Getting to Know Keto-Approved Foods
What foods am I allowed to eat in a Keto diet? How much do I need to eat in a day? Is food restriction a problem? How do I know if a food is keto-approved?
If you have been asking all these questions then keep reading to get your questions answered by the #1 guide for keto diet for beginners!
In this topic, we are going to tell you what foods you can eat. If you are interested to understand why certain foods are allowed and why some are not, then keep reading.
Knowing foods that are allowed in a Keto diet is also super important for you to be able to make guided decisions every time you hit the grocery!
We assume you already read our previous blog posts titled Keto Diet For Beginners and Things You Wish You Knew Before Starting Keto that talked about ketosis, how it works and why it’s effective.
Is food restriction a problem?
We often get this question from keto diet beginners and starters. Most of them think that it’s very difficult to stay in ketosis a.k.a fat-burning mode, because there are a lot of restrictions on the diet.
But, that restriction actually gives you a lot of more freedom!
Why? You don’t have to think about so many of the variety of things you could potentially consume, because the choice is quite limited and you could gain all of the essential nutrients and vitamins and minerals.
We know researching recipes can be a headache so we made a keto diet recipe cookbook made simple as BONUS for our Ketogenic Diet 101 customers.
Meet Carbohydrates
Let’s start off with the probably the most important macronutrient for the ketosis which are carbohydrates.
Okay, you know you have to keep your carbs low too, for your body to enter ketosis. Some people need less some people more, but in general, the lower your carbohydrate intake, the faster you’ll get into ketosis.
What food am I allowed to eat for carbs?
- broccoli
- asparagus
- kale
- spinach
- cabbage
- tomato (in moderation)
- cucumber
- cauliflower
- nuts
- dairy e.g. cheese
What you can eat are some healthy fibrous vegetables. Most primarily stuff, like cabbage kale, spinach, regular green cabbage which is very nutrient dense in terms of the fiber. It has a lot of vitamins and it’s also a rich source of potassium. Similar sources are cruciferous vegetables.
Why should tomatoes be eaten with moderation?
They have a lot of lectins. These are these protective proteins inside the plants that are supposed to protect the plants from being eaten.
The problem is that if you consume too many lectins, then you may get some gastrointestinal stress and you may suffer some brain fog because of that as well. You can eat tomatoes but in moderation.
What food am I not allowed to eat?
- Starchy vegetables such as potato
- bread
- milk – but almond milk and coconut milk are okay
- rice
- Fruits are off-limits, but you can eat lemon, avocados and you can also eat a limited amount of berries
Why? It’s going to kick keto diet for beginners out of ketosis and get you out of the “fat-burning mode.”
Meet Protein
This macronutrient is an essential nutrient that you need for survival. If you want to know how to start keto, then always remember that you don’t need carbs but you do need protein and you need fat. Protein is kept traditionally moderate on a ketogenic diet.
Like we said before about 20 % of your dietary intake, you need to eat enough protein to replace the protein turnover in your body as well as to prevent muscle wasting with too much protein. It can actually increase insulin and alter ketone formation.
What food am I allowed to eat for protein?
- eggs
- fish like salmon, mackerel
- meat
There are some eggs in this box full of essential amino acids, rich in choline, omega threes, DHA EPA, which are all very good for your brain, cellular metabolism, maintaining healthy cholesterol levels and all that good stuff.
The second best source of protein after eggs is wild-caught oily fish like salmon mackerel, sardines, they’re also rich in omega-3s, DHA and EPA.
One pro tip that we’re going to share with you is to cook some fish broth because compared to bone broth, you can get all the electrolytes. You can get some sodium in it, but you also get all the omega-3s, which is going to be very good for your brain.
Of course, meat is also a great source of protein.
Overdoing your protein likely isn’t a good idea. So exactly how much protein do you need a day?
That’s what keto calculators are for! And we always make sure our Ketogenic Diet 101 customers have one.
Examples of proteins on a well-formulated, ketogenic diet include animal proteins. If they’re pasture raised, grain free, or antibiotic free, this is a plus!
If you’re at the store, search for minimally processed meats.
We recommend limiting your carbs and making sure you’re getting enough protein, but not way overdoing it and the rest is fats.
Meet Fats
Dietary fats have been demonized by popular nutritional authorities for a long time, pretty much since the 1950s scientific research shows us that dietary fat isn’t all that bad on a ketogenic diet. You should be eating about 70 percent of dietary fats, but if you’ve limited carbs and you hit your protein, don’t force fats if you’re not hungry.
This is one of the major pitfalls that I’m seeing to people who start the ketogenic diet and end up having trouble losing weight. They’re trying to force down fats just to fit their macros!
The dietary fat should be a limit, not a goal.
What food am I allowed to eat for fats?
- coconut oil
- olive oil
- lauric oil
- avocado oil
- mct oil
- avocado
- nuts
- chia seeds
- full-fat greek yoghurt
- butter
- cream (whipped, heavy)
Always remember that fat is a limit, it is not a goal and that limit is dependent upon your calories that you can eat at a deficit for a weight loss to occur.
You do not have to eat all of that dietary fat and load on all the olive oil or all the cheese or all the higher fatty meats, because you want your body to eat the fat from itself.
We do not want you to have to consume it because if you’re consuming it, it’s not going to burn the fat from your body!
How do I know if a food is approved on a Keto Diet?
When you go grocery shopping, if you wanna know if a food or product is keto-approved, check the ingredients label – and if it contains sugar, (any form of sugar)high-starch content, syrup, high carbohydrate content and industrial fats, then it’s not for you.
Fun fact: Sugar can have a lot of names!
- Ethyl maltol
- Florida crystals
- Glucose syrup solids
- Maltodextrin
- and more!
Want to know more information about Keto Diet?
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Here in KetoDietStyle, we advocate a mindful Keto diet!
We don’t want you to blindly follow keto as a fad diet, instead we want you to practice it because you fully understand its purpose, you believe in its process, and you know it’s best for your body.
Before you decide to get to the juicy beginner meal prep and hacks, we prioritize that you fully understand what kind of diet you are doing, how it works and why.
We care for you and you shouldn’t be doing it just for the trend. You should do it for yourself and learn to listen to your body so you’ll know whether it’s the right diet for you.
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