How to Start the Ketogenic Diet

Siim Land (0:00)

Do you want to know how to start the ketogenic diet? How to get into ketosis and start burning your own body fat for a few? Yes! How to have a lot of energy and mental clarity for the entire day?

That's the beauty of ketosis and the ketogenic diet. Zero to 100, nigga, real quick. Welcome to the channel, my name is Siim, and in this video, I'm going to explain you how to start the ketogenic diet step by step. It's a complete beginner's guide.

If you want to know how to optimize and improve your body and mind, then make sure you subscribe because my videos cover exactly those topics. But now let's start with some of the basics of your metabolism.

So, your body can use different fuel sources for energy. Glucose is the molecule of carbohydrates, and it gets stored in the body as glycogen. Fatty acids can be found in dietary fat, and you either burn them off as energy or store them in the adipose tissue. Protein consists of amino acids that are essential building blocks for your body. But protein itself can't be stored inside the body. You only need a certain amount of protein per day for maintaining muscle mass, and what you don't need right away has to be converted to glucose before you can store it. Converting protein to glucose is a whole nother topic, but it's quite relevant when trying to maintain ketosis. It won't happen by eating too much protein. It happens when your body actually feels the need to do it. Gluconeogenesis is driven by demand, not by supply. All excess calories, whether that be from carbohydrates or fat, get converted into triglycerides, and they're stored in your adipose tissue for backup. If you're in a caloric deficit, you'll take those same triglycerides and burn them for energy. It doesn't matter what type of food you eat. If you eat too much calories, then they will still end up as triglycerides in your adipose tissue. You f*** 48% body fat. By default, your body is using glucose for fuel because it's quick to absorb and easy to store as fat. When you're in a fasted state or when you reduce your carbohydrate intake, then you will eventually deplete your liver glycogen. The liver will then start producing ketone bodies from stored triglycerides. Those same stored triglycerides in your body fat. Which leads us to ketosis. In a nutshell, ketosis is a metabolic state in which your body has shifted from using glucose as its primary fuel source into supplying its energy demands with ketone bodies. You can induce ketosis by fasting for either 3 days or restricting your carbohydrate intake for a few weeks. Ketogenesis involves the creation of ketone bodies such as acetoacetate that gets converted into acetone and beta-hydroxybutyrate. Help! I'm in a nutshell! That sounds like a very difficult process. You know, why would you even want to get into ketosis?

There are many benefits to this state. Ketones produce 25% more energy than glucose. Glucose metabolism causes more oxidative stress and free radical production, which can speed up aging and cause damage to the mitochondria. The ketogenic diet mimics the physiology of fasting, which makes it superior for blood sugar and insulin stabilization. It's easier to burn fat and lose weight on keto. Your energy levels throughout the day are constant and you won't experience the ups and downs of insulin. You will also experience improved endurance and physical performance thanks to burning your own body fat for fuel. The ketogenic diet has a lot of positive benefits on your health, such as higher HDL cholesterol, lower triglycerides and reduced inflammation. You'll have greater mental clarity and clearer thinking because your brain has access to energy 24-7. And you'll have reduced hunger at the expense of increased satiety, which makes it again extremely good for weight loss and improved cognition. I myself have done the ketogenic diet for 3 years and I must say that it has drastically increased the quality of my life, starting from my physical performance, my cognition, my mood, my energy levels and my productivity. It's a lot easier to stay focused on something for longer periods of time without getting sidetracked or getting hungry.

It's been great for building muscle and improving my physical performance at the gym as well. And of course, it's very easy to maintain a lean physique year round. If you're at the caloric deficit on the ketogenic diet, then those missing calories will be taken straight from your body fat. On a non-ketogenic diet that doesn't restrict carbohydrates, you will experience slightly higher rates of muscle loss at the caloric deficit. The reason is that your body is still geared towards burning glucose, and when you run out of glucose inside the body, then you will start to convert your protein into glucose through gluconeogenesis. This is the point where gluconeogenesis is driven by demand, not supply. Your body needs some energy, and the next best thing after glucose is protein. First time in my life I'm pissed off. But this doesn't happen on a keto diet, because your body is using fat as its primary fuel source.