Due to its effectiveness in weight loss and numerous health benefits, the ketogenic diet is becoming increasingly popular. As a result, many myths have appeared, and some of them are quite widespread.
You probably encountered many of them on different forums, blogs, social networks, videos on YouTube, etc., and maybe even became a victim of some of them. This article contains the most popular of them.
Myth 1: Calories do not matter / you can not gain weight during keto
Unfortunately, the keto diet is not magical, but calories still matter. You can not eat an unlimited amount of food and wait that it will never be deposited on your body in the form of fat.
If you eat more than burn, you gain weight, and keto does not make you invulnerable. Nevertheless, most of the foods that you will eat during the keto diet are very nutritious and well saturated, which is a definite advantage as you will eat less.
Myth 2: During the keto you will never feel hungry
If you have a calorie deficit, especially if you are already close to your goal, hunger is a perfectly normal feeling, and you will most likely experience it. You need to understand that hunger is a normal part of the weight loss process, so you need to learn not to snack whenever you feel a little hungry - and especially if you are likely to miss, and not genuinely hungry.
Keto diet helps most people feel less hungry, but it does not make hunger completely disappear.
Your body loves balance and will fight any drastic changes in your weight, especially if you were overweight.
Keep in mind that prolonged cardio workouts that are useful for creating large caloric deficits can make you feel hungry the next day.
Myth 3: Keto is a free pass to consuming large amounts of fat
You need to make sure that you consume enough protein to maintain your lean body weight, but you need to add a little fat to compensate for the calories that used to come from carbohydrates.
However, keto will greatly alter your eating habits, and adding unlimited fat will be counterproductive. After all, if you want to lose weight, some of the fat should come from your body, not from your plate.
Also fat is very caloric: a gram of fat is equal to 9 calories (compared to 4 calories per gram of protein or carbohydrates).
Keep in mind that a ketogenic diet was first formulated for people suffering from epilepsy and that a medical keto (aimed at fighting epilepsy) includes a lot of fat in your village. In keto for weight loss is not necessary.
Yes, keto is a diet high in fat, low in carbohydrates and a moderate amount of protein, but that does not mean you can eat all the fats you want.
Myth 4: The deeper the state of ketosis, the more fat you lose
Ketone measurement is a complex process, but in fact it is not even needed.
If you use urine sticks to measure ketones, you need to know that your body will adjust to the state of ketosis, and after a while your keros will not overflow ketones, which is how the sticks are measured. A deeper purple color is not equated to a faster weight loss.
The same goes for other methods of measurement - fat loss will depend mainly on your caloric deficit, and not on how much ketones you produce.
Myth 5: You must consume only the minimum amount of protein
The amount of protein depends largely on your goals, level of activity and specific preferences.
Yes, some protein will turn into glucose - but your brain needs a little glucose to function - this process (called gluconeogenesis ) actually depends on demand, and not on the power source.
Consumption of tons of protein is simply not necessary and can be quite expensive. However, you do not need to be afraid of protein and try to avoid it. If you want to keep your muscle mass, you need to make sure that you consume it enough.
Myth 6: Keto is the best diet for everyone
Ketogenic diet is an excellent choice for a large percentage of the population and helps to fight many serious health problems.
However, while some people succeed in keto and decide to stick to this diet for many years (or even a lifetime), others may find it difficult to follow all of its rules or enjoy it.
To maintain weight, you need to make sure that you are committed to your new diet in the long term, and after a couple of months you will not return to eating harmful foods.
Remember that most benefits of keto appear when your body adapts to fat, which usually takes 4-6 weeks. So, if you just want to lose weight in 2-3 weeks, keto is not for you. If you do not have dedication and commitment, the keto diet will not work.
Myth 7: It does not matter where carbohydrates come from
Five grams of carbohydrates from spinach - far from the same as five grams of carbohydrates from dextrose, which is part of meat delicacies. Spinach is much more nutritious and will provide you with trace elements (such as magnesium and potassium, which are necessary for keto), while dextrose will not give any of these benefits.
Given that the amount of carbohydrates is tightly restricted, you need to strategically plan your diet and choose foods that are both healthy and full. The best choice will be most green vegetables.
Myth 8: Exceeding the norm of pure carbohydrates a day will knock you out of ketosis, and you will again get keto-flu
Daily 20-30 g of pure carbohydrates is a kind of protective barrier. You will be in ketosis if you limit your carbohydrates to this rate, but that does not mean that it is your personal upper limit of carbohydrates, which you can consume daily to stay in ketosis.
In fact, for most people the amount will be different, and as soon as you adapt to fat, you can experiment a little. This will depend on a number of factors, such as activity level, metabolic flexibility and insulin resistance.
If you would like to learn more about keto diet, there is a great program I can direct you to is: The Custom Keto Diet Program
It´s a very popular program that gives you a variety of easy daily recipes and an 8-week meal plan, costumized to your body and your needs.
