What is so special about keto and low carb diet?
Keto / low carb
Keto and low carb diet
Basics
As the name suggests, it's a diet that limits the amount of carbohydrates you eat.
There is also a restriction on the type of carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are a type of macronutrient found in many foods and beverages.
They can be simple and complex.
It could also be:
• Refined like sugar
• Simple naturals (lactose in milk and fructose in fruit)
• Refined compounds (white flour)
• And complex natural ones (whole grains, beans, etc.)
Common sources of carbohydrates are:
Fruits, vegetables, milk, nuts, cereals, rice, potatoes, legumes.
Our body usually uses carbohydrates as its main source of fuel.
Complex carbohydrates (starches) are broken down into simple sugars during digestion.
They are then absorbed into the bloodstream, where they are known as blood sugar (glucose).
The rationale behind this diet is that reducing carbohydrates lowers insulin levels.
This fact forces the body to burn stored fat for energy and this ultimately leads to weight loss.
A low-carb diet limits or excludes most grains, legumes, fruits, breads, sugar, pasta, starchy vegetables, and some nuts.
Usual daily intake, in this diet, is 20 - 60 grams of carbohydrates.
These amounts provide 80 - 240 of calories.
The result, in addition to weight loss, is other health benefits.
A low-carb diet can help prevent or improve serious health conditions, such as:
The metabolic syndrome
Diabetes
High blood pressure
Cardiovascular diseases
It may even improve high-density lipoprotein (HDL) values and triglyceride levels.
This is due not only to the reduction of carbohydrates but also to the quality of the food.
Protein (fish, poultry, meat) and healthy fats (avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, butter, etc.) are generally better choices.
What is a ketogenic (keto) diet?
Further reducing carbohydrates to less than 20 grams per day can lead to a process called ketosis.
Ketosis occurs when you don't have enough sugar (glucose) for energy, so the body breaks down stored fat, causing ketones to build up in the body.
Keto diet basic instructions and information:
The typical macros ratio of the ketogenic diet is as following:
5% Carbohydrates
25% Protein
70% Fat
This particular serie of macronutrients is intended to promote ketosis and force the body to burn fat for energy instead of glucose.
Of course, should not be consumed unlimited quantities of the permitted foods.
Overeating needs attention and this is one of the main reasons some people don't lose fat.. even when they are on keto or on low carb diet.
You don't always need ribs and bacon in your main meal, you don't need to fill the plate and you don't need to eat if you're not hungry!
Listen to your body.
This diet is a process, it is a long term lifestyle that works with consistency, time, patience and wisdom in food choices.
This provided by calculating the macros in combination with the required calories that everyone needs for weight loss. There are related applications (Apps) specifically for this purpose (I personally find the Cronometer application very easy to use).
Important!
Consult your doctor before starting any diet or weight loss diet, especially if you have healthy problems!
Basic list of permitted foods:
✅ Meat and poultry (preferably free range, organic)
Lamb
Goat
Calf
Pork
Rabbit
Wild Game Meats
Bacon
Liver and other offal
Duck
Goose
Chicken
Turkey
Homemade sausages etc.
Ham and some cold cuts (in limited quantities) etc.
✅ Fish (with an emphasis on fatty species):
Salmon
Sardines
Sea bream
Sea bass
Red snapper
Tuna fish
Cod
Trout
Scallops etc.
✅ Shellfish:
Crab
Mussels
Oysters
Lobster
Octopus
Shrimps
Crawfish etc
✅ Fats and oils:
Dairy butter
Clarifying butter
Lard (pork fat)
Tallow (veal fat)
Duck fat
Coconut oil
MCT oil
Homemade mayonnaise without seed oils
Olive oil
Avocado oil
Almond butter
Tahini (sesame paste)
✅ Eggs!
✅ Dairy products (all in moderation):
Organic heavy (or whipping) cream
Soft and hard cheeses (better long-ripened sheep or goat cheeses)
Cream cheese
Smetana
Sour cream
Crème Frèche
Quark 20 - 40% fat
✅ Vegetables:
Vegetables that grows above the earth and leafy greens such as:
Lettuce
Leafly greens
Entives
Spinach (in moderation)
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cucumber
Olives
Mushrooms
Asparagus etc.
