Difference between a Low Carb Diet and a Keto Diet?
What is considered a low carb diet?
Quote: Studies suggest that a low carb diet comprises 10–30% of calories from carbs. For a healthy person who consumes 2,000 calories per day, this equals 50–150 grams of carbs.
Fact: This is somewhat misleading as most people thinking of a low carb diet will be looking for reduced calories and it’s the carbs they are looking to cut. At 2000 calories a day between 200 and 600 of those will be carbs according to the 10-30% in the quote. To lose 500 calories (needed to lose 1lb a week) we should really be looking at close to 1500 calories a day (150-450 carbs).This is in easy reach for most people…
A low carb diet restricts carbs, such as grains, rice, and starchy vegetables, to 10–30% of your overall calorie intake, which will only lead to weight loss if you have removed carbs from your diet rather than replaced them with other things.
What is keto?
The ketogenic (keto) diet is a very low carb, high fat diet that has gained popularity in recent years.
It takes a lot of counting and research to ensure proper nutrition with protein and fats. To use it long term you probably need to be fond of low carb fruits and vegetables.
The keto diet is similar to a low carb diet except it restricts carbs to 50 grams or fewer per day. If you exercise this can be increased and some people are just lucky and can tolerate more.. This puts your body into ketosis, which promotes the use of fat as a primary fuel source.
For those trying to decide whether to go for keto or a low-carb diet, personally I would say the more carbs you have to cut, the more wretched you will feel. Go the whole hog and go keto. The cravings will stop once you go into ketosis and seeing that little stick turn red when you pee on it is a great motivator
Packaged Food on Low Carb Diets
Many things are no problem cooked as granny used to but the food industry will insist on adding things to tempt us taste wise and sugar is one of them. Tomato sauces are a classic example.
Tip: Buy from the stores own basic brands. Always check but they tend not to add sugar as they do with their more expensive branded counterparts.
Prepacked salads are good, especially the basic ones Making your own dressing is safer.. If in doubt as to the ingredients of a ready-made salad, check the net carbs on the packaging as additional fruits, sauces and vegetables increase the total carb count and could result in you going over your carb limit for the day if you don’t keep track.