DAP vs. Keto: Which is best for healthy weight loss?

Weight loss with the Protein Diet

DAP vs Keto, when it comes to weight loss, there are numerous diets and treatments available. Most of these diets tend to be long, monotonous and often result in binge eating or non-compliance due to lack of satiety.

An effective alternative to these traditional diets is the protein-added diet (PAD). Also known as the protein diet, this diet is designed and supported by nutrition professionals, ensuring fast and safe weight loss.

What is the DAP diet?

The fat we accumulate in our bodies, mainly made up of sugar and carbohydrates not used for energy, causes us to gain weight. The DAP diet is based on reducing the intake of carbohydrates and sugars, replacing them with protein-rich foods.

This reduction of carbohydrates and sugars induces a state of ketosis, a metabolic situation where the body uses stored fat reserves as a source of energy due to the lack of carbohydrates.

Although the focus is on high protein consumption, the DAP is a normoprotein diet which ensures the provision of high biological value proteins to maintain muscle mass. It is crucial that these diets are supervised by a nutritionist to ensure adequate intake of essential amino acids and to avoid excessive protein intake.

Benefits of the DAP diet

The protein diet offers numerous benefits, among them:

Benefits of the Protein Adequate Diet (APD)
Preserves muscle mass
Improve intestinal health
Helps control triglyceride levels
Helps control blood pressure
Enables rapid weight loss with no rebound effect
It provokes satiety and not hunger
Helps to improve the implementation of healthy eating habits
Improves the body silhouette

Phases in implementing a protein diet

The DAP diet is divided into several phases, starting with a ketogenic diet and progressing to a low-calorie diet supplemented with protein supplements:

Phase 1: Focused on preserving muscle tissue, ensuring that weight loss comes from the elimination of stored fat. High biological value proteins are provided to obtain all essential amino acids in the correct amounts.

Phase 2: Carbohydrate intake is significantly reduced to less than 50 grams per day, mainly from plant foods with a low glycaemic index.

Phase 3: Significant reduction of lipids, allowing only the necessary grams of olive oil (10 to 20 grams daily) to improve intestinal transit.

Phase 4: Supply of micronutrients necessary to ensure the recommended amounts of minerals and vitamins, maintaining a good nutritional status.

For whom is a DAP diet indicated?

The protein diet is suitable for anyone who wants to lose weight, but is especially recommended for people who want to lose weight:

• People with abdominal fat: Ketosis helps to effectively reduce localised fat in the abdomen.
• Patients with pre-diabetes and diabetes.
• People who are overweight or obese: With a BMI over 25, there is an increased risk of serious diseases, especially cardiovascular diseases. DAP is ideal for rapid weight reduction and reducing the associated risks.
• Post-aesthetic surgery or aesthetic medical treatment patients
• Patients with previous pathologies: such as arterial hypertension, dyslipidaemia, arthrosis and others associated with overweight.
• Women: Especially in preparation for pregnancy, postpartum and pre-menopause.

Professional supervision required

Protein diets should be supervised by health professionals due to possible contraindications and the need for quality supplementation. It is crucial to avoid the DAP diet during pregnancy, lactation, in children and in patients with serious illnesses without professional approval.

Unsupervised DAP dieting can result in:

• Deficiencies in vitamins, minerals and trace elements.
• Liver problems.
• Saturation and oxidation of fat mass.
• Elevated metabolic acidosis.
• Dyslipidaemia with cardiovascular risk due to increased LDL.
• Hormonal problems, especially in women.

Keto Diet vs. Protein Adequate Diet (APD): Which one is best for you?

Macronutrient Composition

• Ketogenic diet: high in fat (70-75%), moderate in protein (20-25%) and very low in carbohydrates (5-10%).
• DAP diet: high protein (40-50%), moderate fat (30-40%) and low carbohydrate (10-20%).

Advantages and Disadvantages DAP vs Keto

1. Weight Loss:
   • Ketogenic diet:
     • Advantage: rapid initial weight loss due to ketosi
     • Disadvantage: risk of loss of muscle mass if protein balance is not properly managed.
   • DAP diet:
     • Advantage: rapid weight loss without compromising muscle mass thanks to the high protein content. This advantage is crucial.
     • Disadvantage: requires close monitoring to ensure adequate protein and micronutrient intake.
2. Control of satiety:
   • Ketogenic diet:
     • Advantage: fats and proteins help to maintain satiety.
     • Disadvantage: difficult long-term adherence due to severe carbohydrate restriction.
   • DAP diet:
     • Advantage: high protein content promotes satiety and reduces hunger.
     • Disadvantage: May require careful planning and professional supervision.
3. Impact on metabolic health:
   • Ketogenic diet:
     • Benefit: improves blood glucose and triglyceride levels.
     • Disadvantage: increased LDL cholesterol in some people and possible liver or kidney problems.
   • DAP diet:
     • Benefit: helps control triglyceride levels and blood pressure, improving cardiovascular health.
     • Disadvantage: stress on kidneys and liver if not properly monitored.
4. Implementation and flexibility:
   • Ketogenic diet:
     • Advantage: easy to follow once the concept of macronutrients is understood..
     • Disadvantage: restrictive in terms of variety of foods allowed.
   • DAP diet:
     • Advantage: more flexibility in the selection of protein foods.
     • Disadvantage: requires careful planning and professional supervision.
5. Long-term effects:
   • Ketogenic diet:
     • Benefit: effective for the long-term management of certain conditions such as epilepsy and metabolic disorders.
     • Disadvantage: risk of nutritional deficiencies if not properly balanced.
   • DAP diet:
     • Advantage: promotes healthy and balanced eating habits in the long term.
     • Disadvantage: can be costly due to the need for high quality protein and supplements.

Conclusion

Ultimately, DAP vs Keto, both diets have their own merits and challenges. The ketogenic diet is more fat-oriented and can be less strict in terms of supervision, whereas, on the other hand, the DAP diet focuses on a high intake of high-quality protein and requires professional supervision to maintain proper nutritional balance. Thus, the choice between the two should be based on individual needs, dietary preferences and any pre-existing medical conditions.

If you have any questions about protein diets, please do not hesitate to contact us. The Dr. Carmen Romero and his team will help you to carry out a DAP diet adapted to your needs and objectives in an individualised manner.y objetivos de manera individualizada.