Keto Diet? What to Eat, Tips, Recipes, Meal Plan
What Is a Ketogenic Diet?
The ketogenic diet could be a very low-carb, high-fat diet that shares many similarities with the Atkins and low-carb diets.
It involves drastically reducing carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis.
When this happens, your body becomes incredibly efficient at burning fat for energy. It also turns fat into ketones within the liver, which may supply energy for the brain
Different Types of Ketogenic Diets
- A standard ketogenic diet (SKD): This is a very low-carb, moderate-protein, and high-fat diet. It typically contains 75% fat, 20% protein, and only 5% carbs
- A cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD): This diet involves periods of higher-carb refeeds, such as 5 ketogenic days followed by 2 high-carb days.
- A Targeted ketogenic diet (TKD): This diet allows you to add carbs around workouts.
- High-protein ketogenic diet: This is similar to a standard ketogenic diet, but includes more protein. The ratio is often 60% fat, 35% protein, and 5% carbs.
Ketogenic diets can cause massive reductions in glucose and insulin levels. This, together with the increased ketones, has numerous health benefits
Ketogenic Diets Can Help You Lose
A ketogenic diet is an efficient thanks to turning and lower risk factors for diseaseOne study found that folks on a ketogenic diet lost 2.2 times more weight than those on a calorie-restricted diet. Triglyceride and cholesterol levels also improved
Another study found that individuals on the ketogenic diet lost 3 times more weight than those on the diet recommended by Diabetes UK
Foods to Avoid
- Sugary foods: Soda, fruit juice, smoothies, cake, ice cream, candy, etc.
- Grains or starches: Wheat-based products, rice, pasta, cereal, etc.
- Fruit: All fruit, except small portions of berries like strawberries.
- Beans or legumes: Peas, kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc.
- Root vegetables and tubers: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, etc.
- Low-fat or diet products: These are highly processed and often high in carbs.
- Some condiments or sauces: These often contain sugar and unhealthy fat.
- Unhealthy fats: Limit your intake of processed vegetable oils, mayonnaise, etc.
- Alcohol: Due to their carb content, many alcoholic beverages can throw you out of ketosis.
- Sugar-free diet foods: These are often high in sugar alcohols, which can affect ketone levels in some cases. These foods also tend to be highly processed.
Foods to Eat
- Meat: Red meat, steak, ham, sausage, bacon, chicken, and turkey.
- Fatty fish: Such as salmon, trout, tuna, and mackerel.
- Eggs: Look for pastured or omega-3 whole eggs.
- Butter and cream: Look for grass-fed when possible.
- Cheese: Unprocessed cheese (cheddar, goat, cream, blue or mozzarella).
- Nuts and seeds: Almonds, walnuts, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, etc.
- Healthy oils: Primarily extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil.
- Avocados: Whole avocados or freshly made guacamole.
- Low-carb veggies: Most green veggies, tomatoes, onions, peppers, etc.
- Condiments: You can use salt, pepper, and various healthy herbs and spices.
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A Sample Keto Meal Plan For 1 Week
Monday
- Breakfast: Bacon, eggs, and tomatoes.
- Lunch: Chicken salad with olive oil and feta cheese.
- Dinner: Salmon with asparagus cooked in butter.
Tuesday
- Breakfast: Egg, tomato, basil, and goat cheese omelet.
- Lunch: Almond milk, peanut butter, cocoa powder, and stevia milkshake.
- Dinner: Meatballs, cheddar cheese, and vegetables.
Wednesday
- Breakfast: A ketogenic milkshake
- Lunch: Shrimp salad with olive oil and avocado.
- Dinner: Pork chops with Parmesan cheese, broccoli, and salad.
Thursday
- Breakfast: Omelet with avocado, salsa, peppers, onion, and spices.
- Lunch: A handful of nuts and celery sticks with guacamole and salsa.
- Dinner: Chicken stuffed with pesto and cream cheese, along with vegetables.
Friday
- Breakfast: Sugar-free yogurt with peanut butter, cocoa powder, and stevia.
- Lunch: Beef stir-fry cooked in coconut oil with vegetables.
- Dinner: Bun-less burger with bacon, egg, and cheese.
Saturday
- Breakfast: Ham and cheese omelet with vegetables.
- Lunch: Ham and cheese slices with nuts.
- Dinner: Whitefish, egg, and spinach cooked in coconut oil.
Sunday
- Breakfast: Fried eggs with bacon and mushrooms.
- Lunch: Burger with salsa, cheese, and guacamole.
- Dinner: Steak and eggs with a side salad.
Healthy Keto Snacks
- Fatty meat or fish
- Cheese
- A handful of nuts or seeds
- Cheese with olives
- 1–2 hard-boiled eggs
- 90% dark chocolate
- A low-carb milkshake with almond milk, cocoa powder and nut butter
- Full-fat yogurt mixed with nut butter and cocoa powder
- Strawberries and cream
Supplements for a Ketogenic Diet
- MCT oil: Added to drinks or yogurt, MCT oil provides energy and helps increase ketone levels. Take a look at several options on Amazon.
- Minerals: Added salt and other minerals can be important when starting out due to shifts in water and mineral balance.
- Caffeine: Caffeine can have benefits for energy, fat loss, and performance.
- Exogenous ketones: This supplement may help raise the body’s ketone levels.
- Creatine: Creatine provides numerous benefits for health and performance. This can help if you are combining a ketogenic diet with exercise.
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Side Effects and How to Minimize Them
Although the ketogenic diet is safe for healthy people, there could also be some initial side effects while your body adapts.
This is often remarked because the keto flu and is typically over within some days.
Keto flu includes poor energy and mental function, increased hunger, sleep issues, nausea, digestive discomfort, and decreased exercise performance.
To minimize this, you’ll be able to try an everyday low-carb diet for the primary few weeks. this could teach your body to burn more fat before you completely eliminate carbs.
A ketogenic diet also can change the water and mineral balance of your body, so adding extra salt to your meals or taking mineral supplements can help.
For minerals, try taking 3,000–4,000 mg of sodium, 1,000 mg of potassium, and 300 mg of magnesium per day to reduce side effects.
At least, within the beginning, it’s important to eat until you’re full and avoid restricting calories an excessive amount of. Usually, a ketogenic diet causes weight loss without intentional calorie restriction.
A Ketogenic Diet Is Great, but Not for Everyone
A ketogenic diet is often great for folks that are overweight, diabetic, or looking to boost their metabolic health.
It may be less suitable for elite athletes or those wishing to feature large amounts of muscle or weight.
And, like any diet, it’ll only work if you’re consistent and follow it within the future.