“I am looking for a diet plan to lose some weight, but giving up on tasty food items is too much to ask.” Does it sound familiar? If yes, then a Keto diet meal plan is the ultimate solution for you.
ketogenic meal plan focuses on gaining the necessary calories from protein and fats while depleting the intake of daily carbs. Meaning, you do not have to abandon the high protein meats, fish or the high-fat oils, nuts to get slimmer now.
The reduced level of carb in this diet results in depleting sugar content in the blood. Due to the absence of enough blood sugar, the body starts to break down the protein and fats with a process called Ketosis. The loss of these stored fat and protein eventually leads to weight los.
But remember! This is a highly specific diet plan which requires expert supervision. Only an expert can correctly determine the necessary amount of the proper food to get the benefits of the diet plan.
Benefits of a Keto Diet meal plan
There are tons of advantages of the keto diet meal plan, provided that it is followed correctly. Here is a list of some benefits that the diet can bring to you.
Weight Loss
Keto diet is very useful for losing bodyweight. The low carb content helps in breaking down the stored proteins and fats. That is when the body starts to lose weight. But you won’t have to worry about feeling hungry all the time. The presence of an adequate amount of protein will keep your stomach full.
Reduces the risk of cancer
According to a study published in NCBI, the Ketogenic diet can prove to be a great aid in preventing the risk of cancer among humans. The keto diet puts more oxidative stress on the cancer cells than it does on the healthy cells. That has the potential to lower the risk of cancer.
Healthy Heart
Following a proper Keto diet meal plan leads to a better heart condition by lowering the amount of Cholesterol. The diet significantly reduces the amount of LDL (also known as bad cholesterol) while increasing the amount of HDL (also known as good Cholesterol) to give a healthy heart.
Reduction of seizure
The reduction in carb intake leads to the Ketosis process in the human body. This process is known to have the effect of seizure reduction among the people who have Epilepsy. This trend is particularly vivid among children.
Acne reduction
There are many causes behind the annoying acne. One of them is related to the blood sugar of the body. The Keto diet meal plan reduces the availability of blood sugar. This leads to acne reduction in many cases.
Things to keep in mind while creating a keto diet meal plan
We have said that the keto diet plan is highly personalized. However, there are some common grounds too. Things like the percentage of carb, protein or fat intake, types of food to avoid and types of food to eat, etc.
Usually, almost 70% of the necessary daily calorie comes from the fats in a keto diet. That means you will have to take a lot of food containing fats, such as oil, meat, some non-starchy vegetable, etc.
As for protein, 1 gram of protein is recommended against each Kilogram of your body weight. For example, if your body weight is 60 Kilograms, then you will have to add an ample amount of food that will give you 60 grams of protein.
The amount of carb will be less. But do not make the mistake of considering a Keto diet meal plan the same as a low carb diet plan. In the case of Keto diet, the carb intake will be comparatively lower than that in a Low carb diet.
As a thumb rule, many people go for 20 to 50 grams of net carb/ day in their Keto diet. The net carb is defined as the difference between your carb and fiber intake. It is noteworthy that you can’t lower the carb intake than a particular amount. Because if you do, then the body tries to gain energy from the small remains of carb rather than performing Ketosis. That’s why it is essential to seek the help of experts as they know the subtleties of the process.
Now, let’s look at the food menu! What to avoid and what to devour!
Things You Should Eat
Protein
Consume these sources of protein daily, but moderately-
- Dark meat chicken
- Fatty fish
- Grass-fed beef
Consume these sources of protein only occasionally-
- Low-fat proteins such as chicken breast.
- Bacon.
Fat and Oil
Eat this food daily for high fat and oil content-
- Coconut oil
- Butter
- Olive oil
- Heavy cream
Eat these sources of fat and oil occasionally-
- Sunflower oil
- Corn oil
- Safflower oil
Vegetables and fruits
Everyday-
- Avocado
- Celery
- Spinach
- Arugula
Occasionally-
- Eggplant
- Leeks
- Spaghetti squash
Dairy Products
Everyday-
- Blue cheese
- Feta cheese
Occasionally-
- Full fat cottage cheese
- Full fat ricotta cheese
Seeds and nuts
Everyday-
- Almond
- Flax seeds
- Chia seeds
Occasionally-
- Cashew
- Pistachio
Sweetener
If you are in a Keto diet, you should avoid the daily intake of sweeteners.
