One of my Favorite Keto Dishes

This one is super easy to make, and doesn't take very long to do. It is basically just Stuffed Mushrooms with bacon and spinach.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
5 slices bacon  
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
 12 large mushrooms  
 3 tablespoons butter 
 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion 
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced  
 3/8 cup heavy cream
 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
 salt and pepper to taste
 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

• Prep
  15 m
• Cook
  30 m
• Ready In
  45 m

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish with 2 tablespoons butter.
2. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
3. Place frozen spinach in a medium saucepan with 1/4 cup water. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook spinach covered 10 minutes. Uncover and stir. Remove from heat and drain.
4. Remove stems from mushrooms. Arrange caps in the baking dish. Finely chop stems.
5. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and mix in onion and garlic. Cook 5 minutes, or until tender, then mix in bacon, spinach, chopped mushroom stems and heavy cream. Bring cream to a boil. Remove from heat and mix in Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
6. Stuff mushroom caps generously with the mixture. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes until lightly browned.

And there you have some super quick and easy keto Bacon Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms!!!

Dr. Oz

This is a great video overview of what a keto diet is all about from the Dr. Oz Show.

Keto Fast Food

A lot of fast food chains have tried to include healthier choices in recent years. However apple slices, full carb wraps, and 6 new fat free salad dressings don’t mesh with the low carb high fat lifestyle. Luckily there are still options when you need a fast food fix and are following the ketogenic diet.
This will be your go-to guide to keto food when you’re in need – fast – and not at home.
We’ve all been there. You’re out running errands on a Saturday afternoon and your tummy growls: it’s 2 pm and you haven’t eaten yet! Or it’s a Tuesday night and you’re at a friend’s house and they want to grab a meal quick.
What to do? Luckily, you have keto fast food options! I have happily eaten my way through the research for you – here’s a quick look at the most common fast food restaurants in the U.S. and keto meal options for you.

Five Guys Burgers & Fries:

Bacon Cheeseburger – Lettuce Wrap or Bowl

I only recently discovered the amazing keto to-go meal that is Five Guys. This is one of the few burger places I’ve been to that doesn’t flinch when I ask for no bun – you can either get your burger wrapped in lettuce or in a to go box (as pictured).
You can pick the toppings you want from their board. Best part is, if you order a bacon cheeseburger, you can ask for extra cheese and extra bacon for no extra charge! Another perk if you eat inside the restaurant is that they have all you can eat peanuts in the shell. A fun keto side that won’t make you long for their carby fries!

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Jimmy Johns:

Unwich

This is one of my favorite fast food options for a keto meal. Not only can you get an unwich to go, they deliver too! All of their sandwiches can be ordered as an unwich, which substitutes the bread/tortilla for a lettuce wrap.
This allows you to get your favorite Jimmy John’s sub in a low-carb version! Another perk of Jimmy John’s is that they have a very customizable nutrition menu builder online so you can easily add the macros of your unwich to your daily tracker!

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Chipotle:

Burrito Bowl Sans Rice/Beans or Salad

Up for Mexican food? You’re not alone! Chipotle is my favorite go to spot when I am craving spicy food while on the go. At Chipotle you can choose between a burrito bowl sans rice and beans or a salad.
Meat, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, salsa (the hot tomatillo-red chili salsa has the fewest carbs) – guac costs extra. That’s fine with me! Add on the fats and flavor, leaving the carbs behind – a great on the go meal can be had at Chipotle.

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In-N-Out Burger:

Protein Style Burger or the Flying Dutchman

Are you lucky enough to have an In-N-Out Burger nearby? While I unfortunately do not live near one, you are able to get a great keto-fied burger there as well! Order your In-N-Out burger “protein style” and they will swap out the bun with a lettuce wrap. To up the flavor without the carbs, swap the house spread for mustard and more pickles.
You can also order a Flying Dutchman which is two meat patties, two slices of cheese, and no bun or lettuce wrap! If you want any condiments, be sure to request them as they are not included on the Flying Dutchman.

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Hardee’s/Carl Jr’s:

Low Carb It Menu

This is another great place to grab a keto-fied fast food meal and where the staff are comfortable knowing their low carb menu options. They are one of the best spots to grab a keto breakfast on the go with their Low Carb Breakfast Bowl – a delicious selection of egg, cheese, and meats.
For lunch, dinner, or an afternoon snack, they offer the Low Carb 1/3 lb Thickburger or the Low Carb Charbroiled Chicken Club Sandwich; low carb versions of your favorite sandwiches served on a lettuce wrap. Hardee’s/Carl Jr’s websites also allow you to see the nutritional information of these items, helping you to easily track your daily macros.

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Panera Bread:

Salads and “Power” Items on the Hidden Menu

Don’t let the “Bread” in Panera Bread stop you from giving this place a try for a keto meal – there are plenty of options! While they have a few salads that are low-carb with no dressing, there is a newer, better option for keto menu items at Panera found on their hidden menu.
For a breakfast meal, ask for the Power Breakfast Egg Bowl with Steak at 3g net carbs or the Power Breakfast Egg White Bowl with Roasted Turkey at 4g net carbs. For lunch or dinner, order the the Power Mediterranean Chicken at 7g net carbs, the Power Mediterranean Roasted Turkey Bowl at 7g net carbs, or the Power Steak Lettuce Wraps at 6g net carbs.
Panera also does a great job of listing the nutritional information for these menu items on their website.

