Tasty, rich foods paired with creamy, hearty sauces help you lose weight!It sounds absurd at first, but a low-carb, high-fat diet is an excellent way to enjoy food and lose weight at the same time.
Keto diet – a fat fight in the name of slimness
Fat is a unique flavor enhancer that makes our dishes particularly appetizing.After all, how can a dry chicken breast compare to a juicy piece of pork in cheese sauce?The same.
If you eat enough fatty foods and limit carbohydrate intake to a minimum, dietary nutrition will open up to you from a new side - tasty, juicy and nutritious!
Soon we will get to the TOP 10 methods, but first let's take a quick 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 foods with a high fat content, an optimal amount of protein and a minimal amount of carbohydrates.The proportion of it should not exceed 25 g per day (the optimal amount is in the range of 20-25 g).
The easiest way to produce energy for our body is glucose, the source of which is all kinds of carbohydrates (such as an apple, which contains two dozen carbohydrates, as well as rolls and sweets).However, once the supply of this substance is limited, our system begins to use ketones 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 not even the smallest piece of food appears in the stomach for several days, the body begins to feel a lack of glucose (the energy source has dried up) and recruits ketones to work.
In this way, the keto diet helps you lose weight, not through starvation, but through the low supply of carbohydrates to the “processing workshop”.Once the body switches to using fats as a source of vital energy, it begins to actively “eat” fats from food, as well as those that “decorate” our sides, stomach and other parts of the body.
Therefore, when following a keto diet, it is important to remember the most important thing: your diet should contain as much fat as possible - they cause the body to become slim.Contrary to prejudices (fat makes you fat, is harmful, etc.), do not be afraid of fatty foods, because as part of a low-carbohydrate diet they are extremely beneficial for the body.
On a ketogenic diet, you will always feel full, happy and in a good mood, because fatty foods satisfy your hunger perfectly and for a long time, and the pleasant creamy taste of the food does not allow you to miss out on delicious dishes.
This is exactly what happens with other diets with a strict restriction on the amount of cheese, for example, or a complete ban on juicy kebab made from a fatty piece of pork.
TOP 10 – we eat fatty and tasty!
In some cases, the keto diet can be problematic for people who are not used to eating a lot of fatty foods.Therefore, we talk about 10 ways to consume more natural fats and achieve comprehensive benefits - both the enjoyment of food and effective weight loss.
1. Start with high-fat, whole foods
It's time to say goodbye to low-fat or low-fat foods.Clear your refrigerator and kitchen cupboards of dry egg mix instead of real eggs, fake cream and low-fat peanut butter.Now your breakfast, lunch or dinner will be truly delicious!
Avoid any foods labeled “light” or “diet” – these have no place in your stomach on the keto diet.Replace skimmed milk with the fattest one, enjoy cream with 20% or more, eat cottage cheese with a fat content of 9% and enjoy the delicate creamy taste of the dishes.
By the way: If you can't find whole milk or yogurt in a store near you, feel free to buy a low-fat product because you can increase the fat content yourself.For example, add a few tablespoons of cream or sour cream to 1% drinking yogurt.
Review your entire shopping list.Your goal is to fill your fridge with whole, high-fat foods, including avocados and chicken eggs.
When preparing dishes, try to add natural fats and do not avoid them out of old habit.Fry eggs in melted butter and eat your favorite high-fat hard cheese.
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 cream - just whip it up and put it in the freezer.In an hour your delicacy will be ready.Use strawberries or apricots as a sweetener - they contain minimal carbohydrates (5 g for half a cup of strawberries and 8 g for 2 large apricots).
From now on, give preference to fatty meats.In addition, unlike its low-fat counterparts, it is more aromatic, tender and inexpensive.Include fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines in your diet - they are high in fat and therefore an excellent addition to your diet.
2. Cook with added fat
Don't be afraid to pour so much oil into the pan that the pieces of food are literally floating in it.There is no longer any need to steam vegetables or bake dry chicken breasts in foil without a drop of fat.Cook low-carb vegetables, fish, meat or eggs with natural fats.
This will make your food even more appetizing and nutritious.Use only as much fat as necessary to prepare the dish.You can always throw away the leftovers - there is absolutely no point in eating them with a spoon.
3. Use different fats - this will diversify the taste of the food
Fats can slightly alter the taste of foods and this is a great way to expand the range of flavor experiences for each day of the ketogenic diet.The easiest way is to boil green beans and season them with a piece of butter to get a pleasant aftertaste.
