There are many benefits of embracing a healthy lifestyle. The most obvious one is that you do not suffer from diseases often. You also enjoy a good quality of life since you can work or play as much as you want to. There are many aspects of a healthy lifestyle. Examples of these are fitness, mental relaxation and a good diet. Out of these, the diet is the most important. We are what we eat. Therefore, to maintain a fit body, we need to eat well. Also, to have a healthy mind, our bodies need a good supply of the right nutrients. Thus, your choice of diet and how you manage it is important. The ketogenic diet is popular among people looking to lose fat and build muscle. Intermittent fasting is also popular for the same purpose. Read on to learn how these elements can help you to get lean and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting is a dieting pattern. It is the decision to deliberately skip specific meals. In this form of dieting, you fast during a specific time of the day and then feast during another. By doing this, you can actively control the amount of calories which you are consuming. This helps you to achieve weight loss or muscle building goals. There are a number of ways through which you can apply intermittent fasting. Firstly, you can decide to eat only at specific times of the day. This is known as the feasting window. For example, you can decide to eat only between noon and 8PM. This is an 8 hour feasting window which allows you to skip breakfast. You can also reduce your feasting window to 6 or 4 hours. On the other hand, you can decide to consistently skip 2 meals every day. This allows you to go for up to 24 hours without eating.
For example, you can have your dinner at 8PM and decide not to eat until the same time on the next day. This is another way to apply intermittent fasting in your life. How does intermittent fasting help you to lose fat and gain muscle? Firstly, intermittent fasting helps you to reduce the calories which you consume. If you skip one meal in your day, you can actually eat more food during the other two meals and still consume less calories overall. This is known as a calorific deficit and it allows you to lose fat. Moreover, if you ensure that the nutrient content of the meals that you eat is mostly protein and other body-building foods, you can effectively build muscle.
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What is a ketogenic diet?
A ketogenic diet is one which is known for being low in carbohydrates. It is one where your meals contain more protein and vitamins than carbohydrates. This diet is also known as the low carb, high fat diet (LCHF). Normally, when we consume carbohydrates, they are processed into glucose and insulin. Glucose is the easiest molecule to turn into energy in our bodies. Therefore, it is the first option for our bodies whenever we need energy in the body. Insulin is a hormone that regulates the levels of glucose in the body and transports it too. When you are consuming enough carbohydrates regularly, there is no need for the body to process fat into energy. Thus, all the fat you eat is stored. However, if you reduce the intake of carbohydrates, there is a glucose deficit and the body begins to process fat into energy.
This is a state known as ketosis. Ketosis is a condition which the body creates when we are consuming too little food at a time. It is a survival state. During this state, our bodies produce compounds known as ketones. These are the products of fat breakdown in the liver. The fats are used to provide the body with energy to keep going. In the effort to lose fat and gain muscle, some people initiate ketosis in their bodies. They do this by limiting the consumption of carbohydrates and boosting the intake of fats and proteins. This forces the body into ketosis. It begins to break down all consumed and stored fat. This produces ketones that are subsequently used to create energy in the body. The protein content in the food is processed to build muscle. As a result, one is able to create a physique that is lean yet muscular at the same time. By practising a ketogenic diet you can achieve tremendous weight loss and boost physical performance by consuming protein-rich foods.
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How can a combination of a ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting help you to lose fat and gain muscle?
A ketogenic diet involves starving the body of carbohydrates and feeding it fat and protein. This causes it to revert to ketosis and break down any stored fat. By doing this, the body begins to become leaner. Fat which has been stored in the thighs, bum, arms, back, tummy and neck is broken down. This makes you lighter and more flexible. Moreover, the protein intake helps to build muscle. Protein is a body-building nutrient. Therefore, consuming more of it replaces lost fat with muscle tissue.
By maintaining a ketogenic diet and exercising, you can tone this muscle tissue into a lean, defined physique. Once you achieve a lean body, it is important to maintain it. You can do this using intermittent fasting. By skipping a meal evey day, you can consume large amounts of protein and fat as stipulated by the ketogenic diet. This helps you to maintain the fit, lean, muscular physique while keeping calorie intake low. The ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting are sure ways of shedding fat, boosting muscle growth and maintaining a fit physique.
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The Important Take Away
There are many types of diets that can help you improve your health. Each type has its own unique purpose. The ketogenic one helps you to limit carbohydrate intake for fat loss and cognitive function improvement purposes. It can be managed using intermittent fasting. This combination is effective in weight loss and muscle growth. You can adopt it today and experience the positive results.
