How to Create Your Own Keto Meal Plan for Weight Loss….
10/12/2018
Following a Ketogenic diet can be a great way to lose weight, even though it’s challenging!
The keto diet eliminate lots of unhealthy food groups and is perfect for those of you out there who are looking for fast results when it comes to losing weight and slimming down.
In this post i’m going to talk about the keto diet, explaining what it is, how it works and I’ll also be teaching you How to Create Your Own Keto Meal Plan for Weight Loss….
Let’s jump in…
What is a Keto diet ?
In a nutshell a keto diet consists of foods which are high in fat and protein. We’ll look at keto foods later in the post but it’s foods like steak, chicken, eggs, and nuts.
A keto diet also contains very minimal carbohydrates, cutting out sugar (other than fruit) and also removing processed/refined carbohydrates like bread, pizza, chocolate, and poor quality junk food!
Like all diets the ketogenic diet works for weight loss only if you manage to ‘create a calorie deficit’ – that means you need to burn more calories than you consume…
This is how all diets work, whether it’s Slimming World, Herbal Life, Atkins, Weight Watchers…or any of the other dieting fads out there!
The good thing about the ketogenic method is that it’s full of high quality foods like fish, meat and vegetables, foods which are rich in nutrients, natural, and help the body function efficiently.
It also cuts out carbohydrates – a food group which lots of people over consume. Although carbs don’t make you fat (too many calories do!) they are often very tasty and therefore easy to overeat. It’s the overeating (consuming too many calories) that makes you gain the weight and not the carbs themselves.
By cutting out this food group it means that you’ll be less likely to overeat. Also by consuming more protein and fat in your diet you’ll feel fuller for longer and have less energy crashes throughout the day.
Who is the keto diet good for?
Keto dieting isn’t for everybody, there are lots of people who are against it! But like all diets there’s a time and a place, and it depends on the individual.
I believe that the keto diet is ideal for those of you out there who are ‘all or nothing’ kind of people i.e. you are either on a diet and being strict or you are completely off a diet…eating everything in site and binging on rubbish!
I was like this 4 years ago, constantly yo-yo dieting and that’s why I designed my own 28 Day Keto Challenge, managing to lose 16lbs in just 28 days!
At that time I needed an extreme approach because I couldn’t just have one piece of chocolate…i’d have a whole bar to myself (and then go and eat more rubbish!). I’d be good on my diet for 2 days, but then i’d go on an epic binge for 2 weeks!
If you need a strict/extreme approach then the keto diet could be a great option for you to try. I’d recommend trying it for a month and following it 100%, you will lose weight if you follow it correctly and it will be a great way to build up dietary compliance, before switching to a more sustainable/long term way of living.
The Limitations of the Keto Diet…
The keto diet is a hard plan to follow and you have to be very determined and strong willed to be able to follow it. You have to resist temptations like sweets, chocolate, pasta, pizza and a bunch of other tasty foods!
The other thing to be aware of is that you will likely feel lousy for the first 1-2 weeks. If your body is used to running on sugar and refined carbs and then all of a sudden you ABRUPTLY STOP… your body will have withdrawals, cravings, and feel flat for a period of time.
When I followed the 28 Day Keto Challenge I had headaches, and low energy for over a week. That said once I got through the rough patch I started to feel 10x better. It’s worth it BUT be prepared to feel worse before you start feeling better.
Keto foods are also quite expensive, you’ll have to buy lots of meat, and fish – both of which can be expensive. When I follow a keto diet plan I typically spend £7-10 per day on food.
Keto Foods
Here’s a list of foods which you can consume whilst on a ketogenic diet…
| Meat |
|---|
| beef, lamb, steak, bacon, burger, sausages,
chicken, turkey, ostrich, buffalo, venison, duck, meatballs |
| Fish |
|---|
| salmon, mackerel, sea bass, haddock, trout, scallops,
crab, muscles, clam, swordfish, tuna, cockles, cavier, anchovy, halibut, shrimps, prawns, sardine |
| Diary & Eggs |
|---|
| chicken eggs, duck eggs, quail eggs, feta, goats cheese,
whey protein, milk, greek yoghurt, cottage cheese |
| Nuts & Seeds |
|---|
| almonds, brazil nuts, cashew nuts, chesnuts, pine nuts,
sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, macadamia |
| Vegetables |
|---|
| kale, lettuce, rocket, spinach, watercress,
broccoli, peas, mangetout, cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, garlic, leek, onions, olive, peppers, mushroom, aspargus |
| Oils & Fats |
|---|
| avocado oil, almond oil, butter, olive oil,
coconut oil, duck fat, almond butter, cashew butter |
| Fruit (although fruit is a carb choice you can still have 80g per day) |
|---|
| blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries,
apple, kiwi, grapes, banana, melon, pineapple |
| Herbs, Spices & Seasoning (a great way to add flavour to your food!) |
|---|
| basil, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, curry powder,
paprika, pepper, salt, turmeric |
Keto Meal Ideas
You can be as fancy or simple as you like when it comes to creating keto meals…
Personally I prefer to keep things simple i.e. by choosing a meat, cooking it in olive oil or butter, and then adding some vegetables on the side.
