Keto Or Vegan? Expert Advice On Which Diet Is The Better One For Weight Loss

Keto diet might be better and more nutritious than vegan diet for weight loss

People who are on a weight loss regime are in constant dilemma as to what is the best diet to follow to lose maximum weight in minimum time. There are numerous diets trending on social media. From keto diet to general motors diet, paleo diet and low-carb diet, an array of diet plans for weight loss are available online. Keto diet and vegan diet are both gaining a lot of popularity. Many well-known celebrities are also resorting to either of these diets for keeping in good shape. But which one of the two is better for weight loss? Let's take a look.

You need to eat less carbs and more fats and protein in keto diet
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Keto diet

The keto diet for weight loss essentially includes low carbs, with more fat and protein. It is the diet regime which requires eliminating most carbs from the diet. Following the diet for a week or more makes your body compose ketones in liver. It makes your body go into a state of ketosis. During ketosis, carb intake is eliminated with fat intake. Lesser consumption of carbs helps in burning fat for energy. The keto diet for weight loss works in a way that it doesn't make you starve on calories, but on carbs.

Also read: Planning To Go Vegan? Beware, It Might Bring Some Serious Changes In Your Body

The body uses carbs for energy. Eliminating carbs means you need some other source of energy to keep functioning. The body turns to glucose stores in muscles as glycogen for fuel. Breakdown of muscle glycogen results in losing water weight. This is because muscles store about 3 gms of water for every gram of glycogen. People who lose weight in just a week by following keto  diet for weight loss actually lose water weight and not real weight.

Weight loss in keto diet comes back quickly once you get back to normal eating habits
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Following keto diet has faced lots of criticism, primarily because people gain back the weight quickly after getting back to normal eating habits. The diet is not sustainable for long term. Coming back to normal food results in the lose weight coming with glycogen storage.

Moreover, following the keto diet for too long may be in fact detrimental to health. Foods which contain carbs are the ones which contain high amount of water and dietary fibre. When you cut them off from your diet, it may result in side effects like constipation and also hamper immunity.

Also read: Here's Why These Celebrities Have Adopted A Vegan Lifestyle: Know The Health Benefits

Vegan diet

Vegan diet is a vegetarian diet minus all animal based foods and beverages. Apart from refraining from eating animal meat, you need to refrain from eating all kinds of dairy products and eggs in a vegan diet. You can have all kinds of vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts and grains.

Drawbacks of vegan diet for weight loss are that it may result in Vitamin B12 deficiency. This can make you feel tired, weak and may even cause constipation. While on a vegan diet for weight loss, you need to eat foods which are good sources of Vitamin B12 and are high in protein.

You need to avoid dairy and eggs in vegan diet
Photo Credit: iStock

Also read: 7 Signs And Symptoms Of Ketosis

Also, in vegan diet for weight loss, you can resort to eating white bread or pastas or other packaged vegetarian food. This is because they will not help in losing weight or gaining health. You have to eat lots of fruits, vegetables (especially leafy green vegetables) and lentils.

A vegan diet is also low in carbs and fats. While following vegan diet for weight loss, you need to be careful about what you are eating and in how much quantity. You need to focus on consuming fibre-rich plants because they are low in calories and will also help in weight loss. This food will help you feel fuller while consuming lesser calories.

Which is better for weight loss? Keto diet or vegan diet?

We ask Delhi-based diet coach Sapna Puri about which diet she recommends for weight loss: keto or vegan? "I would go with keto for weight loss. It helps in weight loss at a faster pace. Moreover, vegetarians can also follow keto diet. Keto diet seems more practical to me as compared to vegan diet, when it comes to weight loss," she says.

Also read: 7 Fruits You Can Enjoy On A Keto Diet

Sapna - who personally follows a cyclic keto diet in which you go on and off keto diet in regular intervals - is also of the belief that while following a vegan diet, you tend to lose on nutrition. "In keto diet, you can rely on many food sources which can provide you with optimum nutrition. In vegan diet, you can only have plant-based food and that may not provide you with all essential nutrients," says Sapna.

(Sapna Puri is diet coach based in Delhi)

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.