Congratulations on deciding to create your keto meal plan! This is the right guide that will help you in achieving your goals.
Follow the steps to make the difference between a lousy plan that will end up with a bag of chocolate chips in your hand or a perfect keto plan that will be your success story.
The ketogenic diet is a popular style of eating defined as a low-carb diet with an emphasis on high fat intake for many health benefits.
It helps for better energy and weight loss, while also helping to avoid diabetes and insulin spikes that may contribute to mood swings and stress.
The scientific community has studied the keto diet with great interest. Keto has been the focus of many kinds of research and is connected with weight loss and better health in those who follow it.
Also, the diet is associated with a lower risk of diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and epilepsy.
However, how to start and implement it in your daily habits?
In simple words, you will have to reduce your carbohydrate intake to start a keto meal plan.
Feel free to choose how to cut carbs, and start slow or cut them right away. The main rule you need to know is that you cannot take more than 50g of carbohydrates daily.
The perfect keto meal plan is considered to have only 20g of carbohydrates per day, but if you choose to cut carbs, gradually start with 50g and slowly decrease to 20g.
You can find learn more details on a site like PlanKetogenic.pro, or read on to learn more.
What is a keto meal plan?
As the name suggests, keto is connected with the production of ketones in your body. To produce ketones in your body, you need to change your primary fuel source, which means you have to switch from carbohydrates to fats.
A good ketogenic diet comprises 60-80% fats, 10-25% proteins, and no more than 10% carbohydrates in a day. The main goal is to focus on food that is high fat, low carb, and balanced on proteins.
Some keto-friendly foods are eggs, nuts, meat, fish, low-carb vegetables, and sugar-free beverages. Also, always take care to choose fresh foods because processed meats have high additives and sodium content.
The ketogenic diet encourages you to obtain more calories and energy from fats and fewer calories from carbohydrates, like pasta, bread, fruits, soda, sugar, and cakes.
Switching to ketones and fueling your body with ketones is an exciting process that takes 3-4 days of eating fewer than 50g of carbohydrates per day.
When you constantly starve your body of carbs, you are practically cutting off your usual source of energy.
At this moment, the body starts ketone production, and you enter the ketosis phase. Then, ketosis helps you lose weight and can be used as a periodic way to get slim.
How to implement keto easily?
Now you know how keto works and the results it can bring you, it’s time to choose what kind of meal plan you’ll go for.
Some tips and tricks will help you decide which one is best for you. As follows, here are the most popular ways to build a keto meal plan, and we’ve ordered them from easy-to-hard levels:
Lazy keto meal plans
Here, you eat every type of food you want, and you simply have to calculate your carbohydrate intake to be less than 50g/day. In the long term, this is not the healthiest choice.
Clean keto meal plans
This way, you strictly eat clean, fresh foods, so nothing processed. Of course, you also need to measure your carbohydrate intake so that you stay in ketosis.
High protein keto meal plans
The basic principle of the keto diet is that you get your energy from fats. However, scientists have shown that you can still produce ketones if you intake a higher rate of proteins. This rate should not be bigger than 30% protein/day. Therefore, in this plan, you measure both your carbohydrates and proteins.
How do you start doing a keto diet?
- First step first – very important, say ‘no’ to carbohydrates. There is no way to combine carbohydrates and start ketosis in your body. It’s simple: either your fuel is a carb, or your fuel is fat.
- Calculate your protein intake. Although you can eat a high protein diet and get slim, there’s no such thing as high protein and high fat together. Eating too many proteins will raise your insulin level, and you will not produce ketones. In other words, even when you’re not taking carbs, an excess protein intake will convert to glucose. So take care of your protein ratio.
- Don’t fear eating fats. Choose the ones that are healthy and welcome them into your diet. All nuts, seeds, avocado, cold-pressed oil, coconuts, fish, and fresh organic meat are the perfect sources to add to your keto meal plan.
- Water is a key ingredient. As you may know, you need water for the proper hydration of your organism. Water brings food to the cells and minerals to the bones. Unfortunately, when you eat keto meals, your body doesn’t store too much glycogen in the muscles. And not having glycogen leaves you with less water storage. Given this, to stay well-hydrated on keto, drink 15-16 cups of water daily.
