Keto Weight Loss: What Happens in the Body?

A significant portion of people who start the ketogenic diet do so to lose weight . Indeed, this eating pattern has proven its effectiveness on weight loss . While the result is important, it is also important to understand the process that is triggered in the body when you start eating keto . We often hear about "ketosis", "getting into or out of ketosis" and ketones.

But often the concept is not well understood and several myths revolve around the subject.

Reduce your carbohydrate intake

The ketogenic diet is a low-carb , high-fat diet with a reasonable protein intake that aims to stabilize blood sugar and improve insulin sensitivity . By reducing carbohydrate consumption to less than 50 grams per day, the body will change its energy source . Lacking carbohydrates to create energy and meet the body's needs, it will burn fat and produce ketones , which it can use as an energy source.

After a period of adaptation, the body will begin to be efficient at burning fat, provided that the exogenous lipid intake (food) is not excessive (otherwise, the body will burn the fat from food and will not be able to tap into its own reserves).

Ketogenic diet also reduces insulin levels, which is beneficial for improving insulin sensitivity and blood sugar management. Both of these factors aid in weight loss.

How can the ketogenic diet impact weight loss?

There are several factors that will aid in sustainable weight loss on a ketogenic diet.

1. Increase protein

First, there will be an increased protein intake – a significant proportion of the population does not consume enough; increasing protein intake helps with weight loss.

2. Limit carbohydrates

Also, when you limit the amount of carbohydrates available to the body (keto diet), insulin will drop. Subsequently, fatty acids stored in body fat reserves will be released in large quantities and some will be transported to the liver, where they will be oxidized and transformed into ketones, or ketone bodies. Once this process is complete, ketones can provide energy to the body. Unlike fatty acids, ketones can cross the blood-brain barrier and provide energy to the brain in the absence of glucose. That is to say, the brain can absolutely run on ketones, and the areas that actually need glucose will be supplied through the process of gluconeogenesis, where the body will create sugar from protein on demand.

3. Increased fat burning

A keto diet will also have an effect of increasing fat burning. In fact, scientific studies have shown that the ketogenic diet can slightly increase the amount of fat burned at rest, during daily activity and physical exercise.

4. Gluconeogenesis

Another phenomenon that occurs when you eat low carbohydrates is gluconeogenesis or gluconeogenesis. The body will convert fats and proteins into carbohydrates for the body functions that need them. This can burn many extra calories each day.

5. Decreased appetite

A diet rich in fat and with a good protein intake thus has an appetite-suppressing effect, as one feels full. This leads to changes in hunger hormones, including leptin and ghrelin, which helps regulate the amount of food consumed during a day.

6. Decreased fat storage

There is also a fat storage reduction effect: a ketogenic diet can reduce lipogenesis, that is, the transformation of sugar into fat because excess carbohydrates are stored as fat. So, when carbohydrate intake is minimal, fat is used as an energy source.

Ketosis, the state that allows you to burn fat

Ketosis is a natural metabolic state . A ketogenic diet can have an effect on weight loss, as it reduces glycogen stores, but it also has several health benefits and conditions such as epilepsy or metabolic diseases.

The time it takes to put the body into a state of ketosis varies from person to person: after fasting for about 72 hours or after several weeks when consuming less than 50 grams of carbohydrates per day.

Ketones are a much more efficient fuel than glucose because you get significant mental clarity, higher energy levels, better athletic performance, and you can go without eating for longer (making it easy to lose weight without feeling hungry and by eating delicious, nutrient-dense foods).

Conclusion

Weight loss on a ketogenic diet is due to several factors: stabilization of blood sugar levels, improved insulin sensitivity, consumption of more protein, gluconeogenesis, regulation of hunger hormones and reduced lipogenesis, as well as a permanent state of ketosis, an efficient source of energy that can fuel the body without any problem.