Ultimate Keto Diet Plan for Weight loss – Foods & Recipes

12 Tips To Help Your Weight loss

1. Do not skip breakfast

Skipping breakfast will not help you lose weight. You could miss out on essential nutrients and you may end up snacking more throughout the day because you feel hungry.

2. Eat regular meals

Eating at regular times during the day helps burn calories at a faster rate. It also reduces the temptation to snack on foods high in fat and sugar.

3. Eat plenty of fruit and veg

Fruit and veg are low in calories and fat, and high in fibre – 3 essential ingredients for successful weight loss. They also contain plenty of vitamins and minerals.

4. Get more active

Being active is key to losing weight and keeping it off. As well as providing lots of health benefits, exercise can help burn off the excess calories you cannot lose through diet alone.

Find an activity you enjoy and are able to fit into your routine.

5. Drink plenty of water

People sometimes confuse thirst with hunger. You can end up consuming extra calories when a glass of water is really what you need.

6. Eat high fibre foods

Foods containing lots of fibre can help keep you feeling full, which is perfect for losing weight. Fibre is only found in food from plants, such as fruit and veg, oats, wholegrain bread, brown rice and pasta, and beans, peas and lentils.

7. Read food labels

Knowing how to read food labels can help you choose healthier options. Use the calorie information to work out how a particular food fits into your daily calorie allowance on the weight loss plan.

8. Use a smaller plate

Using smaller plates can help you eat smaller portions. By using smaller plates and bowls, you may be able to gradually get used to eating smaller portions without going hungry. It takes about 20 minutes for the stomach to tell the brain it's full, so eat slowly and stop eating before you feel full.

9. Do not ban foods

Do not ban any foods from your weight loss plan, especially the ones you like. Banning foods will only make you crave them more. There's no reason you cannot enjoy the occasional treat as long as you stay within your daily calorie allowance.

10. Do not stock junk food

To avoid temptation, do not stock junk food – such as chocolate, biscuits, crisps and sweet fizzy drinks – at home. Instead, opt for healthy snacks, such as fruit, unsalted rice cakes, oat cakes, unsalted or unsweetened popcorn, and fruit juice.

11. Cut down on alcohol

A standard glass of wine can contain as many calories as a piece of chocolate. Over time, drinking too much can easily contribute to weight gain.

12. Plan your meals

Try to plan your breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for the week, making sure you stick to your calorie allowance. You may find it helpful to make a weekly shopping list.

Ultimate Keto Diet Plan for Weight loss – Foods & Recipes

What is a keto diet?

Keto diets mainly involve the drastic reduction of one’s carbohydrate intake, and replacing it with fats. Reducing the carb content like this puts the body in a metabolic state known as ketosis.

In this state, your body is able to efficiently burn fat for energy. It can also convert fats in the liver into ketones. This helps supply energy for the brain.

5 Keto Diet Tips for Beginners

While following a keto diet, one must take special care in certain cases. The following tips can help you follow the diet a lot better:

1. Decrease Stress

The stress hormone cortisol ends up elevating the body’s blood sugar levels. Thus, this prevents the body from burning fat for energy due to the presence of excess sugar in it. Chronic stress can, therefore, severely hinder the body’s ability to enter ketosis.

2. Prioritise Sleep

Less sleep plays a major role in higher stress levels. As discussed earlier, this can prevent your body from being able to burn fat. Maintaining a proper schedule can help improve one’s quality of sleep. This, in turn, helps reduce stress and thus, make the keto diet effective.

It is ideal to get about 8-9 hours of sleep every night. Plenty of studies have found that sleeping for fewer hours can hurt one’s weight loss attempts.

3. Increase Salt Intake

While we have always been taught to reduce our sodium consumption, this is necessary only in the case of high-carb diets. High-carb diets have naturally higher levels of insulin, leading to the kidney retaining sodium.

When you reduce your carb intake as you do with a keto diet, insulin levels are a lot lower, and the body excretes a lot more salt. Therefore, you can increase your salt consumption by 3 to 5 g while in ketosis.

4. Exercise Frequently

While on a keto diet, a regular exercise schedule can help boost ketone levels, and transition into a low-carb, high-fat diet a lot faster. Getting rid of any glucose present in the body is key to the body getting into ketosis.

While exercising, the body uses different types of energy for fuel including carbs, amino acids and fats. Frequent exercises helps the body get rid of its glycogen stores quicker.

5. Drink Plenty of Water

Staying hydrated is important at all times, but it is much more so in the case of a ketogenic diet. This is because the body releases more water from the body when the carb intake is a lot lower. Ideally, one should drink more water on days where they are likely to sweat more.

5 Foods to Eat on a Ketogenic Diet

The Keto diet has several food requirements that must be met. Keto foods are normally low on carbs and high in fat. Here’s a list of foods that one can consume while on a keto diet:

1. Seafood

Although rich in B vitamins, selenium and potassium, salmon and other fish are almost carb-free. This makes them extremely keto-friendly.

The carb content varies across the various types of shellfish, however. You can always choose the low-carb variants to include in your keto diet. Two servings of seafood a week would be of great help to any individual on a keto diet.

2. Cheese

Considered both nutritious and delicious, cheese is generally low in carbs and rich in fat. Thus, they are a great fit for a ketogenic diet.

Although rich in saturated fat, cheese hasn’t been known to increase the risk of heart disease. On the contrary, some studies claim that this dairy product can in fact reduce these risks.

3. Low-carb Vegetables

Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms and lettuce, are low in calories and carbs but they are rich in several nutrients, including vitamins and minerals. Vegetables contain fiber, that your body will not digest, unlike carbs.

The antioxidants present in these vegetables help protect the body against free radicals, or unstable molecules that cause cell damage.

4. Eggs

A single large egg contains less than one gram of carbohydrates, and less than 6 grams of protein. This makes them an ideal food for the ketogenic diet.

Eggs are also known to make an individual feel full, while keeping their blood sugar levels stable. This leads to lower calorie intake for almost 24 hours.

5. Meat

Meat and poultry are considered staple food of the keto diet since they contain no carbs and are rich in B vitamins and several minerals. They are also a great source of high quality protein, helping preserve muscle mass in the absence of carbs.

It is ideal to choose grass-fed animals for meat since they consume more omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants than grain-fed animals.

Weight loss and fat loss are possible benefits of a keto diet.