Have you got the ketogenic diet all wrong? Here's how to go about it

The ketogenic diet, recently made famous in India by actor Aamir Khan as he prepared for his role in Dangal, is regarded by Scientific Sports Nutrition Community as a scientific fat loss miracle. Its fat loss factor is just the icing on the cake if you consider the health benefits of the diet: sharper brain function, lower body fat, longer muscle retention, control of cardiac disease, reduced growth of cancerous cells, reduced gastric distress, immensely improved endurance, the list goes on, and there are studies that prove each of these.

Despite being around for a while, many people often believe they are on a ketogenic diet when they actually are not. Their very classifications of carbs and proteins is misplaced, as they don't account for hidden carbs, and their ratio of protein to fat can be so off that their body is in a state of constant gluconeogenesis instead of ketosis. In this state, they are on a diet, they are practicing self control, but they are not even getting 25 per cent of the benefits of the true ketogenic diet.

Here are the basic guidelines for a ketogenic diet:

Cut out all sugars completely. All grains are sugars too, as they are eventually broken down to glucose. No milk either, as it's essentially lactose sugar.

Consume a 1:1 ratio in grams of protien and fat. This means calorifically, you will be consuming more fats than proteins.

Avoid all carbs — starch, glucose, fleshy fruits, and vegetables. If you are vegetarian, you will need to take supplements to balance the micro-nutrient needs. As a non-vegetarian, you need not worry about the micro-nutrients as meats, eggs and green leafy vegetables have all the nutrients you need in ample amounts.

For fibre, consume a bowl of green leafy vegetables everyday.

When calculating macros, take into consideration the true biological value of the protein. Vegetable sources of protein are not to be counted under it.

Either go sugarless or use erythrytol, aspartame (not recommended for phenylketoneurics), xylitol, or sucralose for sweetening. Going off sweetness completely is recommended, but not everybody can manage it.

Your carb intake should not exceed 30 grams a day.

Do not try to cycle the ketogenic diet over small periods — having a cheat meal every week or every alternate day will never allow your body to actually reach optimum ketogenesis and its benefits. For optimum results, stay in ketosis for a sustained period of at least 40 days without carbs.

You could also catch the documentary, That Sugar Film, that talks about the diet

—Pushkaraj S Shirke, K11 Trained Fitness Consultant