The Keto Diet Meal Plans

Ketogenic, aka keto meal plans are used by professionals for about a hundred years to assist with many medical conditions. In recent times the low-carbohydrates, high-fat diets have become popular among fitness enthusiasts, athletes, and people with weight loss goals.

If you choose to follow a keto diet, you have to make changes to your regular meal plans. In this diet, you have to cut off or severely restrict some foods that might be your favorite. 

What to Eat on a Keto Diet? 

The ketogenic diet, aka keto diet, is a very high-fat and low-carbohydrate eating plan which forces the body to use fat as a primary energy source instead of glucose. When you choose to follow this plan, you need to increase the intake of fatty foods and restrict the protein and carbohydrates intake significantly. 

This macronutrient balance can make the body produce ketones. The body goes into ketosis when the ketone levels are elevated. The primary aim of the keto diet is to get the body into a state known as ketosis.   

You will have to make specific changes to your regular meal plans to achieve the macronutrient balance, which is needed to maintain ketosis.

There are many foods to eat on a keto diet plan and other keto foods to avoid. Here are some examples:

Foods You Can Eat

Dairy Products

You can eat dairy products, including cheese, butter, heavy cream, eggs, whole milk, full-fat cottage cheese, full-fat plain yogurt. There are lots of keto diet recipes you can make out of these foods.

Fatty Fish

You can eat fish that are high in fats such as tuna and salmon; these are high in omega-2 fatty acids, which are healthy for the heart. Additionally, you can include shrimp, shellfish, scallops, and mussels as they are rich sources of protein. Consuming these fatty and protein-rich foods on a keto diet is ideal.

Poultry

Dark meat is rich in myoglobin (an oxygen-carrying protein), and fat making it ideal for a keto diet food. Include turkey and chicken while preparing meals on a keto diet.  

Plant-Based Oils

You can increase your fat consumption on a keto diet by using oils. Medium-chain triglycerides oils such as coconut oil are considered a wise choice as these MCT oils are easy & quick to absorb, leading to ketosis. You can consume other plant sources of oils such as avocado oil, olive oil, and sesame oil. 

Vegetable That Is Low in Carbs

Usually, vegetables are rich in starch and fiber, but there are some that are low in carbohydrates to be included in the keto diet. You can eat spinach, cucumber, eggplant, tomato, asparagus, and kale.

Seeds, Nuts, Olives

You can consume nuts and seeds as a snack while following the ketogenic diet. These seeds and nuts can provide both protein and healthy fats. These include almonds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, and olives.

Peanut butter, Butter, Avocado

You can use butter and avocado on a keto diet to increase the fat intake. Peanut butter can be used, but just make sure it does not contain sugar.

Foods You Cannot Eat on Keto.

Vegetables rich in starch and fiber

Vegetables that are high in sugar and carbs should be avoided. These include peas, beets, potatoes, onions, carrots, and sweet potatoes.

Many Fruits

Fruits are high in both sugar and fibers, making them a carb-rich food, so these must be avoided on a keto diet menu. You can certainly eat raspberries, but in small amounts, that would help you to maintain ketosis.  

Lentils and Beans

The people consume peanuts, peas, lentils, and beans who are following vegan diets or people who are vegetarian as they are rich in protein. But they must be excluded in ketogenic diet meal plans as they are high in carbohydrates. 

Grains and Grain Foods

Whole-grain foods are an excellent source of fiber and carbohydrates, so these must be avoided on a keto diet. Also, other grain products should be avoided as they are high in starch. The list includes the bran, farro, quinoa, bread, pasta, rice, and other snacks such as crackers, chips, and pretzels.

Alcohol and Sugary beverages

A typical American diet includes sodas, juice, beer, etc., and that is full of sugar. These drinks are high in carbohydrates, so they must not be included on a keto diet meal plan. 

Beer is high in carbohydrates, so it should be excluded. Some hard alcohols, including vodka, tequila, gin, whiskey, and rum, do not have any carbs, so these can be consumed in moderation amounts. 

Desserts and Candies

These are full of sugar, so these are not recommended to avoid on a ketogenic diet plan. These desserts may be high in fat, but these are also a rich source of simple carbohydrates. These sugar enriched products are not ideal for keto-friendly meals, but you can get access to some baking goods that are keto-specific.

Fast Foods

Though fast foods are rich source of fat but we must avoid unhealthy fats and most fast foods are full of unhealthy fats and high in carbs.

Timings of Eating Food

There are no specific rules of timing to be followed on the ketogenic diet. Most people follow two or three meals per day while on keto. I am preparing some free samples of keto meal plans so that you can get the idea of what a simple keto meal plan looks like.