The keto diet is not the easiest diet for beginners. Since this diet is almost completely carbohydrate-restricted, choosing a variety of protein options is not always easy. Keto’s main goal lies in giving up carbohydrates.
The keto diet is an easy way to lose weight without calorie control. The essence of keto is to limit the carbohydrates in the diet as much as possible (you can only eat a small amount of green vegetables – source of fiber, vitamins and minerals).
Note that the keto diet cannot be used with intense exercise. Avoiding carbohydrates lowers blood glycogen stores, negatively affecting strength performance. In the case of a cutting diet, a cyclical keto diet is recommended.
Further in the material, we will find examples of a keto diet broken down day by day – detailed menus will help you eat not only healthy, but also delicious. In addition, we will tell you about the rules for entering a ketosis – it is important for beginners to switch to being carbohydrate-free in stages.
The keto diet is a diet plan that involves avoiding carbohydrates. The mechanism of the keto diet is based on the fact that when carbohydrates are excluded, the glucose levels in a person’s blood decreases, and the body goes into a ketogenic mode – in this case, free fatty acids and fat reserves become the main source of energy.
The advantage of the keto diet is that it allows to lose weight quickly without strict calorie control. Studies found that the ketogenic diet shows the best results in the long term – that is, with its help you can burn fat and maintain the achieved shape for a long time.
However, the keto diet has contraindications. First, it is prohibited for pregnant and lactating women, as well as adolescents. Secondly, such a diet is not to be combined with insulin injections for diabetes or high blood pressure. Thirdly, for some chronic diseases.
Keto Diet – In Brief:
- Carbohydrate-free diet
- Losing weight without calorie restriction
- For fast weight loss
Meals by day
For beginners on a keto diet, a complete rejection of fast carbohydrates is recommended. That said, if you’ve never tried a carbohydrate-free diet before, devote the first 7-10 days to changing your eating habits to minimize simple carbohydrates in your diet. The egg diet is also suitable for beginners.
If you are already familiar with the method of restricting carbohydrates in the diet, the easiest way to enter the keto diet is intermittent fasting – for example, according to the 16/8 scheme. Follow this regimen for at least 5-7 days to lower your blood glucose levels and move more smoothly into full ketosis. It is important for beginners to take their time.
Keto foods - what can you eat?
The keto diet only allows you to eat foods that do not contain carbohydrates. They do not raise blood sugar levels and keep the body from getting out of fat burning ketosis. Floury products, sugar-based sweets, sweet fruits, sweet juices and carbonated drinks are completely prohibited. Also, potatoes and other starchy vegetables cannot be eaten on keto.
List of foods allowed on the keto diet:
- all types of meat (beef, pork, chicken)
- all kinds of fish and seafood
- chicken eggs
- dairy products (butter, cheese, natural cottage cheese, milk in small quantities)
- any vegetable oils
- any green vegetables
- nuts in small quantities
- berries in small quantities
- non-starchy vegetables (avocado, pumpkin in small amounts)
- herbs, seeds (including chia seeds), spices
- mushrooms
Keto nutrition rules
One of the rules of the keto diet is to drink plenty of pure water every day. This helps to reduce the negative effects of diet (in particular, difficulty with digestion and the smell of acetone from the mouth). It is also necessary to monitor the amount of salt in the diet – often keto beginners consume too much salt, which leads to dehydration.
Let us separately mention the need to control the consumption of alcoholic beverages. The keto diet can increase the level of ammonia in the blood – together with the use of alcohol, this can provoke toxic liver damage. It is for the same reason that the ketone diet is contraindicated in any liver and kidney disease.
Dangers of the ketogenic diet
Ammonia is a by-product of the metabolism of amino acids that are part of proteins, which is found in the blood in small concentrations. An excess of its level by 2-3 times leads to toxic liver damage – especially against the background of high-fat nutrition. Excess ammonia causes fatigue and hormonal imbalance.
Research suggests that, in addition to congenital diseases, high ammonia levels are associated with prolonged adherence to the keto diet. In particular, a lack of fiber in the presence of a large amount of protein and animal fats is a danger – this increases the level of bad cholesterol.
Who is the keto diet for?
First of all, the keto diet is recommended for those who want to lose weight without counting calories. Ketone nutrition completely excludes foods that lead to weight gain – first of all, sweet and starchy foods, as well as any sources of fast carbohydrates.
