In the past few years, the ketogenic diet has become one of the most popular lifestyles of weight loss and improved health worldwide. If you’ve been looking for a way to kick off a change in your eating habits, this meal plan will lay out a foundation that you can follow along with.
The downloadable and printable keto diet meal plan features tried and true recipes that you’ll be sure to enjoy. From make-ahead meals, using leftovers, cooking low-carb treats, to incorporating intermittent fasting – this meal plan will show you the different aspects of keto from all angles.
You’ll find over 15 delicious recipes in the meal plan – breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day (except when fasting) along with dessert. Perfect for starting out and seeing a bit of variety in a standard ketogenic diet.
In this article, we’ll go over the basics of keto, from what it is, what to eat, to a full 14-day plan you can follow yourself to see what it’s all about. If you want to skip ahead, feel free to use the links below:
- What is Keto (and How Does It Work)?
- What Foods to Eat
- Premium Meal Plan for Your Macros
- Tips Before Starting
- Preview of Week 1
- Preview of Week 2
- Get the Plan
- Inside the Shopping List
- FAQ & Resources
What is Keto and How Does it Work?
A keto diet is well-known for being a low carb diet, in which the body produces ketones in the liver to be used as energy. It’s referred to by many different names – ketogenic diet, low carb diet, low carb high fat (LCHF), and so on. Though some of these other “names” have different nutritional standards, we’ll stick with the rules of keto.
When you eat something high in carbs, your body will produce glucose and insulin. Glucose is the easiest molecule for your body to convert and use as energy so that it will be chosen over any other energy source. Insulin is produced to process the glucose in your bloodstream, by taking it around the body. Since the glucose is being used as a primary energy, your fats are not needed and are therefore stored.
By lowering the intake of carbs, the body is induced into a state known as ketosis. This allows your body to use the fat you’re eating along with your body fat to create energy called ketones. Instead of using glucose for energy, you now use fat. While this is a basic explanation of how keto works, if you want more information please read through our in-depth guide to ketosis >
Why start a ketogenic diet meal plan? Some researchers swear that it is the best diet for most people to be on, while others think it is just another fad diet. While there isn’t one perfect diet for everyone or every condition, there is plenty of solid research backing up the benefits of keto. In fact, it has been found to be better than most diets at helping people with:
- Weight Loss & Obesity
- Epilepsy
- Type 1 & 2 Diabetes
- High Blood Pressure
- High Blood Sugar Levels
- Heart Disease
- Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
- Cancer
What Foods to Eat on Keto?
Being on a diet isn’t the easiest thing in the world, especially when you don’t know what you should eat. Below is a quick list of what to eat and what to avoid, but if you want a more in-depth approach on everything you should and shouldn’t eat, check out our ketogenic diet food list >
You want to keep your carbohydrates limited, coming mostly from vegetables, nuts, and dairy. Don’t eat any refined carbohydrates such as wheat (bread, pasta, cereals), starch (potatoes, beans, legumes) or fruit. The small exceptions to this are avocado, star fruit, and berries which can be consumed in moderation.
Do Not Eat
- Grains – wheat, corn, rice, cereal, bread, etc.
- Sugar – honey, agave, maple syrup, corn syrup, etc.
- Large Fruit – apples, bananas, oranges, grapefruit, etc.
- Tubers – potato, yams, etc.
Do Eat
- Meats – fish, beef, lamb, poultry, eggs, etc.
- Leafy Greens – spinach, lettuce, swiss chard, kale, etc. (fresh or frozen)
- Above ground vegetables – cabbage, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, etc. (fresh or frozen)
- High Fat Dairy – hard and soft cheeses, high fat cream, butter, etc.
- Nuts and seeds – macadamias, walnuts, pecans, almonds, sunflower seeds, etc.
- Avocado and berries – raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and other low glycemic impact berries
- Sweeteners – stevia, erythritol, monk fruit, and other low-carb sweeteners >
- Other fats – coconut oil, olive oil, MCT oil, high-fat salad dressing, saturated fats, etc.
Here’s a quick video that goes over the full 14-day keto meal plan and what you can expect. The video is condensed into just a few minutes, so keep in mind all of these keto meals are 2 weeks worth. Scroll down to learn more about it and download it to try out yourself!
Get Personalized Meal Plans Made for You
If you’re looking for a simple, long-term solution, the Keto Academy may be right for you. Our program will allow you to create customized keto meal plans made specifically to your macros. This will scale over 1,300 recipes down to your specific macros and let you choose (or swap out) recipes as you want.
