I'm cooking something every day (and if it's in tupper boxes that's simply because I'll eat it at work the next day) and thought it couldn't hurt to share the recipes and explain why this stuff might be good and healthy for you.
If you are diabetic, either type 1 like me or type 2, this can reduce your insulin and / or drug consumption. On normal days I require a maximum of 10-12 units of fast acting insulin - usually a single meal requires that much if you cook with carbohydrates. Most meals even more. I've often had issues with my blood sugar over the course of the years and this really helped me to be in full control of it. In all the months (since January 2013) I've only had hyperglycemia 3 times.
Also, there are alternatives for pizza, bread and the likes. You can make lots of stuff yourself, like bread with almond flour or almond butter. Obviously there are also ready-made products available but you need to be careful not to fall for either too many carbs or too much fat.
What does "ketogenic" mean?
The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. It has a lot of health advantages compared to the standard western diet. Most people do keto because of the weight loss, but it also has other health advantages like lowering risk for heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke, and much more. Just follow these simple rules:
Low-carb diets are essentially programs that lower carbohydrate intake below 100 grams; strict ketogenic diets are a subset of low carb diets that typically only allow < 50g of carbohydrates per day. The general recommendation of /r/keto is to start with 20g of net-carbs per day. This limit does a good job of eliminating junk foods, refined carbohydrates and any other “fattening” foods.
The full premise of a keto diet is far more than just weight ratios, it is a lifestyle about overall health. The diet promotes long, intense bouts of energy, an increase in healthy, delicious food and an overall better outlook on your life. It is easily sustainable with a plethora of options and often is an answer to improving health that many people struggle to comprehend at first. A Ketogenic diet is not easy and will test your willpower but transforms the way you think and understand about yourself, food, and health in general.
How do I start and what can I eat?
Start by:
As far what you can eat, Ketogenic diets are done differently by different people. Eat dark green leafy vegetables, fatty red meats, chicken with the skin left on, fish, offal (organ meat), eggs, seeds & nuts, full-fat dairy, or anything else you can find rich in nutrition, fat, protein and fiber.
Recommended fats are olive oil, grass fed butter, and coconut oil.
Although fiber is a carbohydrate, it is not digested as a simple carbohydrate and is therefore not included in your daily carb count. It's important to stress that fiber doesn't NEGATE carbs - it just isn't counted; so mixing a handful of flax meal into a bowl of ice-cream won't work!
What foods should I avoid?
Starchy foods and sugars are always unacceptable: grains (yes, even whole grains), bread, cereal, beans, soda, pasta, potatoes, pizza crust, beer, cookies, bagels, lollipops, honey, tortilla chips, pretzels, popsicles, crackers, and everything in between. They all have one thing in common: to your body, they’re all sugar, which breaks down into glucose in your bloodstream and causes an insulin response.
That’s right, bread is sugar. Even fancy multi-grain organic bread.
Fruit should be mostly avoided because it’s full of sugar, though some ketoers eat small quantities of berries, which have few carbs and are high in fiber.
Nearly all "low-fat" foods should be avoided; non-fat milk, reduced fat salad dressings, low-fat cheese and yogurt, etc., are full of carbohydrates Many also contain chemicals compounds where the effect on the human body is not yet well studied and could be potentially dangerous.
Don’t drink milk; use cream instead. (But watch out because cream has a ton of calories.)
At first you’ll want to track your foods to make sure you’re not unwittingly eating lots of hidden carbs. You may be shocked at how much sugar you have been eating without knowing it, in salad dressings, sauces, packaged foods, etc.
The complete FAQ can be found on reddit!
I'm aiming for specific maximum values each day but less is almost always better. Salad etc. is always fine.
There's lots of relatively simple stuff, most meals can be cooked in 10-20 minutes. Don't be afraid of all the fat, it'll get burned instead of carbohydrates - so fat is a good thing.
Lunch / Dinner
Sausages with mushroom sauce & mixed vegetables
Cheese sausages with broccoli and mushrooms
Ham rolls with cheese and roasted chicken breast
Pork steaks with asparagus and tzatziki
Pork & cauliflower lasagna (~800g)
Cheese pizza with minced meat, mushrooms and onions
Cauliflower Pizza with emmentaler, chorizo and onions
Burger Patties with Bacon
Breakfast
Pancakes
Salads
Salad with eggs, mozzarella, chicken breast and parsley
If you are diabetic, either type 1 like me or type 2, this can reduce your insulin and / or drug consumption. On normal days I require a maximum of 10-12 units of fast acting insulin - usually a single meal requires that much if you cook with carbohydrates. Most meals even more. I've often had issues with my blood sugar over the course of the years and this really helped me to be in full control of it. In all the months (since January 2013) I've only had hyperglycemia 3 times.
Also, there are alternatives for pizza, bread and the likes. You can make lots of stuff yourself, like bread with almond flour or almond butter. Obviously there are also ready-made products available but you need to be careful not to fall for either too many carbs or too much fat.
