If you are trying to lose weight, you must have heard about the “Keto Diet.” It is a low-carb, high-fat diet that can provide innumerable benefits. However, nutritionists do not recommend following this diet as it can cause various side effects. However, if you are keen to know about this and how to follow a keto diet plan for weight loss, then keep on reading.
What is a Keto Diet?
Keto diet involves a drastic reduction of one’s intake of carbohydrates and replacing them with healthy fats. Decreasing the carb content like this puts the body in a metabolic state known as ketosis. In this condition, your body can burn fat for energy efficiently. Also, it can convert fats in the liver into ketones. This helps supply energy for the brain.
Keto diets can have multiple health benefits, like reduced insulin level and blood sugar. However, they can even cause a few side effects.
Keto Diet Plan for Weight Loss
While following a keto diet, one must take care in certain circumstances. The following tips can help you to follow the diet food plan for weight loss in a better way.
Reduce stress- The stress hormone, cortisol ends up raising the body’s blood sugar level. Therefore, this avoids the body from burning fat for energy because of the presence of excess sugar in it. Therefore, chronic stress can severely hinder the body’s capability to enter ketosis.
Prioritize sleep- Less sleep plays an important role in high-stress levels. As discussed earlier, this can avoid your body from being able to burn extra fat. Maintaining the right schedule can help in improving your quality of sleep. This, in turn, helps in reducing stress and therefore, makes the keto diet effective. Make sure you get about 8 to 9 hours of sleep. A lot of studies have found that sleeping for a few hours can make the weight loss journey difficult.
Increase the intake of salt- While we have always been suggested to reduce sodium consumption, this is essential only in the case of high-carb diets. High-carb diets have certainly high levels of insulin, which leads to kidneys preserving sodium.
When you lessen the intake of carb with a keto diet, insulin levels drop down and the body starts excreting a lot more salt. So you must increase your salt consumption by 3 to 5 g while following a keto diet.
Workout frequently- One of the important steps involved in a keto diet plan for weight loss is exercising. While on a keto diet, a regular workout schedule can help to improve ketone levels, and transition into a low-carb, high-fat diet faster. Getting rid of any type of glucose present in the body is important for the body following a keto diet.
While exercising, the body utilizes various types of energy for producing fuel, including amino acids, fats, and carbs. Frequent exercises help the body to get rid of its glycogen stores faster.
Drink a lot of water- An important thing that everyone should keep in mind while following any diet food plan for weight loss is to drink plenty of water. Keeping yourself hydrated is important, but is much more in the case of a ketogenic diet. This is so because the body releases more water from the body when the intake of carb is lower. Ideally, one should drink more water on days when he or she sweats more.
Ketogenic Diet Meal Plan
Following a ketogenic diet can be overwhelming, but it does not have to be tough.
Your main focus should be on lessening carbs while boosting the protein and fat content of snacks and meals. To reach the state of ketosis, the intake of carbohydrates must be restricted.
While some people might just achieve ketosis by eating 20 grams of carbohydrates every day, others might achieve positive results with a higher carbohydrate intake.
Generally, the lesser your carbohydrate intake, the simpler it is to reach and maintain a keto diet.
This is why eating keto-friendly foods and avoiding foods rich in carbohydrates is one of the best ways to lose weight.
Foods to Eat While Following a Keto Diet Plan for Weight Loss
When you follow a ketogenic diet, snacks and meals should revolve around the below-mentioned foods:
- Eggs: organic whole eggs makes the right choice
- Fatty fish: Wild-caught salmon, mackerel, and herring
- Poultry: Turkey and chicken
- Full-fat dairy: Butter, cream, and yogurt
- Meat: Venison, Grass-feed beef, organic meat
- Nuts and seeds: Almonds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, flaxseed, and peanuts
- Non-starchy veggies: Broccoli, greens, mushrooms, and tomatoes
- Healthy fats: Olive oil, coconut oil, coconut butter, avocado oil, and sesame oil
- Condiments: Pepper, salt, lemon juice, vinegar, and fresh herbs
Foods to Avoid While Following a Healthy Diet Plan for Weight Loss
Here is a list of foods that you must avoid when you follow a keto diet plan for weight loss.
- Baked items: Whole wheat bread, cookies, rolls, and doughnuts
- Sweets: Juices, soda, sports drinks, and sweetened teas
- Starchy vegetables: Sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, butternut squash, and pumpkin
- High-carb sauces: Sugary salad dressings, barbecue sauce, and dip sauce
- Pasta: Noodles and spaghetti
- Alcoholic beverages: Sugary mixed drinks and beer
- Fruits: Grapes, citrus fruits, pineapple, and bananas
Though intake of carbohydrates must be restricted, low-glycemic fruits like berries can be enjoyed in reduced amounts as long as you are maintaining a keto-friendly macronutrient range.
Make sure you choose healthy foods and steer clear of processed foods as well as unhealthy fats.
Apart from the above, you should follow these food items also:
Foods that are rich in carbohydrates, and low in fats, must be avoided by you if you are following a keto diet. Avoid eating these foods while on a ketogenic diet.
Cereal- While sugary breakfast cereals contain a lot of carbohydrates, the number of carbohydrates present in the healthy cereals will shock you. A cup of instant or regular oatmeal offers 32 grams of carbohydrates, just 4 of which are fiber. A bowl of cereal can easily help you to cross the limit of carbohydrates, even before milk is added to it.
Juice- Fruit juices contain various important nutrients. However, they also have fast-digesting carbohydrates that increase one’s blood sugar level. The liquid carbs present in juice may not let your brain process them in the same manner as for solid carbs. Therefore, drinking juice could make you feel hungry.
Starchy veggies- When you follow a healthy diet plan for weight loss, make sure you do not eat ant starchy vegetables. Many vegetables are high in fiber, therefore helps in weight loss and controlling blood sugar. However, some high-starch veggies consist of more digestible carbohydrates compared to fiber and must be avoided by people following a low-carb diet.
Ideally, one who is on a low-carb diet like a keto diet must avoid vegetables like sweet potato and corn.
Sweet yogurt- While plain yogurt has fewer carbs, the sweetened version can contain too many carbs like dessert. One cup of non-fat sweetened fruit yogurt can have nearly 47 g of carbs, which is much higher than the carbohydrate content for the same quantity of ice cream.
Ideally, when you are on a keto diet, you can replace sweet yogurt with Greek yogurt, and on top of it put some raspberries or blueberries.