When it comes to successfully reaching your fitness goals, exercise isn’t enough. You also need to make sure you are correctly fueling your body with the correct diet and nutrition choices.
The Keto Diet and the Paleo Diet are two of the top choices when it comes to making a big change to your nutrition. Both actively help support fitness and weight loss, but which one is going to not only help you achieve your goals, but also fit in with your lifestyle?
Here are the key points of each diet, to help you decide which is the right choice for you.
What is the Keto Diet?
Out of the two, the keto diet is the one that can feel the most complicated to begin with. Basically, the diet is all about getting your body into a state of ketosis - where you burn fat for fuel instead of carbs, your bodys usual energy source. To do this, you need to eat a lot of fat. You can discuss each with your personal trainer at home.
This sounds counterintuitive at first, eating fat to lose weight, but a high quantity of fat and a low intake of carbs can make all the difference. 60-80% of your calories should be coming from fat, but if you think that means high fat foods like cheese think again. Cheese is lactose, which is a carbohydrate, definitely not allowed on the keto diet. It’s more about eating full-fat whole foods that don’t contain many other macronutrients, such as olive oil.
Typical Foods Included in the Keto Diet
Cheese
Avocados
Seafood
Meat
Nuts
Berries
Typical Foods Avoided in the Keto Diet
Potatoes
Oatmeal
Juices
Chips
Grains
Starchy Vegetables
What is the Paleo Diet?
The Paleo diet, on the other hand, is a lot simpler to understand - and not just because it provides a lot more food options and doesn’t enforce any strict rules than the keto diet. It’s all about emulating a similar way of eating to our ancestors of the Paleo Age.
Essentially, the Paleo diet focuses on eating entire healthy food groups (meats, fruits, vegetables and healthy fats), while avoiding entire unhealthy food groups (dairy, processed foods, whole and refined grains). Just think, anything cavemen couldn’t eat during hunter and gather times isn’t allowed.
Typical Foods Included in the Paleo Diet
Meat
Eggs
Seeds
Fruits
Nuts
Vegetables
Typical Foods Avoided in the Paleo Diet
Potatoes
Corn
Dairy
Processed Food
Grains
Sugar Content Food
What is the main difference between the two?
If you’re still feeling confused, the main difference in the two diets boils down to this; on the keto diet, most of your calories come from fat, whereas on the paleo diet your calories mostly come from protein. Both diets are fairly similar in that they insist on cutting out carbohydrates and sugar.
Which diet works the best with certain fitness goals?
Both diets are known to work well for weight loss. However, you should be mindful of any workouts you do when you switch to either diet. It will take your body a little while to get used to the new way it’s being fueled, which can have a short term effect on your stamina when you exercise.
The best way to decide which diet will work best with your fitness goals and lifestyles, is to discuss each with your personal trainer at home. They have the expertise and experience to create the best fitness and nutrition plan for you, that will work to help you see impressive results.
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