The ketogenic diet has never been more popular, with celebrities jumping on board and even Trader Joe’s catering to the keto crowd. Unfortunately, though, the low-carb, high-fat diet has drawn criticism from some who claim that it’s just not healthy to eat “that much meat.” But wait — is the keto diet actually very meat-heavy? Not really!
If you’re embarking on a ketogenic lifestyle, you should know that you actually can’t eat a ton of meat on the keto diet. In fact, eating too much protein can kick you out of ketosis, so while meats are definitely okay in moderation on a keto diet, they shouldn’t be its number one staple. Here’s the scoop.
Meat — especially the cuts of meat that people eat most often, like chicken breasts and steaks — are high in protein content. That’s no mystery, but when it comes to achieving ketosis (a state where your body burns through its stores of glucose, and turns to burning fat instead), it’s important not to consume too much protein.
That’s because your body has the ability to make glucose out of protein through a process called gluconeogenesis. When this happens, your body reverts to burning glucose (rather than fat) for energy, taking you out of ketosis. A 2011 study confirmed that “[Low-carbohydrate/high-fat diets] must be high in fat, but also low in protein contents to be clearly ketogenic. ”
The Best Meats for Keto
Though everyone is different, the standard ratio of macronutrients for a ketogenic diet is 75 percent fat, 20 percent protein, and five percent carbohydrate. This means that the majority of each meal — in fact, a WIDE majority — should be non-meat sources of fat. Only about one-fifth of your meal should be protein.
If you’ve done that math, that makes high-protein meat choices, like skinless chicken breasts or fish, things you should only eat sparingly. Here are some of the meats with the best fat-to-protein ratio. But keep in mind: Even these high-fat meats have plenty of protein, so they shouldn’t be eaten at every meal.
Fatty cuts of steak (NY strip, ribeye, brisket)
Nitrate-free, unprocessed bacon
Skin-on chicken thighs and legs
Skin-on fatty fish, such as salmon
Offal (organ meats such as liver, cheek, and heart)
The Best Non-Meat Fats for Keto
With meat playing a supporting, not starring, role in the keto diet, you’re probably wondering what *should* comprise the majority of your meals.
Low-carb and non-starchy veggies like spinach and kale are great for keto and are ideal carriers for non-meat fats. While some keto fans opt for dairy, others take a more purist approach, sourcing their fats from less processed sources. These are the fats you should be using to reach your keto goals:
Animal fats such as lard, duck fat, and bacon grease
That's no mystery, but when it comes to achieving ketosis (a state where your body burns through its stores of glucose, and turns to burning fat instead), it's important not to consume too much protein. That's because your body has the ability to make glucose out of protein through a process called gluconeogenesis.
If you fall short on your fat intake while eating higher amounts of protein, you may find that you are no longer in ketosis. That said, in the same way that some people can up their carbohydrate intake and stay in ketosis, some people can tolerate more protein than others.
If eating a high amount of protein is one of your keto goals, then eat meat everydeay on keto is not hard at all. In fact, you can aim to be eating around 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight. For example, if you weigh 80 kilograms, you should be consuming 80 grams of protein each day.
Nearly all minimally processed meats are good sources of keto-friendly protein, including beef, chicken, fish, shellfish, pork, turkey, bison, and lamb. A 100-gram serving of these meats typically contains 17-21 grams of protein. Fattier cuts, like bacon and sausage, are lower in protein than leaner cuts.
It's totally fine and safe to eat up to 6 eggs a day while on the keto diet. You can consume even more eggs per day occasionally, as long as you make sure that you eat your greens, healthy fats and proteins from other sources.
Vegetables have carbohydrates. And that means that you have to watch how much of them you eat — even lettuce. If you're not careful or are eating them as a free-for-all, you could overconsume carbs and kick yourself out of ketosis.
Meat and poultry are popular with people on the keto diet because they're high in fat and very low in carbs. However, scientists have found links between eating too much meat on a regular basis and health conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and excess weight.
The 16/8 Method — Planning an Intermittent Fasting on Keto Schedule: To be successful with the 16/8 Method, the only rule is that you must consume all your food for the day within 8 hours. In other words, if you finish dinner at 8 pm, your next meal would not be until the following day at noon.
Eating a diet rich in fat while also limiting carbs prompts your body to burn fat, rather than glucose, for fuel. That's the basis of ketosis. People following a ketogenic diet get 75% of their calories from fats, which ideally should come from avocado, nuts, olive oils, and other unsaturated, or healthy, fats.
Keto fruits by definition are low in carbohydrates. You still need to exercise portion control with most keto-friendly fruits to be within the limits of a keto diet. Keto-friendly fruits include avocados, watermelon, strawberries, lemons, tomatoes, raspberries, peaches, cantaloupe, star fruit, and blackberries.
Net carbs are calculated by taking the total grams of carbohydrate in a food and subtracting the amount of fiber. In this case, popcorn contains 6 grams of carbs per 1 cup serving and 1.2 grams of fiber, bringing the net carbs per serving to 4.8 grams. Yes friends, popcorn is indeed a keto food.
Avocados contain 5 g Monounsaturated Fat and 1 g Polyunsaturated Fat, making avocados great for a keto diet. A diet high in fat and low in carbohydrates (sugars) that causes the body to break down fat into molecules called ketones.
Peanut butter can definitely be part of a keto diet, but it's best to stick to plain options that are free of extra flavors and sweeteners. Almond butter is a good choice, too, and it's slightly lower in carbs. Additionally, you should be mindful of your portion size if you're trying to lose weight.
While you may not think of bacon as diet food, most types of bacon fit perfectly into a keto diet plan since they're low in carbs yet high in protein and fat. That means bacon is perfect for snacking on in the afternoon or mixing into your chicken dinner dish for some extra flavoring.
A lot of people think that the keto diet is all about consuming meat and meat alone. But eating too much meat that is processed, like sausages, smoked meat, bacon and hot dogs is definitely not good. These kind of meat contain gluten, preservatives and sugar, that will increase carb intake and kick body out of ketosis.
The body can convert the amino acids from excess protein into glucose, potentially sabotaging your weight loss efforts and keeping your body out of ketosis. For a 2,000-calorie diet, this translates to about 75g of protein at about 10-20% protein.
Yes, even just one carb-rich meal can quickly get you out of ketosis. The carbs eaten on a cheat day will halt the production of ketones immediately until they are all metabolized by the body.
Some meats are high in saturated fat, which can raise blood cholesterol levels if you eat too much of it. Having high cholesterol raises your risk of coronary heart disease. Making healthier choices can help you eat meat as part of a balanced diet.
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