Many of us, to kick off the New Year on the right foot, are looking into better eating habits and lifestyle changes to help us feel better and be healthier. We want to explore different diets and explain how they work and how you can incorporate them into your daily routine.
Before making any drastic diet or lifestyle change, please consult a doctor.
The Keto Diet is a low carb, high fat (good fats!) and medium protein diet. The general idea behind this diet is that by getting most of your calories from fats and protein rather than carbs, your body will eventually run out of blood sugars (carbs turn into sugar) to use for energy and will start using fats and protein which will eventually lead to weight loss.
By reducing your carb intake and replacing it with fat, this change puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis. When this happens, your body becomes incredibly efficient at burning fat.
Along with helping with weight loss, the Keto diet may also help with acne, diabetes, cancer, epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease.
This diet is not intended to be used long-term. Because you will not be eating a lot of fruits and veggies (fruits and veggies are high in carbs), you would be missing out on a lot of essential vitamins and nutrients. Also, because of the high fat content in this diet, this can lead to heart disease and/or liver problems. The increased protein intake may also have adverse effects on your kidneys.
Here is a very basic list of foods to avoid and foods you should be incorporating into your Keto diet but it is best to refer to a full Keto meal plan like the Diet Doctor's 14-Day Ketogenic Diet Meal Plan to make sure you're getting the right amount of all the good stuff.
NO LIST:
Sugary foods (soda, juice, smoothies, cake, cookies, ice cream, candy)
Grains or starches (wheat-based foods, rice, pasta, cereal)
Fruit (all fruit except for small portions of berries)
Beans and legumes (peas, kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils)
Root vegetables (potatoes, turnips, carrots, sweet potatoes)
Low-fat or diet products (often highly processed and high in carbs)
Condiments and sauces (high sugar content)
Unhealthy fats (try to limit your intake of processed vegetable oils, mayonnaise, etc...)
Alcohol (lots of sugar and carbs!)
Sugar-free foods (often highly processed and contain sugar substitutes which can throw your body off ketosis.)
YES LIST:
Meat (red meat, steak, ham, sausage, bacon, chicken and turkey)
Fatty fish (salmon, ILIOS tuna, trout, mackerel)
Eggs (bonus - get omega-3 eggs)
Butter and cream
Cheese (ILIOS has some great goat cheeses and brie!)
Nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds)
Healthy oils (ILIOS extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil)
Avocados
Low-carb veggies (green veggies (ILIOS spinach), tomatoes, onions, peppers)
Condiments: salt, pepper, herbs and spices