However, the ketone diet is not the easiest diet for beginners. The first days of a carbohydrate-free diet can be quite challenging, both in terms of diet and decline in performance. Note that the easiest place to start entering ketosis is with an egg diet.
daily menu for the week
In order to avoid a lack of vitamins while following a keto diet, it is necessary to include cherry tomatoes, green vegetables and fruits with a minimum amount of carbohydrates (first of all, various berries, as well as citrus fruits) in the daily diet. In turn, nuts – both peanuts and walnuts, pine nuts or any other – will become a good source of minerals.
The calorie content of the ketogenic menu presented below is 1300 kcal. per day, which is suitable for women wishing to lose weight with a low level of physical activity. For men, calories and portion sizes should be increased. Recall that when losing weight, it is recommended to reduce the calorie intake by no more than 15-20% of the daily calorie intake.
Day 1 // Monday
Breakfast: 2 eggs, 10 g butter, half an avocado, coffee or tea without milk and sugar
Second breakfast: a portion of cottage cheese without sugar (15 g)
Lunch: fish (120 g fillet) with broccoli and 6 cherry tomatoes, green tea
Snack: 1 sugar-free jelly and a handful of berries
Dinner: chicken breast (120 g) with olive oil (10 ml) and mustard (10 ml). Salad: 3 large lettuce leaves, 1 cucumber, half a lemon, and grated cheese
Carbohydrates: 24 g, Proteins: 75 g, Fats: 96 g
2 day // Tuesday
Breakfast: 2 eggs with bacon, keto coffee
Second breakfast: sugar-free jelly
Lunch: fried meat (120 g) with arugula salad, zucchini and half an avocado; green tea
Snack: a handful of strawberries or other berries
Dinner: fried chicken fillet with mushrooms, fresh leaf salad, half a tomato and cucumber with 10 ml of olive oil; ½ cup blueberries
Carbohydrates: 29 g, Proteins: 80 g, Fats: 99 g
Day 3 // Wednesday
Breakfast: 2 boiled eggs, a slice of cheese and 2 spinach leaves; coffee with 10 ml milk cream or coconut milk
Second breakfast: sugar-free yogurt, a handful of berries
Lunch: salad with tuna and fresh cabbage, sesame dressing and soy sauce
Snack: 2 pieces of sugar-free dark chocolate (at least 75% cocoa)
Dinner: chicken breast with mushrooms, 50 g pumpkin seeds, salad with tomato and olives
Carbohydrates: 34g, Proteins: 88g, Fats: 101g
Day 4 // Thursday
Breakfast: green smoothie with spirulina (10 g) and chia seeds (15 g); slices of cheese and ham
Snack: a handful of nuts
Lunch: baked avocado with egg, bacon and cheese. Arugula, cabbage and cucumber salad
Dinner: fried chicken fillet with mushrooms, fresh leaf salad, half a tomato and cucumber with 10 ml of olive oil; ½ cup blueberries
Carbohydrates: 29 g, Proteins: 80 g, Fats: 99 g
Day 5 // Friday
Breakfast: scrambled eggs and half a tomato, coffee or tea
Snack: a handful of nuts, 2 dark chocolate pieces
Lunch: fillet of beef with mushrooms and spinach, green tea
Dinner: fried chicken fillet with mushrooms, fresh leaf salad, half a tomato and cucumber with 10 ml of olive oil; ½ cup blueberries
Carbohydrates: 29 g, Proteins: 80 g, Fats: 99 g
Day 6 // Saturday
Breakfast: sliced ham and cheese, green tea
Snack: 2 hard boiled eggs
Lunch: 100 g of shrimp stewed with zucchini, olive oil, cheese and arugula
Snack: sugar free jelly
Dinner: baked fish with eggplant caviar
Carbohydrates: 34 g, Proteins: 79 g, Fats: 99 g
Day 7 // Sunday
Breakfast: scrambled eggs and bacon
Snack: cottage cheese without sugar, a handful of berries
Lunch: stewed chicken with cabbage, mushrooms and sesame seeds
Snack: 2 pieces of dark chocolate, nuts
Dinner: fish soup with pumpkin (50 g) and fried tomatoes
Carbohydrates: 38 g, Proteins: 88 g, Fats: 102 g
The keto diet is a diet that is as carbohydrate-limited as possible. For beginners to follow this diet, the most difficult are the first days, when the body rebuilds into ketosis – dizziness and weakness can be observed. To avoid these side effects known as “keto flu” one must consume sufficient amounts of water and electrolytes. In the future, the metabolism changes and the body gets used to working in a fat-burning mode without carbohydrates.
The keto diet is a carbohydrate-free diet for weight loss. Its essence lies in the complete elimination of carbohydrates from the diet and the transfer of metabolism to a ketone regime for burning fat. Compared to other diets, keto is more effective for weight loss, but it has a number of contraindications.
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