Delicious, rich food combined with creamy, hearty sauces helps you lose weight!It sounds absurd at first, but a low-carb, high-fat diet is a great way to enjoy eating and lose weight at the same time.
Keto diet - fight with fat in the name of slimness
Fat is a unique flavor enhancer that makes our food especially delicious.After all, how does a dry chicken breast compare to a juicy piece of pork in a cheese sauce?Same thing.
If you eat enough fatty foods and reduce your carbohydrate intake to a minimum, dieting will open up a new side for you - tasty, juicy and nutritious!
Very soon we will move on to the TOP 10 methods, but for now let's briefly look at the principle of the keto diet - how it works, forcing the body to lose weight, but at the same time eliminating the feeling of hunger and bad mood that are so typical of dietary restrictions.
The basis of the ketogenic diet is food with a high fat content, an optimal amount of protein and a minimal amount of carbohydrates.The portion of the latter should not exceed 25 g per day (the optimal amount is in the range of 20 to 25 g).
The easiest way to produce energy for our body is glucose, the source of which is carbohydrates of all kinds (like an apple, which contains two dozen carbohydrates, as well as buns and candies).But as soon as the supply of this substance is limited, our system begins to use ketones, which are produced in the liver, as fuel.
Ketosis is triggered, a natural process in the body that usually comes into play during extreme hunger.For example, if even the smallest piece of food does not appear in the stomach for several days, the body begins to feel the lack of glucose (it has dried up the energy source), so it recruits ketones for work.
In this way, the keto diet helps you lose weight, not because of hunger, but because of the low supply of carbohydrates in the "processing workshop".As soon as the body has switched to using fat as a source of energy for life, it begins to actively "eat" fats from food, as well as those that "decorate" our hips, stomach and other parts of the body.
Therefore, on the keto diet, it is important to remember the main thing: your diet should contain as many fats as possible - they will lead the body to slimness.Contrary to prejudices (fat makes you fat, it's harmful, etc.), don't be afraid of fatty foods, because as part of a low-carbohydrate diet, it will be extremely beneficial for the body.
On a ketogenic diet, you will always feel full, bright and in a great mood, because fatty foods satisfy hunger perfectly and for a long time, and the pleasant creamy taste of food does not allow you to feel deprived of delicious dishes.
This is exactly what happens on other diets with a strict restriction on the amount of cheese, for example, or a complete ban on juicy kebabs made from a fatty piece of pork.
TOP 10 - we eat fat and delicious!
In some cases, the keto diet can be problematic for people who are not used to eating a lot of fatty foods.So, we're talking about 10 ways to eat more natural fats, with all-around benefits - both satisfying eating and effective weight loss.
1. Start with whole foods high in fat
It's time to say goodbye to lean or low-fat foods.Clean the fridge and kitchen cupboards of dried egg mixture instead of real eggs, artificial cream and low-fat peanut butter.Now your breakfast, lunch or dinner will be really tasty!
Get rid of any foods labeled "light" or "diet" - they have no place in your stomach on a keto diet.Replace skimmed milk with the fattest one, enjoy sour cream 20% or more, eat fresh cheese with a fat content of 9% and enjoy the delicate creamy taste of food.
Otherwise, if you can't find whole milk or yogurt in a nearby store, feel free to buy a low-fat product, because you can increase the fat content yourself.For example, add a few tablespoons of heavy cream or sour cream to a 1% yogurt drink.
View your entire shopping list.Your goal is to stock your fridge with whole foods high in fat, including avocados and chicken eggs.
When preparing meals, try to add natural fats to them, and not avoid them out of old habit.Fry eggs in melted butter, eat your favorite fatty hard cheeses.
In a word, do not deny yourself the pleasure of eating delicious and fatty food!By the way, you can easily make natural ice cream from the cream - just whip it and put it in the freezer.In an hour your treat will be ready.As a sweetener, use strawberries or apricots - they contain minimal carbohydrates (5 g for half a cup of strawberries and 8 g for 2 large apricots).
From now on, give priority to fatty meat.In addition, it is more aromatic, tender and cheaper than its low-fat counterparts.Include in your diet fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines - they are rich in fat, so they will be a great addition to your menu.
2. Cook with added fat
Don't be afraid to pour so much oil into the pan that the pieces of food literally swim in it.There is no longer any need to steam vegetables or bake dry chicken breasts without a drop of fat in the foil.Cook low-carb vegetables, fish, meat or eggs with natural fats.
This will make your food even tastier and more nutritious.Use only as much fat as is necessary for cooking.You can always throw away the leftovers - there's no point in eating them with a spoon.
3. Use different fats - this will diversify the taste of the food
Fat can easily change the taste of food, and this is a great way to expand the range of taste sensations for each day of the ketogenic diet.The easiest option is to cook the beans and season them with a piece of butter to give them a pleasant taste.
Do you like fattier?Then fry the green beans in oil, and finally sprinkle with sesame oil - you will get a wonderful dish.It is not forbidden to sprinkle beans with a spoonful of sesame seeds (this will improve the taste and add a little more fat, which will help the body lose weight).
