Ashley Grace
Some diets promise to get you closer to your ideal weight or metabolic health, but the architects do not disclose all there is to them. Getting into ketosis involves taking up a keto diet and the best thing is that it does not involve boring meal plans. Over the years, everybody from fitness enthusiasts to people looking to manage their blood sugar levels and weight have been in search of a simpler way of getting into ketosis. In this article, we look at five simple ways of how to get into ketosis.
What Does It Mean to Get into Ketosis?
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For a while now, the word ketosis has been floated around and considering the amount of information available on the internet today, it can be confusing knowing what ketosis means. Essentially, it involves a low-carb diet, but high in fat and moderate amount of proteins.
Health Line defines ketosis as a normal metabolic state where fat provide the fuel for the cells in your body. Several studies have found substantial evidence that ketosis is one of the best ways to lose weight due to the appetite-suppressing effects of the diet as well as in boosting metabolic health.
Simple Ways to Get into Ketosis
As much as we want to say that they are simple ways to get into ketosis, you will need to plan and do your due diligence, such as creating a meal plan well in advance, to ensure that you stay in ketosis. Here are five ways that you can use to get into ketosis.
Reduce the Amount of Carbs in Your Meals
The ketogenic diet revolves around a reduced consumption of carbs which is the most crucial factor when trying to achieve ketosis. Cells in the body use sugar in the form of glycogen for energy, but there are other sources of energy that you can consider while going into ketosis.
You will need to replace the calories and energy you get from carbs from other foods such as foods rich in fatty acids, otherwise known as ketone bodies. Generally, most people achieve ketosis while eating 20 grams of carbs per day, although there are people who achieve ketosis while eating double the amount.
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You will need to minimise your carbs intake for at least two weeks to prompt the liver to produce enough ketones that will provide enough fuel to your cells. You can gradually add more carbs as long as it is within the accepted range to keep your body in ketosis and for this reason, you will need to have a nutritionist or a medical professional to guide you on the amount of carbs you need to consume per day to keep your body in a state of ketosis.
Increase Your Consumption of Healthy Fats
Healthy fats can increase the production of ketones in the liver and help you get into ketosis. Whether you are going into ketosis to lose weight, exercise, or for metabolic health, you will need to create a meal plan that gives you between 60% and 80% of your daily calorie intake from healthy fats.
However, the trick here is to carefully select the foods that have the highest quality of healthy fats. You can get it from foods such as coconut oil, avocado oil, tallow, grass-fed butter, olive oil, and lard. You can get a diverse list of foods that are rich in healthy fats here.
Increase Your Protein Intake
The ketogenic diet also requires that you take a moderate consumption of protein as one of the ways of getting into ketosis. Eating too little protein while on a keto diet could lead to muscle loss while eating excess proteins could get you out of ketosis, since the extra protein is converted into glucose and curtail the production of ketones.
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To know how much protein you should consume while on ketosis, consider the following factors
- Your body fat percentage
- Amount of fat in your body which is arrived at by multiplying your body fat percentage with your weight
- Your lean body mass which is your weight minus the amount of fat
After calculating your lean body mass in pounds, multiply that with 0.8 to get the ideal amount of protein that you should consume per day.
Increase Your Physical Activities
Doing physical exercises is another way of getting into ketosis. However, with the change in diet especially in the beginning, you will not feel motivated to exercise, but it will go a long way in reducing the time it will take your body to get into ketosis.
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The science behind it is that physical activity depletes the glycogen in your body and since the keto diet is low in carbs, you will be able to get into a state of ketosis and stick to it much faster. Intermittent fasting during the days that you are working out will help you get into ketosis much faster. With that said, get an exercise partner or a personal trainer to motivate you when you do not feel like working out.
Consume Exogenous Ketones
Exogenous ketones are supplements that accelerate the time it takes for your body to get into ketosis. The best ketosis supplements are those that are made with beta-hydroxybutyrate, which is the most abundant ketone in the blood making up to 78% of the ketones produced by the liver. However, it is worth noting that consuming the supplement alone is not the same as being on a keto diet.
Exogenous ketones, when paired with MCT oils such as coconut oil, can help you get into ketosis as fast as in one hour. They are soluble in liquids, and you can take them as a beverage. In the case when you have a relapsed, and you have eaten more carbs than is necessary, exogenous ketones will easily help you get back into ketosis.
Conclusion
These are the five absolute simple ways of how to get into ketosis. However, the challenge will be staying in ketosis. When your body goes out of ketosis, but with supplements such as the exogenous ketones coupled with MCT oil or MCT oil powder, you will be able to get back in ketosis between an hour to a day. Visit Konscious Keto for the ultimate guide on how to get into ketosis, and you will be on your way to achieving better health.