Occasionally-
- Stevia
- Xylitol
Drinks
Everyday-
- Water
- Almond milk
- Plain tea
Occasionally-
- Black coffee
- Carbonated water which is not sweetened
Sauces
Everyday-
- Lemon butter sauce
- Mayonnaise without added sugar
Occasionally-
- Tomato sauce
- Balsamic vinegar
Herbs and spices
Herbs and spices are a great addition to Keto diets. The only thing you need to be cautious about is their carb count.
- Pepper
- Oregano
- Cayenne
Occasionally-
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
Now that we know what to include in a Keto diet plan, let’s see what food sources should not be added.
Things You Should Avoid
Protein
- Sugary sauce marinated meat
- Chicken/ Fish nuggets
Fat and Oil
- Artificial trans fats
- Margarine
Vegetables and fruits
- Potato
- Raisins
- Corn
Dairy Products
- Milk
- Ice cream
- Sweetened Yogurt
Seeds and nuts
- Sweetened nut
- Chocolate covered nut or seed
Sweetener
- Honey
- Maple syrup
- Brown and white sugar
Drinks
- Lemonade
- Soda
- Fruit juice
Sauces
- Barbeque sauce
- Ketchup
Food List for a Keto Diet
Following a Keto diet plan for non-vegetarian people is easy due to the plethora of food items. However, doing the same is a bit tricky as meat is the best-known source of protein. But we have listed some food items that will enable the vegetarian people to follow a Keto diet.
Food items for vegetarian people
- Non- starchy vegetables: Mushroom, Kale, Cauliflower, Zucchini, bell peppers, and spinach.
- Nuts: Almonds, walnuts, cashews, pistachios, etc.
- Healthy fats: Avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, MCT oil, etc.
- Herbs and seasonings: Paprika, pepper, salt, turmeric, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and basil.
- Full-fat dairy items: Yogurt (without added sugar) and cheese.
- Protein: Egg, tofu, nutritional yeast, natto, spirulina, and tempeh.
- Nut butter: Peanut, pecan, almond, and hazelnut.
- Low carb fruit: lime, lemon, and berries. Eat these fruits in moderate quantities only.
Food items for Non-vegetarian
Creating a list of food items for a non-vegetarian is not much difficult. The non-vegetarian people can have the following food items in addition to everything that we have mentioned for a vegetarian diet. You can have most of the readily available meat, such as chicken, pork, lamb, and beef, along with fish. Just make sure that while preparing these food items, no high carb ingredients are used.
Sample keto diet meal plan for one week
In this section, we are giving a generalized Keto diet meal plan for each day of the week. In case you do not have the food item we have listed for a particular day, try to replace it only with a similar kind of food source.
Monday
Breakfast: Put Scrambled egg with butter on a layer of lettuce.
Snacks: Seeds of sunflower
Lunch: Have Spinach salad and add some grilled Salmon to it.
Evening snacks: Pepper and Celery strips; dip it in Guacamole.
Dinner: Chopped Pork, Cauliflower, and Red Cabbage
Tuesday
Breakfast: Bulletproof coffee. It is made with coconut oil and butter, thoroughly boiled egg
Snacks: Macadamia nuts
Lunch: Stuff some tomato with tuna salad
Snack: Roasted beef and roll-ups with sliced cheese
Dinner: Zucchini noodles with meatballs; top it with some cream sauce
Wednesday
Breakfast: Cheese with veggie omelet; top this with salsa
Snacks: Full fat, plain yogurt; add some crushed Pecans
Lunch: Sashimi takeout and soup of Miso
Snacks: Make a smoothie with greens, almond milk, protein powder, and almond butter
Dinner: Roast some chicken, add Asparagus to it and also some sautéed mushroom
Thursday
Breakfast: Make a smoothie with greens, almond milk, protein powder, and almond butter
Snacks: Two thoroughly boiled eggs
Lunch: Chicken tender cooked with almond flour; put these on a layer of greens, cucumbers, and some green cheese.
Snacks: Bell pepper slices with some sliced cheese
Dinner: Grilled shrimp; top it with some lemon butter sauce and also Asparagus.
Friday
Breakfast: Fry some eggs and devour it with bacon and some greens
Snacks: Few walnuts and a quarter cup of berries
Lunch: Grass-fed burger, lettuce bun with Avocado and some salad
Snacks: Celery sticks; add some almond butter to it
Dinner: Bake some tofu with broccoli, pepper, and cauliflower rice. Add some peanut sauce to it. It is better if the sauce is homemade.
Saturday
Breakfast: Baked eggs and Avocado
Snacks: Some Kale chips
Lunch: Rolls wrapped in seaweed, stuffed with poached Salmon Avocado
Snacks: Turkey bar or Pork bar
Dinner: Grilled beef kababs with some pepper and sautéed broccoli
Sunday
Breakfast: Add some veggies to the scrambled eggs; you can top it with some salsa.
