The Keto diet is a diet that is designed to trigger Ketosis, which is the breaking down of body fat into Ketones which are burnt for energy.  This also allows the body to mostly run on Ketones rather than glucose. There are a number of ways to enable Ketosis and therefore there are a number of different types of the Keto diet. These include:  

 

  • Standard Keto Diet (SKD): The Standard Keto Diet is the most common version. It is best for beginners. Standard Keto Eaters eat high-fat, moderate-protein and low-carb diets. It contains 70% to 75% fat, 20% protein and about 5% carbs.

A typical Standard Keto Diet would be in terms of grams per day-    

                                        ＜ 20g of carbohydrates

                                         > 40-60g of protein

                                         > No set limit for fat 

The Standard Keto Diet can consistently be shown success for helping people lose weight, improve heart health and improve blood glucose control. 

  • Cyclical Keto Diet (CKD): The Cyclical Keto Diet is also known as carb backloading that involves days in which more carbs are eaten, like 5 keto days followed by 2 high-carb days. 

The diet is mainly intended for athletes to refill glycogen loss from muscles during workouts. 

  • Targeted Keto Diet (TKD): Targeted Keto Diet targets carbohydrate consumption around workouts. This type of diet is ideal for maintaining exercise performance, and fueling the muscles with glycogen during exercise. 

People experimenting with this diet typically eat 25-50 grams of carbohydrates half an hour before their workout. 

  • High-Protein Keto Diet (HPKD): This diet is similar to Standard Keto Diet but with additional protein. The goal is to consume extra protein to build muscles. This diet ratio is 5% carbs, 35% protein, and 60% fat.  

This is also a popular method amongst bodybuilders, weightlifters or those who need more protein in their diets. 

However, Cyclical or Targeted keto Diets are more advanced methods that are primarily used by athletes or bodybuilders. The  high-protein diet has also been studied extensively. There are several versions of the Keto Diet, but the Standard (SKD) version is the most researched and recommended.