Keto 101
If you’re looking to slim down in a healthy way, the ketogenic diet plan for weight loss just might be for you! In case you’re not familiar with the plan, the keto diet is a low carb diet that forces your body into a metabolic state. It pretty much turns your body into a fat-burning machine! Ketosis is a natural process in the body that helps us survive when food intake is low. During ketosis we produce ketones in the liver to be used as energy and fuel throughout the body, including the brain.
Ketones are produced if you eat minimal carbs and very moderate amounts of protein. On the keto diet, your body is fuelled almost entirely on fat. Your insulin levels drop and fat burning escalates. Optimal ketone levels are beneficial for weight loss, health, and also offer mental and physical performance benefits. You’ll be less hungry and also have a steady supply of energy.
Ketogenic Diet Rules
Like any diet, you won’t be able to lose weight if your body is consuming more than it’s expending. On the ketogenic diet, you’ll naturally eat less because low-carb diets have appetite-suppressing effects. So it’s essential to understand the rules of what makes this diet effective.
You should be lowering your carb intake sufficiently, especially if your diet is regularly high in carbs. When you eat carbs, they’re broken down into glucose, which spikes blood sugar levels. This causes strong insulin levels to combat the spikes, resulting in fat storage and insulin resistance. With the keto diet, you should be getting about 10% of your energy from carbs, 15-25% from protein, and 70% or more from fat.
Increase your healthy fat intake with foods like avocados, cheese, fatty fish, chia seeds, nuts, olive oil, flaxseed, edamame and sunflower seeds. Not only do healthy fats support heart health, they benefit insulin and blood sugar levels and reduce LDL cholesterol.
Pssst. Does this sound too complicated?
Click HERE to get keto-approved meals plans sent straight to your inbox.
List of foods you can eat on the keto diet
If you want to reach ketosis, the most important thing is to avoid eating most carbs. Keep your carb intake to around 20 to 50 grams per day for the diet to work most effectively. You’ll want to stock up on low carb foods, and be mindful of low carb veggies and fruit. Limit your intake of root vegetables like mushrooms and squash, berries and citrus fruits. Here’s a low carb food list for the keto diet.
- Eggs
- Beef
- Cheese (especially hard cheese)
- Olive Oil
- Avocado Oil
- Coconut Oil
- Fish
- Seafood
- Bell peppers
- Tomatoes
- Broccoli
- Zucchini
- Cauliflower
- Eggplant
- Beef
- Pork
- Poultry
- Macadamias
- Almonds
- Nut butter
- Cabbage
- Green beans
- Avocados
- Plain Greek Yogurt
- Cottage Cheese
List of foods you can’t eat on the keto diet
There are some foods you should completely avoid while you’re on the ketogenic diet. Foods that are full of sugar and starch like bread, pasta and rice, are very high in carbs and make it much harder for you to lose weight and keep it off.
- Pasta
- Rice
- Potatoes
- Bananas
- Bread
- Soda/juice
- Candy
- Chips
- Cookies
- Chocolate
- Artificial sweeteners
- Milk
- Alcoholic, sweet beverages
- Quinoa
- Wheat
- Barley
- Oats
- Beans
- Fruits high in sugar and carbs (mangos, apples, oranges, grapes, papaya, dried fruits)
- Honey/maple syrup
7 Day Ketogenic Diet Weight Loss Plan
If you’re new to the ketogenic diet, try out this 7 day keto weight loss plan to see just how easy it is to make delicious meals with optimal ketone levels in mind. This has to be one of the best ketogenic diet plans out there (!!!), but if you struggle with meal planning and want someone to do the work for you,Tasteaholic offers a keto membership site that sends weekly meal plans straight to your inbox (so convenient, I know!). Click HERE for more info!
And if you’re looking for keto diet cookbooks to add to your library, the Keto in Five bundle has 120 delicious recipes – 30 each for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert – with up to 5 net carbs per meal. Oh! And each recipe consists of only 5 ingredients and 5 easy steps. Talk about simple!
Keto Breakfast Recipes
Avocado & Egg Fat Bombs, Deviled Eggs | KetoDiet Blog
Keto Pancakes with Berries and Whipped Cream | Diet Doctor
Keto Homefries with Caramelized Cauliflower, Onion & Peppers | Wicked Stuff
Paleo Sausage Egg “McMuffin” | Nom Nom Paleo
Keto Grain-Free Hemp Heart Porridge | Healthful Pursuit
Keto Berry Mug Cake | KetoDiet Blog
Coconut Pancakes Keto Pancake Recipe | Tasteaholics
Keto Lunch Recipes
Keto Supreme Pizza Rolls | Wicked Stuffed
Dijon Herb Salmon Salad | Healthful Pursuit
Pesto Chicken Salad | Peace, Love and Low Carb
Thai Chicken Zoodle Soup | All Day I Dream About Food
Grilled Tomatoes with Apricot Jam | Tasteaholics
Keto Mug Lasagna | Ruled.Me
Keto Chicken Sandwich Recipe with Toasted Italian Grain-Free Bread | Keto Summit
Keto Dinner Recipes
Curry Roasted Cauliflower | Tasteaholics
Keto Asian Meatballs Recipe with Dipping Sauce | Keto Summit
Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken | The Recipe Critic
Keto Garlic Mascarpone Broccoli Alfredo Fried Pizza | Wicked Stuffed
Zuchinni Pasta with Chicken and Pistachios | Happy Body Formula
Southwestern Pork Stew | A Sweet Life
Cauliflower Fried Rice | Pure Wow
Follow this 7 day ketogenic meal plan to slim down and help get your energy up! See how great you feel after one week and decide whether it’s something you want to incorporate into your lifestyle!
You may also like…
Simple 30-Day Keto Meal Plan for Weight Loss
50 Keto Crockpot Recipes
30 Keto Fat Bombs
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