The two most talked-about approaches are the keto diet and the concept of a calorie deficit for fat loss. Both methods have their merits, but they differ significantly in approach and sustainability. Understanding each can help you decide which might be the best fit for your lifestyle and goals.
The Keto Diet
The ketogenic diet, commonly known as the keto diet, is a high-fat, moderate-protein, and low-carbohydrate eating plan. The primary goal of the keto diet is to shift your body’s metabolism from relying on carbohydrates as its main energy source to using fat instead (the fat you’re carrying). This metabolic state is called ketosis, where the liver produces ketones that the body can use for fuel.
Here are the main things people remember when following the keto diet:
Consume less refined carbs
On keto you can consume some carbs, but just not too many. Refined carbs are often very starchy which can contribute to going over the carb limits, and these types of carbs cause rapid spikes in your insulin, resulting in you craving more for them.
Consume moderate protein
When protein is in excess, it’s believed to be stored as energy in you. Therefore individuals on keto don’t overconsume protein. A good value to stick with would be at least 1 g of protein per kg of body weight. But this should be animal protein, as they contain more utilisable protein, as they contain a good balance of all the essential amino acids. Plant protein contains imbalances in the nine essential amino acids, and you need all of them in balance for your body to be able to utilise the protein properly. So although you could consume a lot of animal protein, it will increase your protein intake which could result in you storing fat.
Consume more healthy fats
Healthy fats keep you full and assist in ketosis. The idea of “fat burns fat” stems from this belief. You don’t necessarily have to count the grams of fat you consume, but be sure that there’s a reasonable amount of fats in your meals, generally more than the other macronutrients.
Calorie Deficit
The saying “calories in, calories out” derives from the calorie deficit, an idea that means if you consume more calories than you burn, you’ll lose weight (this includes fat, water and sometimes muscle tissue) so your body can reach its energy needs.
This allows people following this eating routine to theoretically consume whatever they want, whether it’s refined carbs, oily foods or sugary foods, as long as it’s less than the calories they burned.
Here’s what people remember and stick to on a calorie deficit diet:
Calculate your maintenance calories
You need this to know how many calories to eat and burn. There are many online calculators to find a rough estimate of this. Although it may not be completely accurate, the deficit of 500 calories usually covers this. Factors like age, gender, weight height and activity contribute to this value.
Track your intake
On a calorie deficit, there’s a lot of calculating to do. You need to know the calorie of EVERYTHING to maintain a happy calorie deficit. But to make the deficit easier, you won’t want your meals to have too many calories, which ensures you don’t over-exercise either.
Create a deficit
A pound of fat is told to be around 500 calories. So with this value, going on a daily calorie deficit of 500 calories would result in you losing a steady weight of 500 calories (but because you lose “weight” and not just “fat” the value can vary). But you will still fortunately lose some calories of fat. To be safe, some people even do a 1000 calorie deficit, so they can ensure they lose enough fat consistently. But this is harder and may result in you either eating significantly fewer calories or exercising more.
Arguments for the keto diet
Many people have been in keto and it has worked, which is the same for the calorie deficit as well. The keto diet proposes that you burn fat alone instead of muscle, which would be desirable for many. But here are the main arguments for the keto diet.
Burn fat alone
With the idea that lowering your carbohydrate intake and increasing your fat intake, ensures you burn fat alone and preserve your muscle mass. Having more muscle mass increases your metabolic rate, resulting in you burning more fat even at rest. It also enhances your physique, combining losing fat and preserving muscle.
You can eat calories to satisfy you
Energy comes from calories, so you must have enough energy, let alone consume enough calories to help you go through your day. This reduces brain fog and tiredness, and since the calories are consumed from healthy fats and animal protein, it ensures your cravings are reduced and you are satiated until your next meal. This is unlike the calorie deficit where you restrict your calories, which can result in reduced energy levels.
Maintaining muscle mass
On a calorie deficit, calories like vegetables and fruits are pushed out more than protein and fats. And although people opt for lean proteins like lean chicken, the keto routine disproves this as the fats on proteins subside the spike in insulin you get protein the protein since they contain carbs, and from a keto perspective, this would slow down weight loss. Since you can ensure you’re getting enough protein on a keto diet, this makes sure you don’t lose muscle mass and you have enough protein for tissue repair and growth.
Fewer insulin spikes
Insulin is a fat-storing hormone, and it’s released after consuming carbs, which is usually after every meal you eat. However, more is released when your meal is high in carbs. So from a keto perspective, since any carb or sugar spikes your insulin, even though for instance, a breakfast bar may be low in calories and even carbs but contain added ingredients (sugars) that are high on the GI scale, for example, glucose syrup, it will still result in fat gain regardless of the calories.
But the keto diet ensures your carbs are low and refined carbs are reduced or even void.
It’s sustainable
Because you’re getting the energy you need, people may be able to stay for longer on a keto diet than a large calorie deficit. You can eat until you’re satiated by consuming whole foods like healthy fats and animal protein, ensuring you won’t crave for junk food. And since your body will be taught how to use its fat stores as energy, getting off the diet for a couple of days or re-introducing some more carbs into your diet may not hurt your weight goals as much (only after months on the diet thought).
Arguments for the calorie deficit diet
Few professional eaters consume tens of thousands of calories and burn them off through a calorie deficit, and it works. So here’s why many consider a calorie deficit:
You can eat more of what you want
Remember it’s “calories in, calories out”, so as long as you’re burning more calories than you consume, you can enjoy some treats, and still maintain the diet, let alone lose weight. So people on or considering going on a calorie deficit may favour it as on keto, you generally can’t consume foods that people love, like fries, burgers, biscuits and more.
You can consume more carbs
Most people are used to consuming more carbs, so many may think going on keto may not be the best for them. Something called “keto flu” is common with people who first go on keto. Proposed symptoms include hunger, change of mood and fatigue since their bodies may not be used to low carbs. But as your body needs to adapt to consuming unusually low calories, or burning more than usual calories, it must also get used to consuming less carbs. This may be thought by someone on a keto diet, and the symptoms usually go away after a few days.
You can lose weight faster
This is a fact; if you don’t eat, you’ll lose weight. When people starve themselves, they lose weight. As I said earlier, some professional eaters do extreme cardio to prevent themselves from gaining too much weight, which may include miles upon miles of jogs and bike rides, and it works! So people having larger calorie deficits will be able to lose weight faster than someone on keto.
But this isn’t sustainable in the long run, because virtually all people won’t be able to consume 1000 calories and burn 3000 calories daily for months to come. And from a keto perspective, even when you’ve lost the weight and you come off the diet because your body hasn’t learnt how to solely use its fat stores as energy, you’ll put all the weight back on.
Which diet is best?
From the arguments you have read, confidently make your decision. I would choose keto, as it’s more sustainable long term and it’s generally healthier for you, as you also won’t be opting for low-calorie foods that are also ultra-processed, like Diet Coke. Even if you don’t drink Diet Coke, the keto diet ensures you have enough energy through calories to go through your daily life energetically.
However, a calorie deficit is a quick fix, especially an extreme one. But just note that a couple of days of it will result in you putting all the weight back on!
