Milk” is a type of protein that’s easy to make at home. You can also find low-carb “yogurt,” “dairy,” and “cheese” form too. You can either eat the full-fat version of these foods or make them in half-and-half or Neufilter form. And, of course, you can always sub any ingredients from one form of food to another.

How to maintain a ketogenic diet

Like the ketogenic diet, the maintenance diet is meant to help people lose weight. However, unlike the plan, which is restrictive, the maintenance diet is more flexible. You can still eat all the foods you love, but you can add and remove ingredients as you see fit.

For example, you can add extra protein and fat to the maintenance diet to suit your goals. You can also entirely take it out of the equation if you decide you don’t need it. Your diet should consist of low-fat foods, like fats and oils, and moderate amounts of protein and carbs to maintain muscle and prevent muscle breakdown. You can also add non-starchy vegetables and fruits to the list of healthy foods you consume.

How to change a ketogenic diet

Suppose you’re not finding success with the ketogenic diet or coming up against limitations while on the plan; you can try changing the plan. The process is called “crossover dieting,” and it’s a two-step process. You first have to “crossover” from one diet to another, usually by adding foods from a low-fat to a high-fat diet and vice versa.

Once you’ve done that, you can see if you can achieve the same result by consuming different foods. If you can’t switch diets without having a significant side effect, you can “treat” yourself to the low-fat version of a specific food so you can see what it’s like to eat that way regularly.

How to keep up with a ketogenic diet

If you’re a first-time keto-user, you might feel nervous about adjusting your diet to include the recommended foods. However, you can still conduct a healthy keto diet. You should be eating these foods daily, but in a different order than above.

Here are a few tips to help you keep your keto diet maintenance schedule in place: - Consume fattier foods first thing in the morning - Consume full-fat dairy products, such as cream, cheese, and butter, after a solid protein source, like meat or fish, for example, oatmeal, quinoa, or whole-wheat bread

- Consume nuts and seeds after those, if you’re a seed person - Consume applesauce, soft drinks, and vegetables throughout the day - Consume low-fat or fat-free products as a treat once in a while - Always increase your veggies! They will help you stay full and avoid muscle breakdown while decreasing your daily caloric intake - Sleep enough so your energy is up for the day and not exhausted at the end.

How to section off the ketogenic diet

Even though the ketogenic diet is meant to be consumed as a whole, you can also break it down into smaller meals and snacks. This is perfect for people who have jobs that require them to move around a lot, like teachers, doctors, or nurses. It also works well for people who want to stay at home with the kids and want to eat the same things every day without worrying about looking forward to different foods.

For example, if you have a child on the ketogenic diet, you can break the meal into smaller snacks, so they don’t get hungry. Or, if you’re starting on a diet, you can break it down into daily meals to make it easier to consume throughout the day.

How to deal with the side effects of the ketogenic diet

The negative side effects of the ketogenic diet are exactly what make it so effective. If you’re planning on trying this out for yourself, you’re in the right place. Let’s look at the downsides of the ketogenic diet so you know what to expect.

The article was written by: Asad Saimon