Do you like it thicker?Then fry the beans in oil and finally drizzle with sesame oil - you have a wonderful dish.It is not forbidden to sprinkle the beans with a spoonful of sesame seeds (this enhances the taste and adds a little more fat, which helps the body lose weight).
Experiments are welcome!Don't be afraid to try new combinations of foods and natural fats to find which foods you like best.Make a healthy supply of several types of fat at once to store in the fridge or 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 fats.
Use oil anywhere - on a sandwich, in salads, when cooking, steaming or frying foods.
4. Get a list of low-carb recipes
It's not at all difficult as it seems.Write a dozen simple recipes in a separate notebook so that you don't have to rack your brains every time about what to cook deliciously for breakfast or dinner.The most important thing is that the dishes contain practically no carbohydrates.
Here are a few initial ideas for your dishes:
- Chicken casserole with feta cheese and olives.Only 6g of carbs, and cooking is as easy as peeling pears - mix the ingredients and bake until golden brown, not forgetting to brush the chicken with spices and butter.
- Meat cutlets in creamy tomato sauce with a side dish of stewed cabbage(in butter of course).Only 10 g of carbohydrates against the enchanting taste of a fried schnitzel with a fragrant, hearty sauce.
- Keto Roast Pork Pancakes.Only 8g of carbohydrates and an overwhelming taste pleasure!To prepare these pancakes, use cream and almond flour and do not forget to season the finished dish with melted butter.
- Hamburger with airy egg roll, fried meat, cheese, vegetables and herbs.This dish replaces any fast food and only contains 7g of carbohydrates!By the way, the “roll” itself is very easy to prepare: simply 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, above all, eat a lot of fat, which is so important for losing weight on the keto diet.
5. Cover prepared foods with oil, sauce or rich dressing.
Do this with everything you eat.There's no need to gulp down tablespoons of olive oil, but adding it to a vegetable salad is your sacred duty.Even avocado, known to be a very fatty food, goes well with an oil dressing.
There are countless possibilities for sauces:
- pure vegetable oils mixed with herbs and spices;
- Cheese and cream sauces and their combinations (tomato, mushroom, etc.);
- melted butter or everyone’s “cursed” mayonnaise.
Always add natural fats to your food as they form the basis of the keto diet.
6. Pretty food = fatty food.Decorate your dishes with fatty foods!
For some reason, when we hear the word “fat,” we draw awkward images of an unsightly piece of lard or, even worse, fat on our own bodies.Now it's time to think in the opposite direction, because sometimes fat looks good, not to mention tastes good!
See what you can use to decorate your dishes:
- fatty cheese;
- avocado slices;
- olives and seeds;
- jerky;
- chopped macadamia nuts;
- roasted sesame, almonds;
- avocado, tomato and herb puree;
- bacon or brisket slices;
- Pine nuts.
These simple foods provide variety in the taste of your dishes, 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 you sure they contain fat?
Snacks and various appetizers are best avoided on any diet, but sometimes they are good for curbing hunger so you feel full until the next meal.When you're hungry, reach for fatty snacks.This can be cheese, nuts or hard-boiled chicken eggs.
8. Always keep a supply of cheese in the fridge
Because cheese is the best addition to any meal.It makes a great snack and can be eaten for breakfast or as a snack.Use cheese as a topping - it works great both as a standalone dish (for example, a spicy cheese topping in the form of tightly rolled schnitzel balls) and as an aesthetic touch to the main dish (in the form of sprinkles).
Prepare fantastic creamy cheese-based desserts 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 and leave you satisfied with your meal.
9. Add fat to drinks
Your tea, coffee or hot milk will shine with an inimitable taste if they contain a spoonful of aromatic fats.For example, melt some butter or coconut oil in a bowl.It takes no more than 30 seconds, but the aftertaste of the drink will delight your taste buds for another 15 minutes.
Cream or thick sour cream from the farm shop 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 solves two problems at once: it quenches your thirst and fills your stomach.
While you get carried away with fatty foods and dream of a slim body, do not forget about a sensible approach to business.Because an excess of fatty foods in some cases carries the risk of having the opposite effect - stopping the process of losing weight or sharply increasing cholesterol levels.
Especially if you drink the drink on a full stomach, it supplies the body with tons of excess energy.This tool is powerful – use it wisely.
10. Which dessert should you choose on a keto diet?
The first tip for all diets is to skip dessert.But like snacking, it's sometimes difficult to give up those little indulgences that are so missing when losing weight.
