Keto Diet – A Low-Carb Diet Meal Plan and Menu That Can Save Your Life.
Keto Meal Plans
The keto diet is not only used by people who want to lose weight, but also medical professionals have used it to manage various medical conditions. Most of the foods that are found in a keto diet have been known to fight Cancer, heart diseases, acne, diabetes, epilepsy, polycystic ovary syndrome etc. This diet is likewise also used by athletes wanting to lower body fat and enhance their performance.
It is important for you to go through different keto diet meal plan and choose one that you can maintain for a long time. That is, the foods in the said meal plan can you afford them? Are they accessible to you? Can your body tolerate such foods (are you allergic?)
WHICH VERSION OF KETO SHOULD YOU FOLLOW?
- STANDARD KETOGENIC DIET (SKD); this is the most common approach to keto, those who follow this diet fall under the weight loss category. They are looking to lose some fat. They might also want to improve their medical conditions especially the symptoms related to inflammation, depression etc.
The basic rules for SKD are:
- Consume 20-50 grams of net carbs every day.
- Moderate amount of protein.
- High amounts of fat.
- TARGETED KETOGENIC DIET (TKD); this diet is used mostly by those who want to improve their workout performance. Its aim is to moderately maintain muscle glycogen.
The guidelines for this diet are thus;
- Consume 25-50 grams every day.
- Highly digestible carbs, this should be done 30 minutes to one hour before workout.
- Moderate amount of proteins and,
- High amounts of fat.
- CYCLICAL KETOGENIC DIET (CKD); this is for athletes. Athletes who are on strict high-intensity training program(s) fall under this category. The aim of this diet is to reduce muscle glycogen.
Follow this schedule if you are on this diet;
- Consume 20-50 grams of carb every day for a period of five days.
- For a period of two days consume 100 or more grams of carbs every day.At the end of this two-day carb consumption, go back to consuming only 20-50 grams.
- HIGH PROTEIN KETOGENIC DIET (HPKD); diet for those who are in need of more protein. Total calories of 35% from protein are what is required in the HPKD.
Follow this if you are on this diet;
- Consume 35% of total calories from protein as stated above.
- 60% of total calories from fat and,
- 5 % of calories from carbs.
PLAN YOUR MEALS
Being on a diet as strict as ketogenic means that menus for your meals have to be thought through, this means you have to put some factors into consideration. Such as the number of servings to be made (this is usually depended on the number of people eating), if you want to make enough for leftovers the next day and lastly, meal structure (three square meals or just two meals).
The importance of meal prep cannot be overemphasized as it saves time, money, effort and also increases the chances of you sticking to your diet.
Three quick steps to Keto meal plan are;
Choosing what to eat; you can easily do this by making time to outline your meal plan for a week or two. This will serve as a check for you and make it is easier to follow diet plans.
Shopping list; after making your time table for meals, compile your shopping list and shop.
Prepare your meals, you’ve gotten the ingredients for your meals, it’s time to cook. At first, this might be difficult, but you will definitely get better with time. You know what they say about “practice makes perfect”. You can get help from cookbooks that have recipes and tips for you’re your keto diet or google. Google is at your fingertips.
A SAMPLE OF A KETO MEAL PLAN
Goals and health history are different; therefore this plan is not the foundation for what all keto dieters must have. The aim of the plan is to give you an idea of what a keto diet looks like. You can also use the services of a dietician or medical professional to draw a plan personalized for you.
This particular plan was gotten from https://perfectketo.com/keto-weight-loss-meal-plan/
It is a 7-day Keto Meal Plan.
DAY 1 MEAL
| Recipe | Fat | Protein | Carbs | Calories | |
| Breakfast | Keto Brunch Spread | 38g | 17g | 3g | 426 |
| Lunch | Crispy Skin Salmon with Pesto Cauliflower Rice | 51g | 24g | 10g | 647 |
| Dinner | Superfood Meatballs and Keto Creamed Spinach | 36g | 36g | 7g | 485 |
Total macros for the day: 125 grams of fat, 87 grams of protein, 20 grams of carbs and 1,558 total calories.