It’s simple: you choose the recipes you like and they will always be made to your exact macros. No guesswork and no tracking needed.
You can specify exactly how much time you have to cook, if you want to avoid any foods, and if you want to use leftovers as well. You get full control over what you eat and you just need to follow along with the plan. If you enjoy intermittent fasting for a boost of weight loss, you can also enable that. A shopping list is made and will adapt to any recipe you swap out. You can scale the meal plan for multiple people, too!
Tips Before Starting Your Meal Plan
1. Calculate Your Macros and Adjust Plan
Calories are still something you need to consider on a ketogenic diet. While some people can get away with the “eat until full” philosophy, this doesn’t work for most people. There are tons of hormone, endocrine, and deficiency problems that we still need to take into account.
Use our keto calculator to figure out exactly how much you need to eat and adjust the plan to fit your needs. This meal plan averages 1538 calories, 120g fat, 24g net carbs, and 83g protein over the 2 weeks. If this is different to your macros, consider adjusting the plan to fit your needs.
To increase calories. If you need to increase the fat intake of the plan, add additional oil, cream, cheese, or cream cheese into your recipes; or drink coffee with cream with your first meal. If you need to increase protein, just increase the amount of lean meat that’s added into the recipe.
To decrease calories. If you need to decrease the fat intake of the plan, remove oil, cream, cheese, or cream cheese from the plan. Similarly, if you need to decrease the protein intake of the plan, remove some lean meat that’s added to the recipes.
2. Prepare and Get Ready Ahead of Time
You want to keep your cheats to none. Be prepared, make sure you’re eating what you need in order to be satiated, and make sure you’re satisfied with what you’re eating. If you have to force yourself to eat something, it will never work out in the end. This is just a guideline on how you can eat on a ketogenic diet, so you’re very welcome to change up what kind of foods you eat!
Set a start date. Be realistic with yourself and set a date you want to start. Make sure to get the shopping ready for when you start so that there’s no missing ingredients or surprises. Commit yourself to follow the plan fully and stick to the start date you determine.
Re-organize your fridge and pantry. With temptation looming each time you open the cupboard, it can be difficult to stick to your newfound dietary choices. Ketosis is a process that happens in your body. You can’t just have “that one” cheat meal. If you do, it can hamper progress for up to a week before your body is back in ketosis and burning fat again.
If possible, clear out any high-carb snacks and tempting items from your kitchen so that you can stay on track. There will likely be a few new keto ingredients you’ll need to purchase for the plan, so make sure you read ahead and stock up your fridge as needed.
3. Understand the Keto Flu
The Keto Flu is a combination of symptoms that happen when you first transition to a low-carb way of eating. You may get dizziness, headache, fatigue, cramping, nausea, or fatigue for a few days after starting your keto meal plan. Don’t worry, this is normal and there are ways to combat it.
Keto is also a diuretic and can cause dehydration. With the extra urination, you will deplete both water in your body and your electrolytes quicker. Your T3 (thyroid hormone) will decrease some, and your cortisol levels will raise up. Although the keto flu affects everyone differently, you may feel some of these symptoms but you can do something to reduce the symptoms or completely stop them.
Simply increase your water intake (or drink other keto-friendly beverages) and increase your electrolytes. You can use electrolyte supplements (this is the one we use) or take a multivitamin that includes potassium and magnesium. Additionally, add salt to your food (and/or water) to help.
If you want to get a deeper look into the keto flu and more tips on how to remedy it, take a look at our in-depth article here >
4. Stop Mindless Snacking
Not only does snacking increase the number of calories you’re intaking per day, but it also creates insulin spikes each time you eat a small meal. It’s truly best to cut out all snacking when you’re on keto to see the best results. Keeping snacks to a minimum will allow your body to use your fat stores as energy and allow you to see success.
Last but not least, just do it. It’s fantastic to read, research, and plan but at the end of the day you just have to jump in and make sure that you start. Good luck!
Week 1 of the Keto Diet Meal Plan
Our main goal here is to stay pretty simple at first. In my eyes, simplicity is key for someone that is just starting out on a low carb diet. You don’t want it to be a difficult transition (kitchen-wise) because it will be hard just to get rid of your cravings in the beginning. You don’t want to spend too much time cooking and slaving away to make meals.
Leftovers will be another thing we will take into consideration. Not only is it easier on you, but why put yourself through the hassle to cook the same food more than once? Breakfast is something I normally do leftover style, where I don’t have to worry about it in the morning, and I certainly don’t have to stress about it. Grab some food out the fridge, pre-made for me, and head out the door. It doesn’t get much easier than that, does it?
