Delicious and rich foods accompanied by creamy and hearty sauces help you lose weight!It sounds absurd at first glance, but a low-carb, high-fat diet is a great way to enjoy food and lose weight at the same time.
Keto diet - a fight with fat in the name of thinness
Fat is a unique flavor enhancer that makes our food especially delicious.After all, how can a dry chicken breast compare to a juicy piece of pulled pork in cheese sauce?The same thing.
If you eat enough fatty foods, keeping your carbohydrate intake to a minimum, diet food will open up for you from a new side - 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 with 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 from 20 to 25 g).
The easiest way to produce energy for our body is glucose, the source of which is carbohydrates of all kinds (such as an apple that contains two dozen carbohydrates, as well as buns and candy).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.
It triggers ketosis, a natural process within the body that usually comes into play during extreme hunger.For example, if even the smallest portion of food does not appear in the stomach for several days, the body begins to experience a lack of glucose (the source of energy has dried up), so it recruits ketones to 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 fats as a source of energy for life, it begins to actively "eat" fats from food, as well as those that "decorate" our sides, stomach and other parts of the body.
Therefore, on a keto diet, it is important to remember the main thing: your diet should contain as much fat as possible - they will lead the body to weakness.Contrary to prejudices (fat makes you fat, is harmful, etc.), do not be afraid of fatty foods, because as part of a low-carb diet, it will be extremely beneficial for the body.
On a ketogenic diet, you will always feel full, cheerful and in a good mood, because fatty foods satisfy your 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 in other diets with a strict restriction on the amount of cheese, for example, or a complete ban on liquid kebab from a fatty part of the pig.
TOP 10 - we eat fatty and delicious!
In some cases, the keto diet can be problematic for people who are not used to eating a lot of fatty foods.Therefore, we are talking about 10 ways to eat more natural fats, getting comprehensive benefits - both the pleasure of eating and effective weight loss.
1. Start with whole foods rich in fats
It's time to say goodbye to low-fat or low-fat foods.Clean out your fridge and kitchen cupboards from dry egg mixes instead of real eggs, artificial cream and low-fat peanut butter.Now your breakfast, lunch or dinner will be really delicious!
Get rid of any foods labeled "light" or "diet" - they have no place in your stomach on the keto diet.Replace skimmed milk with fatter milk, enjoy heavy cream 20% or higher, eat cottage cheese with a fat content of 9% and enjoy the delicate creamy taste of food.
By the way, if you can't find full-fat 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 1% drinking yogurt.
Review your entire shopping list.Your goal is to stock your fridge with whole foods high in fat, including avocados and eggs.
When preparing dishes, try to add natural fats and not avoid them from the old habit.Fry eggs in melted butter, eat your favorite hard cheeses with high fat.
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 and put it in the fridge.Within 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 meat.In addition, it is more fragrant, soft and cheap, unlike its low-fat counterparts.Include fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines in your diet – they are high 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 float in it.No more steaming vegetables or baking dry chicken breasts without a drop of fat on foil.Cook low-carb vegetables, fish, meat or eggs with natural fats.
This will make your food even tastier and more nutritious.Use only enough fat to prepare the dish.You can always throw away the leftovers - there's absolutely no point in eating them with a spoon.
3. Use different fats – this will diversify the taste of the food
Fats 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 boil the green beans and season them with a piece of butter to get a nice taste.
Do you like it thicker?Then fry the beans in oil and finally brush them with sesame oil – you will get a wonderful dish.It is not forbidden to sprinkle the 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 the same time, which can be stored 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 fat, duck and other types of animal fat.
Use oil everywhere - on a sandwich, in salads, when boiling, boiling or frying food.
4. Compile a list of low-carb recipes
It is not as difficult as it seems.Write a dozen simple recipes in a special notebook so that you don't have to rack your brain every time what delicious thing to cook for breakfast or dinner.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 carbohydrates, 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.
- Cuts of meat in a creamy tomato sauce with a side dish of braised cabbage(in butter, of course).Only 10 g of carbohydrates against the charming taste of a fried kitten with an aromatic and hearty sauce.
- Keto pancakes with roast pork.Only 8 g of carbohydrates and an amazing taste!Use heavy cream and almond flour to prepare these pancakes and do not forget to decorate 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 will bring only 7 g of carbohydrates!By the way, the "bun" itself is very easy to prepare: just beat the yolks and whites separately, then mix into a single mass and bake in the oven.You probably already know how to fry meat.Good appetite!
Low-carb recipes will help you eat deliciously, and most importantly, consume a lot of fat, which is so necessary to lose weight on the keto diet.
5. Cover prepared foods with oil, sauce or rich sauce.
Do this with everything you eat.There's no need to swallow olive oil by the tablespoon, but adding it to a vegetable salad is your sacred duty.Even avocado, known as 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, as well as their combinations (tomatoes, mushrooms, etc.);
- melted butter or everyone's "damn" mayonnaise.
Always add natural fats to your food, as this is the basis of the keto diet.
6. Pretty food = fatty food.Decorate your plates with fatty foods!
For some reason, when we hear the word "fat," our minds conjure up awkward images of an ugly patch of lard or, even worse, fat on our bodies.So now is the time to reverse your thinking, because fat sometimes looks great, not to mention tastes great!
See what you can use to decorate your dishes:
- fatty cheeses;
- avocado slices;
- olives and seeds;
- impetuous;
- chopped macadamia nuts;
- roasted sesame, almonds;
- puree with avocado, tomato and herbs;
- slices of ham or brisket;
- pine nuts
These simple foods add variety to the taste of your food, provide your body with nutrients and, of course, lots of fat!They can be added to almost any dish and are a great addition to your keto meal plan.
