How much can you lose on the ketogenic diet? Among the many questions we ask ourselves when it comes to choosing a diet that allows us to lose excess pounds, surely "how much do we lose" is one of the most frequent ones. And this shouldn't surprise or make you turn up your nose: diet, in fact, is often a sacrifice, and it's only common sense to want to maximize the results for each day of "pain" (ignoring the fact that some diets, including keto, they don't make you go hungry at all).
And it is precisely for this reason that we have decided to answer this question accurately: ketogenic diet or keto diet: how much do you lose? We want to help those who are thinking about going on a diet to make the best choice for their needs. How do you say? Are you curious too? Well, all you have to do is keep reading!
What is the ketogenic diet
The ketogenic diet, or "keto diet" is a diet that is based on limiting the intake of sugars and carbohydrates, in favor of a greater consumption of proteins and fats. It is therefore fully part of those diets called hyperproteic, or zero sugar, in which the body is pushed to draw energy by consuming fat reserves instead of sugars.
Like all diets of this type, it has the advantage, compared to low-calorie diets, of not making us suffer from hunger, as what is controlled is the quality of the foods rather than the quantity. Also, after a short period of adjustment, people tend to feel more energetic. And finally, even compared to other low-carbohydrate diets, it has the advantage of being able to be modulated according to needs, with a different balance of fats and proteins.
How much can you lose on the ketogenic diet?
One of the most obvious benefits of the ketogenic diet is that you lose a lot of weight and pretty quickly. But let's see in more detail how the weight loss will be articulated.
You have one first phase which serves to get the body into ketosis and awaken the metabolism. In this phase, 600 to 800 calories are consumed per day, for a period ranging from 8 weeks to three months. Obviously, the greatest weight loss is achieved in this phase. Yes, but how much does this weight loss consist of? Indicatively, in the first few weeks you will lose up to 5 kilos. For this reason, many resort to the ketogenic diet for about 21 days as a means of losing the pounds accumulated during the holidays.
There second phase, which provides for a real food re-education, provides that carbohydrates are gradually reintroduced, and that the caloric intake is gradually increased up to about 1500 calories. In this phase, you will tend to lose about 0.5 kg per week.
There third stageFinally, it provides for a further increase in calories up to 2000 per day. In this phase what is aimed at is maintenance, thus accustoming the metabolism to burn what is consumed.
Not just scales: remodeling and lean body mass
When we talk about weight loss on the ketogenic diet, just saying that, for example, ten kilos will be lost in two months is really simplistic and not very true to reality. In fact, the ketogenic diet involves a modification of the diet that pushes the metabolism to use the fat reserves of our body for energy.
What does this mean? That in addition to losing weight, what will be achieved will be a real remodeling, with the fat pads that will gradually tend to disappear. But that's not all, because this diet promotes physical activity, supplying energy as well as the proteins necessary to nourish the muscles.
At this point we have to make a premise. In our body there are fat mass, lean mass and water. There ketogenic dietWhen followed correctly, it will help you stay hydrated while also impacting water retention, so part of your weight loss will depend on water. As for fat mass, a kilo of fat takes up much more space than a kilo of muscle, so in addition to losing weight you will find yourself remodeled.
Finally, there will be an increase in lean mass, thus an increase in muscle. This can also mean that you won't see weight loss as fast on the scale as you'd expect. But be careful: just looking at your weight is not enough, because if your fat mass is turning into lean mass, you are actually losing weight even if you are not losing weight. Also, remember that muscles burn more calories to keep fit, so an increase in lean body mass also corresponds to an increase in metabolism.
The advice, therefore, is to equip yourself with an impedance scale, which helps you keep under control not only your weight, but also these fundamental values, to understand if your diet is working or not.
