keto Diet For Beginners (Guide And Meal Plan)

The ketogenic or keto diet is a high-fat and low-carbon diet plan, it may be hard to start with. It’s probably a radical departure from the way you ‘re eating now (a typical standard American diet is high in carbs and processed foods). But a lot of people are trying a keto diet, that puts your body in a state of ketosis. That is what occurs as the body’s carb-burning transition switches to a fat-burning one, a shift that may induce weight loss and has also been credited for regulating type 2 diabetes, slight research in the past indicates. (*)

How are you going to make realistic plans to store your refrigerator and bracing mentally for a major shift to come? Consider here your step-by-step guide.

What is a keto diet?

The keto diet is a high-fat and very low-carb diet that has several parallels with Atkins and low-carb diets.

It involves drastically reducing the intake of carbohydrates and replacing them with fat. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state labeled ketosis.

Keto diets can cause significant decreases in blood sugar and insulin levels (*).

Different Types of Keto Diets

There are four main types of the ketogenic diet, including:

• Standard Ketogenic Diet (SKD): This is the most common and recommended version of the keto diet. It typically contains 75% fat, 20% protein, and only 5% carbs (*).
• Targeted Ketogenic Diet (TKD): If you are an active person, this approach may work best for you. Targeted keto requires consuming about 25-50 grams of net carbs or less 30 minutes to an hour before exercise.
• Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD): If Keto seems to be intimidating to you, this is an excellent way to get started. Here, you cycle among periods of eating a low-carb diet for a few days, followed by a period of eating high-carb such as 5 ketogenic days followed by 2 high-carb days.
• High-Protein Keto Diet: This method is very similar to the standard method (SKD) but contains more protein. The ratio is often 60% fat, 35% protein, and 5% carbs.

Note: The SKD method is the most widely used and researched version of keto. Therefore, the majority of the information in this article mostly applies to the standard method.

What to eat on a keto diet

Here are typical foods to enjoy on a ketogenic diet:

Avocados: Whole avocados or freshly made guacamole.

Butter and cream: Look for grass-fed when possible.

Cheese: Unprocessed cheese (cheddar, goat, cream, blue or mozzarella).

Condiments: Salt, pepper, and various healthy herbs and spices can be used.

Eggs: Look for pastured or omega-3 whole eggs.

Fatty fish: Such as tuna, salmon, trout, and mackerel.

Healthy oils: Primarily extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil.

Low-carb veggies: Most green veggies, onions, peppers, tomatoes, etc.

Meat: Bacon, ham, red meat, steak, sausage, chicken, and turkey.

Nuts and seeds: Almonds, chia seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, etc.

Here The Ultimate Keto Diet Grocery List For Beginners.

What to avoid on a keto diet

Any food that is high in carbs should be limited.

Here is a list of foods that need to be reduced or eliminated on a keto diet:

Alcohol: Due to their carb content, many alcoholic beverages can throw you out of ketosis.

Beans or legumes: Peas, kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc.

Fruit: All fruit, except small portions of berries like strawberries.

Grains or starches: Wheat-based products, rice, pasta, cereal, etc.

Low-fat or diet products: These are highly processed and often high in carbs.

Root vegetables and tubers: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, etc.

Some condiments or sauces: These often contain sugar and unhealthy fat.

Sugary foods: Soda, fruit juice, smoothies, cake, ice cream, candy, etc.

Sugar-free diet foods: These are often high in sugar alcohols, which in some cases may affect ketone levels. These foods, too, tend to be highly processed.

Unhealthy fats: Limit your intake of processed vegetable oils, mayonnaise, etc.

Health Benefits of the Keto Diet

The ketogenic diet has been linked with amazing health effects that go well past weight loss. Here are just a few ways that keto can help you feel better, stronger, and more calmer.

Weight Loss: Probably the main reason that made keto famous is the sustainable loss of fat. Keto can help to significantly reduce body weight, body fat, and body mass although maintaining muscle mass (*).

Endurance Levels: The ketogenic diet may help to improve the endurance levels of athletes. But, It can take time for athletes to adapt to burning fat instead of glucose for energy (*).

Heart disease: The ketogenic diet may improve risk factors such as blood pressure, body fat, HDL cholesterol levels, and blood sugar (*).

Epilepsy: Research has shown that the ketogenic diet can lead to a massive reduction in seizures in epileptic children (*).

Acne: Lower insulin levels and lower sugar or refined foods can help to improve acne (*).

Diabetes: The ketogenic diet can help balance blood glucose and insulin levels. Decreased risk of insulin resistance may help prevents metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (*).

Alzheimer’s disease: The keto diet can reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and slow its progression (*).

A Sample Keto Meal Plan For Your First Week

Monday

Breakfast: Omelet with avocado, salsa, peppers, onion, and spices.

Lunch: Beef stir-fry cooked in coconut oil with vegetables.

Dinner: Salmon with asparagus cooked in butter.

Tuesday

Breakfast: Homemade bulletproof coffee, hard-boiled eggs.

Lunch: Chicken salad with olive oil and feta cheese.

Dinner: Meatballs, cheddar cheese, and vegetables.

Wednesday

Breakfast: Eggs, bacon and guacamole.

Lunch: Lettuce wrap burger.

Dinner: Steak and eggs with a side salad.

Thursday

Breakfast: Coconut almond yogurt.

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: keto pancakes with maple syrup.

Lunch: Shrimp salad with olive oil and avocado.

Dinner: Whitefish, egg, and spinach cooked in coconut oil.

Saturday

Breakfast: Ham and cheese omelet with vegetables.

Lunch: Burger with salsa, cheese, and guacamole.

Dinner: Beef chili with jalapenos.

Sunday

Breakfast: Fried eggs with bacon and mushrooms.

Lunch: Ham and cheese slices with nuts.

Dinner: Green chicken enchilada soup.

Healthy Keto Snacks

In case you get hungry between meals, here are 14 Easy Keto Snacks for Beginners.

With all this information and a sample meal plan under your belt, you are now ready to start your keto diet journey.