When you are low in carbohydrates, your body needs an alternative source of energy to break down protein in your muscles. By eating enough protein, you can prevent muscle breakdown and switch your body to burning fat.
This is the whole point of a ketogenic diet. It creates the illusion of hunger for the body, even though you actually get enough energy from protein and fat. This diet causes ketosis, in which the body breaks down fat primarily as an energy source.
There can be no definitive answer to the question of which diet is most effective for burning fat. Let's 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 nutrition. You will need to exclude all carbohydrates, including vegetables and fruits, so that ketosis can begin quickly and continue.
Disadvantages include the appearance of bad breath due to the abundance of protein in the diet.
Pros of the keto diet
On a ketogenic diet, you eat your usual caloric intake (or a little less) so that you are not hungry. Once ketosis begins, you can diversify your diet with fibrous vegetables such as broccoli, spinach and asparagus.
What's more, super-intense workouts are easier with the keto diet because the body has a supply of fat ready to break down. This is useful when preparing for a race.
Finally, the ketogenic diet gives results much faster than any other weight loss product.
Sample menu of ketogenic diet
Before we move on to a sample menu for the day, let's define what you can and can't eat on a keto diet:
- You can: meat, fish, cheese, eggs, oils, protein products with very low carbohydrate content;
- No: Sugar, cereals, processed foods, fruits and vegetables, milk (due to lactose).
So now for an example of a daily 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)