If you want to treat yourself to something tasty, 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 diversify the diet of those with a sweet tooth with fat bombs with vanilla, cinnamon and cardamom.These “sweets” go well with tea or coffee and invariably lift the mood of those who are losing weight.By the way, such “bombs” only contain 0.4 g of carbohydrates.Write down the recipe because they are easy and very quick to prepare!
What you need:
- 85 g butter (preferably unleavened);
- 0.5 grated coconut (no added sugar);
- 0.5 teaspoon ground cardamom (green);
- 0.5 teaspoon vanilla extract;
- 0.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
How to cook:
- Warm the oil to room temperature.
- Fry the coconut flakes until golden brown.
- Mix together the butter, most of the chips and spices and place in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- As soon as the mixture has solidified a little, form small balls, roll them in the remaining roasted coconut and enjoy!
This dessert can be conveniently stored both in the refrigerator and in the freezer (the shelf life corresponds to that of the oil used).
How to enhance the weight loss effect of a keto diet?
Fat literally makes our lives tastier, healthier and easier, but moderation is important in everything.Eat moderate portions at each meal, do not overeat.The best advice is to leave the table slightly hungry, because the feeling of fullness only comes a little later than at the end of the meal.
If it turns out that you are hungry, this can always be remedied with a small portion of fatty food.However, if you eat too much, the diet may be considered a failure.Pay attention to your diet: Pay attention to lots of fat and few carbohydrates.Do not deviate from the prescribed course, as this is the basis of the keto diet.
If you want to achieve maximum results, take a look at the useful tips below.
1. Make onboarding easy.
At the beginning of a carbohydrate-free journey, fatty foods run the risk of seeming too fatty to the body - this is normal, so your task is to wait out the “storm”.When switching to a new nutritional 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 time, try to eat more neutral fatty foods (e.g. avocado, cheese and meat fried in a small amount of oil).Gently switching to higher-fat foods will ease your hunger and allow your body to adjust to a new source of energy without unnecessary stress.
Once you find balance on the path of addiction, the feeling of hunger after a “light-fat” diet will subside.From the body's point of view, this means that the adaptation has been successful and the access to processing fat as fuel is completely open (there is no longer any supply of glucose from carbohydrate-containing foods).
2. Watch your appetite
If you have adapted to the keto diet more than perfectly, but your stomach is too demanding on the amount of food, then it's time to experiment: try reducing the amount of natural fats added to food (when cooking or in the finished dish).
If you're hungry, still choose high-fat foods instead of carbohydrates.The latter will ruin your efforts to lose weight.Eat exactly as much as you need to satisfy your hunger - let your body burn its internal fat reserves, not an extra spoonful of butter from your plate.
3. Add more fat to your diet as you lose weight.
As soon as you have achieved the result - the desired number on the scales, for which you gave up carbohydrates, there will no longer be any fat reserves in the body that were used as a source of energy day after day.
During this time it is important to listen to your body, to tune in to the same wavelength with it, to learn to interpret the signals of physical hunger.This is the period when the amount of fatty foods should be gradually increased.Until you “find” balance, i.e. the ability to maintain your weight without feeling hungry.
Don't worry that you may not hear your own body and excess fat will occur.During your weight loss process, which lasts at least 2 months (depending on your starting weight), you will acquire good communication skills with your stomach.
The body itself tells you how much food is enough to feel full.To hear the hint, all you need to do is keep your appetite under control and resist the temptation to overeat.
4. Eat enough protein foods
Protein-containing foods are responsible for effectively suppressing hunger.If you eat a lot of fatty foods but still remain hungry, check if enough protein is getting into the “processing department”?Protein deficiency 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 (depending on weight, the amount of protein can reach 1.7 g, so the calculation is always individual).If you do fitness or go to the gym to build muscle, you should increase your protein a little more.
How much fatty food can you eat on a keto diet?
The ketogenic diet system does not provide for strict restrictions on calorie intake, so the most important rule is: eat until you are slightly full, choose standard portions (or focus on the volume of a 200 gram jar - eat as much as it fits).
Eat dinner before 8 p.m. - this makes the work of the whole body easier.Don't think that your stomach will be satisfied with a meat patty in cheese sauce an hour before bedtime.Like you, he wants to rest at night and not worry at all about processing the incoming food.
If you eat well during the day, you can easily survive a 12-hour break without eating (evening and nighttime sleep).As a last resort, eat a piece of cheese or drink a glass of milk with a small spoonful of butter.
This way you can satisfy your hunger and fall asleep full.And remember, even light physical activity like walking will significantly improve your weight loss results.
Eat deliciously and lose weight with pleasure!