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Last Updated on December 16, 2023
The Ketogenic diet is one of the most popular yet controversial diet plans to lose weight. However, this unique diet plan takes a U-turn by adding high-fat and low-carb (HFLC) meals to your plan.
Interestingly, 12.9 million Americans follow the Keto diet, while the global ket market size is around $10.22 billion, which is phenomenal.
Are you confused about whether you should go on a Keto diet or not? Read the article that explains how the Keto diet works and what you should expect during the first 30 days.
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The First 30 Days of the Keto Diet
This diet works on the simple principle of classifying the source of your calories by prioritizing fat. Generally speaking, 70 to 80 percent of your total calories must come from fat-rich ingredients, while carbohydrates can contribute to around five percent of the calories. Lastly, proteins will offer the rest of the calories.
The Keto diet usually fails because of unrealistic expectations. Unfortunately, this diet plan isn’t a piece of cake, especially for beginners. Sadly, 46 percent of keto followers cheat the diet, while the number one reason to quit it is that it’s way too strict.
Before starting your Keto diet, it’s essential to define your goal and track your blood ketone levels with a regular Keto Cycle review. Lucky for you, we have compiled an approximate time scale for the keto diet followers.
Day One to Three
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The first few days feel like a breeze as your body has stored carbohydrates as glycogen, the energy reservoir. As a result, you don’t feel any difference as the body utilizes the stored glycogen to supply energy to the muscles and liver.
A pro tip: You need to keep track of your daily carbs at the early stage of the keto diet.
Day Three to Seven
The actual transition begins when your body runs out of the stored glycogen. Now that you have cut down carbs from your diet, you may experience headaches, tiredness, muscle cramps, dizziness, and keto flu.
Initially, you should actively salt your meals because salt deficiency often leads to headaches. Similarly, you must also take potassium and magnesium supplements. It’s because all the electrolytes flush out of the body with water when you reduce the carbs intake.
Increased intake of fat than the regular carbs certainly affects your metabolism; that’s why your body may take several days to adjust to the new fat-based diet plan.
You won’t experience any weight loss; instead, many people have complained about gaining weight. However, you don’t need to worry as it’s a short-term change in weight that shouldn’t concern you.
Day Seven to 14
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For the initial two weeks, you’ll crave the carbs. However, you can prevent these cravings by keeping your macros right.
It’s essential to train your body to burn fat, instead of carbs, into energy to break into ketosis. For instance, you can opt for a protein smoothie or an egg with avocado in your breakfast to enhance protein intake.
A big salad with dressing, grilled salmon, or zucchini noodles is perfect for lunch. You can have mushroom soap, grass-fed beef, or low-carb wrap loaded with roasted broccoli, kale, or spinach. Don’t forget to take your nuts, sugar-free coconut chips, or dried cheese as snacks during the day.
At this stage, your energy levels begin to rise, and you no longer feel hungry and unhappy. However, the most fantastic thing is that you begin to lose weight faster.
Carbohydrates are responsible for water retention in your body. Initially, you lose all the water weight; however, you begin losing actual fat in ketosis.
Day 14 Onwards
Once you have overcome the initial diet barriers, it’s a smooth sail for you now as you consistently lose weight without starving.
However, you won’t be able to perform vigorous exercise, such as aerobics or high-intensity interval training (HIIT), since your body requires several weeks to adapt to the ketosis diet.
You shouldn’t be too hard on yourself for skipping workouts or doing mild stretches in the morning.
Week Four to Five Onwards
After four to five weeks, your body will be wholly adapted to the keto diet and efficiently burn fat. The good news is you can resume your exercise, running, and cycling.
You can nail the keto diet by keeping in view the following points:
- Keep yourself hydrated.
- Include high-fiber and low-carb vegetables in your diets, such as asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli, and avocado.
- Take proper sleep.
- You should add a variety of snacks to your diet to mix things up, as consistency may lead to overeating or excessive calories.
- You can make a weekly meal plan to make delicious keto-friendly meals.
Similarly, you can replace the regular flour with coconut or almond flour to cut down the carbs. You must switch to heavy whipping cream from regular milk and full-fat yogurt from low-fat ones. You can go for parm or zucchini crisps for snacks instead of eating regular potatoes or corn chips.
If you stay consistent in a calorie deficit during the keto diet, you’ll be able to lose 10 pounds or more in the first month, which is excellent.
If you add exercise and walk into your routine, you’ll be able to lose 25 pounds within three months. However, these numbers vary based on genetics, body type, initial body weight, and calorie limitation.
One of the most significant advantages of switching to the keto diet is not just weight loss. Instead, you lose stubborn fat during 30 to 90 days of the keto diet. As a result, you see incredible body transformation with increased energy levels.
Concluding Remarks
The key takeaway of the above article is to offer an honest review of what exactly happens to you when you switch to the keto diet. If you keep track of your daily macro, refer to the list of keto gadgets, and avoid sugary items and alcohol, you’ll be able to nail the keto diet to achieve your ideal weight.
All you need to do is be patient and consistent to reap the maximum benefits of this fantastic diet plan.
