Let me give you a bit of background knowledge before delving in. Food is made up of three categories: protein, carbs & fats these are called macronutrients. The keto diet removes carbs (gives you very low-carbs to eat) which leaves you only proteins and fats to eat. The aim of all of this is to put your body in a state called ketosis. Ketosis is when your body looks to your fat stores as a source of energy because you’re eating so little carbs it can’t get it from them anymore. Usually you eat carbs and these get converted into glucose (sugar) to give your body energy. Instead of this your body produces ketones which are similar to glucose so you have that energy to well…move.
Why does it work, well if you remove 1/3 of your food group out of the equation you’re essentially going to be eating less calories. Now to compensate yes you will be eating more protein and fats so you don’t starve however even with the increased amount it’s likely you still won’t be eating as much calories as you did previously. Secondly when your average Joe removes carbs he will probably be removing alcohol, sweets, fast food etc. all foods which aren’t nutritional rich. He will then replace them with food such as fish, eggs, nuts etc. food which in comparison are better for you and have a higher protein in them. Finally for every 1g of carbs you have in a cell, your body needs 3g of water, therefore a weight reduction could just mean a drop in water weight.
So end of the day it’s not keto that’s got him losing fat, it’ll be a swap for healthier food and also being in a calorie deficit. This is something that can be achieved by keeping carbs in your diet and just by tracking your calorie intake.
You need carbs for energy, it’s far easier to perform with them and you’ll feel energised. They’re not bad, you just need to make sure you eat the right foods and not so much the area of carbs which aren’t as good for you.
There’s still not a sufficient amount of research to show that keto is superior to other diets out there, so until then I believe the best recommendation for people is to ask them. Will you be able to keep this up? If you’re only going to do this for a short period of time well then its not going to help you in the long run. We need to be looking for sustainable changes in our lives to be able to reap the benefits and not follow diet after diet after diet. Keto can also be recommended for people with certain health problems, if this is the case for you speak with a doctor/nutritionist before trying this.
Thats it for today, hope you found it useful to know.
Thanks
Cameron
Additional Sources
James Smith: (https://youtu.be/nQFGIGxKAe8)