By Sam Hoffman
Getting into ketosis is not easy for most beginners because many people tend to try to jump into it before doing thorough research on it. Don’t make this mistake, because truly understanding this type of eating can greatly improve your results and help you avoid some of the side effects that can occur.
There are healthy ways to get into ketosis quickly, and if you follow these instructions you will see results in your weight and health in no time!
Ketosis is the state your metabolism enters when you cut off its sugar and carb supply, or you dramatically decrease your calorie intake, so your liver starts producing ketones instead. These ketones then become your body’s main fuel, causing weight loss and lots of other benefits, such as an increase in energy and your ability to focus, reducing the risk of heart disease, and the prevention of migraines. No wonder everyone is so crazy about ketogenic diets these days, right?
Well, we have kept you waiting long enough, so here are some of the healthiest and fastest ways for you to get into ketosis!
Reduce Your Carb Intake
This tip is at the core of ketogenic diets and is the most essential step you should take. To get into ketosis, you must minimize your carb consumption as much as possible. Cutting down your carb intake will make your liver produce ketones, which will serve as your body’s fuel, resulting in ketosis. The reason why this happens is that your muscles and liver store glucose in form of glycogen, and when your carb intake reduces, fatty acids are released from fat stores, which are then converted into ketones.
Of course, all of us are different, so keep in mind that what may work for you, may not work for everyone else. This process is individualized, but you should start off your diet with about 20 grams of carbs a day for two weeks, and then you can gradually increase your carb intake.
Exercise More
Physical activity can also play a major role in getting into ketosis in a healthy manner. During your daily exercise, you deplete your metabolism of its glycogen stores, causing it to produce more ketones to make up for the loss. And the end result is, of course, ketosis!
A study conducted on nine older women that exercised before and after their meals showed how much your ketones level can increase with some exercise. The women who exercised before a meal had 137-314% higher ketones levels than the group that exercised after their meals.
When you are just starting your diet, however, your physical activity may be somewhat reduced due to the aggressive change in your body’s main fuel source. Don’t let this stop you from exercising as much as you can. You’ll surely see the results in a matter of days, so keep up the good work!
Try Fasting
Fasting is actually the quickest way to induce ketosis. You probably did not know this, but your body actually gets into mild ketosis in between breakfast and dinner — so a day of fasting can, surprisingly, be very beneficial to your metabolism.
This allows your body to flush out lots of toxins and speed up getting into ketosis. As a matter of fact, lots of doctors recommend fasting to children with epilepsy before starting the
ketogenic diet because it is the fastest way to get into ketosis and reduce seizures. Although reducing seizures may not be your main concern, this fact just proves how effective and helpful this tip is even more!
Eat Coconut Oil
Coconut oil contains healthy fats called medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs. Your body can easily absorb these fats, and then they are either converted into ketones or temporarily used as a fuel source by your liver.
MCTs have also been known to induce ketosis more easily without a dramatic carb restriction, as most ketogenic diets suggest you do. MCTs are also fat sources with a higher share of lauric acid, which tend to produce a higher percentage of ketones in a short period of time.
There is no doubt that coconut oil will become your best friend if you are looking for some healthy ways to get into ketosis. Not only is it healthy, but it can help you induce ketosis faster than you ever would have thought possible!
Eat a Moderate Amount of Protein
Don’t make the mistake of cutting back on proteins in order to increase your ketone production. Your protein intake should be well balanced and adequate because your liver needs a healthy supply of amino acids.
This is important because your
liver has to produce glucose for a small number of cells and organs that cannot use ketones as a fuel, for example, some portions of your brain and kidneys, and your red blood cells. And of course, a balanced protein intake is essential for maintaining muscle mass!
Low-carb diets with a reasonable protein intake have proven to be successful in inducing and maintaining ketosis, but make sure to control your protein levels to maintain a healthy and well-balanced diet that can easily be spoiled with an excessive protein intake.
These tips are guaranteed to help you get into ketosis in a healthy and nutritious way, so make sure to combine all of them as much as you can. Fasting, cutting down on carbs, daily exercise, and the other aforementioned pieces of advice we gave you will all help you get into ketosis fast! So, what are you waiting for? Start off your journey to health today!
Images courtesy of Istock & My Fit Station: https://myfitstation.com/blog/
