Times vary wildly, but you can use these tried and true methods to enter ketosis quickly (and safely) in 24 - 36 hours. Diabetics and people with insulin resistance should use a long-term, slow approach instead.
To simplify it, Ketosis is the process of using fat for fuel, named after the production of ketones (chemicals produced by the liver to help break down fat).
While humans have been surviving off our fat stores for millennia, the deliberate use of a Ketogenic diet was first designed in 1921 by Dr Russell Wilder.
Benefits of the ketogenic diet
People use ketosis for a surprisingly wide range of reasons, from cognitive improvements to fat loss. Briefly, here are the main benefits:
Easier to lose fat while maintaining muscle mass (especially belly fat)
Cognitive improvements due to a lack of blood sugar fluctuations
Pre-diabetes and insulin resistance reversal
Improved hormone levels
Greatly improved behaviour in children and adults with ADHD and ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)
Ketosis often overlaps with autophagy, an incredible rejuvenating process
More energy for longer, endurance-based events and competitions
How can we enter ketosis quickly and safely?
The Ketogenic diet has many fantastic benefits, so you may be eager to enter ketosis quickly. That being said, it's important to remain safe when entering ketosis.
Main dangers
The two biggest dangers when entering ketosis are ketoacidosis and hypoglycaemia. Cardiac arrest is a possibility for people that are already very lean when entering ketosis quickly.
Ketoacidosis
Ketoacidosis is the overproduction of ketones, where fat is broken down faster than the body can handle. This typically happens when people with diabetes attempt to enter ketosis too quickly.
Hypoglycaemia
Hypoglycaemia is the lack of sugar in the blood. This can become deadly for diabetics who are unable to regulate blood sugar and rely on the use of exogenous insulin. Hypocalcaemia can lead to diabetics falling unconscious.
Both dangers can be mitigated by maintaining a consistent but less intense activity schedule when entering ketosis. Because I recommend using a water fast to enter ketosis quickly in this article, I have to stress that this particular method is not suitable for people with diabetes or pre-diabetes.
Cardiac arrest
Additionally, if you are already very lean then the ketogenic diet may not be for you, and you could be putting yourself at risk of cardiac arrest (under 8% body fat for men, under 12% for women).
Tip #1 - Water fast for 24 - 36 hours
I first learned this tip from Tim Ferris in his 'Tools of Titans' book.
The key to entering ketosis is depleting our muscle and liver glycogen (stored sugar). We want to get to the stage where our body cannot draw glycogen to meet our energy needs, as this is where we begin to turn to fat as an energy source instead. Using a water-fast is an excellent way to do this, and it also brings about the use of autophagy, another fantastic process that makes us happier and healthier (look out for an article on autophagy from me in the near future).
Although a traditional water fast sees someone consume nothing but water I will argue for the use of caffeine in your fast a little further on (it's also a good idea to consume electrolytes to maintain optimal muscular contraction, especially cardiac contraction).
Tip #2 - Perform low-impact activity
Synergising with our water fast, activity will help deplete glycogen even quicker.
The key here is to avoid creating a greater demand for energy than our body can handle, this means keeping activity low-impact and less intense. Make sure to take breaks as needed, this isn't the time to push yourself or participate in heavy strength training.
Instead, try walking at a slow pace for an hour or two. Even something as low-impact as light housework will make for great exercise.
The added benefit of exercise is that it will distract you from how hungry you feel!
Tip #3 - Avoid sweeteners
The science is in - sweeteners are probably okay, even for diabetics.
This being said, while sweeteners have been shown to have little effect on blood sugar in a regular diet, they could push someone into hypoglycaemia if they are fasting (the body may falsely identify sweeteners as sugar and increase insulin production in anticipation, leading to a reduction in existing blood sugar).
Additionally, I've found that consuming sweeteners when fasting leads to an awful laxative effect (the same is true while in ketosis), so try to avoid them if possible.
Tip #4 - Use caffeine
Caffeine, although addictive, is really a wonder drug. It can do everything, from increasing Testosterone to potentially decreasing cholesterol and more.
Caffeine can increase users' metabolism, which leads to increased energy demand and thus draws stored glycogen out quicker. Use caffeine in combination with activity for synergy effects.
how to maintain ketosis
If you've followed the tips above, then congratulations! You should be in a state of ketosis. If you're unsure whether you are or not, you can always buy cheap urine test strips which will test your pee for the presence of ketones.
To maintain ketosis, you must eat high-fat foods, maintaining carbs under 5% of your total daily macros, of which you should not consume in one go (spread your carbs out across the day). Your protein-to-fat ratio will depend on your goals and activity levels (and could easily take up a whole article by itself), so it's best to experiment and see what works for you.
Summary
Entering ketosis quickly is a balance between activity and depleting glycogen, but not going so far as to induce hypoglycaemia or ketoacidosis.
That being said, ketosis is an excellent way to achieve many benefits, from fat loss to mood improvement, and is worth trying at least once.
In this article, I advocate the use of fasting to enter ketosis quickly, with fasting itself worth trying due to the introduction of autophagy.
If the idea of entering keto quickly worries you, then you can simply cut out the fast and taper into a ketogenic diet slowly by increasing fat and decreasing carbs over time.
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