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McDonald’s and Burger King:

Breakfast Items and Bunless Sandwiches

Both McDonald’s and Burger King offer items that can be made low carb at a cheap price – this makes it a great stop on a road trip as one of these restaurants can usually be found in the smallest of pit stop towns.
You can ask for a breakfast sandwich at either restaurant and order it without the bun and the same goes for a grilled chicken breast or burger for a lunch or dinner. My personal favorite of these two is the McDouble from McDonald’s Value Menu without a bun or ketchup. They will usually serve it in a bowl and sometimes will add lettuce with it. Very tasty and keto-friendly at only 4g net carbs (ketchup will add an additional 1g net carb)!
My only complaint with these two restaurants is that the staff usually aren’t sure what you mean by “no bun” – however Burger King has the “low carb” option and seem to be better trained. Both chains offer their nutritional information in a customizable menu builder that has nutrition information – great way for you to plan out a meal ahead of time or track macros after.

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Wendy’s:

Bunless Double Stack or Grilled Chicken Sandwich

A great meal that is also minimal on the wallet is Wendy’s Double Stack ordered without a bun. At 4g net carbs and on their Right Price Right Size Menu, it is delicious and gives you the meat, cheese, and toppings you crave.
While in university, I ate at Wendy’s for lunch every day for 3 months and ordered two bunless Double Stacks plain, to bring down the carb count even more. Another good keto option is the Ultimate Chicken Grill Sandwich – served without a bun, it is only 5g net carbs.

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KFC:

Grilled Chicken

KFC is a great place to stop for a keto meal – each serving of their grilled chicken is either only 0 or 1g of net carbs. Ordering a few pieces of grilled chicken is super simple and super quick. Skip most of the sides – but if you must have one, ordering an individual serving of green beans is 2g net carbs.
If salad is more up your alley, the caesar or house side salad without dressing and croutons is 1g net and 2g net carbs respectively. A Heinz Buttermilk Ranch Dressing packet is 1g net carb, Marzettie Light Italian Dressing is 2g net carbs, and a KFC Creamy Parmesan Caesar Dressing is 4g net carbs.
In the hopes that the Grilled Double Down Sandwich returns someday (one of my personal favorite fast food keto meal in the past), I’ll list it here. That sandwich is only 4g net carbs and they are super delicious.

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Subway:

Chopped Salad or Bunless Breakfast Item

Subway used to be a great place for low carbers as they had teamed up with Atkins to offer low carb wraps. Unfortunately that ended many years ago now and we’re left up to our own devices to make a keto friendly meal!
Luckily you’re able to make a chopped salad out of any of their sandwiches and they have plenty of meats and toppings to choose from. For the lowest carb count, choose the Grilled Chicken Breast chopped salad made with spinach. As a dressing, your best option is the olive oil blend which is 0g net carbs. The next best keto option is the ranch dressing but it’s 4g net carbs!
As Subway has also recently started serving breakfast, you can now also get any of their breakfast subs without a bun and add any topping you please – a great keto way to start the day!
As a quick aside, attempting to “Calculate Yours” on their online menu is a bit tricky for breakfast as they will not allow you to select “None” for bread and you will have to manually figure out macros by subtracting out the bread nutritional information.

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Gas Station and Convenience Store:

Quick Bites

I never thought I would be one to eat a sandwich from a gas station but a long car trip last year changed that; I didn’t want to have to stop for gas and at a restaurant when I just wanted to keep driving!
I picked up a breakfast sandwich from inside a gas station and after peeling off the bun – it was pretty tasty! Just sausage, egg, and cheese. A lot of gas stations now offer hard-boiled eggs, deli meat, and string cheese in their cases in addition to other keto friendly snack items like almonds and pork rinds.
Take a look around, you can easily make a keto meal when you’re in a rush. Many gas station chains have also started to make their cheap coffee more “gourmet” too and offer add-ins – I have found sugar-free syrups at more than one chain, making that late night pick-me-up taste so much better!

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Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, or most Coffee Houses:

Coffee or Tea and Bunless Breakfast Sandwich

When you are looking for a drink to warm you up or cool you down, you can always head to a coffee place. While the easiest option is to ask for a black coffee or tea, hot or iced, you can always ask them if they have heavy whipping cream, almond, or coconut milk (make sure these are unsweetened, if they carry it). I have found most small mom and pop coffee shops will have heavy whipping cream and Starbucks will usually have it if you ask.
Other low carb options include an Americano, which is hot water added to espresso, and a Depth Charge, which is a shot of espresso added to a cup of coffee (also known as a red eye, turbo, and shot in the dark). Most baristas will not bat an eye at your drink requests – they are used to getting silly long orders!
A lot of coffee houses now offer hot breakfast sandwiches as well – so if you are in a rush, order a breakfast sandwich and get rid of the bun – you’ll be left with a gooey and delicious mess of eggs, cheese, and sausage or bacon!

