People often use low-carb/keto diets to promote weight loss and stabilize blood sugar levels. While guidelines may vary, low-carb diets generally limit foods high in carbohydrates or added sugar.
You’ve probably heard of the low-carb, high-fat diet that’s so popular among actors and models, and for good reason: Low-carb diets force your body to burn fat for fuel while also providing proper nutrition with whole foods. It’s a great way to get fit because it makes fat loss a whole lot easier! But where does the word “ketogenic” fit into the picture?
Well, ketogenic comes from the word “ketosis,” which is a state in which your body breaks down fat molecules into ketones to provide energy. This state is achieved by eating very low carbohydrates and a higher-than-normal fat intake. The “normal” state of the body’s metabolism is called “glycolysis,” where carbohydrates are burned for energy. The long and short is that when your body is in carb-burning mode, it will use all available carbs for energy before it touches stored fat. In ketosis, your body is primed to burn fat, and this is great news for anyone trying to get trim and slim.
Benefits of Ketosis
By significantly reducing carbohydrate intake, we can rapidly reduce insulin resistance, which is a precursor to type 2 diabetes. In addition, a low-carb diet, along with exercise, can be very effective in helping to reduce the symptoms and progression of type 2 diabetes. In addition, ketosis itself is an appetite suppressant, meaning your appetite will naturally check itself, increasing your calorie deficit and helping you lose fat faster.
Getting Started
It takes a while to get into ketosis. – Early adaptation requires about two weeks of low-carb eating. During this time there will be lethargy, fatigue, headaches, and some gastrointestinal problems. As you will adapt, what is often referred to as “keto flu.” Proper electrolyte intake will correct most of these problems. moreover, the “diet” aspect of this ketogenic diet plan – i.e. calorie restriction – shouldn’t be a concern. Weight loss will come at this time. When your body is starving Because it reduces sugar and processed food addiction, it is not recommended to limit calories during the first two weeks.
It takes a while to get into ketosis. The initial adaptation requires a low-carb diet for about two weeks. During this time there will be lethargy, fatigue, headache, and some gastrointestinal problems. As you’re adapting, Which is often called ‘keto flu’. The proper amount of electrolytes will correct most of these problems. In addition, the “diet” aspect of this ketogenic diet plan – i.e. calorie restriction – should be of no concern. At this time, the weight will be reduced. When your body is hungry it reduces the addiction to sugar and processed food, Therefore, it is not recommended to limit calories during the first two weeks.
Additional Points of Interest
Ketogenic diets often produce a significant loss of water during the first stages. This is because carbs are converted into glycogen in your body. which accumulate in the water inside the muscles and liver. As soon as you remove the stored glycogen, Your body gets rid of this water. This is a huge part of the initial weight loss during the first few weeks of ketosis. Although in the beginning there is a rapid decrease in fat, often a lot of water weight is also reduced. But it is a great encouragement. Because it often results in both weight loss and less bloating, This will make the clothes fit better.
Foods Recommended on a Ketogenic Diet
- Meat: Beef, goat, lamb, turkey, pork, veal, chicken.
- Fish: Salmon, trout, catfish, sardines, tuna, haddock, and many others.
- Fruits: Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, avocado.
- Vegetables: Broccoli, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, cucumbers, and many others.
- Nuts and Seeds: Almonds, walnuts, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, etc.
- Dairy Products: Cheese, Greek yogurt, sour cream, heavy cream.
- Fats and Oils: Peanut Butte, flaxseed oil, butter, sesame oil, olive oil, and almond oil. ( If you want to see more ketogenic diet foods, read this: The Ultimate List of Foods to Eat on a Ketogenic Diet
Foods to Avoid on a Ketogenic Diet
- Grains: Grains: Wheat, oats, corn, barley, and rye. Includes bread and pasta.
- Artificial Sweeteners: Sucralose, Equal, Acesulfame, Splenda, Saccharin, etc.
