Eat freely when hungry - Stop when full
When following the ketogenic diet there is no need to count calories or weigh the food. It is only necessary to remember: eat 70% calories from fat, 20 grams of carbs (vegetables that contain carbs) and moderate protein (how much is moderate protein? Look at the size of your palm - without the fingers. That is the size of the protein you can have.)
If you prefer, you can download the list of allowed foods in the ketogenic diet from this link as a PDF.
Navigate through the list of allowed foods
Meats
When following the ketogenic diet you need to eat protein in moderates amounts - According to https://www.perfectketo.com:
Some people can get away with eating more protein, but others might need to keep it at 15% or less to prevent gluconeogenesis and stay in ketosis. In terms of grams, this will usually fall around 0.7 to 0.9 grams of protein per pound of lean bodyweight (or 1.5 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of lean bodyweight).
- Beef (including hamburger and steak)
- Lamb, veal or other meats
- Processed meats (sausage, pepperoni, hot dogs) check the label
- Poultry - Chicken, turkey, duck
- Pork, ham (must be unglazed - check the label for carbohydrate), bacon
Fish
Always chose the kind of fatty fish. Eating fish is a great way to enrich your diet with the healthy Omega-3 oils.
You can check one of my recipes with salmon here.
- Tuna
- Salmon
- Catfish
- Bass
- Trout
- Shrimp
- scallops
- Crab
- Sardines
- Lobster
Dairy
I am lactose intolerant and so this section is not for me, but I included it here for you if you can have dairy.
Cheese - up to 4 ounces a day
- Swiss and Cheddar, Brie, Mozzarella, Gruyere, Cream cheese, goat cheese
- Cream - up to 4 tbsp. a days
- Includes heavy or sour cream
- No half and half
- No condensed or evaporated milk
Pickles
Avoid pickled food with added sugar. I use pickles sometimes as snacks - they are salty and yummi.
- Recipes with dill or garlick usually have no added sugar
- Pickled eggs
Fats and Oils
It is very important to eat 70% of your daily calories from fat. When you serve yourself food look at the plate and see if you have fat in the plate. If not - drizzle a little of olive oil, add a slice of avocado or an egg.
- All fats and oils, butter, are allowed.
- Coconut oil, butter, or lard is recommended for cooking as these are most stable at high temperatures.
- Reusing oil is not recommended - high temperatures damage fat molecules - particularly ones with high amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
- Olive oil is recommended for cold dressings.
- Avoid margarine or any food containing hydrogenated oils also known as trans-fats - they are clearly proven to be a major cause of heart disease.
- For salad dressings, the ideal dressing is a homemade oil-and-vinegar dressing, with lemon juice and spices as needed.
- Blue-cheese, ranch, Caesar, and Italian are also acceptable if the label says 1 to 2 grams of carbohydrate per serving or less.
Forbidden Foods
Here is the list of foods that are not allowed in the ketogenic diet.
The image is credited to: https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/comments/2asr8d/the_50_names_of_sugar/?ref=share&ref_source=link
- White sugar
- Beans and legumes (pinto, lima, black beans, peas, etc.)
- Sugar of any kind and color
- Rice of any type and color
- Honey
- Root vegetables - particularly carrots, parsnips, corn, potatoes, fries, potato chips Maple syrup
- Crackers
- Molasses
- Corn syrup!!!
- Beer (contains barley malt)
- Milk (contains lactose)
- Flavored yogurts (usually have a lot of sugar)
- Fruit juice
- Dried Fruit
- Processed fruit
- Grains (even "whole" grains)
- Cereals - Morning cereals, "healthy" cereals of any kind
- Flour
- Cornstarch
- Breads of any type and kind
- Pastas
- Muffins
- Bagels of any type and kind
If you fail to plan You plan to fail
One thing is sure - The ketogenic diet is simple. There is no need to buy specific foods, to go overboard in getting food supplies and what is even better, since ketosis lowers your appetite, the diet is even affordable because you eat less.
At first it can be a little overwhelming since we were taught to eat low-fat foods, eat three meals a day and even do not skip breakfast. Following the ketogenic diet is simple, but it takes a little planning.