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Taco Bell:

Make Your Own Menu Item

I honestly didn’t believe this was true until I tried it: you can order just the sides at Taco Bell! Skip their tacos and salads in an effort to make a low carb dish here and just order the items you want. You can order a side of chicken, beef, lettuce, and guacamole for under $2.
Add a hot sauce packet or two on top and you’ve got that tasty Taco Bell meal you want – without the carbs. You can also do this for a breakfast meal as well, ordering eggs and a sausage patty or two as side items. Definitely gives their Dollar Cravings Menu a run for the money!
So what are your favorite keto fast foods? What local fast food places do you have that you can keto at?

What is a Keto Diet?

A keto diet is well known for being a low carb diet, where the body produces ketones in the liver to be used as energy. It’s referred to as many different names – ketogenic diet, low carb diet, low carb high fat (LCHF), etc. When you eat something high in carbs, your body will produce glucose and insulin. Glucose is the easiest molecule for your body to convert and use as energy, so it will be chosen over any other energy source.

Insulin is produced to process the glucose in your bloodsteam, by taking it around the body. Since the glucose is being used as a primary energy, your fats are not needed, and are therefore stored. Typically on a normal, higher carbohydrate diet, the body will use glucose as the main form of energy.
By lowering the intake of carbs, the body is induced into a state known as ketosis. Ketosis is a natural process the body initiates to help us survive when food intake is low. During this state, we produce ketones, which are produced from the breakdown of fats in the liver.
The end goal of a properly maintained keto diet is to force your body into this metabolic state. We don’t do this through starvation of calories, but through starvation of carbohydrates. Our bodies are extremely adaptive to what you put into it – when you overload it with fats and take away carbohydrates, it will begin to burn ketones as the main energy source.

What Do I Eat?

To start a keto diet, you will want to plan ahead. That definitely means having a viable diet plan ready and waiting. What you eat really depends how fast you want to get into a ketogenic state. The more restrictive you are on your carbohydrates (less than 15g per day), the faster you will enter ketosis. Normally, anywhere between 20-30g of net carbs is recommended for every day dieting – but the lower you keep your glucose levels, the better the overall results will be. If you need ideas for food, there are plenty of keto recipes for you to choose from.

You might be asking, “What’s a net carb?” It’s simple really! The net carbs are your total dietary carbohydrates, minus the total fiber. Let’s say for example you want to eat some broccoli (1 cup) – seriously my favorite and most delicious vegetable out there.

• There are a total of 6g carbohydrates in 1 cup.
• There’s also 2g of fiber in 1 cup.
• So, we take the 6g (total carbs) and subtract the 2g (dietary fiber).
• This will give us our net carbs of 4g.

 

 

 Here’s a list of the most common low carb vegetables.

Vegetable	Amount	Net Carbs
Spinach (Raw)	1/2 Cup	0.1
Bok Choi	1/2 Cup	0.2
Lettuce (Romaine)	1/2 Cup	0.2
Broccoli (Florets)	1/2 Cup	0.8
Cauliflower (Steamed)	1/2 Cup	0.9
Cabbage (Green Raw)	1/2 Cup	1.1
Cauliflower (Raw)	1/2 Cup	1.4
Collard Greens	1/2 Cup	2
Kale steamed	1/2 Cup	2.1
Green Beans steamed	1/2 Cup	2.9

Your nutrient intake should be something around 70% fats, 25% protein, and 5% carbohydrate. You want to keep your carbohydrates limited, coming mostly from vegetables, nuts, and dairy. Don’t eat any refined carbohydrates such as wheat (breads, pastas, cereals), starch (potatoes, beans, legumes) or fruit.
Dark green and leafy is always the best choice. Most of your meals should be a protein with vegetables, and an extra side of fat. Chicken breast basted in olive oil, with broccoli and cheese. Steak topped with a knob of butter, and a side of spinach sautéed in olive oil. If you’re finding yourself hungry throughout the day, you can snack on nuts, seeds, cheeses, or peanut butter to curb your appetite.

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Know Your Macros

“Macros” is an abbreviated term of macronutrients. Your macros are your daily intake of “the big 3” nutrients: fats, protein, and carbohydrates. You can use the following calculator to see what your daily needs will be. If you exercise or want to see a more in depth explanation on how we are calculating this, you should use the full version of the Keto Calculator.

Enter Body Weight (lbs.)
Enter Body Weight (kgs.)
Enter Body Fat Percentage

Enter your total body weight in pounds or kilograms, and your total bodyfat percentage. If you don’t know your bodyfat, you can visually estimate your body fat percentage.

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)
TEF (Thermic Effect of Food)
BMR + TEF:

This will give us an idea of how much the minimum amount of calories your body will burn in a day by calculating the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF).

	Sedentary. Not much daily activity, little to no exercise.
	Lightly active. Daytime walking. 1–3 hours a week of light exercise.
	Moderately active. Active day job. Exercise 3–5 hours a week.
	Very active. Intense exercise 6-7 days a week.
	Extremely active. Training twice a day, very intense workouts.
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (kcal)

Based on your activity level, we will get a more realistic look at the average amount of calories your body burns per day. We will be using this to gauge the amount of calories you need to eat, along with the fats, proteins, and carbs you will need to consume in order to achieve you goals.