Breakfast.
For breakfast, you want to do something that’s pretty quick and tasty, and of course – gives you some leftovers. I suggest starting day one on the weekend. This way, you can make something that will last you for the entire week (or close to it). The first week is all about simplicity with flavor. Nobody wants to be making breakfast before work, and we’re not going to be doing that either! We’ll focus on making flavorful breakfasts that you can either make in a pinch or have leftovers for the week.
There’s a variety of low-carb options so that you can have an idea of a generic week on a ketogenic diet. If you want to add more variety, feel free to browse our breakfast recipes for more ideas. You can replace any of the breakfasts in the plan with recipes of similar nutrition.
Lunch.
We’re also going to keep it simple here. We’re mostly relying on salads that you can make the night before if needed. You can portion out the salad and dressing/components separately beforehand and grab-and-go in the morning.
The salads will be mostly a bit of protein with leafy greens. This helps with our micronutrient intake and will help tremendously with fat intake while keeping it low-carb. You can also add spices and seasonings to your salad to your liking. Just be careful about onion and garlic powder, but most other spices in small amounts have negligible carbs.
Dinner.
Dinner will mostly be casseroles with cooked-in vegetables, so no side dishes required. Casseroles are great on a low-carb, ketogenic diet because you get so many leftovers. It’s not uncommon to see recipes that take quite a long time to make, so when you can save a little time by eating leftovers, it makes a world of difference. Simply stick them in the fridge, reheat as needed, and you have dinner in little to no time at all.
Sides and snacks.
As a general rule of thumb, it’s best to keep snacking to a minimum in order to keep insulin spikes to a minimum.
P.S. No dessert for the first week. Studies show that cravings will be significantly reduced when you skip out on sweetened items for a while.
Week 1 Weekly Macro Averages
| CALORIES | FATS (g) | CARBS (g) | FIBER (g) | NET CARBS (g) | PROTEIN (g) | |
| Day 1 | 1570.2 | 123.1 | 31.1 | 12.1 | 19.6 | 85.2 |
| Day 2 | 1360.7 | 105.9 | 31.4 | 8 | 23.4 | 63.1 |
| Day 3 | 1570.2 | 123.1 | 31.3 | 12.1 | 19.6 | 85.2 |
| Day 4 | 1493.8 | 125.8 | 31.8 | 9 | 22.9 | 66.4 |
| Day 5 | 1651 | 134.1 | 24.5 | 7.3 | 17.6 | 91.3 |
| Day 6 | 1442.7 | 106.4 | 29.3 | 7.5 | 21.9 | 83.3 |
| Day 7 | 1584.3 | 138.8 | 38.2 | 12.8 | 25.9 | 58.8 |
| WEEK TOTALS | 10672.7 | 857.1 | 217.7 | 68.7 | 151 | 533.4 |
| DAILY AVERAGE | 1524.7 | 122.4 | 31.1 | 9.8 | 21.6 | 76.2 |
Recipes Included in Week 1
Sausage Gravy & Biscuit Bake
Oven Roasted Caprese Salad
Buffalo Chicken Jalapeno Popper Casserole
One-Pot Shrimp Alfredo
Cauliflower Pizza Casserole
Ketoproof Coffee
It’s important to note that we do use meat and dairy in our recipes. The bulk of the meal plan is based on an average ketogenic diet that most people would follow. If you don’t eat meat, you can still do keto but it will be a bit more challenging. You will rely on plant-based protein and added fats to get to your goal macros. You can see some examples of our vegetarian and vegan keto recipes at the end of this article!
Week 2 of the Keto Diet Meal Plan
This week we’re going to be keeping it pretty simple again. After finishing off the leftovers, we’ll incorporate intermittent fasting. We’ll also include some desserts to keep your sweet tooth at bay. I’ll introduce you to some of our favorite classic low-carb recipes including new salads, soups, and another casserole.
Breakfast.
We’re fasting! Black coffee if you’re a caffeine addict like me. Tea, if you are not into the coffee so much. Tea can add great health benefits like coffee also. Some of the great benefits of green tea are:
- Polyphenols – These function as antioxidants in your body. The most powerful antioxidant in green tea is Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which has shown to be effective against fatigue.
- Improved Brain Function – Not only does green tea contain caffeine, but it also contains L-theanine, which is an amino acid. L-theanine increases your GABA activity, which improves anxiety, dopamine, and alpha waves.
- Increased Metabolic Rate – Green tea has been shown to improve your metabolic rate. In combination with the caffeine, this can lead up to 15% increased fat oxidization.
