Here’s Why Ketosis Can Burn Visceral Fat and Protect Muscles.
I explain the critical factors of ketosis and offer viable and flexible solutions for different diets and lifestyle choices.
Numerous reasons compelled me to make ketosis a lifestyle. In this story, I only focus on two aspects of ketosis: fat-burning and muscle retention. If appropriately used, ketosis can contribute to physical and mental health.
Some subscribers asked why I emphasize ketosis via fasting or ketogenic diets for visceral fat loss and muscle retention instead of caloric restriction without fasting and using high-carb, low-fat diets. They believe that if we manage calories, we should be able to lose fat and maintain muscle mass.
These readers are right from the caloric angle but miss a crucial point: hormonal impact. Yes, calorie reduction without fasting can cause fat loss, but it might also lead to muscle loss if it continues for a prolonged time. Ketosis is more favorable.
The critical differentiator between fasting and caloric reduction is due to hormonal effects. For example, consuming the same amount of food in one or multiple meals can significantly affect the hormones, specifically due to the effects of insulin and growth hormone.
When the body is in a state of ketosis, it burns fat for energy, which can lead to weight loss while maintaining muscles. The insulin stops feeding the fat cells, and the growth hormones rise to spare muscles.
It is also essential to distinguish between weight loss and fat loss. For healthy weight management, our goal should be losing excess visceral fat while keeping lean muscles.
I explain the effect of ketosis on fat loss and muscle retention without going into the scientific and technical details and only focusing on the key points. First, I’d like to introduce it to those unfamiliar with ketosis briefly.
What is Ketosis?
Ketosis is a metabolic state in which the body uses ketones, a byproduct of fat metabolism, as its primary energy source instead of glucose converted from carbohydrates.
Ketosis indicates that the body runs out of glucose. More specifically, the body starts producing alternative energy in the shortage of glucose. However, NOT consuming dietary sugar does not mean the body has no glucose in the bloodstream.
The body can create necessary blood glucose by converting it from amino acids and fatty acids. The processes are known as gluconeogenesis and lipolysis.
The two critical enablers of ketosis are fasting and using healthy fats as the primary energy source. A combination of them can make ketosis more intense and sustainable.
So to enter ketosis, you need to lower carbs, increase fats, and move the body. As digestion and exercise increase stress, you also need to get restorative sleep to reap the benefits of ketosis.
In addition to fat loss and muscle retention, ketosis can improve health, increase energy, and might be used to treat some diseases such as diabetes and cancers. Ketosis can lower chronic inflammation, as I explain in a previous story.
Research into ketone bodies, particularly β-hydroxybutyrate, regarding obesity, type II diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, mitochondrial disorder, weight loss (reducing visceral fat), and cancer treatment looks promising.
Ketosis is diet-agnostic, as herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores can enter ketosis by changing their macronutrients as required. I introduced keto-vegan, keto-carnivore, and keto-omnivore diets.
However, even though ketosis works well for many people, I’d like to highlight that it might not suit everyone’s needs and conditions as it has drawbacks and might interfere with underlying health conditions.
The most common side effects of ketosis for beginners are keto-flu and sleep disturbances. I documented these transition issues, especially those affecting sleep for beginners, and provided practical tips based on experience and observations.
The Impact of Fasting and Healthy Fats on Ketosis
Fasting and eating healthy fats are two primary approaches to entering ketosis, a metabolic state in which the body primarily uses ketones for energy instead of glucose.
The supplementary method is intense exercises that can initiate ketosis, especially if combined with fasting and ketogenic diets.
During a fast, the body uses up its glycogen stores, comprising glucose, for energy. Once glycogen stores are depleted, the body starts breaking down fats for energy, producing ketones as a byproduct.
Eating a diet high in healthy fats, moderate protein, and low in carbohydrates, such as a keto diet, can induce ketosis. In this approach, the body relies on fats for energy, which triggers the production of ketones as an alternative energy source.
Even though glucose is the primary energy source for the body, some organs like the brain and heart can happily use ketones in the absence or shortage of glucose.
Both fasting and keto diets have their benefits and drawbacks. Fasting can be a quick way to enter ketosis. However, it might be difficult to sustain long-term for many people, especially when their bodies are not fat-adapted.
On the other hand, a keto diet can be more sustainable for beginners. However, it requires careful attention to macronutrient ratios and the balance of micronutrients. Therefore, using it in the long term can also be challenging.
I explained why some people quit keto diets and time-restricted eating quickly in a story titled here’s why people quit keto diets and intermittent fasting quickly and how to fix the issues timely.
The critical point is the temporary “keto flu” phase during the transition to a keto diet, or time-restricted eating discouraging them.
Regarding which approach is better for entering deep ketosis while losing fat and sparing muscle, it depends on our goals and preferences.