Deficit or Surplus Percentage	%
	Lose Weight
	Maintain Weight
	Gain Mass
Total Calories to Consume

Do you want to lose weight, maintain your weight, or gain mass? Choose your goals appropriately and only ever use a 10-15% calorie surplus or 20-25% deficit. Any higher of a deficit can have negative effects on your dieting, based on this study.

Daily Protein Ratio (g/lbm)
Daily Carb Intake (g)

It is highly recommended to keep your carb intake below 30g per day and protein between 0.7g – 1.2g per pound of lean body mass.

0	kcal Daily Calorie Intake
0	g Net Carbs (0%, 0 kcal)
0	g Protein (0%, 0 kcal)
0	g Fat (0%, 0 kcal)

Here are your nutritional macros. You should eat according to these, and try to spread your meals out during the day.

Benefits of a Keto Diet

• Cholesterol. A keto diet has shown to improve triglyceride levels and cholesterol levels most associated with arterial buildup.
• Weight Loss. As your body is burning fat as the main source of energy, you will essentially be using your fat stores as an energy source while in a fasting state.
• Blood Sugar. Many studies show the decrease of LDL cholesterol over time and have shown to eliminate ailments such as type 2 diabetes.
• Energy. By giving your body a better and more reliable energy source, you will feel more energized during the day. Fats are shown to be the most effective molecule to burn as fuel.
• Hunger. Fat is naturally more satisfying and ends up leaving us in a satiated (“full”) state for longer.
• Acne. Recent studies have shown a drop in acne lesions and skin inflammation over 12 weeks.

Physical Performance

You may see some limitations on your performance when you first begin a keto diet, but as your body fully adapts to using fat as the primary source of energy – all of your strength and endurance will return to normal. Many people ask if carbs are needed to build muscle. Of course they’re not. If you’re asking this question, I will assume you know how you gain mass. 

Your glycogen stores can still be refilled while on a ketogenic diet. A keto diet is a great way to build muscle, but protein intake is key here. It’s suggested that if you are looking to gain mass, you should be taking in about 1.0 – 1.2g protein per lean pound of body mass. Putting mass on may be slower on a ketogenic diet, but that’s because your total body fat is not increasing. If, for some reason, you need to put on body fat also, you can achieve your goals through a Cyclical Keto Diet or a Targeted Keto Diet.
People often argue that performance is affected when on a keto diet, but that’s not true. A study was done on trained cyclists who were on a ketogenic diet for 4 weeks. The results show that aerobic endurance was not compromised at all, and their muscle mass was the same as when they started. Their bodies adapted through ketosis, limiting both glucose and glycogen stores, and used fats as the predominant energy source. There was another study done on 8 professional gymnasts who had the same results.
Both groups were fed a strict diet of green vegetables, proteins, and high quality fats. So, even if you are doing long bouts of cardio – a keto diet has been proven time and time again. The only real time where ketosis can give performance loss is in exercises that need an explosive action. If you need a little boost in your performance during these, you can “carb-up” by eating 25-50g of carbs about 30 minutes before you train.

Dangers of a Keto Diet

There are a lot of misconceptions about low carb dieting which has caused an infamous outlook on this type of diet. There’s been tons of studies published over the last 30 years that show how high amounts of fat and low amount of carbs are beneficial.
People normally get this confused with high fat and high carb diets, which are terrible for the body. Of course when you eat a lot of fatty foods that are high in sugar, you’ll be getting yourself in trouble.
Thinking of going on a low fat diet? It’s been shown that a ketogenic diet is healthier AND more effective than low fat dieting. When you eat foods high in carbohydrates, your body naturally produces glucose. Carbohydrates are the easiest thing for the body to process, and therefore it will use them first – resulting in the excess fats to be stored immediately. In turn, this causes weight gain and health problems that are associated with high fat AND high carbohydrate diets, NOT a keto diet.
As a precaution, you should always check with your physician if you have any concerns about starting a keto diet. You should especially be weary if your family has any pre-existing kidney or diabetic conditions – as the higher intake of proteins will put strain on your kidneys.
High cholesterol, high blood sugar, and heart disease is not something you need to worry about. High fat, low carb diets are well-known and documented for their improvements in cholesterol, blood sugars, and reduction of heart disease.

What Happens To My Body

Your body is used to the simple routine of breaking down carbohydrates and using them as energy. Over time the body has built up an arsenal of enzymes ready for this process, and only has a few enzymes for dealing with fats – mostly to store them. All of a sudden your body has to deal with the lack of glucose and increase in fats, which means building up a new supply of enzymes. 

As your body becomes induced into a ketogenic state, your body will naturally use what’s left of your glucose. This means your body will be depleted of all glycogen in the muscles – which can cause a lack of energy, and a general lethargy. In the first few weeks, many people report:

• Headaches
• Mental fogginess
• Flu-like symptoms (known as the “keto-flu”)
• Dizziness
• Aggravation
• Yep, it’s pretty much a week of PMS for everyone!

