If you have been conscious about your body’s increasing weight and you want to stop that, the keto diet is a common name you may hear. The ketogenic diet has become necessary and most common to lose weight and improve health.
The basic principle of the keto diet is eating high-fat and low-carb food items. This diet can help patients suffering from type two diabetes, improve cognitive function and help to stay protected from yeast infection. This diet has a lot of benefits.
But if you are a beginner to starting a keto diet, please go through the post to learn about it.
What Is Keto Diet?
The Keto diet is one of the most famous forms, helping people lose weight and get rid of various severe health conditions. Keto diet foods are mainly high in fat but low in carbs. As a result, keto diet foods are good for all kinds of people. However, it is better to consult a nutrition expert before starting anything.
Types of Keto Diet
There are different types of keto diets. Let’s discuss all of them below:
CKD Or Cyclical Ketogenic Diet: This diet focuses on higher carbs. You must add two high carbs days if you choose five days for the keto diet.
SKD Or Standard ketogenic Diet: You need to follow moderate protein, low carb and high fat when you want to follow a standard ketogenic diet. Here you need to have seventy per cent fat, ten per cent carbs and twenty per cent protein in keto diet meals.
High Protein Keto Diet: This diet includes more protein compared to others. Here the fat is sixty per cent, protein is thirty-five per cent, and carbs are five per cent.
What Should You Eat When Following a Keto Diet?
Here, we have provided a keto diet food list. You can find all the keto-friendly foods you should eat on this list. So, please ensure to buy the below-mentioned foods to follow a perfect keto diet.
- Eggs: Organic and pastured.
- Meat: Venison, bison, organ meat, beef, pork, chicken, turkey.
- Fatty fish: Herring, mackerel, salmon.
- Nut butter: Almond, no-sugar peanut cashew butter.
- Avocados
- Oil: Olive oil, sesame oil, avocado oil.
- Seeds: Pumpkin seeds, walnuts, flaxseeds, macadamia nuts, peanuts.
- Condiments: Vinegar, salt, fresh herbs, lemon juice, spices, pepper.
- Vegetables: broccoli, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers.
Beverages You Should Take When Following Keto Diet
Do you think you can drink anything and everything following a ketogenic diet? No, you cannot drink anything. Let’s discuss the name of some keto-friendly beverages below:
- Sparkling water: Sparkling water is an excellent replacement for soda.
- Water: It is best to drink nothing but water when following a keto diet.
- Green tea: Green tea is good when not blended with sugar.
- Coffee: Unsweetened coffee is a great choice for following a keto diet.
Which Foods Should You Avoid When Following Keto Diet?
Here is the list of the foods you need to avoid while following it:
- Sweetened Beverage: sweetened tea and coffee, sports drink, soda, and juice.
- Pasta: noodles and spaghetti.
- Sweet foods: honey, ice cream, maple syrup, candy, coconut sugar, and agave syrup.
- Grains: oats, wheat, tortillas, cereals, rice.
- Vegetables: Potato, corn, peas, pumpkin, sweet potato, butternut squash.
- Fruit: bananas, citrus, grapes, pineapple.
- Sauce: barbecue sauce, sugary salad dressing, honey and mustard sauce, ketchup, dipping sauces.
- Alcohol: any sugary drink and beer.
Which Snacks Can You Eat When Following A Keto Diet?
You do not have to be away from snacks just because you are following a ketogenic diet. So, here, we have mentioned some keto-friendly snack options.
- Coconut chips
- Half avocado with chicken salad
- Almond and cheddar cheese
- Kale chips
- Hard-boiled egg
- Sliced salami with olives
- Parmesan crisps
- Cocoa and avocado mousse
- Cheese roll-up
- Jerky
- Macadamia nuts
- Berries and heavy whipping cream
- Avocado and green vegetables with a high-fat dressing
- Keto smoothie consisting of cocoa, avocado and coconut milk
What Should Beginners Do To Start Keto Diet?
People trying to start this diet can get confused, thinking about where to start, what to do, what not to do, etc. If you are a beginner, you should know a few things before starting your ketosis.
Reduce Consumption of Carbs
The keto diet for beginners can get confusing at times. Most people do not understand what to eat due to insufficient research. Eating low carbs is important for achieving ketosis. Though you cannot take net carbs for two weeks, you can add a small number to your diet. But until that happens, you must reduce it to twenty grams.
Do Not Start Keto If You Are under Stress
Stress is common. If you are under a lot of stress right now, the stress hormone cortisol can increase your blood sugar level, decreasing your ability to achieve ketosis. At a time like this, it is better to stop following ketosis.
Exercise
Exercise is essential to losing weight. Since a ketogenic diet focuses on losing weight, exercising can help you achieve that goal.
Drink More Water
We have already mentioned that a ketogenic diet requires drinking lots of water. Moreover, water is essential to support normal body function and metabolism. You can experience cravings and dizziness if you do not consume enough water.
Eat More Protein
It requires you to eat more protein supplements. Since they supply amino acids to the liver to make glucose for the organs and cells, they benefit those following a ketogenic diet.
Benefits of Following a Ketogenic Diet
People mainly follow keto diets to lose weight. But it has other benefits too. Let’s discuss some of the basic benefits of following a keto diet.
Weight Loss
You must have heard a lot about keto diet weight loss. Yes, you have heard right. You can follow any ketogenic diet you prefer based on your preference. But whichever you choose, they are great to help you lose weight.
Lowers Blood Sugar And Insulin Level
You need to lower your carb consumption if you follow the ketogenic diet. Consequently, you reduce blood sugar and insulin level.
Provides Energy
Ketogenic foods help the brain to produce mitochondria. They, in return, provide the body with ample energy.
Conclusion
The Ketogenic diet has become more famous in the past few years than before due to having various benefits. Even though it mostly focuses on weight loss, this diet solves many health-related problems. Most importantly, this diet is good for people with type two diabetes. So, start your diet today if you are interested.