Snacks: Seaweed strips that are appropriately dried; add some cheese to it.
Lunch: Sardine salad made in half of an avocado; add Mayonnaise to it.
Snacks: Turkey jerky (make sure that there is no added sugar in it)
Dinner: Sauteed bok choy and broiled trout with some butter.
It is a highly generalized Keto diet meal plan that you can use for reference. But we still recommend consulting to a Keto diet expert to have a personalized diet plan. Such an approach will give you faster results than a generalized diet.
1200 calorie keto diet meal plan
A 1200 calorie Keto diet is an excellent choice to lose weight gradually. The rate is around 1 to 2 pounds per week, which is not very fast to make you feel weak or nauseous. It is also not very slow, which might render you lose hope in the process. So, we are presenting to you a 1200 calorie per day Keto diet plan for each day of the week.
Monday
Breakfast (Amount of energy = 251 Calories): Sweet potato toasts with egg and spinach and top it with 2 tbsp shredded cheddar cheese. Also, add two Clementines in your breakfast.
Day snacks (Amount of energy =60 Calories): Strips of one medium bell pepper, ¼ pico de gallo. Dip the strips in pico de gallo.
Lunch (Amount of energy = 343 Calories): Chicken salad stuffed avocados and 1/3 cup of grapes.
Evening snacks (Amount of energy = 120 Calories): Two celery stalks and two tbsp hummus, ½ cup pineapple ice cream.
Dinner (Amount of energy = 447 Calories): Smoky chickpeas and greens with roasted Salmon.
Total intake of the day: Energy= 1221 calories, protein= 72 grams, fats= 59 gram.
Tuesday
Breakfast (Amount of energy = 299 Calories): One medium-sized sectioned grapefruit, ½ cup whole milk greek yogurt, 1tbsp shredded coconut, and 1 tbsp slivered almond.
Day snacks (Amount of energy =52 Calories): ½ cup full of grapes.
Lunch (Amount of energy = 323 Calories): Cucumber Turkey sub sandwich
Evening snacks (Amount of energy = 56 Calories): 2/3 cup of blueberries.
Dinner (Amount of energy = 494 Calories): Two cups of carrot peanut noodle salad and roasted chicken thighs.
Total intake of the day: Energy= 1224 calories, protein= 71 grams, fats= 64 gram.
Wednesday
Breakfast (Amount of energy = 261 Calories): Chipotle cheddar broiled avocado half and two clementines.
Day snacks (Amount of energy =95 Calories) One apple
Lunch (Amount of energy = 329 Calories): Carrot peanut noodle salad and roasted chicken thighs.
Evening snacks (Amount of energy = 128 Calories): ¾ cup of berries, two tbsp whole milk Greek yogurt, 1 tbsp shredded coconut (make sure that it is not sweetened) and some cinnamon.
Dinner (Amount of energy = 410 Calories): Two beef broccoli stir fry.
Total intake of the day: Energy= 1223 calories, protein= 78 grams, fats= 55 gram.
Thursday
Breakfast (Amount of energy = 262 Calories): (2 + ½) cup of Baby Kale breakfast salad with eggs and bacon.
Day snacks (Amount of energy =95 Calories) ½ tbsp vanilla extract, ¾ cups of berries, 2 tbsp whole milk Greek yogurt, and cinnamon. Top the berries on the mixture of vanilla, yogurt, and cinnamon.
Lunch (Amount of energy = 358 Calories): Cucumber Turkey sub sandwich and one Clementine.
Evening snacks (Amount of energy = 50 Calories): Strips of one medium bell pepper and 1/3 cup of pico de gallo.
Dinner (Amount of energy = 462 Calories): Buffalo chicken cauliflower pizza, 2 tbsp grated carrot, some greens, 2tbsp olive oil, and 1 tbsp red vinegar. Also, have one square dark chocolate after dinner.
Total intake of the day: Energy= 1227 calories, protein= 68 grams, fats= 71 gram.
Friday
Breakfast (Amount of energy = 283 Calories): Two sweet potato toasts with egg and spinach, and one Clementine.
Day snacks (Amount of energy =42 Calories): ½ cup of berries.
Lunch (Amount of energy = 361 Calories): Chicken salad stuffed avocados and ½ cup grapes.
Evening snacks (Amount of energy = 104 Calories): 8 almonds and ½ cup berries.
