Keto Diet
The need to live a healthy and happy life drives most people to follow a diet plan. However, knowing which plan is the right one for you can sometimes be hard to determine. These days, there are a number of diet plans available, but following the keto diet for weight loss is one of the most popular options.
You must be wondering why you should go with the keto diet when there are so many alternatives. Well, the keto diet is a well-balanced plan providing the right amount of carbs and fat for the body. The right keto plan can provide many health benefits by turning your body into an efficient fat-burner.
In this article, you will learn about the impact of the keto diet on your body and the right ways to follow keto: what to eat and what to avoid.
Why Choose the Keto Diet for Weight Loss?
Many diet plans usually consist of lower-fat consumption to lose weight, which is effective in its own way. However, the effects of the keto diet for weight loss can’t be neglected.
The Keto diet has some factors of the Atkins diet and other low carb diets. It’s focused on increasing the amount of fat you take and minimizing the carbs. This way, your body can metabolize the fat and burn more calories.
Generally, everyone needs 60-75% of fat, 5-10% of carbs, and 15-30% of protein to have enough body nutrients for healthy living. Keto changes that by substituting fat for carbs and putting the body into a metabolic state called ‘Ketosis.’
Despite the higher amount of fat consumption, keto is effective for weight loss and reduces the risk of many diseases. On top of that, it does not leave the dieter hungry. With the predetermined number of calories per day, you would not feel hunger cravings.
You can go about your day, eating more fat and fewer carbs, without worrying about keeping a calorie count. It’s one of the important reasons to try the keto diet!
Food to Avoid During the Keto Diet
Keto is a diet plan so there are some healthy food tips and tricks that help you keep in shape. As mentioned before, you’d have to limit the number of carbs in your diet or better yet, remove them, to get the best results.
Avoid eating sugary foods like ice cream, cakes, pies, fruit juice, candy, and soda. Any starches or grains are also off-limits. Pasta, cereal, rice, or any wheat-based food do not contribute to the weight loss plan associated with keto.
Any sorts of beans and root vegetables are also not part of the keto diet plan. Some examples are kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils, potatoes, and carrots. While these foods provide important body nutrients for other diet plans, keto is more effective without them.
All sorts of fruits are also eliminated from keto, except for a small portion of berries. Low-fat processed foods, alcohol, unhealthy fats like mayonnaise or vegetable oil, and sauces or condiments – all are eliminated from the keto diet.
Keto Diet Foods for Weight Loss
Keto is effective when you let go of the carbs and unhealthy fats mentioned in the previous section. If you want to follow the keto diet for weight loss, here are the types of foods that will give you the desired results:
- Eggs: pastured eggs and omega-3 eggs.
- Meat: chicken, turkey, bacon, steak, ham, and sausages.
- Fish: Tuna, trout, salmon, mackerel, etc.
- Seeds and nuts: flax seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts, etc.
- Low-carb vegetables: tomatoes, green veggies, onions, peppers, etc.
- Cheese and Butter: unprocessed cheddar, cream, goat, mozzarella, and products from grass-fed animals.
- Avocados: fresh guacamole and whole avocados.
- Condiments: salt, peppers, and healthy herbs.
A great way to follow the keto diet for weight loss is to use one-ingredient foods for your meals. You can also rotate the vegetables and meats to avoid getting bored of the same meal plans. This will also maximize the intake of nutrients.
Keto Snacks That Are Healthy
It’s normal to feel hungry between meals and look for snacks. But if you are on a diet, the snack cravings get more intense, making you look for unhealthy food options.
Fortunately, the keto diet can solve this problem for you before you even start the diet! It provides some healthy food tips for dieters who like to snack. If you are one of those people who like snacking between meals, make sure you opt for keto-friendly snacks like these:
- Unprocessed Cheese
- Fatty fish or meat
- Dark chocolate
- A handful of seeds or nuts
- Hard-boiled eggs (1 or 2)
- Full-fat yogurt
- A low-carb milkshake with cocoa powder, nut butter, or almonds
- Strawberries with cream (grass-bed animals’ product)
Dining Out on the Keto Diet
Eating out when you are on a diet, but keto does not restrict you from enjoying a night out with friends or loved ones. Many restaurants serve keto-friendly food and you can customize your evening meal to remain on the keto diet for weight loss.
You can order meat or fish-based meals and replace any high-carb foods with green vegetables. You can also order bun-less burgers and get vegetables instead of fries. Other great side dishes would be avocados, eggs, bacon, or cheese. For dessert, you can order berries with cream or have a mixed cheese board.
Wrapping Up
The keto diet can help you bring positive and healthy changes to your lifestyle. This high-fat, low-carb diet is effective because it gives results. Many people follow the keto diet for weight loss solely based on testimonials from other people!
Instead of restricting your calorie intake, keto encourages you to eat more fat to put the body in ketosis. With a minimum amount of carbs in your diet, your body burns the fat that you ingest, effectively getting rid of unhealthy fats from the body. As you burn fat steadily, you’ll lose weight while maintaining a healthy lifestyle.