Scratching your head about what weight loss plan is for you? You may well be researching the Keto Diet, or the Ketogenic way of eating, to shed the pounds, or for health reasons. This easy to follow guide will help explain the basics.
What is the Keto Diet all about?
The Ketogenic Diet (also known as the Keto Diet) is traditionally strict, but recent years have seen people adapt it slightly. You may read of Dirty Keto, which is where the person may eat foods that fit in with their daily allowances (macros), but they contain Keto forbidden ingredients. Lazy Keto is where the person doesn't pay attention to their macros, and anything goes so long as they are eating under 20g of carbs.
An example of Dirty Keto... a couple of squares of Milk Chocolate may only be 10g carbs, so can be eaten staying within the carbohydrate allowance, but the ingredients contain Milk and Sugar, both of which are not recommended on the Ketogenic Diet.
Ketogenic Diet?
You may wonder if the Ketogenic way of eating is for you? Only you can answer this question. Low Carb Diets are certainly trending just now, and whilst the Keto Diet is rather restrictive, it isn't as much as the likes of Atkins.
The low Carb, moderate Protein and high Fat means that you can enjoy a Burger King, or Kebab from your local Takeaway (Shish, not Donner), which makes the diet much easier to stick to than low calorie types.
As the Diet encourages high Fat foods like Avocado, you may find that your appetite is satisfied with less calories than if on a low Fat Diet.
Keto Diet Plan
When it comes to the Keto way of eating, some people will eat frequent and often, but as it's a high fat diet, many find that they are satisfied with one or two meals a day, with no snacks in between.
One popular way of eating on the Keto Diet Plan is to do Intermittent Fasting, where foodstuff is only consumed during the set hours of the day. Outwith those times, eating is forbidden, but drinking fluids is fine.
Keto Diet Recipes
There are many Keto Diet Recipes that will keep you on the straight and narrow. You may find that you miss those everyday items such as bread, cake and crisps. Thankfully, there are ways of substituting these 'carby' food items with more Keto-friendly options.
Fathead Dough (for Breadsticks, Pizza Bases and more)
Bulletproof Coffee - Make Filter Coffee and add two Tablespoons of Grass-Fed Butter or MCT Oil.
Keto Crisps - Cut Cheese like Cheddar, Gouda or Edam into triangles, place on to a Baking Sheet lined with Greaseproof and bake for around 14 minutes at 175°.
Keto Diet Meal Plan
Here's an example of a Week on Keto:
Monday: Breakfast - Scrambled Egg (made with cream) with Smoked Salmon and Spinach. Lunch - Chicken and Bacon Salad with Avocado. Dinner - Steak, Blue Cheese Sauce and Crispy Kale.
Tuesday: Breakfast - Poached Egg with Bacon and Avocado, Lunch - Tuna Salad, Dinner - Chicken Curry with Cauliflower Rice.
Wednesday: Breakfast - Scrambled Egg made with Cream, Lunch - Greek Salad, Dinner - Gammon and Egg with Cauliflower Cheese.
Thursday: Breakfast - Full Fat Greek Yogurt with Strawberries, Lunch - Cheese and Ham Omelette, Dinner - Cod in a Creamy Sauce with Green Vegetables.
Friday: Breakfast - Egg and Spinach, Lunch - Seafood Salad, Dinner- Tacos (Made with Baked Cheese).
Saturday: Breakfast - Cooked Breakfast with Mushrooms, Lunch - Poached Salmon with Avocado, Dinner - Sharing Platter with Charcuterie Meats, Olives and Homemade Dips.
Sunday: Breakfast - Bacon and Eggs, Lunch - Ham Salad Sandwich with 90 second bread, Dinner - Keto Pizza
Keto Diet Foods
You may hear that Keto is a low Carb Diet and think it's going to be meat, meat and more meat, but it's actually not the case. Dark green Vegetables are encouraged on the diet, with Fish, Seafood, Nuts and high Fat Dairy too.
Q&A
What can you eat on a keto diet?
The Ketogenic Diet is a very low carb diet, that is different from other no/low carb ways of eating. For it to "work" and reduce inflammation within the body, you must adhere to not only less than 20g of Carbohydrates a day (this may vary from person to person), but moderate Protein and high Fat. Firstly, you must calculate your Macros, which you can do using an online Calculator.
Here are some examples of foods NOT allowed on Keto:
- Bread
- Rice
- Potatoes
- Sugar
- Confectionery
- Cakes
- Pastries
- Beers/Lagers
- Most Fruits
And here are some foods that ARE allowed:
- Dark Green Vegetables like Kale, Spinach and Broccoli
- High Fat Dairy
- Berries
- Eggs
- Unprocessed Meats
- Fish/Seafood
- Olive Oil
- Nuts
- Avocado
What does it mean to be in Keto?
To be in Keto, means that your body is in a state of Ketosis. This can be measured via Keto Sticks*, Breath Monitors, or Blood Glucose Monitors.
Ketosis is when your body enters a metabolic state where levels of ketones are raised, in the body tissues. Fat is then used as the primary source of energy, instead of carbohydrates.
As a result, the body directly breaks down fat stores to use as energy, which may result in weight loss.
The Ketones themselves are detectable in blood, breath and urine, and are byproducts of the fat breaking down in the body when carbohydrate consumption is low.
Is a Keto Diet safe?
As with any dramatic change of diet, it's highly recommended to consult your GP, before commencing.
There have been suggestions that the Ketogenic way of eating can cause Fatty Liver Disease, if insufficient amounts of DARK green Vegetables are consumed.
On the flip side, there are conflicting reports that Diabetes (type 2), Fatty Liver Disease and PCOS have been improved over a duration of eating a Keto Diet.
Again, if you do have health issues, then it is advisable to seek the advice of a health professional before you change your diet.
The Magic Pill
If you have heard of the Ketogenic Diet, then the chances are you have watched The Magic Pill on Netflix. It's a documentary that follows the progress of families/individuals as they change their way of eating to Keto.
The popular documentary has sparked a sharp increase of people trialling the Ketogenic Diet.
What is BPC in the Keto Diet?
BPC, or Bulletproof Coffee is a hot beverage that contains healthy fats. It may well sound disgusting, but it is popular for adding fat to your daily intake, and for keeping your appetite satisfied for hours on end.
Simply make yourself a cup of Coffee, and add a healthy fat like grass-fed butter or MCT Oil.
I was 17st I did This for 6 months happy at 12.7 now works a treat
the ketogenic diet has been designed to reduxe seizures in hard to treat epileptic conditions. It has to be monitored closely by a dietician and even then can be dangerous...... surely eating healthily and exercising is more appealing than putting your body through ketosis?..