Both approaches can be effective for weight loss, muscle retention, and improving metabolic health. However, a well-formulated keto diet generally gives the body enough protein to maintain muscle mass while burning stored fat for energy.
The secret to muscle growth or retention is using adequate amino acids from bioavailable protein sources and performing resistance training to activate mTOR.
The Impact of Ketosis on Fat Mobilization and Burning
The main reason ketosis burns fat quickly is that the body must use stored fat instead of relying on glucose from carbohydrates.
In standard diets, the body burns glucose for energy. However, when carbohydrate intake is restricted, the body turns to stored fat for energy.
This can significantly reduce body fat, especially in the abdomen, the primary anatomic location for fat storage.
The other reason is the regulation of the master hormone insulin. During ketosis, insulin is silent, not interfering with fat burning. I explained the process in a story titled Three Tips to Eliminate Insulin Resistance and Shrink Waistline.
The critical point is that insulin is an anabolic hormone feeding both muscle and fat cells. It is beneficial to grow or maintain muscles. However, it can turn glucose into fat molecules and store them as visceral fat.
Eating less than our body needs for daily activities leads to a caloric deficit. In this position, the body cannot obtain sufficient energy from food.
Therefore it will start to use stored energy, including glycogen in the muscles and liver and fat stored throughout the body.
If the body faces a caloric deficit for a long time, it can lead to muscle loss. This occurs because the body needs a constant supply of amino acids to maintain muscle mass, repair tissues, and synthesize new proteins. I will cover this in the next section.
The Impact of Ketosis on Muscle Retention
Even though we don’t consume food for a while, ketosis can spare muscle tissue because the body produces ketones, which cells, tissues, and organs can use for energy.
In addition, the presence of ketones in the bloodstream can suppress appetite affecting appetite-regulating hormones such as ghrelin and leptin. This physiological process can prevent muscle loss during a caloric deficit.
In the short term, the body does not need to break down muscle tissue for energy during ketosis. However, when we continue caloric deficit for too long, even during deep ketosis, the body has no option but to start using amino acids from muscle cells leading to muscle loss.
This means that fasting can be helpful for the short term due to the metabolic effects of ketosis but cannot spare muscles unless we consume adequate calories without causing excessive insulin releases.
So there are two viable options to balance fat burning and muscle retention for people with different dietary preferences.
The first viable solution to lose weight and maintain muscle mass is to consume most of our calories from healthy fats, which can address the calorie deficit problem and keep the insulin under control.
Some people cannot eat a lot of fat for various reasons. In this case, the viable solution is getting calories from carbs and fats in different ratios, meeting the calorie requirements, and consuming them in specific windows, known as time-restricted eating or intermittent fasting.
Even though ketogenic diets are more effective in lowering visceral fat and maintaining muscle mass by entering ketosis, it is possible to enter ketosis without following a strict keto diet, as explained in this story.
This 2011 review suggests that “caloric reduction and time-restricted eating are equally effective in decreasing body weight and fat mass. However, intermittent eating may be more effective for retaining lean mass.”
In addition, a critical review in 2017 found that ketone bodies mimic the lifespan-extending properties of caloric restriction.
Ketosis can also initiate autophagy and mitophagy, clearing the garbage from the body and keeping our cells healthier and younger.
Conclusions and Takeaways
Ketosis is a necessary metabolic process that allows humans to survive and thrive. Three factors can initiate it.
The most potent one is fasting. The second one is getting calories from healthy fats. And the third one is burning calories with exercise.
These three factors play different roles in fat mobilization, fat burning, and muscle retention. Even though they all create ketosis, we must be careful about the adverse effects of excessive and long-term caloric deficit, which can burn fat fast and cause muscle loss.
Therefore, the best approach is to customize these three factors in different ratios based on our needs and goals.
For example, people who prefer a less active lifestyle might try fasting and exercising less. People who cannot fast might adjust their macronutrients to initiate ketosis to enjoy its fat-burning and muscle-sparing features.
I prefer to leverage these three factors' power as they bring different metabolic and mental health benefits.
I enjoy an active life and eat 200g of healthy fats in a single meal a day. I also enjoy long-term fasting occasionally due to the benefits of fasting.
While ketosis might be effective for some people, it may not suit everyone due to its potential drawbacks. In addition, those with metabolic disorders such as diabetes must be careful with ketoacidosis, a severe health condition.
I see ketosis as a lifestyle, like many people. It suits some people’s needs and desires but might not for others. Some people enjoy the excitement and some bliss.
Sugar used to give me a sudden rush of excitement which was okay, but ketosis gives me continuous bliss. I prefer serenity and contentment over excitement. It is a personal choice.
Here are four reasons you can’t reduce visceral fat and lose muscle mass instead. Fat loss can be arduous without correcting these mistakes, and you might face sarcopenia as you age.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
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