What does "ketogenic" mean?
The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. It has a lot of health advantages compared to the standard western diet. Most people do keto because of the weight loss, but it also has other health advantages like lowering risk for heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke, and much more. Just follow these simple rules:
- Low in Carbs
- Less than 50g/day for most people, better below 20g
- Moderate Protein
- Enough Fat
- Majority of energy
- Variable depending on goals of weight loss or maintenance
- The Right Kinds of Fat
- Eat monos and saturates for fuel (butter, olive oil, coconut oil)
- Limit high polyunsaturated sources (soy, corn, cottonseed)
- Keto Flu
- Supplement sodium 2g/day (e.g. drink 1-2 cups of broth per day)
- Replace magnesium to stop muscle cramps
- Drink lots of water
- When in Doubt, Eat Less Carbs
- When in Doubt, Eat More Fat
Low-carb diets are essentially programs that lower carbohydrate intake below 100 grams; strict ketogenic diets are a subset of low carb diets that typically only allow < 50g of carbohydrates per day. The general recommendation of /r/keto is to start with 20g of net-carbs per day. This limit does a good job of eliminating junk foods, refined carbohydrates and any other “fattening” foods.
The full premise of a keto diet is far more than just weight ratios, it is a lifestyle about overall health. The diet promotes long, intense bouts of energy, an increase in healthy, delicious food and an overall better outlook on your life. It is easily sustainable with a plethora of options and often is an answer to improving health that many people struggle to comprehend at first. A Ketogenic diet is not easy and will test your willpower but transforms the way you think and understand about yourself, food, and health in general.
How do I start and what can I eat?
Start by:
- getting the daily carbs down to < 50g, preferrably to 20g.
- keeping protein intake moderate, 0.6 to 1 grams per pound lean body mass. (1.3 to 2.2 grams per kg lean body mass.)
- increasing the proportion of your diet that comes from fat,
- increasing the amount of water you drink, and
- upping your intake of salt, potassium and magnesium (See How do I replenish electrolytes?)
As far what you can eat, Ketogenic diets are done differently by different people. Eat dark green leafy vegetables, fatty red meats, chicken with the skin left on, fish, offal (organ meat), eggs, seeds & nuts, full-fat dairy, or anything else you can find rich in nutrition, fat, protein and fiber.
Recommended fats are olive oil, grass fed butter, and coconut oil.
Although fiber is a carbohydrate, it is not digested as a simple carbohydrate and is therefore not included in your daily carb count. It's important to stress that fiber doesn't NEGATE carbs - it just isn't counted; so mixing a handful of flax meal into a bowl of ice-cream won't work!
What foods should I avoid?
Starchy foods and sugars are always unacceptable: grains (yes, even whole grains), bread, cereal, beans, soda, pasta, potatoes, pizza crust, beer, cookies, bagels, lollipops, honey, tortilla chips, pretzels, popsicles, crackers, and everything in between. They all have one thing in common: to your body, they’re all sugar, which breaks down into glucose in your bloodstream and causes an insulin response.
That’s right, bread is sugar. Even fancy multi-grain organic bread.
Fruit should be mostly avoided because it’s full of sugar, though some ketoers eat small quantities of berries, which have few carbs and are high in fiber.
Nearly all "low-fat" foods should be avoided; non-fat milk, reduced fat salad dressings, low-fat cheese and yogurt, etc., are full of carbohydrates Many also contain chemicals compounds where the effect on the human body is not yet well studied and could be potentially dangerous.
Don’t drink milk; use cream instead. (But watch out because cream has a ton of calories.)
At first you’ll want to track your foods to make sure you’re not unwittingly eating lots of hidden carbs. You may be shocked at how much sugar you have been eating without knowing it, in salad dressings, sauces, packaged foods, etc.
The complete FAQ can be found on reddit!
I'm aiming for specific maximum values each day but less is almost always better. Salad etc. is always fine.
- 1247kcal Daily Calorie Intake (least important if it's higher)
- 23g Carbohydrates (7%) (most important if it's higher)
- 120g Protein (38%) (should be around that)
- 75g Fat (55%) (shouldn't be way more)
There's lots of relatively simple stuff, most meals can be cooked in 10-20 minutes. Don't be afraid of all the fat, it'll get burned instead of carbohydrates - so fat is a good thing.
Lunch / Dinner
Sausages with mushroom sauce & mixed vegetables
Cheese sausages with broccoli and mushrooms
Ham rolls with cheese and roasted chicken breast
Pork steaks with asparagus and tzatziki
Pork & cauliflower lasagna (~800g)
Cheese pizza with minced meat, mushrooms and onions
Cauliflower Pizza with emmentaler, chorizo and onions
Burger Patties with Bacon
Breakfast
Pancakes
Salads
Salad with eggs, mozzarella, chicken breast and parsley
