All you need to know about following a ketogenic diet plan and how Fortify Meals can help.
The ketogenic diet, or the keto diet, has been on everyone’s tongues recently. This diet plan revolves around a low carb, high fat diet, and it offers many health benefits. Many studies show that following this diet can help you lose weight and, ultimately, improves your health.
So, what is a keto diet and how can we make it easier for you to follow it? Here is our detailed guide to the ketogenic diet.
The Keto Diet’s Premise
The keto diet shares a lot of similarities with other diets including the Atkins diet and plans that revolve around low carbs. The premise of a keto diet is this: it revolves around reducing your carb intake drastically and replacing it with fat. This reduction in carbohydrates places your body into a metabolic state known as ketosis.
What is Ketosis?
Without going into technical scientific detail, ketosis happens when your body does not have sufficient glucose stored for energy. When your glucose is depleted, your body will have no other option but to resort to burning fat for energy instead of carbs, and it becomes very efficient at it. Ketones are acids produced during this process and they are built up, specifically, for energy.
Ketogenic Variants
As with most diet plans, the ketogenic diet includes a number of variations. However, the standard keto diet and the high protein diet are more commonly used, and they are the most researched. The standard ketogenic diet involves a low carb, high fat, and moderate protein diet and adopts the following macros: 70% fat, 20% protein and 10% carbs. The high protein ketogenic diet is very similar to the standard but, as suggested in its name, it includes more protein, usually following these macros: 35% protein, 60% fat and 5% carbs.
The cyclical and targeted ketogenic diets are two other variations. However, they are mostly used by athletes and bodybuilders.
The Benefits of Following a Keto Diet and Losing Weight
Following a keto diet can be an effective way to lose weight. Keeping in mind that, all in all, you still need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight, this diet is filling due to its high fat percentage in its macros.
The keto diet plan offers other health benefits including improving risk factors like HDL cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and blood sugar. It also helps in reducing insulin levels which play a key role in polycystic ovary syndrome.
What to Eat
Here’s the fun part…what can you eat when following a keto diet? Here are some foods which you should base the majority of your meals around:
- Protein such as red meat, bacon, chicken, and turkey
- Fish such as salmon and tuna
- Eggs, butter, cream, and cheeses including unprocessed cheeses like cheddar, goat’s cheese, blue cheese, or mozzarella
- Nuts and seeds
- Healthy oils like extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, and coconut oil
- Avocados
- Low carb vegetables like green veggies, onions, peppers, and tomatoes
What not to Eat
Basically, high carb foods are a no-go. Here is a list of the main foods to avoid:
- Sugary foods like sweets and ice-cream
- Fruit including smoothies. A small portion of berries like strawberries is allowed.
- Grains or starches like rice, cereal, and pasta
- Beans or legumes
- Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots
- Sauces like ketchup and barbecue sauce
- Low fat mayonnaise and salad dressings
- Alcohol
- Unhealthy fats
- Sugar free diet foods
Tips and Tricks when following a Keto Diet Plan
Although adjusting your lifestyle to a keto diet can be challenging, it is not impossible, and the pros outweigh the cons. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you out on your keto journey.
- Begin by familiarising yourself with food labels and checking out macros so that you can determine the grams of fat, carbs, and protein.
- Plan your meals in advance so that you never go hungry.
- Research on websites and food blogs for keto-friendly meal ideas.
But…here’s the best one of all. Search for a meal delivery service that offers a keto-friendly diet plan for hassle free, convenient meals. Luckily, you do not have to look any further than Fortify Meals!
Fortify Meals’ New Keto Plan
Following the advice of our dietitian, our keto plan is cooked by professional chefs, who will make sure that your food is packed with flavour, using the finest ingredients.
Switched up weekly, you will never get bored of your keto dishes that are high in keto proteins and in fat. Following a low carb diet has never been this easy and tasty…all at the same time.
If you are following a keto diet plan and would like to have a hassle-free experience, Fortify Meals is for you!
Contact us for more information or visit our Plans page to find out more, including the weekly-rotating menus for all plans.
