Key in to keto

Looking for a diet that's an enabler for a long, healthier, vibrant life, Joan Fondevilla Llevot tells you to go the VLCKD way

The current pandemic and the resultant lockdown where people were unable to step out for their exercise regimen, is slowly becoming a cause for obesity which is already reaching epidemic proportions in India. In particular, abdominal obesity is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVDs). While most people get on a back burner to tackle the same, they fail in a key area — long-term maintenance of weight loss.

Following the VLCKD or Very Low-Calorie Ketogenic Diet has the benefits of not leaving you with hunger pangs and the result is not only weight loss but higher energy levels. The diet can be followed in two stages. Fast weight loss stage is based on a very-low-calorie ketogenic diet that allows a ratio of 10 kg weight loss per month. The duration of this stage is as long as you need until you reach your target weight. During the second stage, genetic metabolic adaptation and lifestyle stage, all food types are slowly reintroduced to the diet in accordance with the genetic test that every individual does. New dietary habits are developed, and this becomes the platform for maintaining the determined target weight. VLCKD is a diet of 800Kcal/day or less. It contains the daily requirements for vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and proteins. Carbohydrates are under 30 gms/day for women and 50 gms/day for men.

Since VLCKD is a very low carbohydrate diet, it means that the individual’s metabolism will switch to a state of regulated ketosis making their bodies to draw its energy from body fat reserves while preserving muscle mass. And that’s the key differentiator — while low-calorie diet involves decreasing the consumption of fats, proteins and sugars, which may result in losing muscle mass, the body does not get the energy needed to carry out the daily routines, VLCKD, on the other hand, improves the energy levels.

(The author is CEO & founder, ProGen)