The Ketogenic Diet: A Detailed Beginner’s Guide to Keto

What is a ketogenic diet?

Keto basics

The ketogenic diet is a very low carb, high fat diet that shares many similarities with the Atkins and low carb diets.

It involves drastically reducing carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis.

When this happens, your body becomes incredibly efficient at burning fat for energy. It also turns fat into ketones in the liver, which can supply energy for the brain (6Trusted Source).

Ketogenic diets can cause significant reductions in blood sugar and insulin levels. This, along with the increased ketones, has some health benefits (6Trusted Source, 7Trusted Source, 8Trusted Source).

health benefits of keto

The ketogenic diet actually originated as a tool for treating neurological diseases such as epilepsy.

Studies have now shown that the diet can have benefits for a wide variety of different health conditions:

• Heart disease. The ketogenic diet can help improve risk factors like body fat, HDL (good) cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and blood sugar (28Trusted Source, 29Trusted Source).
• Cancer. The diet is currently being explored as an additional treatment for cancer, because it may help slow tumor growth. (4Trusted Source, 30Trusted Source, 31Trusted Source).
• Alzheimer’s disease. The keto diet may help reduce symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and slow its progression (5Trusted Source, 32Trusted Source, 33Trusted Source).
• Epilepsy. Research has shown that the ketogenic diet can cause significant reductions in seizures in epileptic children (3Trusted Source).
• Parkinson’s disease. Although more research is needed, one study found that the diet helped improve symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (34Trusted Source).
• Polycystic ovary syndrome. The ketogenic diet can help reduce insulin levels, which may play a key role in polycystic ovary syndrome (35Trusted Source, 36Trusted Source).
• Brain injuries. Some research suggests that the diet could improve outcomes of traumatic brain injuries (37Trusted Source).

However, keep in mind that research into many of these areas is far from conclusive.

Foods to avoid

Any food that’s high in carbs should be limited.

Here’s a list of foods that need to be reduced or eliminated on a ketogenic diet:

• sugary foods: soda, fruit juice, smoothies, cake, ice cream, candy, etc.
• grains or starches: wheat-based products, rice, pasta, cereal, etc.
• fruit: all fruit, except small portions of berries like strawberries
• beans or legumes: peas, kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc.
• root vegetables and tubers: potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, etc.
• low fat or diet products: low fat mayonnaise, salad dressings, and condiments
• some condiments or sauces: barbecue sauce, honey mustard, teriyaki sauce, ketchup, etc.
• unhealthy fats: processed vegetable oils, mayonnaise, etc.
• alcohol: beer, wine, liquor, mixed drinks
• sugar-free diet foods: sugar-free candies, syrups, puddings, sweeteners, desserts, etc.

Foods to eat

You should base the majority of your meals around these foods:

• meat: red meat, steak, ham, sausage, bacon, chicken, and turkey
• fatty fish: salmon, trout, tuna, and mackerel
• eggs: pastured or omega-3 whole eggs
• butter and cream: grass-fed butter and heavy cream
• cheese: unprocessed cheeses like cheddar, goat, cream, blue, or mozzarella
• nuts and seeds: almonds, walnuts, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, etc.
• healthy oils: extra virgin olive oil, and avocado oil
• avocados: whole avocados or freshly made guacamole
• low carb veggies: green veggies, tomatoes, onions, peppers, etc.
• condiments: salt, pepper, herbs, and spices

It’s best to base your diet mostly on whole, single-ingredient foods.

A sample keto meal plan for 1 week

To help get you started, here’s a sample ketogenic diet meal plan for one week:

Monday

• breakfast: veggie and egg muffins with tomatoes
• lunch: chicken salad with olive oil, feta cheese, olives, and a side salad
• dinner: salmon with asparagus cooked in butter

Tuesday

• breakfast: egg, tomato, basil, and spinach omelet
• lunch: almond milk, peanut butter, spinach, cocoa powder, and stevia milkshake (more keto smoothies here) with a side of sliced strawberries
• dinner: cheese-shell tacos with salsa

Wednesday

• breakfast: nut milk chia pudding topped with coconut and blackberries
• lunch: avocado shrimp salad
• dinner: pork chops with Parmesan cheese, broccoli, and salad

Thursday

• breakfast: omelet with avocado, salsa, peppers, onion, and spices
• lunch: a handful of nuts and celery sticks with guacamole and salsa
• dinner: chicken stuffed with pesto and cream cheese, and a side of grilled zucchini

Friday

• breakfast: sugar-free Greek, whole milk yogurt with peanut butter, cocoa powder, and berries
• lunch: ground beef lettuce wrap tacos with sliced bell peppers
• dinner: loaded cauliflower and mixed veggies

Saturday

• breakfast: cream cheese pancakes with blueberries and a side of grilled mushrooms
• lunch: Zucchini and beet “noodle” salad
• dinner: white fish cooked in olive oil with kale and toasted pine nuts

Sunday

• breakfast: fried eggs with and mushrooms
• lunch: low carb sesame chicken and broccoli
• dinner: spaghetti squash Bolognese

Always try to rotate the vegetables and meat over the long term, as each type provides different nutrients and health benefits.