The majority of this programme will be focused on the KETO DIET – this is a way of eating which has become increasingly popular in recent years, but there is still a great deal of misinformation and confusion. To help you stay clear, this is what you need to know.

What Is A Keto Diet?

A keto, or ketogenic, diet is a low carb diet, which encourages the body to produce ketones in the liver to be used as energy.  

The low carb nature of the diet forces the body into a process known as ketosis – put simply, it forces the body to break down fats, helping you to lose weight.

Whenever you eat something high in carbs, your body will produce glucose and insulin.  

• Glucose is the easiest molecule for your body to convert and use as energy, so  it will be chosen over any other energy source. 
• Insulin is produced to process the glucose in your bloodstream, by taking it  around the body. 

Since the glucose is being used as a primary energy, your fats are not needed and  are therefore stored this is fat in the body.

On a normal, higher carbohydrate diet, the body will use glucose as the main form of  energy; by lowering your carb intake, the body is induced into a state known as ketosis. 

What Is Ketosis?

Ketosis is an everyday, natural process of the body, and is a normal and safe chemical  reaction which occurs regardless of the number of carbs you eat. Your body is  smart, and able to process a whole range of nutrients to provide the fuels that it  needs. Proteins, fats, and carbs can all be processed for use; a low carb, high fat  diet just ramps up this process. 

When you eat carbohydrate-based foods or excess amounts of protein, your body will  break this down into sugar – known as glucose. Why? Glucose is needed in the  creation of ATP (an energy molecule), which is a fuel that is needed for the daily  activities and maintenance inside our bodies. 

If you’ve ever used a calculator to determine your caloric needs, you will see that your  body uses up quite a lot of calories. It’s true, our bodies use up much of the nutrients  we intake just to maintain itself on a daily basis. If you eat enough food, there will likely  be excess glucose your body doesn’t need.

There are two main things that happen to glucose if your body doesn’t need it: 

• Glycogenesis. Excess glucose will be converted to glycogen, and stored in your liver  and muscles. Estimates show that only about half of your daily energy can be stored  as glycogen. 
• Lipogenesis. If there’s already enough glycogen in your muscles and liver, any extra glucose will be converted into fats and stored. 

Ketosis occurs once your body has no more glucose or glycogen. When your body  has no access to food – such as during sleep – the body will burn fat and create  molecules called ketones. 

When fat is broken down by the liver, glycerol and fatty acid molecules are released  and are burned off in the liver in a process called beta oxidation.  The fatty acid is broken down further, in a process called ketogenesis, and a ketone  body called acetoacetate is produced. These are used as fuel by the muscles and  brain. 

Acetoacetate is then converted into 2 other types of ketone bodies: 

• Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) – After being keto-adapted for a while,  your muscles will convert the acetoacetate into BHB as it’s preferred by  the brain for fuel. 
• Acetone – Can sometimes be metabolized into glucose, but is mostly  excreted as waste. This gives the distinct smelly breath that most  ketogenic dieters know, but this will fade in time as your body adapts. 

Ketosis is pretty amazing, and in fact, gets even better. Studies show that the  body and brain actually prefer using ketones, being able to run 70% more  efficiently than glucose. From an evolutionary standpoint, this makes perfect  sense. 

Over time, your body will expel fewer ketone bodies, and you may think that ketosis is  slowing down. 

That’s not the case, as your brain is burning the BHB as fuel, and your body is trying  to give your brain as much efficient energy as possible.

What Can You Eat On A Keto Diet?

Starting a keto diet can be confusing – unless you have purchased the Badass Bikini Body Challenge.  We take care of everything for you; there is no need to confuse yourself over the  difference between macronutrients and macros splits, or how to calculate either – we  take care of all the hard work. The plan contains detailed information on the best sources of nutrition, to help you reduce body fat. 

If, however, you are someone who likes to understand how it all works then download  the app Carb Manager – I still use this if I’m unsure what the calories and macros are  for some food. You can also use our Macro Calculator [Link to Calculator] to take care of the hard work for you!

Macronutrient Split 

and put in the macro split of  

70% Fat 

25% Protein 

5 % Carbs  

The ketogenic diet is more of a lifestyle than a diet. The primary concept is high fat,  moderate protein and low carb. There is a mistaken assumption that a keto diet is high  protein but as you can see it’s only 25% of your daily intake/ make sure you hit this  daily, as well as sourcing your net carbs from greens – this is the most effect way of  having your fiber. 

Carb Manager will give you your daily macros and when you start logging food it will  give the percentages, making it easy for you to stick within those guidelines. 

Calculating your daily Calories. 

If you want to know how to work out your calories, calculate your body weight in lbs  then multiply it by 11. This will give you your daily individual calories for your weight. 

Carb Manager will also it will show your carbs as net carbs  

Normally, anywhere between 20-30g of NET CARBS is recommended for every day  dieting 20grams if you don’t exercise and 30g if you do. 

You might be asking, “What’s a net carb?”  

It’s simple, really!  

The net carbs are your total dietary carbohydrates, minus the total FIBER.  Let’s say for example you want to eat some broccoli (1 cup) which I recommend. 

• There are a total of 6g carbohydrates in 1 cup. 
• There’s also 2g of fiber in 1 cup. 
• So, we take the 6g (total carbs) and subtract the 2g (dietary fiber).
  
• This will give us our net carbs of 4g. 

This plan will teach you to follow a keto diet with a range of delicious, nutritious  meals which are sure to become your ‘go-to’ options, even when the plan has ended.  Before long, keto will be a way of life, unlocking the door to a leaner, fitter new you. 

Although I do recommend when you reach your target weight and you find your  maintenance calories and that you carb cycle with the keto diet especially if you’ve  got into your exercise. I can help you with this so feel free to reach out. [EMBED LINK TO CONTACT PAGE