Ketogenic diets force the body into a state called ketosis. The body generally uses carbohydrates as its primary source of energy. This is because carbohydrates are the easiest for the body to absorb.
However, if the body lacks carbohydrates, it turns into fat and protein for energy. Essentially, the body has some sort of energy hierarchy that it follows.
First, the body is programmed to use carbohydrates for energy when they are available. Second, you will revert to fat as an alternative in the absence of sufficient carbohydrate intake.
Eventually, the body will turn to protein for its energy supply in the event of extreme depletion of its carbohydrate and fat stores. However, the breakdown of protein for energy supply results in an overall loss of lean muscle mass.
The ketogenic diet is not entirely dependent on your calorie intake and exit pattern. This is because the composition of these calories is important due to the body's hormonal response to different macronutrients.
However, there are two schools of thought in the keto community. While one believes that the amount of calories and fat consumed does not matter, the other maintains that calories and fat do matter.
When you use a ketogenic diet, you are trying to find a point of balance. While calories are important, the makeup of those calories is also important. In a ketogenic diet, the most important factor in building up these calories is the balance of fat, protein, and carbohydrate and how each affects insulin levels.
This balance is very important because any increase in insulin will stop lipolysis. Therefore, you should eat foods that generate the least increase in insulin. This will help keep your body in the state of burning body fat stored for fuel - lipolysis.
The body can normally enter a state of ketosis on its own. This is usually the case when you are on an empty stomach, such as when you are sleeping. In this state, the body tends to burn fat for energy while the body makes repairs and growth while sleeping.
Carbohydrates generally make up the majority of calories in a regular meal. Additionally, the body tends to use carbohydrates for energy because they are more easily absorbed. Therefore, dietary protein and fat are more likely to be stored.
However, on a ketogenic diet, most of the calories come from fat rather than carbs. Since ketogenic diets are low in carbs, they get depleted immediately. The low level of carbohydrates causes an apparent shortage of energy fuel for the body.
Due to this apparent shortage, the body draws on its stored fat content. Go from being a carbohydrate eater to being a fat burner. However, the body does not use the fat from recently eaten foods, but stores it for the next ketosis cycle.
As the body becomes more familiar with burning fat for energy, the fat from a meal consumed is depleted and there is not much left to store.
This is why the ketogenic diet uses a lot of fat so that the body can get enough of it for energy production and can store fat as well. The body must be able to store fat, otherwise it will start breaking down its protein stores in the muscles during the period of ketosis.
During times of fasting, such as in ketosis, between meals, and while you sleep, the body still needs a constant supply of energy. You have these times in your normal day, so you need to get enough fat for your body to use for energy.
If there isn't enough fat stored, protein in your muscle becomes the next option the body can use for energy. Therefore, it is important to eat enough to prevent this scenario from happening.
The main goal of a ketogenic diet is to mimic the state of starvation in the body. Ketogenic diets deprive the body of its immediate, easily convertible carbohydrates of choice by limiting and drastically reducing carbohydrate intake. This situation forces you to go into fat burning mode for energy production.
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