Weight gain and a higher cholesterol level are two of the biggest misconceptions about the ketogenic diet. Eating lots of fat, makes you fat, right? This is why you hesitate to embrace this type of diet. In the back of your head there are these pesky questions: Will the keto diet make me fat? Will my cholesterol level increase?
To truly understand why the ketogenic diet will help you lose weight and lower your cholesterol level, you need to know what cholesterol is, and how the body burns fat.
Here’s Why You Won’t Get Fatter
The ketogenic diet will not make you fat or clog up your arteries. When you’re trying to lose weight with the ketogenic diet, you must be at a daily caloric deficit of about 500 calories. This is the basic rule of all weight loss.
You must consume less calories than you expend. Since you’re at a caloric deficit, even a ketogenic diet that’s high in fat will not cause you to gain weight. However, since you’re constantly feeding your body a fat rich diet that’s low in carbs, ketosis will set in.
That means, your body will be in a state where it burns fat for fuel instead of glycogen. This is the ideal place to be in. Now your body will tap into the stubborn fat stores and burn the fat there. As a result, you’ll actually see your body fat percentage drop.
Other diets like the Atkins diet, paleo diet, etc. don’t really create a state of ketosis. Fat loss with those diets usually revolve around a caloric deficit and exercise, whereas the ketogenic diet transforms the way your body gets its source of fuel. That’s why the keto diet is so powerful.
Here’s Why Your Cholesterol Level Will Improve
It’s time to set the record straight. Bad cholesterol is caused by inflammation within the body. Eating simple carbs such as white flour products, processed foods and sugary foods, inflames the body. In response, the body creates cholesterol to act as a form of protection for the cells.
Eating natural, healthy fats does not raise your blood cholesterol levels. A common misconception is that the arteries get clogged because they’re filled with hardened plaque due to too much dietary cholesterol. This condition is known as atherosclerosis.
The truth of the matter is that atherosclerosis occurs when the arteries are inflamed and damaged due to oxidized lipoproteins getting through the arterial wall. Once again, this is due to sugar, processed foods and other detrimental foods – NOT natural healthy fats.
The ketogenic diet encourages you to consume natural fats such as olive oil, coconut oil, oily fish (such as salmon, tuna, mackerel), avocados, olives, eggs, walnuts, etc. All the natural fat sources recommended by the keto diet will benefit the body in many ways. These foods are rich in fats and nutrients that the body craves. Common sense will tell us that our ancestors would have eaten these foods. Hydrogenated food oils, sugary doughnuts, French fries, etc. were not part of their diet. That’s why our ancestors were not obese.
If your bad cholesterol levels are high, the first thing you should do is reduce the inflammation in your body. The best way to do that is by getting on a ketogenic diet. The omega-3 fatty acids from the fatty fish, etc. will reduce the inflammation.
So, what that really means is that the ketogenic diet is the answer to the problem and not the cause. You can cast all your worries aside about this diet making you fat or raising your bad cholesterol levels. Quite the opposite holds true.
Many people all over the world have lost weight and improved their health after adopting the keto diet. You can join them too. Once you give it a try, you’ll wish you had done it sooner.
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