Everything You Need to Know About the Keto Diet

Health

Keto macronutrients (or macros) are the general amounts of healthy fats, proteins and carbohydrates you should aim to eat each day. These amounts can vary from person to person depending on age, height, body fat percentage, activity levels, etc., but generally you want to aim for about 75% fats, 20% protein and 5% carbs.

To calculate your own, more specific keto macros, check out this keto macro calculator. Calculators like this will give you your macros in grams, which can be much easier to track than percentages.

What You DO Eat On Keto

In basic terms, you should base the majority of your diet on meats, butter, eggs, nuts, healthy oils, avocados and low-carb vegetables.

Healthy fats - Saturated (coconut oil, butter, chicken fat), monounsaturated (avocados, macadamias, olive oil), polyunsaturated omega-3s (animal sources, fatty fish).
Meats - Chicken, beef, lamb, preferably free range and grass-fed.
Eggs - Preferably from free range sources.
Cheese - Use raw, unprocessed and organic if possible, make sure it’s full fat.
Butter/cream/ghee - Organic, grass-fed sources are best.
Fatty fish - Things that are fresh caught, like salmon, tuna, flounder, catfish, halibut, tuna, etc.
Nuts and seeds - Macadamias, walnuts and almonds are best, cashews and pistachios are high in carbs, so be careful with those. You can also use nut and seed flours (almond flour, milled flax seed, etc.).
Healthy oils - Olive oil, coconut oil. Go for organic and virgin or extra-virgin oils.
Avocados - Best fruit source for the keto diet.
Low-carb veggies - Most green veggies, tomatoes, peppers, onions, etc.
Some berries - Strawberries, black berries, etc.
Some condiments - Sea salt, pepper and healthy herbs and spices (cinnamon, turmeric, cayenne pepper, ginger, garlic, etc.).
Natural sweeteners - Stevia (liquid form), sucralose (liquid form), erythritol.
Liquids - Water is obviously best, tea is awesome and coffee is fine in moderation.

What You DO NOT Eat On Keto

You should do what you can to avoid any carb-based foods, sugars, starches, legumes, rice, wheat and unhealthy fats.

Sugars - If it has sugar, avoid it (candy, desserts, ice cream, chocolate chips, etc.).
Grains/starches - Everything from wheat to pasta, even quinoa should be avoided.
Beans/legumes - Peas, chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans, lentils, etc.
Most fruits - Most fruits are high in carbs and sugars that can alter ketone levels.
Root vegetables and tubers - Potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, etc.
Diet products (low-fat, sugar-free) - These are often highly processed and also contain sugar alcohols, which alter ketone levels.
Unhealthy fats - Avoid processed vegetable oils, mayonnaise, etc.
Most condiments and sauces - Most are often made with sugar and are full of carbs.
Alcohol/sodas - Alcohol have carb contents that can throw you out of ketosis, sodas are flowing with sugar.

Benefits Of A Keto Diet

1. Weight Loss

Because the keto diet is designed to convert your body to burning fat for energy instead of sugars, you become a fat burning machine. Studies have shown that the keto diet does a far more efficient job at helping you drop those pounds; in fact, people tend to lose more fat on a low-carb diet than they do on a calorie-restricting diet. Along with the healthy fats you eat, the longer you’re on a keto diet, the more your body can begin to dig into the fat you’ve had stored within your body and you will eventually start to see it melt away.

2. Helps With Diabetes

The keto diet helps you burn away excess fat, which is linked to type 2 diabetes, prediabetes and metabolic syndrome. It also has shown to help regulate insulin levels and improve insulin sensitivity. There have even been instances where people have been able to lessen the amount of medication they were taking, if not wean themselves off it completely.

...[ Continue to next page ]