Most of the time, this is the result of your electrolytes being flushed out, as ketosis has a diuretic effect. Make sure you drink plenty of water and keep your sodium intake up. In fact, you should go overboard with the salt – salt EVERYTHING! This will help with water retention, and help replenish the electrolytes.
For a normal person that is starting a ketogenic diet, eating 25-40g of net carbs a day, the total adaptation process will take about 2 weeks. My advice is to cut your carbs to fewer than 15g to ensure that you are well on your way into ketosis within 1 week.
You may notice that if you’re an avid gym goer, you lost some strength and endurance. This is normal. Once your body becomes keto-adapted, your body will be able to fully utilize the fats as its primary source of energy. Many studies done have shown that there is no long term drop in performance for professional athletes on a very low carb ketogenic diet. Many also report more energy at sustainable levels throughout the day.

Getting Started

If you’re not sure on where to start, and new to the website, I’d highly recommend reading through my “Start Here” article.
Overall, eating a high amount of fat, moderate protein, and low amount of carbs can have a massive impact in your health – lowering your cholesterol, body weight, blood sugar, and raising your energy and mood levels.

Once you’re in the mindset to start a more realistic, healthy approach at losing body fat – a low carb lifestyle doesn’t seem as bad. Give it a few weeks to get over the initial hump, and those cravings for carbs will go away. Some studies have shown links between artificial sweeteners and sugar cravings, so if you drink diet sodas or if you use a lot of artificial sweeteners – try to throw them out and reform your eating philosophies.

If you need help tracking your calories or carbs for the day, I’ve written up an article to help you do that. While it’s not necessary, it certainly helps to know exactly what you’re eating so that you can pinpoint mistakes easily.
There’s no real danger involved in a keto diet unless you have previous health conditions relating to the kidney or type 1 diabetes. Just be sure to know that the first week usually gives you some killer headaches and lethargy while your body adapts.

Being on a diet isn’t the easiest thing in the world, especially when you don’t know what you should eat. I’ve put together this ketogenic diet food list to help people out there make decisions on what they are eating and shopping for.

Fats and Oils

Fats will be the majority of your daily calorie intake when you are on a ketogenic diet, so choices should be made with your own digestion system in mind. Fats are very important to our bodies, but they can also be dangerous if you are consuming the wrong types of fats. You can see a more in depth post on fats here: The Importance of Fats in a Ketogenic Diet
You want to have a balance between your Omega-3’s and Omega-6’s, so eating things like wild salmon, tuna, trout, and shellfish can help provide a balanced diet of Omega-3’s.
If you don’t like fish, or just prefer not to eat it, I suggest taking a small fish oil supplement. You can also take krill oil for Omega-3’s if you are allergic. If you want to know more about essential fatty acids and omegas on a ketogenic diet, you can visit: Essential Fatty Acids: Omega 3 and Omega 6

Saturated and monounsaturated fats such as butter, macadamia nuts, avocado, egg yolks, and coconut oil are more chemically stable and less inflammatory to most people, so they are preferred. Fats and oils can be combined in a number of different ways to add to your meals – sauces, dressings, or just simple topping off a piece of meat with butter.

Try to avoid any hydrogenated fats, such as margarine, to minimize your trans fat intake. There have been studies linking it to higher chances of coronary heart disease. If you’re using vegetable oils (olive, soybean, flax, or safflower) choose the “cold pressed” options if they are available.
If you tend to fry things up, try to go after non-hydrogenated lards, beef tallow, ghee, or coconut oil, since they have higher smoke points than other oils. This allows less oxidization of the oils, which means you get more Essential Fatty Acids.
Keep an eye on your intake for nut or seed based foods, as they can be quite high in inflammatory Omega-6’s – these include things like almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, sunflower oil and corn oil.
Some ketogenic diet foods that are great for fats and oils (organic and grass-fed sources are preferred):

• Avocado
• Beef tallow
• Butter
• Chicken Fat
• Ghee
• Non-hydrogenated Lard
• Macadamia Nuts

• Mayonnaise (watch out for added carbs)
• Olive Oil
• Coconut Oil
• Coconut Butter
• Red Palm Oil
• Peanut Butter

Protein

Your best bet when it comes to protein is choosing anything organic or grass fed, and using free-range eggs. This will minimize your bacteria and steroid hormone intake.

• Fish. Preferably eating anything that is caught wild like catfish, cod, flounder, halibut, mackerel, mahi-mahi, salmon, snapper, trout, and tuna.
• Shellfish. Clams, oysters, lobster, crab, scallops, mussels, and squid.
• Whole Eggs. Try to get them free-range from the local market if possible. You can prepare them in a number of different ways like fried, deviled, boiled, poached, and scrambled.
• Meat. Beef, Veal, Goat, Lamb, and other wild game. Grass fed is preferred as it has a better fatty acid count.
• Pork. Pork loin, pork chops, and ham. Watch out for added sugars in ham.
• Poultry. Chicken, Duck, Quail, Pheasant. Free range or organic is the best choice here if possible.
• Bacon and Sausage. Check labels for anything cured in sugar, or if it contains extra fillers.
• Peanut Butter. Go for natural peanut butter, but be careful as they have high counts of Omega-6’s and carbohydrates. Try to opt for macadamia nut butter if you can.

