Following a Keto Diet Plan can be an extremely effective method when it comes to losing weight. The diet works because it cuts out carbs – a major food group for most people, which are often over consumed. 

Think about high carb foods, such as: bread, pizza, sweets, chocolate, ice cream – they taste delicious, and are hard to put down…

Like devouring a whole tub of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in one go? 

BUT Don’t worry…

We’ve all binged on carbs at some point – whether it’s with ice cream, chocolate, pasta or pizza!  

The trouble is…

Too many carbs can lead to weight gain!  

So by cutting out carbs you remove a food group, which means you consume less calories – which therefore leads to weight loss. There are also plenty of other benefits to be obtained from following a keto diet plan – which we’ll be looking at in this article…

What Is The Keto Diet?

So before we go any further… what is the keto diet? 

In a nutshell… it’s a high fat, medium protein, and low carb diet. 

Keto Diet Background 

The keto diet became popular in 1921 thanks to Dr. Russell Morse Wilder – who built upon previous diabetic research, and used the diet to help his patients. The diet was originally used to help treat people who were having regular epileptic seizures – as it was proven to reduce the number of seizures.

In recent times, the keto diet has become extremely popular, mainly because of it’s incredible weight loss benefits. It’s been followed and promoted by Hollywood A-listers such as Kim Kardashian and Halle Berry – who have successfully lost weight and improved their body shape thanks to following a keto diet plan. 

Benefits Of Following A Keto Meal Plan? 

There are plenty of health benefits, such as…

Weight Loss – which we’ve already mentioned. It’s much easier to create a calorie deficit on a keto meal plan, mainly because carbs are removed (preventing overeating)

Prevents Binging – binging on carbs is easy! binging on meat, fish, and veg are not! Foods on a keto meal plan are satisfying and filling, therefore they prevent binging. 

Lowers Inflammation – too many refined carbs cause inflammation in the body. This can lead to things such as headaches, joint aches/pain, IBS, skin conditions, brain fog, and poor sleep. Cutting out carbs helps the body to regenerate and heal. 

Improves Muscle Tone – due to consuming more protein you’ll support muscle mass, which is absolutely imperative when it comes to losing weight. Too many people do shake diets – and whilst they lose weight, lots of their weight loss comes from water and muscle – the more muscle you lose, the slower your metabolism (meaning you’ll gain weight more easily in the future). So protein is key in preventing muscle loss and keeping a healthy looking body shape. 

Diabetes Prevention – for those who are on the cusp of developing type 2 diabetes, going keto for a period of time can help you lose weight (which in itself will reduce the odds), but the diet will also help improve insulin sensitivity – meaning the body becomes more efficient at handling carbs and managing blood sugar levels. 

What Does A Keto Diet Plan Look Like?

There are literally hundreds of different keto foods to choose from, but a typical keto diet would look like this… 

• Meal 1 – eggs, bacon, and cheese
• Meal 2 – nuts and a protein shake
• Meal 3 – chicken salad with olive oil and nuts  
• Meal 4 – 80-100g fruit (optional) 
• Meal 5 – steak with vegetables 

This is just a sample meal plan, there are plenty more foods/options out there for you to choose from. You can be as basic as you like, or cook fancier dishes, with herbs, and spices – for extra flavour. 

15 Healthy Keto Foods…

1. Turkey 
2. Mince
3. Lamb
4. Salmon 
5. Cod
6. Mackerel 
7. Tuna
8. Hake
9. Almond nuts 
10. Hazelnuts
11. Peanut butter
12. Almond butter
13. Avocado 
14. Green veg (all green veg)  
15. Protein bars (low carb version) 

Keto Recipes…

Feel free to pinch the below keto recipes. If you are reading this article on your phone, then either zoom in to read the recipes , or click the image and save (for future reference)….

Caution – What To Watch Out For…

Like all diets there are pros and cons. Following a keto lifestyle is tough, especially to begin with (it usually take 2 weeks to settle in). It’s not unusual to have low energy levels, whilst your body gets used to using fat for fuel, instead of carbs. 

You may also get headaches and feel flat, especially the first week or so. That said it does settle down, so don’t worry. 

Finally, The keto diet can be expensive, buying meat and fish all of the time aren’t cheap!

My Own Experience on the keto diet

Are Keto And Atkins The Same? 

The keto diet is very similar to the Atkins diet – high in fat and protein. The main difference between the keto diet, and Atkins diet is that the keto diet focuses more on fats as it’s main fuel source, followed by protein, whereas Atkins it’s more about fat and protein being pretty equal. 

For example whilst following a keto meal plan you may consume 65% of your calories from fat, 30% from protein, and 5% from carbs. 

However following Atkins, it may be more like 50% fat 45% protein, 5% carbs.

They are very similar and both work well. The main thing to be concerned about if weight loss is the number one goal is … to create a calorie deficit. That’s the only way you’ll lose weight. 

Can I have any carbs? 

You may have also noticed that there are still some carbs in the keto diet (5% and in some cases 10%)  – the small amount of carbs usually come from vegetables, or fruit. When I do the keto diet with my one to one personal training clients – they are allowed 80-100g of fruit per day – this is to give them quick releasing energy in the from of natural sugar, so that they can train a little harder during their workouts.  

Should I exercise on a Keto diet? 

Yes, if you can you should always exercise. If you’re already exercising before going onto a keto food plan… then continue, however if you don’t do much exercise… then give yourself 2 weeks on the diet before gently introducing more exercise.

As it’s a low carb diet I wouldn’t recommend doing very intense exercise. It’s best to do slow to medium paced movements like walking, or slower paced cycling. If you go to the gym you could use the rowing machine, stepper, cross trainer, or treadmill – aim to work at 40-50% effort.

Also, if you can…. lift weights or do some training with resistance bands. I’d recommend 3-4 weight/resistance training sessions each week to help you build lean muscle and improve body shape. 

28 Day Keto Challenge…

If you would like to try the keto diet and want a complete guide – food and exercise plan to help you lose lots of weight, and improve health, then i’d recommend picking up my 28 Day Keto Challenge…

I followed this exact plan to the letter for 28 days and lost 16 lbs! 

The Keto Challenge has helped hundreds of people lose weight, burn fat, improve body shape and build confidence.

If you want to pick up your own copy of the 28 Day Keto Challenge then swipe up your copy by clicking the red button below (i’ll send it straight to your inbox!)…

Also, as a bonus i’m reducing the price from £9.99 – to £7.99! 

Thanks for reading,

Nick 🙂