Make sure to drink plenty of water throughout the fasting (and through the day). It’s very important to stay well hydrated on keto – I recommend at least 2.5 liters for women and 3.5 liters for men.
Lunch.
Easy to prep salads with lots of leftovers. We’ll alternate between a salmon salad and a meatball bowl. Plenty of leafy greens and protein to fill you up and fantastic to break a fast with. Green vegetables and high-fat dressings (or vinaigrettes) are key. Making sure to balance out the fats with the amounts of protein is very important.
Dinner.
Dinner will be pretty simplistic. We alternate between a soup and a casserole that taste great and develop even more flavor as you use them up as leftovers. On the last day, we’ll have a second salad to give you a bit more variety and a better idea of what type of foods you should be eating on a keto meal plan.
Dessert is included for a few days – if you don’t like coffee with chocolate, just leave the coffee out of the dessert!
Week 2 Weekly Macro Averages
| CALORIES | FATS (g) | CARBS (g) | FIBER (g) | NET CARBS (g) | PROTEIN (g) | |
| Day 1 | 1531.5 | 119.4 | 26 | 8.7 | 17.5 | 90.8 |
| Day 2 | 1645.5 | 127.7 | 43.2 | 11.5 | 31.7 | 85.2 |
| Day 3 | 1502.3 | 110.4 | 35 | 10.4 | 24.6 | 101 |
| Day 4 | 1645.5 | 127.7 | 43.2 | 11.5 | 31.7 | 85.2 |
| Day 5 | 1502.3 | 110.4 | 35 | 10.4 | 24.6 | 101 |
| Day 6 | 1645.5 | 127.7 | 43.2 | 11.5 | 31.7 | 85.2 |
| Day 7 | 1385.1 | 104.5 | 37.8 | 12.6 | 25.1 | 82.1 |
| WEEK TOTALS | 10857.8 | 827.6 | 263.4 | 76.6 | 187 | 630.6 |
| DAILY AVERAGE | 1551.1 | 118.2 | 37.6 | 10.9 | 26.7 | 90.1 |
Recipes Included in Week 2
Sesame Salmon Salad
Nacho Chicken Casserole
Sausage & Kale Soup
Avocado BLT Salad
Mediterranean Lunch Bowl
Mocha Mousse
Download Ketogenic Diet Meal Plan
Since this is my full-time job, donations really help allow me to post as much to the website as I do. It’s not often that someone can say “I love my job” and mean it, but this is one that I’m truly able to. I just want to say thank YOU for making that possible. While I do really appreciate any donation you want to give, you can enter $0 in the amount given to download it for free! I’ve added $10 as the suggested price. I think that’s a very fair price considering other websites are charging in the hundreds of dollars and I’ve seen what they are like on the inside.
I have put a lot of work into this and revised it many times, but if you want it for $5 or $10 or $0, feel free to put whatever you want in the amount – I have no hard feelings! You can always download it for free and if you agree that the quality is worth paying for, come back and give a small donation to help me keep doing what I’m doing.
Shopping List for Your Plan
At the beginning of each week, you’ll get a shopping list to use to get all of the groceries you need for your keto meal plan. The shopping list is broken down into categories
- Protein
- Fats & Oils
- Produce
- Dairy
- Spices & Herbs
- Specialty Baking Items
- Other
Feel free to look through the shopping list and adjust to your needs. You may already have some of the spices and baking items in your home. You can usually cut back on cost as well if you are on a budget. Swap out different types of cheeses for 1 type of cheese; use an all-purpose seasoning instead of multiple different seasonings; use 1 type of vinegar instead of multiple.
To save a bit more money, you can usually combine some produce items as well. Instead of getting multi-colored peppers, stick to green. Instead of using fresh herbs, you can use dried herbs which are typically cheaper. If there are multiple types of lettuce, you can usually just get 1 type (spring mix is a favorite of mine for dark leafy greens).
FAQ & More Resources
Once you’ve followed through with the meal plan, you should have a good foundation on where to start and either create your own meal plan, or use a meal planning tool like our Keto Academy. Here are some of the most common questions we get and a few extra resources to help you stay on track:
How can I increase or decrease the calorie amounts in the plan?
If you find that’s you’re too hungry after eating the food, or not hungry enough, then you will likely need to adjust the plan to fit your body and activity level. Make sure to use our keto calculator to find your recommended set of macros.
Using those macros, you can adjust the plan as needed:
- To increase fat: Add additional oil, cream, cheese, or cream cheese to your plan. You can add slightly more vegetables into the plan (and use the additional fat to cook them) as well.
