Ketogenic Diet Examples

Following on from my last post on Ketogenic Diets for weight-loss, I wanted to give a couple of ‘real world’ examples of what the diet might look like.

The actually quantity of what you eat will vary depending on your personal needs, however, this is an example from my life and shows very positive results.

Remember that, outside a period of fasting, you should not be starving yourself. Please eat the healthy fats and proteins until you feel satiated, this will also assist in managing cravings for other ‘unhealthy’ foods, and in keeping you fueled to do what you need to do every day.

Kitchen Principles:

Only water, tea and coffee to be consumed. Tea and coffee should not be taken with milk, soy or any sweetener.

Avoid all confectionery and heavily processed foods and check the labels of your cooking staples to ensure they are gluten-free, do not contain artificial flavors and preservatives, no added sweeteners (artificial or not) and that their carbohydrate total is less than 5%.

Try and source grass-fed beef and free-range animal products from reputable growers – the better the animal has been treated – the better it is for you. Meats requiring slow cooking are great as there is usually ample fat being cooked down in the process for you to gobble up. Get some really great bacon and sausages into your fridge, as well as humanely grown chicken. And try branching out into the lesser known parts of animals for sustenance – livers, brains etc… if you’re game that is.

Stock up on some good oils and fats in the pantry – Coconut Oil/ MCT Oil, Olive Oil (not to be heated), grass-fed butter, even duck fat is a lovely addition. Add some good quality locally-produced diary products to your fridge – this does not include milk or yoghurt as they are both high in carbohydrates. but if dairy is suited to you, you will want to add some soft and hard cheeses, full-fat sour-cream and full-fat cream.

*Grass-fed meats and dairy products are usually easy to distinguish from their counterparts as they maintain a delicious yellow-tinge to the fat and are just all-round tastier.

Good quality nuts are a welcome addition also and make snack time easy, also adding some chia seeds to your pantry will come in handy.

Make sure to stock upwith lots of fresh green vegetables and some quality, in season fruits considered low on the sugar scale – avocados, strawberries, blueberries, watermelons, lemons, limes, grapefruit, kiwifruit.

Example Day:

Morning

Coffee with pouring cream

2 fried eggs with 3 rashers of bacon cooked in butter and served with 1/2 an avocado

Morning Tea (if you need it)

Green Juice – Spinach, Kale, Watermelon, Lemon and Ginger with ice.

Soft cheese served with a couple of strawberries and some raw nuts (almonds today)

Lunch

Salad with chicken thigh cooked in butter and garlic, bacon bits, Camembert cheese, toasted macadamia nuts and a mix of spinach, rocket and thinly sliced salad onion. Drizzled in olive oil (also infused with garlic).

I would usually consume 2-3 thighs, maybe a rasher of bacon, half a Camembert cheese wheel, handful of nuts and the rest as desired. Remember – the aim of the game is to never feel hungry – EVER!

Afternoon Tea (if needed)

Chia seeds added to fresh cream with a couple of blueberries and pistachios – if you mix it together and pop in the fridge, it will bind-up to almost form a pudding type dish.

Dinner

Roast Pork Belly with Crackling

Vegetables roasted in the pork fat (no potato or sweet potato)

Garlic and rosemary cream sauce

*Diary can be replaced with coconut milk and cream products to produce a similarly tasty dish. Almond milk and other milk substitutes are not recommended as they are much higher in carbohydrates.

This is just a day in the life of… there are plenty of options for you if you choose to start this diet.

Left-overs are often a savior the next day, especially if you are working and need to throw lunch together quickly. Other examples of meals are – Home-made meatballs, Creamy Chicken with nuts and spinach, spaghetti squash with bolognese sauce, Steak with pepper sauce and mushrooms, omelettes, pastry-free quiche, cauliflower fried rice etc… Below are a couple of useful links to recipes you might like to try as well.