Don’t make the mistake of thinking that it’s okay to eat any just any protein or fat, otherwise you will throw your body out of ketosis and out of fat-burning mode…
A well-formulated ketogenic diet should have approximately 70-80% of the calories coming from fat, 20-25% from protein, and only 5% from carbohydrates. Don’t get focused on just eating protein and fats without regard to the proper ratios. The biggest energy source on the keto diet is fat. Unlike traditional low-carb diets, protein intake should be moderate, not high. Eating too much protein (a common keto mistake) will prevent your body from entering into ketosis, and you will not get many of the benefits of the ketogenic diet.
Too much protein is bad for ketosis because our bodies of an energy process called gluconeogenesis. This is how your body turns protein into glycogen that can be used as glucose to burn for fuel. When this happens, your body stays out of ketosis and you will not be burning fat for energy as your body is now using the protein for fuel. This also means that your body may start to break down your muscle tissue which is an athlete’s worst nightmare.
How do you avoid gluconeogenesis? Calculate your ideal macronutrients to make sure your keto diet is formulated along these guidelines
If you follow these macro-nutrient guidelines, you’ll find it much easier to stay in ketosis and use fat for fuel.
Charles Weller
Author