When you are low in carbohydrates, your body needs an alternative source of energy to break down muscle proteins. By eating enough protein, you can prevent muscle breakdown and change your body fat burning.
That's the whole point of the ketogenic diet. It creates the illusion of hunger in the body, although you actually get a lot of energy from protein and fat. This diet triggers ketosis, in which the body breaks down fat primarily as an energy source.
There can be no clear answer to the question of which diet is most effective for burning fat. Let's take a look at the pros and cons of a ketogenic diet.
Disadvantages of the ketogenic diet
The main disadvantage of the ketogenic diet is that it severely restricts the diet. You need to cut out all carbs, including vegetables and fruits, to get started quickly and for ketosis to last.
Disadvantages include the appearance of bad breath due to the abundance of protein in the diet.
Advantages of a keto diet
In a ketogenic diet, you consume your usual calorie intake (or slightly less) so that you do not go hungry. Once ketosis begins, you can diversify your diet with fibrous vegetables such as broccoli, spinach and asparagus.
In addition, extremely intense workouts are easier on the keto diet because the body has a store of fat ready to be broken down. This is useful when preparing for a competition.
Finally, the ketogenic diet produces results much faster than any other type of weight loss.
Sample menu for a ketogenic diet
Before we move on to an example menu for the day, let's define what you can and can not eat on a keto diet:
- You can: meat, fish, cheeses, eggs, oils, protein products with 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 in 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
Second dinner
- Boiled eggs, turkey breast (or casein protein)