DAY 2 MEALS
| Recipe | Fat | Protein | Carbs | Calories | |
| Breakfast | Chocolate Pancakes with Blueberry Butter | 50g | 27g | 11.5g | 611 |
| Lunch | Turkey Sausage Frittata with 4 slices bacon fried in 1 tbsp butter and one cup of coffee with MCT Oil Powder | 50g | 25g | 5.5g | 572 |
| Dinner | Lemon Herb Low Carb Keto Meatloaf | 29g | 33g | 2g | 344 |
Total macros for the day: 129 grams of fat, 85 grams of protein, 19 grams of carbs and 1,527 calories.
| Recipe | Fat | Protein | Carbs | Calories | |
| Breakfast | Bacon, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Casserole | 38g | 43g | 2g | 437 |
| Lunch | White Turkey Chili with 2 cups mixed leafy greens with 1 tbsp olive oil | 44.5g | 28.8g | 5.5g | 568 |
| Dinner | Portobello Bun Cheeseburger with Celeriac Everything Oven Fries and Homemade Keto Mayo | 40g | 31g | 13g | 539 |
Total macros for the day: 122.5 grams of fat, 102.8 grams of protein, 20.5 grams of carbs and 1,544 total calories.
DAY 4 MEALS
| Recipe | Fat | Protein | Carbs | Calories | |
| Breakfast | Keto Power Breakfast Bowl | 27g | 10.5g | 7g | 305 |
| Lunch | Crispy Cheesy Chicken Salad | 36.5g | 55g | 8g | 575 |
| Dinner | 4 oz. grilled rib eye steak, 2 tbsp grass-fed butter and 2 cups of mixed leafy greens with 1 tbsp avocado oil | 62g | 20g | 1g | 636 |
| Dessert | MCT Fat Bomb | 8g | 1g | 2g | 81 |
Total macros for the day: 133.5 grams of fat, 86.5 grams of protein, 1,597 total calories.
DAY 5 MEALS
| Recipe | Fat | Protein | Carbs | Calories | |
| Breakfast | Avocado Breakfast Bowl | 40g | 25g | 3g | 500 |
| Lunch | Roasted Chicken Stacks | 25g | 34g | 5.5g | 369 |
| Dinner | Cheesy Broccoli Meatza | 24g | 32g | 7g | 375 |
| Dessert | 2 Macadamia Nut Fat Bombs | 34g | 2g | 4g | 200 |
Total macros for the day: 123 grams of fat, 93 grams of protein, 19.5 grams of carbs and 1,444 total calories.
DAY 6 MEALS
| Recipe | Fat | Protein | Carbs | Calories | |
| Breakfast | Acai Almond Butter Smoothie | 20g | 15g | 6g | 345 |
| Lunch | Keto Beef Bulgogi | 18g | 25g | 3g | 242 |
| Snack | 1 hard boiled egg and 1 oz. almonds | 19g | 12g | 3g | 241 |
| Dinner | Creamy Mushroom Chicken | 27g | 24g | 3g | 334 |
| Dessert | Keto Chocolate Mousse | 14g | 17.5g | 6g | 248 |
Total macros for the day: 98 grams of fat, 93.5 grams of protein, 21 grams of carbs and 1,410 total calories.
DAY 7 MEALS
| Recipe | Fat | Protein | Carbs | Calories | |
| Breakfast | Keto Bulletproof Coffee | 31g | 1g | 0.5g | 280 |
| Lunch | Low Carb Crispy Keto “Fried” Chicken and one cup steamed broccoli | 27g | 33.5g | 6.5g | 494 |
| Dinner | Low Carb Keto Lasagna | 21g | 32g | 12g | 364 |
| Dessert | Collagen Mug Cake | 43.5g | 27g | 4g | 535 |
Total macros for the day: 122.5 grams of fat, 93.5 grams of protein, 23 grams of carbs and 1,673 total calories.
This may seem like a lot to process, especially as a beginner, but you can start small. One step at a time. Why don’t begin with talking with a health specialist or dietician in order to get a full grasp of this diet and also find out if there are modifications to be made in order to hit your goals.
I hope this article was of great assistance. Follow the tips, stick to your diet and you will definitely see results.