- To increase protein: With any lean meat in the plan, adjust the amount used until your needed protein levels are reached. Try to only increase the use of lean meat as fattier meats will significantly increase the calories as well.
- To decrease fat: Use less added oil, butter, cream, or cheese in a recipe until you get to your needed fat amount.
- To decrease protein: Reduce the use of lean meat in the plan. As an example, if the recipe calls for 8 oz. of shrimp, use 6 oz. instead. Adjust as needed until you get to your protein requirements.
I don’t like a recipe in the plan. Can I use a different one?
Of course! We have a library of over 700 keto recipes on the website. You can swap out any meal that has similar macros, or build upon a meal to get to the needed macros for that specific meal. While not every recipe is a complete meal, you can add low-carb vegetables in to supplement your micronutrient intake.
Can I snack while on this keto plan?
It’s best to not snack while following this plan. Your meals should satiate you and keep you full between the meals. Make sure that you’re drinking plenty of water and staying hydrated (and supplementing with electrolytes if needed).
If you find that you’re regularly hungry on the plan, you should consider checking your macros and adjusting the plan to fit your macros. Snacking will spike your insulin level and you want to have as few insulin spikes as possible while following the plan.
That said, it’s inevitable that some snacking may happen. If that do decide to grab a snack, you should be prepared for if it. We have some great examples of keto snacks to use during your progress.
I don’t eat dairy/nightshades/[insert excluded food]. Can I still use this meal plan?
You can still follow keto if you want to avoid certain foods or have allergies to certain foods. Make sure to search the website (or visit our full FAQ) for more information.
When cutting out dairy, it has shown to improve weight loss and typically help people get past a stall if they encounter while following their meal plan. This guide to dairy-free keto will help you cut out dairy and give some replacement ideas (+ a sample meal plan).
Can I drink alcohol on keto with this plan?
You can drink alcohol on keto, but you have to be mindful of the impact on macros it will have. Usually, every shot of liquor will contain ~100 calories (with no nutrition). If you are a frequent or heavy drinker, this will be very impactful on your overall calorie consumption.
Another thing to keep in mind is that alcohol does slow overall weight loss progress down. That said, it’s expected to have an occasional drink, and if you’d like some ideas you can read our guide to keto and alcohol >
I’m vegetarian/vegan, can I still follow this keto diet plan?
While it can be difficult, going vegetarian or vegan on keto is possible. Whether you’re doing it for improved health benefits, environmental concerns, or ethical reasons we have a few guides that should help.
- If you want to do vegetarian keto, this guide will help break down what you can and can’t eat alongside give some suggestions on meal ideas.
- If you’re wanting to go vegan keto, this guide will give you an overall scope of what to eat and a sample meal plan.
If you have any other questions or just want to learn more about keto in general, check out our other keto diet blog posts or make sure to visit our Full Keto FAQ List >
Create Your Own Keto Diet Plan!
You can use my meal plan as a guideline to help you create something that fits into your life and schedule. Keep in mind that hitting (or at least coming close to) your daily macros is the most important thing when it comes to your success. Modify or edit recipes as needed to make them fit within your macros.
You should usually never go above a 25% calorie deficit (to lose weight) or 15% surplus (to gain muscle). Use the keto calculator on the website to determine your macros as a starting point!
I need some help, I’m allergic to eggs and substitutes any tips on how to do this without all egg items in this?
Stephanie,
This is just a guideline so you’d have to fine substitutes that fall into your macros. Avocados, macadamia nuts, bacon, coconut oil, etc. You’ll just have to plan ahead some yourself to find different things you could do for breakfast.
Just downloaded the PDF. I’ve been trying a keto diet for a little over a week, but I’m not in ketosis yet. This guide and the calculator have shown me that I have been making rookie mistakes with what I’m eating. Thank you for such a great reference. My motivation is renewed!
Hey and thanks Sean! I hope you enjoy it! I’ll be sending out a new update of the meal plan in a few days with a design overhaul on the inside 🙂
Hey Craig- I have been doing low-carb for last 9 weeks and have lost 42 lbs. (without exercising . . .not bragging, just a fact). I feel absolutely fantastic!!! My appetite is so diminished, I sometimes forget to eat. Since low-carb will be my lifestyle, I am looking forward to seeing what you have put together. I am ready to go “all-in” with this food plan! Thanks for what had to be an arduous task on your part. Now I need to find a fun physical activity to incorporate into my daily routine and I will be a happy camper (minus the S’mores).