Ketogenic Diet Protein Source	Calories	Fats (g)	Net Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
Bacon, 1 slice (~ 8g), baked	44	3.5	0	2.9
Beef, Sirloin Steak, 1 ounce, broiled	69	4	0	7.7
Beef, Ground, 5% fat, 1 ounce, broiled	44	1.7	0	6.7
Beef, Ground, 15% fat, 1 ounce, broiled	70	4.3	0	7.2
Beef, Ground, 30% fat, 1 ounce, broiled	77	5.1	0	7.1
Beef, Bottom Round, 1 ounce, roasted	56	2.7	0	7.6
Chicken, white meat, 1 ounce	49	1.3	0	8.8
Chicken, dark meat, 1 ounce	58	2.8	0	7.8
Egg, 1 large, 50 g	72	4.8	0.4	6.3
Fish, Raw, Cod, 1 ounce	20	0.1	0	4.3
Fish, Raw, Flounder, 1 ounce	20	0.6	0	3.5
Fish, Raw, Sole, 1 ounce	20	0.6	0	3.5
Fish, Raw, Salmon, 1 ounce	40	1.8	0	5.6
Ham, smoked, 1 ounce	50	2.6	0	6.4
Hot dog, beef, 1 ounce	92	8.5	0.5	3.1
Lamb, ground, 1 ounce, broiled	80	5.6	0	7
Lamb chop, boneless, 1 ounce, broiled	67	3.9	0	7.3
Pork chop, bone-in, 1 ounce, broiled	65	4.1	0	6.7
Pork ribs, ribs, 1 ounce, roasted	102	8.3	0	6.2
Scallops, 1 ounce, steamed	31	0.2	1.5	5.8
Shrimp, 1 ounce, cooked	28	0.1	0	6.8
Tuna, 1 ounce, cooked	52	1.8	0	8.5
Turkey Breast, 1 ounce, roasted	39	0.6	0	8.4
Veal, roasted, 1 ounce	42	1	0	8

Vegetables

On a ketogenic diet, try to go after vegetables that are grown above ground and are leafy greens. If you can, opt for organic as there’s less pesticide residues, but if you can’t then don’t worry. Studies show that organic and non-organic vegetables still have the same nutritional qualities.

Vegetables are an extremely important part of a healthy diet, but sometimes we’re stuck with decisions we might regret later. Some vegetables are high in sugar and don’t cut it nutritionally – so we need to ween them out. The best type of vegetables for a ketogenic diet are high in nutrients and low in carbohydrates. These, as most of you can guess, are dark and leafy. Anything that resembles spinach or kale will fall into this category, and will be the best thing to include into anything you can.

To see a full list of low carb vegetables you can view my post here: Best Low Carb Vegetables

Ketogenic Diet Vegetable Source	Calories	Fats (g)	Net Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
Asparagus, cooked, 1 ounce	6	0.1	0.6	0.7
Avocado, 1 ounce	47	4.4	0.6	0.6
Broccoli, chopped, cooked, 1 ounce	10	0.1	1.1	0.7
Carrots, baby, 1 ounce, raw	10	0	1.5	0.01
Cauliflower, chopped, cooked, 1 ounce	7	0.1	0.5	0.5
Celery, 1 ounce, raw	5	0	0.3	0.7
Cucumber, 1 ounce, raw	4	0	1	0.2
Garlic, 1 clove (3 grams)	4	0	1	0.2
Green beans, cooked, 1 ounce	10	0.1	1.3	0.5
Mushrooms, button, 1 ounce, raw	6	0.2	0.6	0.9
Onion, green, 1 ounce, chopped, raw	9	0	1.3	0.5
Onion, white, 1 ounce, chopped, raw	11	0	2.1	0.3
Bell Pepper, Green, 1 ounce, raw	6	0	0.8	0.2
Pickles, dill, 1 ounce	3	0	0.4	0.2
Romaine lettuce, 1 ounce	5	0.1	0.3	0.4
Butterhead lettuce, 1 ounce	4	0.06	0.3	0.4
Shallots, raw, 1 ounce	20	0	3.9	0.7
Snow peas, 1 ounce, cooked	24	0	2.8	1.5
Spinach, 1 ounce, raw	7	0.1	0.4	0.8
Squash, Acorn, baked, 1 ounce	16	0	2.9	0.3
Squash, Butternut, baked, 1 ounce	11	0	2.1	0.3
Squash, Spaghetti, 1 ounce, cooked	8	0.1	1.4	0.2
Tomato, raw, 1 ounce	5	0	0.8	0.3

Dairy Products

Raw and organic milk products are preferred here. Choose full fat everything over low fat or fat free.

• Heavy Whipping Cream
• Hard and soft cheeses – (Cheddar, Mozzarella, Cream Cheese, Marscapone Cheese, etc.)
• Sour Cream
• Cottage Cheese

Ketogenic Diet Diary Source	Calories	Fats (g)	Net Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
Buttermilk, whole, 1 ounce	18	0.9	1.4	0.9
Cheese, Blue, 1 ounce	100	8.2	0.7	6.1
Cheese, Brie, 1 ounce	95	7.9	0.1	5.9
Cheese, Cheddar, 1 ounce	114	9.4	0.4	7.1
Cheese, Colby, 1 ounce	110	9	0.7	6.7
Cheese, Cottage, 2%, 1 ounce	24	0.7	1	3.3
Cheese, Cream, block, 1 ounce	97	9.7	1.1	1.7
Cheese, Feta, 1 ounce	75	6	1.2	4
Cheese, Monterey Jack, 1 ounce	106	8.6	0.2	7
Cheese, Mozzarella, whole milk, 1 oz	85	6.3	0.6	6.3
Cheese, Parmesan, hard, 1 ounce	111	7.3	0.9	10.1
Cheese, Swiss, 1 ounce	108	7.9	1.5	7.6
Cheese, Marscapone, 1 ounce	130	13	1	1
Cream, half-n-half, 1 ounce	39	3.5	1.3	0.9
Cream, heavy, 1 ounce	103	11	0.8	0.6
Cream, Sour, full fat, 1 ounce	55	5.6	0.8	0.6
Milk, whole, 1 ounce	19	1	1.5	1
Milk, 2%, 1 ounce	15	0.6	1.5	1
Milk, skim, 1 ounce	10	0	1.5	1