- Processed Foods: If it contains carrageenan, don’t eat it.
- “Low-fat” products: Atkins products, drinks, gluten, diet soda, etc.
7-Day Ketogenic Diet Meal Plan And Menu
So you’ve got the ketogenic diet, Your macros have been detected and you’re itching to get started. Here is a ketogenic diet plan for a week. If you’re happening right now, use this basic plan to help you move forward.
I HAVE LOST 45 POUNDS IN 4 MONTHS WITH A KETOGENIC DIET
I just started 5 months of the ketogenic diet (lost 45 lbs) I’m by no means an expert. I’m 46 years old and I’ve been trying to lose weight all my life. Ironically, I’ve also spent years learning about nutrition and exercise. Finding macronutrients comes naturally to me. Like I’ve done all my life. Following the keto diet is the first time I’ve seen any real success in reducing unwanted pounds. This is despite years of exercise and being active.
I’ve had a lot of success so far. And I think many of you who are trying to get started with the ketogenic diet may be overwhelmed and confused by all the numbers and information coming at you. That’s why this is a ketogenic diet plan. This is what I do to keep things simple. I’m a boy. I need a simple.
For me, I think success with the keto diet comes from eating a few basic foods and adding some variety later on when needed. Hell, I eat the same thing every day. It’s interesting to lose 45 pounds in 4 months. So I’m sticking to it. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
7-DAY KETO DIET GROCERY LIST
The daily meal will be bacon and eggs, chicken with vegetables, and beef with vegetables. These are basic foods and will provide good macros for some people. For others who need more food. You can just add a keto-friendly snack or 2 to get your macros up to this point. where they are needed. And that’s what I have to do.
- A dozen eggs.
- A package of bacon.
- Butter. (real butter)
- A pack of boneless SKIN ON chicken thighs
- 1 onion.
- 1 bell pepper (Green, red, yellow, that’s your choice.)
- Two bulbs of garlic. (Optional, but very heart-healthy.)
- A big bag of mixed frozen vegetables, at least 12 cups worth. If you are not sure what to get, just pick something else that’s keto friendly like frozen broccoli.)
- a bag of almonds, and a jar of almond butter (very expensive – the cheapest I can find is 10$ for 750g at Costco).
- A package of beef. You want to find some kind of beef that you can imagine cutting/dividing into 6 equal portions of about 5.5 ounces each(a bit bigger than a deck of cards.)
I AM COOKING. WELL…SOME
I am not much for cooking but I am doing better. A ketogenic diet meal plan does work better when you have food ready to go. It takes the guesswork out and we need to keep this as simple as possible to have success.
- Put the 12 thighs into the oven with all the cloves from a bulb of garlic. You should separate the cloves, but you don’t need to skin them. The heat from the oven will do that nicely, and you can peel them when you eat them.
- While the thighs are cooking, hard boil the eggs. Then set them aside to cool.
- Take a skillet, put some butter in it, and then fry up the bacon. (Note: Some might argue that butter isn’t needed. In my experience, you can either grease up that pan somehow, or your first strips of bacon will come out burnt.)
- Dice up half the onion, and save the other half for next week.
- Cut up the pepper
- You might need to take the chicken out at this point. If it’s done, pull it out, and let it cool.
- In the skillet (I love to use the bacon grease as a base) sauté the pepper and half onion, and another bulb’s worth of garlic cloves. (leave the skin on, just like before.)
- Add the beef and brown it.
GETTING THE MEALS TOGETHER
- Wash/rinse out 12 containers.
- In 6 of them, put 2 chicken thighs each. Share the garlic between them, and evenly divide the fat juice.
- In the other 6 evenly spoon out the beef/pepper/onion mix.
- Take the veggie blend, and evenly pour it across the 12 containers, right on top of the meat.
- Put them all in your fridge. If you have minimal fridge space you could just put some in there, and then rest in your freezer. Just pull another out when you pull from the fridge.