That’s an awesome amount of weight in 9 weeks, wow! Congratulations on your success so far – I hope you enjoy the plan I put together 🙂
Craig, is this eating style intended to be permanent/long term in order to maintain weight-loss? I already am abstaining from grains and most sugar and intend to remain doing so. I don’t want to do this and then scale back a little and gain it back. I have 25-30 lbs to lose.
Yes, I have been maintaining for a long time on keto and there are countless others that maintain on it for the health benefits. You’ll be putting yourself in a slight caloric deficit to lose the weight, and then increase your calories a bit to maintain when you want to maintain. Cutting out grains is great, but keeping an eye on your protein intake is important in this way of eating also.
Hi Craig,
I am just about to start this diet. I bought your 4 week menu plan and I’m a bit confused. I used the calculator to figure out my macro needs for the day, however, the menu book’s daily macro count is different than what mine is. How can I work around this. the calculator calculated the following for me:
cal: 1441 Carb 20 Protein 54 Fat 127. Thanks for your help and input.
Hey Linda,
You could just slightly cut out some of the portions in the meal plan. Just scale them down about 10% or so on everything and you’d be hitting about where your macros are now 🙂
Hi Craig,
i started keto diet from last 2days …..daily having 200gm butter …..but it’s difficult for me …. pls suggest me how to have easily?…..
Hi Craig,
i started ketogenic-diet from last two days …..daily having 200gm butter …..but it’s difficult for me …. pls suggest me how to have easily?…..
You can use other oils and fats such as cream cheese and avocado.
Hey I really wanna buy this and start the keto myself but I am a vegetarian and wanna know if you have also a bunch of vegetarian meal options on your book.
Daniela,
You’re welcome to download the meal plan for free – but I will tell you that most of the recipes in here use meat, unfortunately 🙁
Hi Craig
Some of your recipes require “half n half”, I am in New Zealand and don’t have half n half so am I correct in using half whole milk and half heavy cream as a substitute?
Cheers
Niraj,
You can use heavy whipping cream if you don’t have half and half – that’s no problem at all 🙂
Also…. My wife doesn’t eat beef and doesn’t allow any cooking of beef in the home so can I replace it with lamb?
Lamb is generally more fatty than beef, so you could easily use it – but I am not sure how the final taste will be of all the dishes (some spice combinations won’t go amazing with lamb). That said, you can use lamb and adjust your macros slightly to find a little extra protein and a little less fat elsewhere 🙂
Thanks Craig
Once again, thanks for all your help and guidance man. Keep up the great work!
Sure thing! Let me know if you have any more questions!
I cant download and I am in South Africa and its VERY difficult for me to donate money. What must I do? I am on this type of eating plan since Feb and doing something wrong because I dont loose weight. I feel fantastic
Retha, you’re welcome to download the plan for free if you have no way to donate. Glad to hear you feel good!
How do you make your own plan as I only eat chicken and fish no red meat or pork
Mary,
You will have to calculate your macros, and then plan everything out in advanced using either Myfitness Pal, Fatsecret (or one of the other alternatives), or an Excel spreadsheet. I personally like to use Excel and calculate the macros by hand to make sure they’re correct.
I want to know if keto-diet is useful for weight loss… If I follow your ketogenic diet plan can I lose some weight and fat? Thanks for your help! Btw where can I make a donation to you page?
Hey Miriam,
Yes – the ketogenic diet can be used to lose weight, in fact most people that begin this diet use it to lose weight. The great thing about keto is that when you lose weight (water, muscle, fat) it tends to be more fat than most other diets since it is muscle sparing.
If you’d like to donate, I’d be extremely grateful! You can enter the price you want to pay to download the plan. $0, $10, $5 – whatever you see fit. This is how I keep the website running. However, if you’d like to get something in return for paying, feel free to check out my 2 cookbooks:
Keto-fied! Comfort Foods Made Low-Carb
Cooking by the RULED Book
I started following your meal plan a few days ago and I like it so far. I had the cinnamon orange stew last night and I felt really hungry afterward. It was delicious but it t feel like not a lot of food at all. I decided to calculate the nutrition info for this based off the nutrition information that you have listed in the full recipe on your site. For the recipe listed in the 30 day plan that has been reduced to one serving, I am getting a little over 400 calories. The plan says it is 649 calories. Since we are instructed to eat 80% of the serving, I am figuring I only ate 320 calories instead of 519 calories it says for 80% of the stew. Could you check your calculations on that one and let me know if I am off base? The majority of the calories come from the 1/4 beef stew meat (240 calories) and the coconut oil (120 cal).