Spring onions
Dill, parsley, celery etc
In Moderation:
Green beans
Peppers
Eggplants
Tomatoes
Onions
✅ Most of the Nuts:
Almonds
Walnuts
Macadamia nuts
Pecan
Hazelnuts
Brazil nuts
Pine nuts
Shredded Coconut etc
(no peanuts, no cashews)
✅ Flours:
Almond flour
Hazelnut flour
Walnut flour
and in generally all flours (with full or reduced fat) of the permitted nuts
Sunflower flour
Pumpkin seed flour
Coconut flour
Flaxseed flour
Hemp flour
Sesame flour
Bamboo fiber flour
Chia flour
Psyllium husk flour
✅ Seeds and fiber:
Flaxseeds
Chia seeds
Hemp seeds
Sunflower seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Sesame seeds
Black sesame seeds
Poppy seed
Psyllium husk
Bamboo fiber
Potato fiber etc
✅ Some fruits such as:
Strawberries
Blueberries
Raspberries
Berries
Avocado
Lemon
Lime
everything in moderation!
✅ Some of the favorite beverages and drinks:
Coffee (without sugar)
Black and green tea
Herbal drinks
Sparkling Water
Almond milk (unsweetened)
Full fat coconut milk and cream
Dry wine
Champagne (dry)
Hard spirits
sparingly and not every day!
✅ All spices and some sweeteners:
Stevia
Erythritol
Monk fruit
Alullose
once in a while or in small amounts
📋 List of foods to avoid:
This list probably includes some of your favorite foods. Basically, you should avoid most sugars and starches.
⛔ Cereals and starches:
Wheat
Barley
Rye
Oats
and their flours (even whole grains)
Semolina
Corn
Quinoa
Millet
Groats
Amaranth
Buckwheat
Rice etc.
That means, no bread, pastries, pasta, pizzas, popcorn, granola, muesli, etc.
⛔ Starchy vegetables:
Peas
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Beetroot
Carrots
and in generally avoid any vegetables that grow underground.
⛔ Fruits other than those belonging to the berries category:
Apples
Bananas
Oranges
Grapes
Watermelon
Peaches
Melon
Pineapple
Cherries
Pears
Grapefruit
Plums
Mango
and in generally those with a high fructose content.
⛔ Legumes:
All types of legumes (they contain lectins and create various problems).
Soy beens
⛔ All types of sugar:
Cane sugar
Honey
Maple syrup
Agave nectar
Fructose
Aspartame
Sucralose
Saccharin
Corn syrup and...
That includes all sweets and soft drinks (and the "light" ones) on the market, or everything that contain non-permissible ingredients such as:
Candies
Chocolates (unless they have a high cocoa content >85% and those ones in moderation)
Cakes
Buns
Sweet Tartlets
Pies made with flour
Pastries
Ice creams
Cookies
Creams etc.
You can always make your own sweet treats with permitted ingredients and do not resort to anything processed or commercial!
(Find many recipes on this blog).
⛔ Cooking seed oils:
Canola oil
Cottonseed oil
Soybean oil
Corn oil
Sunflower oil
Sesame oil.. etc.
Margarine
⛔ Alcohol:
Beer
Sweet wines and
sugary alcoholic beverages such as liqueurs.
If you want to have some wine, it must be white and we prefer it to be as dry as possible - the bottle must have less than 10 grams of sugar in total.
⛔ Packaged sauces and seasonings:
Ketchup,
Mustard (except dijon)
Barbecue sauce
Ready-made tomato sauce
Salad dressings
Hot sauces containing added sugar.
Always check food ingredient labels!
⛔ Low-fat dairy products such as:
Low-fat cheeses, or low-fat wheeping cream.
Good luck on your new nutritional journey!
Any nutritional analysis (macros) on this blog is based on an estimate calculated by the "Cronometer" application for the ingredients of each recipe. Differences can arise for a variety of reasons, such as product availability and food preparation. There is no guarantee that this information will be accurate.
I am not a nutritionist. If you have strict dietary needs I always recommend using an online nutrition calculator to calculate your totals using your exact brands you're using in this recipe as values may vary per brand.
Always keep in mind that ingredient replacements can change the outcome of the recipe in terms of taste, texture, appearance and of course macronutrients.
According to the current copyright law (N.2121/93), the republishing of part or the whole text, photos or videos as well as the rest of the article of this recipe is prohibited without the written permission of the author. It is also prohibited to use the recipes for commercial or other reasons and to exploit them in any way, without the written permission of the author.