Nuts and Seeds

Nuts and seeds are best when they are roasted to remove any anti-nutrients. Try to avoid peanuts if possible, as they are actually legumes which are not highly permitted in the ketogenic diet food list.

• Macadamias, walnuts and almonds are the best in terms of your carb count and can be eaten in small amounts.
• Cashews and pistachios are higher in carbs, so make sure you track these carefully.
• Nuts are high in Omega-6 Fatty Acids, so try to be careful with over consumption.
• Nut and seed flours, such as almond flour and milled flax seed are great to substitute for regular flour. This means baking can be done in moderation.

Ketogenic Diet Nuts/Seed Source	Calories	Fats (g)	Net Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
Almonds, raw, 1 ounce	170	15	3	6
Brazil Nuts, raw, 1 ounce	186	19	1	4
Cashews, raw, 1 ounce	160	13	7	5
Chestnuts, raw, 1 ounce	55	0	13	0
Chia Seeds, raw, 1 ounce	131	10	0	7
Coconut, dried, unsweetened, 1 ounce	65	6	2	1
Flax Seeds, raw, 1 ounce	131	10	0	7
Hazelnuts, raw, 1 ounce	176	17	2	4
Madadamia Nuts, raw, 1 ounce	203	21	2	2
Peanuts, raw, 1 ounce	157	13	3	7
Pecans, raw, 1 ounce	190	20	1	3
Pine Nuts, raw, 1 ounce	189	20	3	4
Pistachios, raw, 1 ounce	158	13	5	6
Pumpkin Seeds, raw, 1 ounce	159	14	1	8
Sesame Seeds, raw, 1 ounce	160	14	4	5
Sunflower Seeds, raw, 1 ounce	150	11	4	3
Walnuts, raw, 1 ounce	185	18	2	4

Beverages

The ketogenic diet has a natural diuretic effect, so dehydration is common for most people starting out. If you’re prone to urinary tract infections or bladder pain, you have to be doubly prepared. Those 8 glasses of water we are supposed to drink a day? We suggest drinking those, and then some. Water plays a substantial role in our body (considering it’s made up of 2/3 water), and it’s extremely important to keep hydrated.

Drink liquids day and night, drink it like it’s going out of fashion.

• Water, water, water. Drink plenty.
• Coffee
• Tea (Herbal and non)
• If needed, you can get flavor packets such as crystal lite, but be careful with these as they do use sweeteners and can contain carbs.

• specialty items
• cooking accessories
• kitchen products
• supplement necessities

Sweeteners

Staying away from anything sweet is generally the best bet – it will help curb your cravings to a minimal level, which essentially promotes success on the ketogenic diet. If you have to have something sweet, though, choose an artificial sweetener.
Try to go after liquid sweeteners as they don’t have added binders such as maltodextrin and dextrose which have carbs.

• Stevia, liquid form is preferred
• Sucralose, liquid form is preferred
• Erythritol
• Xylitol
• Monk Fruit
• Agave Nectar (this can get high in carbs, so use with caution)

Sweetener	Net Carbs (Per 100g)	Calories (Per 100g)
Sucralose	0	0
Stevia	5	20
Erythritol	5	20
Xylitol	60	240
Aspartame	85	352

Spices

Spices are a tricky part of ketogenic diet foods. Spices have carbs in them, so make sure you are adding them into your counts. Most pre-made spice mixes will have sugars added to them, so make sure you read the nutrition label beforehand to make sure you know what’s inside. Sea salt is preferred over table salt, as it is usually mixed with powdered dextrose.

• Sea salt
• Black Pepper
• Basil
• Cayenne Pepper
• Chili Powder
• Cilantro
• Cinnamon

• Cumin
• Oregano
• Parsley
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Thyme
• Tumeric

Things to Watch Out For

There’s always going to be foods that are sneaky when it comes to ketogenic dieting, so I’ve put together a list of things that you should be careful about.