Also, on week 1 day 5, you have a spinach salad with the leftover chicken sausage (1/2 portion). However the nutritional stats looks like it is closer to a full portion. Could you clarify on this, too? Please and thank you. Sorry to be a pain.
It will be 1/6 of the total chicken sausage recipe you made for this day. If you’d like to, feel free to e-mail me and I can send you the excel spreadsheet I used to calculate everything out if you don’t trust my calculations. I also list a lot of these recipes on the site, so you can search the website for the recipe and see how I broke everything down.
And sorry, I’m looking at tonight’s meal now (day 3, week 1). This calls for one thigh of the curried chicken thigh recipe (555 for two thighs = 277 for one thigh) and 1 quarter of the fried queso recipe (243 for a fifth of the recipe = 303 for a quarter of the recipe). This adds up to 580 total calories for the meal, but the meal plan says it is 657 calories. Where are the extra 77 calories coming from?
Again, sorry to be a pain in the butt.
It’s 380 for 1/4 of the Queso Recipe. You may be mistaking that we use oil in the pan to fry this, and I also eat the oil that is in the pan. Like I said, if you’d like to e-mail me and get the excel spreadsheet, I’d be happy to send it to you.
Yes, the majority of the calories come from the stew meat, and depending on where you get your stew meat (and how much fat is on it) will impact the calories greatly. I base my calculations on weight and the nutrition information given to me on the packaging or given to me the closest I can find it. There are leaner meats that will have far less calories, and I can’t exactly control those things – and I do apologize for it. If you ever find yourself ridiculously hungry, feel free to have a small snack afterward.
Craig – I looked at the stew recipe again, and noticed your whole recipe that you have on the site calls for 2 pounds of stew meat. It looks like for the meal plan, you divided the recipe in four. Except that would mean the stew has 1/2 pound of stew meat instead of the 1/4 pound listed in the 30 day plan. That would make up for the unaccountable 240 calories. Is the 30 day plan supposed to be a 1/2 pound of meat and maybe that is a typo?
Also, I was using the same nutrition info you used for your beef stew meat listed on the site in my calculations.
Laura – like I said. If you’d like to see the excel spreadsheet, then send me an e-mail. I will gladly send it to you so it can clear up any confusion you have on the macros. I have every single recipe broken down by ingredient inside.
For the beef stew:
Cinnamon & Orange Beef Stew Calories Fats (g) Carbs (g) Fiber (g) Net Carbs (g) Protein (g)
1/4 Pound Beef 480 30 0 0 0 50
3/4 Cup Beef Broth 18.75 0.5 0 0 0 3
1 Tbsp. Coconut Oil 120 14 0 0 0 0
1/4 Medium Onion 11 0 2.5 0.5 2 0.25
Zest of 1/4 Orange 2 0 0.425 0.175 0.25 0
Juice of 1/4 Orange 7 0 1.75 0 1.75 0
3/4 tsp. Fresh Thyme 0.5 0 0.175 0.05 0.125 0
3/4 tsp. Minced Garlic 3.25 0 0.625 0 0.625 0
1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon 3 0 1 0.75 0.25 0
1/2 tsp. Soy Sauce 0.75 0 0 0 0 0.25
1/2 tsp. Fish Sauce 0.75 0 0.125 0 0.125 0
1/4 tsp. Rosemary 1 0 0.25 0.25 0 0
1/4 tsp. Sage 0.75 0 0.125 0.125 0 0
1 Bay Leaf 0.5 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 649.25 44.5 6.975 1.85 5.125 53.5
Right, my issue is with your calculation for the beef. On the full recipe, you list, the following for the nutrition info.
I’m not understanding why the 1/4 pound of beef is 480 calories. Using your same stats in the full recipe below, 2 pounds of beef is 1920 calories. If you divide that by 8 to get a quarter pound of beef, you get 240 calories. I am thinking that the recipe is supposed to call for 1/2 cup of beef, not a 1/4.
Cinnamon & Orange Beef Stew Calories Fats (g) Carbs (g) Fiber (g) Net Carbs (g) Protein (g)
2 Pounds Beef 1920 120 0 0 0 200
3 Cups Beef Broth 75 2 0 0 0 12
3 Tbsp. Coconut Oil 360 42 0 0 0 0
1 Medium Onion 44 0 10 2 8 1
Zest of 1 Orange 8 0 1.7 0.7 1 0
Juice of 1 Orange 28 0 7 0 7 0
1 Tbsp. Fresh Thyme 2 0 0.7 0.2 0.5 0
2 1/2 tsp. Minced Garlic 13 0 2.5 0 2.5 0
2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon 12 0 4 3 1 0
1 tsp. Soy Sauce 3 0 0 0 0 1
1 tsp. Fish Sauce 3 0 0.5 0 0.5 0
1 tsp. Rosemary 4 0 1 1 0 0
1 tsp. Sage 3 0 0.5 0.5 0 0
2 Whole Bay Leaves 2 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 2477 164 27.9 7.4 20.5 214
Yeah, now I totally understand what you’re saying. That is a mistake on my part and it should be 1/2 pound of beef in the meal plan (as per what the macros state). I will have it fixed soon and upload a revised version when I can.