Experiments are welcome!Don't be afraid to try new combinations of foods and natural fats to see which foods you like best.Make a healthy supply of several types of fat at once, which you can store in the refrigerator or in the kitchen cupboard:
- vegetable oil;
- olive and coconut;
- lard (in any form);
- sesame oil;
- avocado and peanut oil;
- pumpkin seed oil;
- nut oils (macadamia, almond, etc.);
- chicken, duck fat and other types of animal fat.
Use oil everywhere - on sandwiches, in salads, when cooking, stewing or frying food.
4. Stock up on a list of low-carb recipes
It's not as difficult as it seems.Write down a dozen simple recipes in a special notebook so that you don't have to worry about what to cook for breakfast or dinner every time.The most important thing is that there are practically no carbohydrates in the dishes.
Here are some first ideas for your dishes:
- Chicken casserole with feta cheese and olives.Only 6g of carbs, and cooking is as easy as peeling a pear - mix the ingredients and cook until golden brown, not forgetting to coat the chicken with spices and butter.
- Meat cutlets in a tomato cream sauce with a side dish of stewed cabbage(in butter, of course).Only 10 g of carbohydrates against the charming taste of a fried cutlet with a fragrant, hearty sauce.
- Keto Pancakes with Roast Pork.Only 8 g of carbohydrates and amazing taste pleasure!To prepare these pancakes, use heavy cream and almond flour, and don't forget to season the finished dish with melted butter.
- Hamburger with an airy egg bun, fried meat, cheese, vegetables and herbs.This dish will replace any fast food, and it will bring only 7 g of carbohydrates!By the way, the bun itself is very simple to prepare: just beat the egg yolks and egg whites separately, then mix them into a single mass and bake in the oven.You probably already know how to fry meat.Bon appetit!
Low-carb recipes will help you eat deliciously, and most importantly, get a lot of fat, which is so necessary for weight loss on the keto diet.
5. Pour oil, sauce or rich dressing over the prepared food.
Do this with everything you eat.You don't have to swallow olive oil with spoons, but adding it to a vegetable salad is your sacred duty.Even avocado, which is known to be a very fatty food, goes well with an oil dressing.
There are countless options for sauces:
- pure vegetable oils mixed with herbs and spices;
- cheese and cream sauces, as well as their combinations (tomatoes, mushrooms, etc.);
- melted butter or everyone's "damned" mayonnaise.
Always add natural fats to your food, as this is the basis of the keto diet.
6. Nice food = fatty food.Decorate your dishes with fatty foods!
For some reason, when we hear the word "fat," our minds conjure up awkward images of an unsightly hunk of lard or, worse, fat on our own body.So now is the time to turn your thinking in the opposite direction, because sometimes fat looks great, not to mention tastes good!
See what you can decorate your dishes with:
- fatty cheeses;
- avocado slices;
- olives and seeds;
- jerky
- chopped macadamia nuts;
- roasted sesame, almonds;
- avocado, tomato and herb puree;
- slices of bacon or brisket;
- pine nuts.
These simple foods add variety to the taste of your food, provide your body with nutrients and, of course, plenty of fat!They can be added to almost any dish and are a great addition to your keto meal plan.
7. Check the snacks - are they safe to contain fat?
Snacks and various appetizers are best avoided on any diet, but sometimes they are great for curbing hunger, allowing you to feel full until your next meal.If you happen to be hungry, choose fatty snacks.It can be cheese, nuts or hard-boiled chicken eggs.
8. Always keep a supply of cheeses in the refrigerator
Because cheese is the best addition to any food.It works great as a snack and can be eaten for breakfast or as a snack.Use cheese as a topping - it works great both as an independent dish (for example, a spicy cheese topping in the form of tightly rolled meatballs) and as an aesthetic addition to the main course (in the form of a sprinkle).
Prepare amazing creamy desserts based on cheese and enjoy the taste for breakfast or dinner.Choose any type of fatty cheese with minimal carbohydrate content - this high-calorie product will quickly fill your stomach, leaving you feeling satisfied with the meal.
9. Add fats to the drink
Your tea, coffee or hot milk will shine with a unique taste if it contains a teaspoon of aromatic fats.For example, melt some butter or coconut oil in a bowl.It will take no more than 30 seconds, but the taste of the drink will delight your taste buds for another 15 minutes.
Heavy cream or thick country cream from farms goes well with hot drinks.And if you add butter to a glass of hot milk, you can not only lose weight, but also forget about seasonal colds.Such a simple snack will solve two problems at once: quench your thirst and fill your stomach.
While you are carried away by fatty foods and dream of a slim body, do not forget about a sensible approach to work.After all, an excess of fatty food in some cases risks giving the opposite result - stopping the weight loss process or suddenly raising the cholesterol level.
Especially if you drink the drink on a full stomach, providing the body with tons of extra energy.This tool is powerful - use it wisely.
10. Which dessert to choose on the keto diet?
The first tip for all dieters is to skip dessert.But, as in the case of snacking, sometimes it is difficult to deny yourself that little pleasure that is so missing when losing weight.