7. Check foods - are they safe to contain fat?
Various snacks and appetizers are best avoided in 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 foods.It can be cheese, nuts or hard-boiled chicken eggs.
8. Always keep a stock of cheeses in the fridge
Because cheese is the best addition to any meal.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 a dish on its own (for example, a spicy cheese topping in the form of tightly rolled cutlet balls) and as an aesthetic touch to the main course (in the form of sprinkles).
Prepare amazing 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, leaving you feeling satisfied with your meal.
9. Add fat to drinks
Your tea, coffee or hot milk will shine with an inimitable taste if it contains a spoonful of aromatic fats.For example, melt some butter or coconut oil in a bowl.It won't last more than 30 seconds, but the aftertaste of the drinks will satisfy your taste buds for another 15 minutes.
Heavy cream or thick country yogurt from farm shops 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 attracted to fatty foods and dream of a slim body, do not forget about a reasonable approach to business.After all, an excess of fatty foods in some cases risks giving the opposite result - stopping the weight loss process or significantly increasing the cholesterol level.
Especially if you drink the drink on a full stomach, supplying the body with tons of excess energy.This tool is powerful - use it wisely.
10. Which dessert to choose on a keto diet?
The first tip for all diets is to skip dessert.But, as with snacking, sometimes it's hard to deny yourself the little pleasure you miss so much 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.Sugar-free whipped cream (30% fat or more) with raspberries is an ideal choice for a keto dessert.
You can diversify the dessert menu with fat bombs with vanilla, cinnamon and cardamom.These "sweets" go well with tea or coffee, invariably lifting the mood of those who lose weight.By the way, such "bombs" contain only 0.4 g of carbohydrates.Write down the recipe, because they are prepared simply and very quickly!
What you will need:
- 85 g of butter (preferably unleavened);
- 0.5 grated coconut (no added sugars);
- 0.5 teaspoon ground cardamom (green);
- 0.5 teaspoon of vanilla extract;
- 0.5 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
How to cook:
- Warm the oil to room temperature.
- Fry the coconut flakes until golden brown.
- Mix the butter, most of the chips, the spices and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- Once the mixture has hardened slightly, form small balls, roll in the remaining toasted coconut and enjoy!
This dessert can be easily stored both in the refrigerator and in the freezer (the shelf life is the same as the oil you used).
How to improve the effect of weight loss on a keto diet?
Fat makes our lives tastier, healthier and easier in the true sense of the word, but moderation is important in everything.At each meal, eat moderate portions, do not overdo it.The best advice is to leave the table a little hungry, because the feeling of fullness comes a little later than 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 overdo it, the diet can be considered a failure.Watch your diet: make sure you're high in fat and low in carbs.Do not deviate from the prescribed course, because this is the basis of the keto diet.
If you want to achieve maximum results, take a look at some useful tips below.
1. Make it easy to sign in.
At the beginning of a no-carb journey, fatty foods run the risk of seeming too fat-rich for the body - this is normal, so your job is to wait out the "storm".When you switch 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 smooth transition to foods with more fat will relieve you of hunger and allow your body to get used to a new source of energy without unnecessary stress.
Once you have reached the balance on the path of addiction, the feeling of hunger after a "light fat" diet will decrease.From the body's point of view, this indicates that the adaptation has been successful and access to the processing of fat as fuel is completely open (there is no longer any supply of glucose accumulated from carbohydrate foods).
2. Watch your appetite
If you have adapted more than perfectly to the keto diet, but your stomach has become too demanding for the volume of food, then it's time to experiment: try to reduce the amount of natural fats added to food (at the cooking stage or in the finished dish).
When you're hungry, choose high-fat foods 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 internal fat stores, not an extra spoonful of butter from your plate.
3. Add more fat to your diet as you lose weight.
As soon as you reach the result - the desired number on the scale, for which you gave up carbohydrates, there are no more fat reserves left in the body, which were used day after day as a source of energy.
During this period, it is important to listen to the body, tune into the same wavelength with it in order to learn to read the signals of physical hunger.This is the period when the amount of fatty foods should be gradually increased.Until you "find" the balance, that is, the ability to maintain the weight without feeling hungry.
Do not worry that you may not listen to your body and there will be excess fat.During the weight loss process, which will last at least 2 months (depending on the initial weight), you will gain good communication skills with your stomach.
The body itself will tell you how much food is enough to fill you up.To hear the hint, all you have to do is keep your appetite in check and resist the temptation to overeat.
4. Eat enough protein foods
Protein foods are responsible for effective hunger suppression.If you eat a lot of fatty foods, but still get hungry, check if enough protein is getting into the "processing department"?A 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 work out or go to the gym to lose muscle, you should up your protein intake a bit more.
How Much Fatty Food Can You Eat on a Keto Diet?
The ketogenic nutrition system does not provide for strict restrictions on calorie intake, so the main rule is: eat until you are a little full, choose standard portions (or focus on the volume of a 200-gram glass - eat as much as it fits).
Eat dinner before 20:00 - this will facilitate the work of the whole body.Do not 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 work at all on processing incoming supplies.
Good food during the day will allow you to calmly survive a 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 your hunger and fall into a deep sleep.And remember, even light physical activity like walking will significantly improve your weight loss results.
Eat deliciously and lose weight with pleasure!