What Is Ketogenic or Keto Diet?
Keto is a low-carb, moderate protein, and very high-fat diet that drives your body into the state of ketosis, a state where your body uses fat as the primary source of fuel.
Whether it be to lose weight, have more energy, or you want to pump up your workouts with keto supplements, keto is probably your best choice right now. However, preparing a keto-based meal plan on your own can be pretty daunting. Choosing the right food options, especially for fats, requires proper planning, and if you have been following the traditional carb-heavy American diet, you might have a tough time with your new keto meal plan. So we came up with this easy to follow, simply keto diet plan which you can check out below.
Simple Keto Diet Plan
Whether you are starting the keto diet or any other traditional diet plans, you must have a plan laid out.
You should have a start date in mind, and before that, you should get your planning done with your meals and snack options, and buying the right foods and supplements.
The most significant cause of failure with the keto diet is that people never have enough food options when they start their keto journey. Eventually, they revert to a high-carb diet, and think that keto doesn’t work.
Eating the right foods that will help you get into ketosis fast, and this will keep you motivated.
Macros For Ketogenic Diet
This low-carb, moderate-protein, and high-fat diet breaks down into the following macros percentages:
- 5 to 10% calories from carbs
- 15 to 30% calories from protein
- 60-70% calories from fat
It might be a little harder for you to keep the macros in balance, especially during your first week, but try to keep the proportions as close as you possibly can. All you have to make sure that you are avoiding carbs as much as you can. Stay away from glycemic foods like bread, rice and pasta. Your main carb macros will be fulfilled by vegetables, mainly non-starchy veggies like green leafy veggies, broccoli and cauliflower.
Don’t worry about cutting all those important carbs from your diet. We have plenty of fat substitutes that will keep you full throughout the day while you burn fat for fuel.
Our sources of protein will be chicken, beef, fish, and tofu, whereas for fats, we will be using good fats like nuts, butter, olive oil, cheese, cream and avocados.
Finally, for your first week with the ketogenic diet, don’t stress out too much on caloric intake, portion sizes, and whether or not you have entered the state of ketosis. This week is all about getting used to with ketogenic meals, avoiding sugars, starches and training your body to use fat instead of carbohydrates for energy.
Keto Diet Explained – 4 Rules To Remember
Before we take you through our 1-week keto meal plan, here are four rules you should remember:
ü Eat anything when it comes to vegetables, cheese, nuts, avocados, fats, meats and eggs
ü For snacks, eat nuts, cheese, and meat
ü Strictly cut out pasta, bread, rice, grains, beans, sugar, potatoes, and avoid eating too many fruits. These are some common sources of sugars that will prevent you from entering into ketosis
ü When you crave for fruits, always go for low glycemic options, such as berries and avocados
Planning Your Keto Menu For The week
Below we have listed out a couple of meal options for breakfast, lunch and dinner along with snack options that you can kickstart with.
Breakfast
- Meal Option 1
For your breakfast, go for mushroom, spinach and feta omelet with keto coffee or bulletproof coffee. Your morning breakfast has high-fat content, moderate protein and minimal carbs coming from vegetables. This would help to satisfy your morning cravings quickly
- Meal Option 2
One glass high-fat or whole milk, unsweetened yogurt mixed with full-fat sour cream and topped with walnuts, chia seeds, and raspberries. Make sure you carefully portion this breakfast meal as yogurt has lactose, which is a carb source. Finally, cook two whole eggs in olive oil or Desi-Ghee to fit your macros proportion
Lunch
- Meal Option 1
Grill up some chicken, a slice of ham, some cheese cubes, boiled eggs, few raw tomatoes, pickle slices, cauliflower or broccoli, handful almonds, or walnuts, guacamole and ranch dressing. This would make the most delicious keto-friendly meal for your lunchtime
- Meal Option 2
Do you know some fats are healthy for your hearts? Well, salmon is one of them and this is what you can alternatively cook for your lunch. Bake salmon in the oven with broccoli, and enjoy the lot. If you want to, top it up with some sour cream for added taste
- Meal Option 3
Bake a slice of bacon, add a slice of cheese on top, sprinkle spicy pumpkin seeds over it and finally dress it up with raw tomato slices and a few other leafy vegetables
Dinner
- Meal Option 1
If you workout during evening time and want a delicious dinner meal that will satisfy your cravings, then steam-cook grass-fed ground beef sautéed with onions and a low-carb tomato sauce (readily available at the grocery shop). You can also add shirataki low-carb noodles or zucchini. We recommend sautéing your zucchini in olive oil to get that fat content from this meal
- Meal Option 2
Steam a chicken breast, bacon, and parmesan and prepare Caesar salad with romaine lettuce. This is high in protein and would fill you up. For fats, add a dressing of olive oil to it and plenty of crushed cheese or a few slices
- Meal Option 3
Grill up a chicken breast or leg-piece sautéed with olive oil. Serve it with yellow squash, zucchini, tomato slices, and eggplant. For fats, top up your chicken piece with heavy cream or coconut cream to balance out your macros
Snacks
- Snack Option 1
Half avocado with some raspberries and a topic of cream would be a delicious snack to eat in between your meals. Make sure you portion this meal carefully as to not get out of your daily macros
- Snack Option 2
Raw zucchini slices with spicy guacamole would excite your taste buds for the day. This is a keto-friendly snack option with minimal carbs and provides rich nutrient value
- Snack Option 3
Bake a slice of turkey, wrap it in lettuce, and add some slices of tomato and avocado to it. Finally, munch on your mouth-watering evening snack