Do you need to count calories on the keto diet for it to work?

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Beauty gurus and nutritionists have been talking about the keto diet for several years now. Many models and bloggers talk about an effective way to lose weight and demonstrate their inspiring results.

The main idea of ​​the ketogenic diet is to consume foods with a high fat content, moderate protein content and a maximum reduction in the amount of carbohydrates in the diet. With such nutrition, the body begins to use fats as the main source of energy instead of carbohydrates. After the breakdown of fats, ketone bodies are formed. The state of increased levels of ketone bodies in the body is called ketosis. And one of the side effects of this process is significant weight loss.

The traditional keto diet involves getting 70-75% of your daily calories from fat and only 5% from carbohydrates. This means only 20-30 grams of carbohydrates per day. For comparison, just one apple contains about 25 grams.

A fairly common problem among keto dieters is consuming too many calories. 1 gram of fat contains twice as many calories as a gram of protein or carbohydrates, and since the keto diet consists mainly of fat, there is a high risk of going into a calorie surplus and, as a result, gaining weight. Remember that weight change only depends on how many calories you burn and how many you get. If you eat more than you can spend, weight will increase regardless of what type of diet you follow.

That is why even on a keto diet, you need to monitor the number of calories consumed. Of course, you shouldn't go to fanaticism and calculate everything with an accuracy of a gram, but keep in mind the nutritional value of the products consumed. Even if the keto diet allows fried bacon or nuts, you shouldn't get carried away with them. Excessive calorie consumption can negatively affect not only weight, but also the health of the body in general.