- Pull out six plastic bags and put 2 hard-boiled eggs in each.
- Evenly divide your remaining bacon by 6.
- Now brown bag it, and put it in your fridge.
THE MACRONUTRIENTS OF THE KETOGENIC MENU PLAN
Right now you have 6 day’s worth of meals in your fridge
- 6 bags with 2 hard-boiled eggs and bacon
- 6 containers of thighs/veggies
- 6 containers of Beef/Veggies
Okay, so this is only 6 days. Make extra for day 7 OR you can try to get creative and plan your own meals. Ruled. I have some awesome keto recipes if you are feeling brave.
*I messed up. The macros of each “meal” above are too high in protein and too low in fat so reduce the amount of meat in each meal by about half AND add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to each meal(or some cheese). Please forgive me!!
For this base ketogenic meal plan, I am going to use the following macronutrient profile that I helped someone set up for themselves:
TOTAL CALORIES- 1570
- Net carbs – 20g per day
- Protein – 80 g per day
- Fat – 130 g per day
Now divide each of those by 3(for 3 meals per day) and you get:
- ≈7 net carbs per meal
- ≈26 grams of protein per meal
- ≈44 grams of fat per meal
Omg, so much math! If you halve the protein in each meal you will be pretty close to these totals PER MEAL!
I need more protein and fat each day and so will some of you. So I add in some snacks, cheese, or keto fudge during the day to get my macros up where they need to be. I also drink homemade Bulletproof coffee which for me is:
- 1 cup coffee
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 tbsp full-fat coconut milk(in a can)
This adds about 25g of fat to my day.
If you got hungry on Day One between breakfast and lunch, or lunch and supper while you’re still at work eat more fat!
You may also want to consider adding these fat-boosting strategies:
- Full-fat cream, butter, coconut oil, and MCT oil in your coffee.
- Put a tablespoon of mayonnaise on the chicken while it’s baking.
- Top the vegetables with some cheese before reheating.
SALT AND ELECTROLYTES WITH THE KETOGENIC DIET
It’s also worth pointing out that you may want to consider taking a multivitamin with the ketogenic diet meal plan. It is very low on Vitamins B1, D, E, and K. Calcium, Magnesium, Manganese, and Potassium are also very low, but we need to manage those as part of our electrolyte strategy anyway on keto.
Do not omit essential electrolytes: Sodium (Na+), Chloride (Cl-), Potassium (K+), Magnesium (Mg++), Calcium (Ca++), Phosphate (HPO4–), Bicarbonate (HCO3-). Lack of electrolytes or more pointedly the body’s primary electrolyte sodium (aka Salt) is responsible for lethargy, brain fog, and keto flu symptoms on high-fat diets.
You should be aiming for at least 8 cups of water a day. I have a 600ml bottle and I empty it at least 10 times a day. That is a lot of water and yes I am going to the bathroom a lot. Carbs hold water, so with minimal carbs, this will speed up the flushing of water. So even more bathroom breaks.
BUT HOW DO I KEEP TRACK OF ALL OF THIS?!
The “easiest” way to track your meals (and thus your macros) for your ketogenic diet meal plan is to create a free account with MyFitnessPal.
This app is web-based. Or you can use it on your phone. I’ll eat what you eat The importance of monitoring cannot be overemphasized. Doing this has made all the difference in the world for me and is a huge part of the success of my keto diet.
Once you’ve set up your account, you just enter the food you eat and the app calculates your total consumption for each macro and your total calories. There is also a “Bar Code Scanner” as part of the app. You use your phone to “scan” your food bar code and it gets added to your daily meal plan.
SUMMARY
I’m proof that the ketogenic diet works. I also know how to deal with all the numbers and then figure out what to eat. This can lead to confusion. I’m hoping this 7-day ketogenic diet eating plan will help you stay calm. (at least a little) and will focus on your fat loss goals…