If you’re new here, then the first Ketogenic diet FAQ you should know is that it is a low-carb high protein diet that helps you lose weight fast, as proven in several scientific studies.
Now, let us head to the most common questions asked by the people who go on the keto diet plan.
Ketogenic Diet Frequently Asked Questions
We’ve tried to cover the most common queries. But, if you’ve any other doubts regarding the keto diet, then please feel free to comment on this article and we’ll reply back.
1.How Long Does it Take to Get into Ketosis State?
Depending on your body type, activity levels and the foods you’re consuming on the diet, it takes anywhere from 2-7 days for a person to enter the Ketosis state.
Few working tips to get into Ketosis include
- Exercising on an empty stomach
- Restricting the carbs to 20g or less in a day
- Drinking lots of water (4 to 5 liters)
2.How to Track My Carb Intake?
There are many apps to find the number of carbohydrates present in the foods that you’re consuming, but my favorite is the ‘MyFitnessPal’.
It is available for iOS, Android and Windows users. Just enter the food you’re eating along with its quantity and the app will tell you the exact carb count along with other nutritional information like proteins, vitamins etc…
3.Is it Necessary to Count Calories to Lose Weight?
Of-course, Yes! No matter how healthy you eat, Calories does matter in order to lose, maintain or even to gain weight.
4.Is There Any Restriction on the Quantity of Fat Intake?
As long as you’re under the calorie deficit based on your BMR, you are good to go ahead with consumption of more fatty foods in the diet.
5.How to Find Out Whether I am in Ketosis State or Not?
Most common method is to use the Ketostix that are found in your local pharmacy.
Any sign of pink or purple color on the stick implies that your body is producing ketones and you’re in the ketosis state.
If the color is darker, it means that you’re not drinking enough water and as a result your urine is concentrated with more ketone levels.
Please note that the ketostix method is not purely accurate.
Although a bit costly, blood ketone meter shows your more accurate ketone levels in your blood.
This is what a blood ketone meter reading says:
- Light Ketosis: 0.5 mmol/L – 0.8 mmol/L
- Medium Ketosis: 0.9 mmol/L – 1.4 mmol/L
- Deep Ketosis (good for extreme weight loss): 1.5 mmol/L – 3.0 mmol/L
6.Is There a Chance to Get Heart Attacks Due to Excess Fat Intake?
Fats can be divided into 3 groups – Saturated, Polyunsaturated and Monounsaturated.
Until now people used to assume that saturated fats are harmful for us and may cause heart attacks. But, recent studies suggest otherwise. According to those studies, saturated fats does not cause heart attacks and instead can improve cholesterol levels.
So, you can eat the saturated fats without any worries.
The same goes with Monounsaturated fats. Even they’re healthy for consumption. One good example is ‘Olive oil’, which lowers our cholesterol levels.
However, the problem lies with the Polyunsaturated fats.
There are actually 2 types of PUFs – Processed and Naturally Occuring.
While the processed PUFs or trans fats (like vegetable oils & margarine spreads) are not good for our health, the naturally occuring PUFs (like fish) are extremely beneficial for our health.
So, try to avoid these processed polyunsaturated fats as much as you can and then you don’t have to worry about cholesterol levels & heart attacks on the ketogenic diet plan.
7.What Foods Can I Eat on the Ketogenic Diet Plan?
The thumb rule is to stay away from high carb food as much as you can. Avoid all kinds of grains, legumes, bread, pastas, sugars and rice.
Here is the complete ketogenic diet foods list for a better understanding.
8.Is There Any Remedy for Constipation?
The most common issue faced by those who start the keto diet is irregular bowel movements. This constipation problem occurs due to less fiber consumption.
Below are a few solutions you can try
- Drink plenty of water (min 4 to 5 liters)
- Take a Magnesium supplement
- Include more fibrous veggies with less carbs
- Include Flax seeds or Chia seeds
- Drink Black Coffee or Tea
- Eat 1 tbsp of Coconut oil
- Avoid eating nuts (if you do)
If you’re severely constipated for more than 2 days in a row, then I suggest you to stop the ketogenic diet and increase the fiber and carb intake for a few days until your problem resides.
9.Can I Do Workouts While on the Keto Diet?
If you’re into cardio, then you don’t have to worry about the Keto diet.
But, if you lift weights (strength training), then you will need carbohydrates to help improve your performance and also for muscle recovery after the workout.
It’s that simple. Hope you get the point.
10.Is Alcohol Allowed on the Low Carb Keto Diet?
Alcohol contains a lot of hidden carbs that kick you immediately out of ketosis.
So, I suggest to avoid booz while on the diet, if you’re serious about weight loss.
11.How Much Weight Can I Lose on the Ketogenic Diet Program?
The number of pounds you lose depends on several factors like your age, gender, activities, metabolism and your current weight.
The more excess weight you’ve, the more you’ll lose in the initial days. As the days progress and you’ve come closer to your ideal weight, you’ll lose less weight.
As a rule of thumb, people who do strict keto will lose anywhere from 4 to 7 kgs in their first week itself.
12.Where Can I Find the Low Carb Keto Recipes?
Keto recipes are everywhere on the web nowadays. You can even find the video recipes on YouTube.
We do have a separate section on our blog where you can find different Keto recipes for vegetarians, vegans and non-vegetarians separately.
13.My Weight Loss Stalled Suddenly. What Should I Do?
Weight loss plateau is a common thing that happens to many once awhile. If you happen to enter that zone, then below are few tips you can follow to come out of the plateau and start losing weight again…
- Increase your fat intake
- Decrease your carb intake (try to go on a ‘0’ carb)
- Cut out any dairy products, artificial sweeteners and processed food
- Stop eating gluten, nuts and hidden carbs
If nothing works for you, then just stop everything for a day or two and go on a high carb meal to restart your metabolism.
You might gain some pounds during this period but you can easily lose them once you get back to the keto.
14.What Supplements are Recommended for Keto Dieters?
Since you’re restricting most of the foods with carbohydrates, you might miss some nutrients. So, it is suggested to get those in the form of supplements.
These are the most vital nutrients your body needs to keep a check on your overall health. So, try to include them in case you don’t eat the foods that contain these vitamins & minerals.