It’s not the most tasty way to follow a keto food plan but it’s quick, easy and simple. It takes lots of the pleasure away from eating, but then if the aim is to lose weight and be strict…its a small sacrifice that can be worth it, and you soon get used to it. Food is supposed to be for fuel, not for taste, it’s only been the last 80 years or so that processed food has been fabricated for pleasure!
The other option (more complex, but tastier) is to create tasty keto meals with more ingredients, herbs and spices. For example a slow cooked chicken stew, or spaghetti Bolognese with courgette spaghetti.
If you want to cook some tasty meals then i’d recommend checking out the following keto websites and pages…
Keto Dieting and Exercise
The best way to speed up your results whilst following a keto diet is to do exercise alongside it!
Exercise will help you burn stored energy and accelerate the weight loss process. If you want to improve your body shape and have leaner, and more defined muscles: like a firmer butt, more toned arms and flatter stomach then i’d recommend doing weight training.
You could lift weights in the gym, if you don’t know what you’re doing then a hire a personal trainer who can show you how to lift correctly.
You could also do weights at home, or perform bodyweight exercises like push ups, squats, lunges, crunches, etc. I also get a lot of my personal training clients doing workouts at home using resistance bands – I have a program which I send to them with demonstrations for how to perform each exercise.
Alongside weight training i’m also a fan of walking, walking does wonders for the mind and body and is also a low impact way to workout. It’s especially useful for those who are obese and want to start exercising but need to start off slowly before building up to more intense training. Just a 30 minute walk each day could see you burn 100-150 calories depending on your pace, and body weight.
For the best results, and providing you are able to do the following with your current health i’d recommend doing…
- At least 30 minutes of walking each day (60 minutes if you can!)
- Resistance training 4 x per week for 30-45 minutes (either with weights, bodyweight, or Resistance bands – or a combo of all 3!)
How to Create Your Own Keto Meal Plan for Weight Loss…
So know we’ve talked about the keto diet, what it is, how it works, keto foods, recipe resources, exercise, etc….
How Do You Create Your Own Keto Meal Plan For Weight Loss?
Ok, so first off all…
I would recommend going through all the keto foods in this post and writing down all of the ones you like. If you can… choose 20-40 different keto foods.
Once you’ve done that, use a computer and design a meal template like the one below…
| Day | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Snacks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | ||||
| Tuesday | ||||
| Wednesday | ||||
| Thursday | ||||
| Friday | ||||
| Saturday | ||||
| Sunday |
Then based on the foods you’ve chosen put a meal in each box, for example…
Monday – Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, Lunch: Chicken & Veg, Dinner: Steak Salad, Snacks: Blueberries.
Go through the entire week and plan out your meal plan for 7 days. Then write a shopping list and go buy your food.
In terms of food quantities i’d recommend the following…
- Meat and Fish – 150-200g
- Vegetables – large handful
- Fruit – 80g
- Oil and Spreads – 10-15g
28 Day Keto Challenge…
I understand that lots of you will now want to go away and create your own keto meal plan and that’s great!
I’m also aware that some of you probably don’t have time to spend 1-2 hours writing up a meal plan.
If you want to save yourself time, and have a plan of action that makes your life easier then i’d recommend downloading the 28 Day Keto Challenge.
It’s a small 22 page e-book, with a keto nutritional program and exercise plan (with demonstrations) that you can follow for the next month (28 days).
It’s a perfect place to start and it will save you time by taking out the guess work, and it will also help you shed some pounds and improve your overall health!
Normally the 28 Day Keto Challenge is £10.99 but i’m going to make it available in this post for just £7.99 (Saving 25%!).
If you want to start getting results and want to try the keto approach then please swipe up your copy below and i’ll send you the e-book ASAP…
*BUY NOW*Thanks for reading,
Nick 🙂