I'm Ready to Lose Weight This Year: Is the Keto Diet My Answer?

Losing weight is one of the top New Year’s resolutions, so gyms see a sharp uptick in membership every January. But exercise alone won’t help you shed pounds if you don’t control your diet, too. 

If you’re curious about the keto diet but aren’t sure how to get started or maintain it, we understand. At Nexclin Medicine, we care for many overweight people searching for ways to lose excess fat and gain better health. Among them, many have tried the keto diet and ended up confused about the rules, eventually giving up. 

If that sounds familiar, or if you’ve heard about others’ success on keto and want to learn more about it, you’ve come to the right place. Dr. Naima Cheema and Dr. Hina Abid offer medically supervised weight loss, including keto diet plans that are personalized for you. 

Keto diet: What it is and why it’s popular

The ketogenic or keto diet has skyrocketed in popularity as a weight loss strategy mainly because it works. Celebrities tout it for its quick results, and you can't scroll through your social media feed without seeing the word “keto” pop out at you. So, what is the keto diet?

Basically, the keto diet is high in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbohydrates. This combination of nutrients forces your body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates for energy, a metabolic state known as ketosis.

When you’re in ketosis, your liver produces ketone bodies to provide energy, which differs from your body’s normal metabolic state, glycolysis, which converts carbohydrates into glucose for energy.

The macronutrient composition of a typical keto diet is around 70-80% fat, 10-20% protein, and 5-10% carbohydrates. This drastically reduced carbohydrate intake prompts your body to move into ketosis and burn fat for energy instead of glucose.

You can also chalk up the keto diet's popularity to its potential health benefits beyond weight loss, such as improved cognitive function and reduced inflammation. There are also studies showing that the keto diet might be beneficial for certain health conditions like diabetes, epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Challenges with the keto diet

While the keto diet can offer significant benefits, it also presents some challenges. The most common struggle is the “keto flu,” a group of symptoms including headache, fatigue, and nausea that can occur when your body transitions into ketosis. 

Sticking to a strict diet high in fats and low in carbohydrates can also take time and effort. Doing math at every meal — counting carbs, fats, and protein — can be tedious and overwhelming. If you get the numbers wrong, you can kick your body out of the ketosis state and stop your progress, which is why so many people end up quitting the diet.

That’s where we come in.

The importance of medical supervision

Given these challenges, it helps to have our medical team on your side to guide you through the process and help you navigate the numbers. 

It’s important to note that while the keto diet has shown promise in various studies, it can also have potential side effects like nutrient deficiencies, liver disease, and mood swings — another reason to enlist our help when you start the keto diet.

Our Nexclin Medicine team provides personalized advice, monitors you for adverse reactions, and adjusts your diet as necessary, leading to faster, more sustainable results. Plus, we can ensure your diet is balanced, nutritious, and safe in light of any other health issues you may have.

To set yourself up for keto success, call Nexclin Medicine in Roswell, Alpharetta, or Milton, Georgia, or schedule an appointment online.