If you're determined to treat yourself to something delicious, choose recipes that are high in fat and low in sugar, including artificial sweeteners.Unsweetened whipped cream (30% fat or more) with raspberries is an ideal choice for a keto dessert.
You can complete the sweet tooth menu with fat bombs with vanilla, cinnamon and cardamom.These "sweets" go well with tea or coffee, always lifting the mood of those who are losing weight.By the way, such "bombs" contain only 0.4 g of carbohydrates.Write down the recipe, because they are prepared easily and very quickly!
What you will need:
- 85 g of butter (preferably unleavened);
- 0.5 grated coconut (no added sugar);
- 0.5 teaspoon of ground cardamom (green);
- 0.5 teaspoon of vanilla extract;
- 0.5 teaspoons of ground cinnamon.
How to cook:
- Heat the oil to room temperature.
- Fry the coconut flakes until golden brown.
- Mix the butter, most of the chips, spices and put in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- When the mixture hardens a little, shape it into small balls, roll in the remaining toasted coconut and enjoy!
You can comfortably store this dessert both in the refrigerator and in the freezer (the shelf life is the same as the oil you used).
How to improve the weight loss effect of the keto diet?
Fat makes our life tastier, healthier and easier in the truest sense of the word, but moderation is important in everything.At each meal, eat moderate portions, do not overeat.The best advice is to leave the table slightly hungry, because the feeling of satiety comes a little later after the end of the meal.
If it turns out that you are hungry, this can always be corrected with a small portion of fatty food, but if you overeat, the diet can be considered a failure.Watch your diet: be sure to eat a lot of fat and little carbohydrates.Do not deviate from the prescribed course, because it is the basis of the keto diet.
If you want to achieve maximum results, check out some helpful tips below.
1. Make onboarding easy.
At the beginning of the carb-free journey, fatty foods run the risk of being too fat-rich for the body - this is normal, so your task is to wait out the "storm".When switching to a new food system, the body and taste buds begin to adapt gradually, you just need to give them some time (on average 2-4 weeks).
During this period, try to eat more neutral fatty foods (for example, avocado, cheese and meat fried in a small amount of oil).A slight transition to foods rich in fat will relieve you of hunger and allow your body to get used to a new source of energy without undue stress.
Once you balance your addiction journey, hunger pangs after a "light fat" diet will diminish.From the body's perspective, this indicates that the adaptation has succeeded, and access to the processing of fat as fuel is completely open (there are no more stores of glucose accumulated from food containing carbohydrates).
2. Watch your appetite
If you have more than perfectly adapted to the keto diet, but your stomach has become too demanding for the amount of food, then it's time for an experiment: try to reduce the amount of natural fats that are added to food (at the cooking stage or in the finished dish).
When you're hungry, still choose foods high in fat over carbohydrates.The latter will reduce your efforts to lose weight to nothing.Eat exactly as much food as you need to satisfy your hunger - let your body burn its internal fat stores, not the extra tablespoon of butter on your plate.
3. Add more fat to your diet as you lose weight.
As soon as you achieve the result - the desired number on the scale, for which you gave up carbohydrates, there are no more fat reserves in the body, which were used day after day as a source of energy.
In this period, it is important to listen to the body, tune in to the same wavelength with it in order to learn to read the signals of physical hunger.This is the period when you should gradually increase the amount of fatty food.Until you "find" balance, that is, the ability to maintain weight without feeling hungry.
Don't worry you may not hear your body and there will be excess fat.During the weight loss process, which will last at least 2 months (depending on your initial weight), you will acquire good communication skills with your stomach.
The body will only tell you how much food is enough to be satisfied.To hear the hint, all you have to do is keep your appetite and resist the temptation to overeat.
4. Eat enough protein foods
Protein foods are responsible for effective suppression of hunger.If you're eating a lot of fatty foods, but you're still hungry, check to see if enough protein is getting into the “processing department”?Lack of protein can slow or stop weight loss.
Make sure that your daily diet contains an average of 1.5 g of protein per 1 kg of body weight (the amount of protein can reach 1.7 g depending on the weight, so the calculation is always individual).If you're into fitness or hitting the gym to get ripped, you should up your protein intake a bit more.
How Much Fatty Food Can You Eat on a Keto Diet?
The ketogenic diet does not provide strict restrictions on calorie intake, so the key rule is: eat until you are slightly full, choose standard portions (or focus on the volume of a 200-gram glass - eat as much as you can).
Have dinner before 8 p.m. - this way you will facilitate the work of the whole body.Don't think your stomach will be satisfied with a meat patty in cheese sauce an hour before bed.Like you, he wants to rest at night, not work at all on processing the incoming groceries.
Good nutrition during the day will allow you to calmly survive the 12-hour break without food (evening + night sleep).As a last resort, eat a piece of cheese or drink a glass of milk with a small spoonful of butter.
This will allow you to drink away your hunger and fall asleep feeling full.And remember, even light physical activity like walking will significantly improve your weight loss results.
Eat deliciously and lose weight with pleasure!