Keto! Ketones! Ketosis!… The ketogenic diet can be so confusing for beginners. Learn what it means here and achieve your goals in 2023 with our guide to the keto diet for beginners.
Lose weight and start eating well with our printable 7-day keto meal plan pdf with 25+ delicious healthy keto recipes.
Table of Contents
Starting A Ketogenic Diet
Preventing weight gain during this time of the year is one thing, but is it even possible to lose weight after over-indulging during the holiday season? Yes!
Lose weight and stay lean with our 7 day keto diet plan. Unlike many fad diets, the keto or ketogenic diet is more of a lifestyle.
The diet does not set rules to starve yourself, eat a cup of vegetables, or drink some juice to lose weight.
It is not a taxing diet that will ask you to exert immense control and cut off all the food you like in exchange for fruits and vegetables.
The keto diet does not require you to starve for days at a time, either.
Instead, the diet will help you understand how your food habits have turned bad over the years and what you can do to regain optimal health.
You will learn that all your excess weight exists not only due to overeating and not exercising.
The Keyword: Ketosis
In the ketogenic diet, ketosis is the keyword. It is a metabolic process where your body uses stored fat instead of glucose for energy.
With this diet, you can easily lose weight by burning off stored fat.
Ketosis is a natural state in the body that you induce by consuming more fats than carbohydrates.
Your body will always try to adapt to how you feed and treat it. When you consume more fats, it will automatically start using them for energy in the ketosis state.
Your liver will produce more ketones, and fat will be the main energy source instead of glucose.
As the body requires more energy, it will utilize the fat stored around it.
At this point, you will see a difference in the appearance of your body.
The Basics of Keto
When you start the keto diet, there are important points to keep in mind to effectively push your system into ketosis.
First, you must restrict your net carbohydrate intake to around 20 grams or less per day.
The diet is strictly low carb, or it won’t work.
You don’t need to cut out fiber since it is required for your body, but reducing carbs in your diet will make a huge difference and help you lose weight through ketosis.
You also have to control your protein intake and keep it moderate but higher than your carbohydrate intake.
Usually, you should consume around 0.5 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight daily.
So, if you weigh 150 pounds, you consume 75-150 grams of protein daily.
Keep the amount moderate since protein can also be converted to glucose by the body, which will hinder the process of ketosis.
The most important part of the keto diet is to include a lot of fat, as it will help you eat a full meal and stay satisfied until the next one.
Energy from a carb-loaded diet gets burned off easily, leading to hunger and binge eating.
Eating more fats will be a more sustainable way to check your eating habits and force your body into ketosis.
This will help you lose a lot of weight. Don’t develop a habit of snacking too often.
Many keto snacks are available to suit your diet, but it is better to focus on the main meals and only snack a couple of times each day.
Eating unnecessarily and untimely is a bad habit that will slow down ketosis and make you gain weight.
Snacking is one of the worst habits of the modern-day diet and is caused due to the thousands of products easily available around us.
Don’t buy a ton of snacks when you visit the supermarket because this will make it harder to resist at home.
Whether you are on a diet or not, it is important to stay hydrated all day.
When you first start the keto diet, drink more water than usual.
To burn off fat faster, add exercise to your daily routine.
Physical activity has many benefits to the body; it promotes longevity, helps prevent many diseases, and helps you stay fit.
After a while, try adding intermittent fasting to your routine. This effectively increases ketones in the body and accelerates the process of weight loss during ketosis.
Also, make sure you get sufficient sleep. A good night’s sleep is crucial for the body to maintain good health.
Poor sleeping habits can lead to issues such as blood sugar imbalance, increased stress hormone secretion, etc.
Also, lack of sleep will leave you tired and unwell the following day.
Bad sleeping patterns also slow down ketosis and promote bad eating habits.
Midnight snacks might sound fun, but they are not a healthy choice, especially if you want to lose weight.
Suppose you are not an athlete or do not participate in extremely demanding sports. You generally do not need supplements during the ketogenic diet, as it is not recommended unless necessary.
It’s better not to waste a ton of money on any products claiming to increase your weight loss rate. Just stick to the diet, and it will work for you.
Remember to consult your doctor to see if any underlying medical conditions may make the keto diet unsuitable.
Don’t rush into any diet at the risk of your health. Different things might work for different people.
If they give you the green light, you can start the keto diet and lose weight as soon as possible!
7-Day Keto Meal Plan PDF
Each day includes recipes for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. Feel free to mix and match your favorite recipes if you prefer certain ones over others.
Also, it would be best if you used our keto calorie calculator to calculate your daily calorie intake requirements.
This will help you decide how many portions of each meal you need to eat and whether or not you need to add more snacks.
Download the printable PDF version here: KDY_7-Day-Meal-Plan-PDF-Rev1.0.pdf
Vicki Wolf
Hi Jennifer. I was wondering if you need to follow the first 5 day meal plan exactly or can you substitute other food choices from your recipes?
Jennifer
Hi Vicki!
You don't need to follow the first 5 days exactly. Just pick the meals that will work for you.
Karen
Hi Jennifer, Your keto recipes and meal plan are great. I've never been on keto for long. I gave up last time and didn't stick to it. This time I'm gonna stick with it. I have more time to cook and find the right things. I just wanted to know if in the receipes you could put in substitutions, say if we didn't have it or couldn't find. That would be a great help. Thanks.
Jennifer
Hi Karen! Thanks for the kind words. Yes, I am working on adding in substitutes for the recipes. You can also do a quick google search to check for alternatives for any ingredients you want to swap in the meantime 🙂
Linda David
Hi Jennifer. My name is Linda. I have been trying different Keto sites and none have seemed to help me. However, your approach seems simple and encouraging. Everything I read about keto I like. I just haven’t been able to master it. Perhaps with your guidance, I can have success. I hope so.