The ketogenic diet is one that has proven to deliver in terms of weight loss - it provides a healthy way of losing excess body fat. When you’re wondering about how to start a keto diet, it’s important to think about what you should and shouldn’t eat. 

In this article, I look at what to eat on a keto diet and what you want to avoid. It’s a restrictive diet that needs some discipline, however, it is one that certainly delivers in a healthy way. 

When you want to follow a diet, you need to know why it works. So what is the keto diet and how does the keto diet work? 

When you’re drawing up a keto diet plan, you will need to consume different types of food in the right quantities. These numbers should be at the forefront of any plan: 

Rule number one is to restrict the number of carbohydrates you consume. If you’re going to consume too many carbs, you will not get into the natural metabolic state that you desire in order to lose weight. 

When it comes to fat, there are a lot of unhealthy things that we love to eat. Cakes, pizza, snacks, etc. - these all contain a lot of fat but it is often the type that we don’t want on a keto food list. You will want to consume monounsaturated fats and to stay away from trans fat or hydrogenated fat such as in margarine.

The following types of food contain great sources of healthy fat:

• Fatty fish such as tuna, salmon or cod
• Lamb, beef and red meat
• Butter
• Almond butter
• Olive Oil

On the keto diet, around 20-25% of your calories should come from high-quality protein. If you eat meat, the best source of protein will be from animals that have been grass-fed or raised inhumane conditions. 

If you’re a vegetarian and consume eggs, eggs from chickens or ducks that have fed in pastures are the best - these environments mean that animals can eat insects which will give eggs a high concentration of healthy omega oil. 

The following types of food contain great sources of healthy protein:

• Chicken
• Salmon
• Beef
• Cheese
• Nuts
• Eggs

When it comes to keto, you will want to try and consume a small number of carbohydrates, comprising of 10% or less of your total calories - this is roughly 20g of carbs a day. You can find a lot of carbohydrates in things such as vegetables, fruit or any food that is either sugary or starchy.

But wait a minute, don’t fruits and vegetables contain most of our vitamins and minerals?

The good news is the ketogenic diet doesn’t always restrict your consumption of vegetables or fruit. You will just need to choose the nutrient-dense and low-carb varieties.  

This means ditching sugary fruit or starchy vegetables such as bananas, root vegetables, potatoes, and carrots. A good way of thinking about things is forgoing consumption of anything that grows below the ground.

Low carbohydrate fruits such as berries can also be consumed, plus they are full of healthy vitamins.  

The following types of fruits and vegetables are great for the keto diet:

• Kale
• Zucchini
• Spinach
• Avocado
• Broccoli
• Peppers
• Spring onions
• Cabbage
• Cucumbers
• Celery
• Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Blackberries
• Red-currants

So is there any room on this list for some keto snacks or keto desserts? Absolutely! This diet needn’t be a drag to follow. If you get creative, you can think of many different ways to incorporate some of the ingredients above into tasty snacks and desserts. 

Here are a few ways to satisfy your sweet-tooth or snack craving:

• Dark chocolate - this contains a lot of nutrients, the higher the cocoa percentage, the better it is for keto.
• Berries and cream - a delicious treat.
• Keto pancakes - made with egg and protein powder.
• Protein powder-based shakes - you can fill these up with some keto friendly fruit, some heavy cream, protein powder and voilà! You got yourself a tasty snack that will definitely fill you up and keep you going for a long time.
• Peanut butter cookies - make sure to find a keto friendly recipe.

If you’ve got a sweet tooth, it can be tricky to avoid sugar and carbs, however, there are some low carbohydrate varieties such as Stevia and Monk Fruit that you can use.

As keto can be a restrictive diet, you’ve got to follow the rules, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun in the process. Stick to this list of food and use it as a source of inspiration to come up with your own keto diet recipes. 

With a healthy list of food at your disposal, plus moderate exercise and a can-do attitude, you’ll be losing weight in no time. All the best!

Everybody knows Rae-Rae in her local village on the outskirts of Kent because of her passion for growing vegetables. She has won first prize add a number of competitions for growing enormous marrows. When she’s not writing articles or growing veg in her garden, Rae-Rae loves to go traveling and has visited every country in Europe.

Have you ever had luck on a low carb diet?
I'd love to hear about your experiences.