Beginners’ Guide To A Ketogenic Diet: What You Can Or Can’t Eat

Last Updated on 2019-12-05 , 8:58 am

I have a confession to make right now.

I think I might be getting fatter.

Gone were the peaceful days where my teenage metabolism allowed me to devour bowls of rice without care.

There have been days where I’ve thought of going on a diet but the thought of eating less always put me off.

But what if you didn’t have to eat less?

What if a few simple changes to your diet could turn everything around?

K-oncentrating On Keto

Many of us have heard about it but a lot of us don’t truly understand the benefits of it.

What in the world is a Keto diet?

I’ll admit, I wasn’t too familiar on the exact details till today myself.

The ketogenic diet involves drastically reducing carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat.

Wait, replace something with fat? Isn’t that what we’re reducing?

You see, when we do that, our body goes into a state called ketosis.

Your body becomes incredibly efficient at burning fat for energy. It also turns fat into ketones in the liver, which can supply energy for the brain.

It also causes massive reductions in blood sugar and insulin levels.

Skipping some of the more science-heavy parts, the benefits are really simple.

The keto diet is efficient at helping weight loss and reduces the risk factors for any related disease.

Also as mentioned, it also allows you to eat full meals and doesn’t require things like keeping a calorie count.

It literally sounds like the perfect solution right?

Some Stuff To Avoid

But I’ll admit right now, some of the things in this list will make you raise an eyebrow.

If you intend to start, here are a few foods you should note to cut down on.

The first more obvious one would be wheat-based products like whole-grain bread and noodles.

These ‘staple foods’ usually contain a lot of carbs so this one is a big no-no.

Rice too, by the way.

But let’s move onto something surprising that you actually cannot consume.

Fruit juices.

You’re probably in your seat screaming right now. Aren’t they supposed to be really healthy?

Apparently, fruit juices are also really high in carbs and make the entire ketosis process impossible.

On that note, fruits generally should also be avoided due to high sugar content.

The next one on the list might be a little surprising, but one a bit more likely than the previous: condiments and sauces

Sauces like this usually have a lot of sugar and unhealthy fat so it could slow down the process of ketosis as well.

Other general things to avoid include: potatoes, alcohol, beans and processed sugar-free foods.

What About The Things I Can Eat

The above is probably the burning question after all those limitations I just showed you.

Once again, some of this stuff will probably surprise you too.

In fact, let me hit you with some surprise-bombs off the bat, starting with cheese.

Apparently almost all cheeses are alright to consume as well, unlike most diets which tell you to cut back on all dairy.

In fact, thick and creamy cheeses are recommended over milk or yoghurt where there is often sugar inside those products.

Perfect for me. 

Moving onto the next weird thing is actually fruit exception that you can actually choose to eat: avocado

Avocados don’t really have the sugar levels of other fruits but have in fact twice the protein of most fruits. 

It also contains low amounts of saturated fat and lowers your cholesterol level so it’s literally almost guilt-free.

Except that I can’t spread it on bread with honey and that makes me sad. 

And for the third thing, you might be delighted you can eat: dark chocolate

In cocoa beans, there is a lot of cocoa butter.

Dark chocolate can be a good keto treat if it doesn’t have too much sugar and milk.

Generally, you’d want to find one that is around 80% cocoa and has a low sugar as possible.

Other general things you can eat include red meat (steak, ham, bacon etc), fish, nuts, eggs and low carb veggies.

You basically have an excuse to eat a lot of meat, which is never really a bad thing.

These are just really basic tips on what you can do to start your keto journey.

At the very least, now you know where you can modify your meals to suit your diet.

Though I’m still really apprehensive about giving up rice. I can’t survive without my staple food.