• Spices. As mentioned above, spices do have carbs – but there’s certain ones that have more carbs than others. These include onion powder, cinnamon, garlic powder, allspice, bay leaves, ginger and cardamom.
• Fruit. Most fruit is off the list because of the high sugar contents. Many people still eat berries, but you have to control your portioning with these. Be careful about raspberries, blueberries, and cranberries.
• Tomato Based Products. I wanted to talk about these separately. Plenty of people use tomato sauces and canned diced tomatoes. They still have plenty of sugar in them! Watch your portion sizes on the nutrition labels – food companies are notoriously infamous for messing with serving sizes to make their foods seem “healthier”.
• Peppers. These little buggers are loaded with sugars too – so be careful when you’re using them in stir fry’s and chili. Opt for green peppers, as red and yellow peppers have higher carb counts.
• Diet Soda. Yes, you can drink diet soda, just watch out with the amount you drink. Some people report being knocked out of ketosis after large consumption of artificial sweeteners. Studies also show a link between sugar cravings and artificial sweeteners – so these will make it harder for you to curb those cravings.
• Medicine. Cold medications, cough syrups, flu remedies – these usually contain carbs, and a lot of them at that. Some of the generic over the counter cough medicines contain 20g of carbs PER serving! Be weary of these, as you can get low-sugar/sugar-free alternatives.

Control Your Cravings

So we all know those cravings will hit us out of nowhere from time to time, but does that really mean we have to break our diets just for that one treat? Not at all.
What our bodies are really telling us, is that it’s craving a nutrient – and it can be fulfilled in many different ways than carb-rich treats. Here’s a list of things you should keep in mind:

Controlling Your Cravings	What You Need	What to Eat
Chocolate	Magnesium	Nuts, seeds
Sugary Foods	Chromium	Broccoli, Cheese
	Carbon	Spinach
	Phosphorus	Chicken, beef, eggs
	Sulphur	Cauliflower, broccoli
	Tryophan	Cheese, lamb, liver
Bread, Pasta, Carbs	Nitrogen	High protein meat
Oil/Fatty Foods	Calcium	Cheese, Broccoli, Spinach
Salty Foods	Chloride	Fish
	Silicon	Nuts, seeds

What Is Ketosis?

The human body can be regarded as a biologic machine. Machines need energy to operate. Some machines use gasoline for energy, others use electricity, and some use other power resources.
Glucose is the primary fuel for most cells and organs in the body. To obtain energy, cells must take up glucose from the blood. Once glucose enters the cells, a series of metabolic reactions break it down into carbon dioxide and water, releasing energy in the process.
The body has an ability to store excess glucose in the form of glycogen. In this way, energy can be stored for later use. Glycogen consists of long chains of glucose molecules and is primarily found in the liver and skeletal muscle. Liver glycogen stores are used to maintain normal levels of glucose in the blood while muscle glycogen stores are mainly used to fuel muscle activity.
Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of glucose and other sugar molecules such as fructose and galactose. During carbohydrate restriction, both proteins and fats can be used for energy. In fact, most cells can use fatty acids for energy, but brain cells and developing red cells are more dependent on glucose for energy supply. However, brain cells can adapt and use ketones from fat breakdown for its energy needs.
When no carbohydrate is available, the liver will not break down fat completely. Instead, it produces ketone bodies that are used by most cells to provide energy. When ketone bodies are produced more quickly than the body needs, ketone levels build up in the blood, resulting in a condition known as ketosis. Ketosis is most commonly caused by very low carbohydrate consumption or prolonged fasting.
When the body’s glycogen stores become depleted, breakdown of body fat (mainly triglycerides) results in increased availability of fatty acids. Most cells can use fatty acids for energy production. However, many fatty acids can not pass the blood-brain barrier. Therefore, the brain becomes dependent on ketone bodies produced by the liver.
The breakdown of fatty acids results in the production of an important substance called acetyl CoA. When fat and carbohydrate metabolism is in balance, most acetyl CoA enters the so-called citric acid cycle (Krebs cycle) where it is used for energy production. When acetyl CoA cannot enter the citric acid cycle, it is shunted to form ketone bodies. This process is called ketogenesis.
Ketone bodies include three compounds: acetone, acetoacetate, and beta-hydroxybutyrate. Acetone can sometimes be smelled from the breaths of people with high levels of ketone bodies in the blood. You may be acquainted with the smell because some nail polish removers contain acetone.
Ketone bodies are not only produced when the glycogen stores become depleted. In fact, ketone bodies are produced by the liver all the time. Research indicates that the heart and kidneys prefer to use ketone bodies rather than glucose as a fuel resource. To dispose of excess ketone bodies, the body uses the kidneys to excrete them in urine, and they are exhaled from the lungs. During ketosis, ketones can easily be detected in the urine.

Intro

This is my blog about all things keto. When searching ketosis on the net you will probably find a lot of information on diabetes or weight loss. This information can be very scattered and misleading, so what is ketosis exactly? There is a lot of confusion about the term ketosis among medical professionals as well as laypeople and it is important to understand when and why nutritional ketosis occurs, and what the benefits of being in ketosis can be. Basically it is when you cut way back on your carbs intake, and up your fat intake, forcing your body will switch into the ketosis metabolic state secreting ketones (fat) for energy instead of using glucose (sugar). The list of benefits from being in this state of ketosis span from curing for a vast number of neurological disorders such as epilepsy, and slowing alzheimer and parkensons progression, to being just a flat out awesome way to loose fat and maintain a healthy weight. The ketogenic diet was originally developed almost 100 years ago to treat epilepsy. Nowadays, it is used as a nutrition plan by health-conscious men and women to optimize body composition and athletic performance. There is a long list of benefits from going keto and in this blog there will be keto related discussion, informative posts, recipes, and tips and tricks to starting or continuing a ketogenic life style.