Dinner (Amount of energy = 429 Calories): Sheet pan shrimp and beets, and ½ cup cauliflower rice.
Total intake of the day: Energy= 1219 calories, protein= 70 grams, fats= 53 gram.
Saturday
Breakfast (Amount of energy = 261 Calories): Two clementines and Chipotle cheddar broiled avocado half.
Day snacks (Amount of energy =28 Calories): 1/3 cup of blueberries.
Lunch (Amount of energy = 365 Calories): 2/3 cup of crunchy confetti salad of Tuna, 1 oz. cheddar cheese and an apple
Evening snacks (Amount of energy = 65 Calories): Sticks of two medium-sized celery and 2 tbsp hummus.
Dinner (Amount of energy = 497 Calories): (1 + ½) cup of Spaghetti squash and chicken with avocado pesto.
Total intake of the day: Energy= 1216 calories, protein= 60 grams, fats= 69 grams.
Sunday
Breakfast (Amount of energy = 299 Calories): Half cup of whole milk Greek yogurt, 1 Tbsp Shredded coconut (make sure that there is no added sugar), and 1 Tbsp of slivered almond. Use the coconut and almonds as toppings on the yogurt. You can also have half of a grapefruit.
Day snacks (Amount of energy =78 Calories): ¾ cup full of grapes.
Lunch (Amount of energy = 365 Calories): 2/3 cup of crunchy confetti salad of Tuna, 1 oz. cheddar cheese and an apple
Evening snacks (Amount of energy = 116 Calories): have fifteen to sixteen almonds.
Dinner (Amount of energy = 261 Calories): Have (1 + ¼) cup of traditional greek salad along with ¼ cup of hummus. Add some oregano to it and also take one full wheat pita.
Total intake of the day: Energy= 1195 calories, protein= 53 grams, fats= 63 gram.
Keto diet meal plan for beginners
Starting a Keto diet is not so easy as it may sound like. People are mainly accustomed to tasty, high carb food items. To start, a Keto diet from scratch needs some trial and error to do to find the foods that you like and a good fit. But we have provided a simple plan for the beginners to start their process.
Breakfast
Ingredients-
- Whole milk yogurt
- Full fat sour cream
- Chia seeds
- Walnuts.
Mix the whole milk yogurt with the full-fat sour cream and devour it with Chia seeds and walnuts. Make sure that there is no added sugar in the yogurt. This is a vital thing to remember as yogurt already contains carb in the form of Lactose. You can also add two eggs to have some more protein in your Keto diet meal plan.
Lunch
Option 1: You can have a salad with avocado, cheese, a few grapes, tomato, and spicy pumpkin seeds. Add some high fat yet low carb dressing option like blue cheese.
Option 2: Broccoli and oven-baked Salmon. The ingredients of the lunch, Salmon and Broccoli are full of fats and low in carbs, which make them a perfect pair for Keto diet lunch.
Option 3: Make a mixed lunch with small grilled chicken pieces, avocado, pickle, thoroughly boiled egg, raw grapes, some fresh veggies such as broccoli, almonds, etc. You can also add some ranch dressing to it.
Snacks
Option 1: You can have a roll stuffed with avocado, turkey, lettuce, or tomato. It will give you the perfect proportion of protein and fats for a Keto diet.
Option 2: Sometimes, you can have a smaller portion of your dinner as your snack. It is also noteworthy that carb intake is very minimal; hence, it should come from some high nutrition food such as vegetables. Keeping that in mind, you can have some raw Zucchini pieces with spicy Guacamole.
Option 3: Eat some cucumber with cream cheese. The cream cheese is high in fats, and the cucumber is low on carbs- a perfect pairing for a Keto diet meal plan.
Dinner
Option 1: For a tasty yet Keto-friendly dinner, devour some grilled chicken with zucchini, tomato, eggplant, and sautéed garlic. You can add some sauce in it to increase the fat intake.
Option 2: A sumptuous protein dinner would be a chicken breast, bacon, and romaine lettuce. It is a great way to wrap up the day with a Keto diet.
Option 3: Another great option for Keto dinner is grass-fed beef sautéed with low carb sauce and onions. To increase the fat intake, add some Zucchini sautéed in olive oil.
Conclusion
Following a Keto diet meal plan may seem a bit harder during the initial days. It will be mainly due to the change in food habits. But if you can keep the tempo up, the benefits will be exhilarating. Also, during the whole process of dieting, seek the advice of an expert and let him know how your body is reacting towards the change in food habits. It will help the expert to create a more personalized plan for you that will give faster results.
Also Read: 1200 Calorie Meal Plan
