New to the keto diet? For those who are just learning about the ketogenic diet (which many dieters shorten to just ‘keto,’) it’s a high-fat, low-carb diet that encourages dieters to eat fats for energy as opposed to carbs. Carbs get replaced with fats, and through that process, the body shifts into a metabolic state otherwise known as ketosis. Like any diet, the keto diet may take some getting used to, but after cutting out sugar, low-fat foods, grains, processed foods, and other unhealthy foods, dieters begin to experience some amazing benefits. One of those incredible benefits is losing weight. The Body Reboot book explains how the keto diet aids in weight loss and covers so much more. It argues that keto is ideal for losing weight, and we have to agree. This ideal diet has a reputation for helping people lose weight, and below we discuss why that’s the case:  

Appetite Suppression

What’s beautiful about the keto diet is unlike other diets where no matter what you eat you still feel hungry, on keto most people lose their appetite! You don’t lose your appetite in the sense that you don’t feel like eating, but rather you eat less. We agree with Kiss My Keto that eating less and losing weight is a huge perk with keto and it’s something that helps people stick to the diet.

Keto reduces your appetite thanks to the satiating effect of proteins (which you will eat more of). Eating fewer carbs also causes drops in blood glucose with subsequent changes in your hunger-hormone levels. Ketone bodies also contribute to this appetite suppressing effect of the best diet to lose weight.

What everyone dreads about dieting is the unrelenting hunger that goes with it. A diet that can help you burn excess body fat while keeping you feeling full? Yes, that's what keto is about. As already explained, the ketogenic diet has a strong, appetite-suppressing effect. This comes from the increased ketones themselves, but also the higher intake of satiating nutrients and lack of hormone fluctuations.

If you read keto diet guidelines, you'll also notice that none recommend watching your calories. That's because chances of going overboard with the calories on keto are low. If you still want to make sure you're not eating too much, then go ahead and calculate your daily calorie intake. Otherwise, feel free to enjoy this diet to the fullest.

Increased Energy

An author named Jeff Haden on Inc. mentions how Keto has transformed his life and, in particular, how keto has also increased his energy.

Another nice thing about eating high fat to protein ratio is that it's very satisfying and tasty from an appetite standpoint. One of the most significant problems with most diets is that people feel hungry all the time, or don't eat food that tastes good.

With a low-carb, high-fat diet, I eat until I'm fully satisfied both in taste and quantity and don't feel hungry or even get a craving to snack between meals. Remember, fatty foods are usually rich in flavor as well as calories, so this diet ends up being very satisfying and never leaves you hungry or out of energy.

In fact, with respect to energy, my energy levels are also the highest they've ever been, as ketones produce greater and longer-lasting energy output.

Low Carb Diem also discusses how the keto diet can banish brain fog and instead, give you more energy:

Many people begin to experience better mental concentration, less compulsive eating, and few or no carb cravings. Some experience it as a “fog lifting” that they didn’t even know was there.

Low carb dieters often report elevated moods, heightened feelings of alertness and less of a need for sleep.

Believe it or not, glucose (found in carbs) is not the preferred fuel source for the brain and body. The body and brain run most efficiently on fat.

After a few days of severely decreasing or banishing carbohydrates from the diet, most ketogenic eaters report improved moods and a sudden increase in energy to the point where they are bouncing off the walls.

It Improves Health

Keto is known more than just being an excellent diet to go on to lose weight. It offers a lot of health benefits, and for many, this may mean reduced cholesterol, fewer seizures, and fewer PCOS symptoms for women, to name a few. Medical News Today mentions a few studies that back up these claims: Nutr Metab (Lond). 2005 and Exp Clin Cardiol. 2004.

When the ketogenic diet is followed in a healthy manner (which considers avocados a healthy fat instead of pork rinds), there is some evidence that the diet can improve heart health by reducing cholesterol. One study found that HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels significantly increased in those following the keto diet. The LDL (“bad”) cholesterol went down significantly.

It's thought that the combination of fat, protein, and carbs alters the way the body uses energy, resulting in ketosis. Ketosis is an elevated level of ketone bodies in the blood.

Ketosis can lead to a reduction in seizures in people with epilepsy. The jury is still out on how effective this actually is, though it seems to be most effective on children who have focal seizures.

There aren't many clinical studies on the ketogenic diet and PCOS. One pilot study that involved 5 women over a 24-week period found that the ketogenic diet:

increased weight loss
aided hormone balance
improved luteinizing hormone (LH)/follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) ratios
improved fasting insulin
More research is needed.

Enhanced Fat Burning

Women’s Health mentions a study by Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews that reveals that the keto diet may burn ten times more fat than other diets. That’s pretty amazing if you think about it! Plus, that’s another reason why the ketogenic diet gives you a considerable advantage in the losing weight department!

Now, new research has found that the low-carb diet may have one especially huge perk going for it: It might burn 10 times more fat than other diets.

That’s the major finding from research published in the journal Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews.

In 10 weeks, the group that was on the ketogenic diet had “significant” changes in their weight, body fat percentage, BMI, hemoglobin A1c (a test that measures a person’s blood sugar), and ketones (the result of your body burning fat for energy). Their resting metabolic rate, which is the rate that your body burns energy when you’re not doing anything, was more than 10 times that of people who ate a standard diet.

The Keto Diet WORKS!

Many keto dieters have had great success with the keto diet because they’ve lost weight, feel more energetic, their diet is much improved, and the positive results they continue to experience go on and on (Kiss My Keto supports this belief below). Everyone loses weight differently, so if you don’t lose weight right away don’t get discouraged. Keto’s benefits surpass just losing weight, and many believe it’s the only diet that works for them.

The reason reducing carbs helps you lose weight has to do with your blood glucose and hunger hormones. Carbs cause blood sugar fluctuations that lead to insulin spikes and growing hunger. The more refined a carb (white bread, table sugar), the greater these blood glucose fluctuations. Keto, being a low-carb diet, does not cause dramatic changes in blood sugar. Instead, it keeps these levels low suppressing your appetite naturally and making you eat less.  

Besides that, keto is the only diet putting you into nutritional ketosis. Ketosis is a metabolic state of greater fat burning. Normally, we’re in a state of sugar burning and our body’s tendency is to store fat for later. Keto forces your body to use all that precious fat simply because it can't rely on carbs anymore.

At the time of writing this post, we're currently giving away free copies of the Body Reboot book because it's our mission to increase awareness and to help people lose weight and get healthy! If you help us cover the cost of shipping, we’ll send a copy to your door FREE. Go over to this page to see if there are any copies left.

Sources: Kiss My Keto, Women’s Health, Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews, Medical News Today, NCBI: Nutr Metab (Lond). 2005, Exp Clin Cardiol. 2004, Inc.