- Hydration tops you up with electrolytes. Always eat green vegetables and salads to take in the optimal amounts of sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Be careful, especially in the hot weather where you lose more electrolytes while sweating.
- Exercise regularly. The energy you take from your food needs to be spent properly. Choose running, bodybuilding, or just everyday fast walking, among other sports.
- Choose the right foods and stay consistent. Always plan your meals, and don’t starve yourself.
- Surprise yourself by learning how to cook new keto recipes. You can start a new journey with your favorite dishes and desserts if you just know how to make them keto. Start by experimenting in the kitchen.
- Eat the right amount of each food. Learn what ingredients have high carb content and how much you can eat to stay under the daily limit of 20-50g of carbohydrates.
- Use a helpful calculator for your macronutrients like MyfitnessPal or Ruled.me. These calculators will help you to stay within the carb limit.
What foods can you eat in your keto meal plan?
Your knowledge and understanding of what you eat are critical for creating the perfect keto meal plan. As mentioned before, you should limit the amount of carbohydrates that you intake. Here is a starter list of approved ingredients for you:
- Eggs – All kinds, fried, boiled, or cooked.
- Meat – Fresh meat is the best option, but if you cannot find it, buy the healthiest substitute. You can eat red meat, sausages, steak, chicken, and turkey.
- Fish – Perfect for adding healthy omega-3 fats to your diet. Try experimenting in your kitchen with all kinds of fish you can buy.
- Fats like peanut butter or any nut butter, coconut oil, or cold-pressed oil are perfect for you.
- Nuts and seeds – Raw and baked.
- Cheese – Try to find unprocessed cheese like mozzarella, cheddar, Greek cheese, or goat cheese.
- Avocadoes – The ultimate keto food that you can use in any recipe and have a perfect creamy texture.
- Some fruits – Blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries are allowed on the keto diet because they have low sugar content.
- Low-carb veggies – Lettuce, arugula, spinach, and everything green, broccoli, cauliflower, and kale. Just make your favorite salad with tomatoes, onion, or peppers.
Food to avoid when creating a keto meal plan
With the information we’ve provided so far, you’re in a much better position to make your keto meal plan! Next, you only need to know the ingredients that are forbidden for you. As such, here is the list of foods that you cannot take on this diet:
- Grains – All cereals and grains are a perfect source of carbohydrates, so please stay away from them. These include wheat products like pasta, bread, cakes, cereals, and muesli.
- Sugary drinks – Like soda, fruit juices, or coffee with sweeteners. You must say bye-bye for some time.
- Legumes – Like beans, peas, chickpeas, and lentils.
- Fruits – Except for forest fruits, you cannot make smoothies with bananas or apricot or mix other fruits together. Fruits are a high source of fructose sugar.
- Sauces that have sugar in their ingredients – Please read the ingredients list before buying a product. If you can find maltodextrin, glucose syrup, saccharose, or sugar in the content, then stay away from the product.
- Alcohol – All kinds.
- Processed and hydrogenated fats – Like mayo or margarine.
What are some examples of keto meals?
Breakfast
The day starts with a beautiful breakfast that will keep you full until lunch. Combine protein and fat to fuel up your body. Mornings are usually hectic, and breakfast can be quickly deleted from the menu. Prevent this habit and prepare your breakfast in advance or overnight.
Here are some perfect ideas for a fast keto breakfast:
- Chia pudding with almond milk, peanut butter, and blueberries.
- Mozzarella omelet with a side dish of avocado spread and seeds.
- Poached eggs with tomato and pepper salad, plus a handful of almonds.
Lunch
Lunch should be an easy and fast meal without any complications. Try to place all the ingredients in one dish or find recipes that won’t cause you problems with cooking.
Here are some perfect and fast lunch ideas:
- Bowl of chicken, lettuce, tomato, and tahini sauce.
- Salmon with cauliflower puree and peanut butter dressing.
Dinner
If you start the day with breakfast, you might not feel hungry for dinner. That said, at the beginning of your keto journey, always plan a small dinner that will keep you full and help you sleep better.
Here are some of our ideas:
- Egg frittata with lettuce salad.
- Tuna salad with hazelnuts, arugula, and cherry tomato.
In brief, happy eating on your keto journey!
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