When you don’t have enough carbs, your body needs an alternative source of energy to break down protein in your muscles. By getting enough protein, you can prevent muscle breakdown and switch your body to burning fat.
This is the whole point of a ketogenic diet. This creates the illusion of starving the body, even though you are actually getting enough energy from proteins and fats. This diet triggers ketosis, in which the body breaks down fats primarily as a source of energy.
There can be no definitive answer to the question of which diet is the most effective for burning fat. Let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of a ketogenic diet.
Deficiencies of the ketogenic diet
The main disadvantage of a ketogenic diet is that it severely restricts the diet. You will need to eliminate all carbohydrates, including vegetables and fruits, for ketosis to start and last quickly.
Disadvantages include the appearance of bad breath, due to the abundance of protein in the diet.
Benefits of keto diet
On a ketogenic diet, eat your usual calorie intake (or slightly less) so you are not hungry. When ketosis occurs, you can diversify your diet with fibrous vegetables such as broccoli, spinach and asparagus.
Moreover, super-intensive training is easier on a keto diet because the body has a supply of fat ready to break down. This is useful when preparing for a competition.
Finally, a ketogenic diet gives results much faster than any other weight loss item.
Sample menu on a ketogenic diet
Before we move on to the day menu, for example, let's define what you can and can't eat on a keto diet:
- You can: meat, fish, cheese, eggs, oils, protein products with a very low carbohydrate content;
- Do not: Sugar, cereals, processed foods, fruits and vegetables, milk (due to lactose).
So, now for an example of a daily diet on a ketogenic diet:
Breakfast
- Bacon, eggs
- Late breakfast
- Cheddar cheese, ham
Dinner
- Salmon, avocado (or chicken with mayonnaise)
Before training
- Whey protein, creatine, BCAA, glutamine
After training
- Whey protein, creatine, BCAA, glutamine
Dinner
- Steak, spinach with olive oil
Another dinner
- Boiled eggs, turkey breast (or casein protein)