Thank you for pointing that out – that was a mistake on my part in my…well to best put it…lack of math skills. Sorry about that!
Not a problem. It happens. Just the other day I was trying to add three times the garlic needed in a recipe due to faulty math. I took analytical chemistry as part of my studies and it has turned me into the first four letters of that subject.
Just following your plan for three days has helped me shed half of the 10 pounds of I gained in the last few months from stress eating, so I really appreciate you putting something like this out here for people to get started. This is by far one of the best meal plans I have seen for diets anywhere. A nice balance of cooking, but not overbearing amounts, not buying a million expensive ingredients that will be used once, etc.
While you are correcting that recipe, I do think there needs to be another correction to Week 1, Day 5 lunch:
Lunch.
Leftover Chicken Sausage & Spinach Salad
[ 4 Cups Spinach, 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil & Leftover Sausage Stir Fry ( 1/2 Portion ) ]
You can add seasonings of your choice to salads – just be weary of onion and garlic
powder. Most other spices have negligible amount of carbs when seasoning
in small amounts.
Per Serving: 742 Calories, 70.2g Fats, 4.7g Net Carbs, and 20.8g Protein
I think the olive oil for the salad is supposed to be doubled to 4 T.
Here is my reasoning for that (and I’m just going to focus on the olive oil in the salad for now for simplicity sake since the other ingredients are negligible in comparison):
1/3 of the stir fry recipe is 451 calories, 28.3 g fat.
1/6 of the stir fry recipe is 225 calories, 14.1 g fat.
The bulk of the calories for that simple salad come from the olive oil, listed in the instructions as 2 T.
2 T of olive oil is 240 calories, and 28 g fat.
As the instructions are stated now, the lunch consists of:
1/6 of the stir fry: 225 calories, 14.1 g fat
2 T olive oil: 240 calories, 28 g fat
Rough total: 465 calories, 42.1 g fat
This does not fit the 742 Calories, 70.2g Fats listed in the instructions above.
Double the olive oil:
1/6 of the stir fry: 225 calories, 14.1 g fat
4 T olive oil: 480 calories, 56 g fat
Rough total: 705 calories, 70.1 g fat
This last scenario seems more probable as the stats match what you have listed (with other calories coming in from the spinach and parmesan cheese).
PS – That Curry Rub Chicken was amazing. I grew sick of chicken a long time ago and this gave it such a wonderful flavor with such minimal work.
Glad you enjoyed it Laura! It seems to be one of the favorite recipes in there 🙂
I appreciate the kind words (also, sorry for the late reply).
That is definitely another mistake (wow, I proofread this so many times and now you are pointing out a lot). I really have to apologize. I am adding these to my notes so when I do an update, I can do them all at once and send it out.
In my macros, I put 2 tbsp. olive oil being 480 calories, which is incorrect – it’s 1/4 cup worth. So when I re-write this, I will include it to relfect proper values and add in a little bit of something new to give some variety.
Seriously I am very glad you’re pointing these small mistake out. Although they don’t kill the daily averages, I would rather get as close to the macro goals as possible.
With the fasting, could I skip breakfast instead of skipping lunch?
Helen, I see no reason why not. Go for it if that’s what best suits you 🙂
Craig,
I found your site today and love it..thanks for all the info! I plan to buy one of your books this weekend.
Question: I started Keto in December with terrific results, but in the last month I have gained quite a bit of weight and I wonder if you can advice on what you think is the culprit? I feel good as far as energy goes, but hating this extra fat 🙁
Could these be the culprit?:
I have been eating cheese (did not for the first three months)- which I subbed for nuts which I thought were stalling weight loss. What is your opinion on Casein’s effects? (I have eaten dairy all my life without problems-“that I know of”).
My morning butter coffee keeps me satiated throughout the day, so often I *forget* to eat until dinner time. I make up for lost calories by eating dessert: usually dark chocolate or chia pudding, or cream with cacao or bulletproof cupcakes or BP ice cream.
Lastly, I just want to congratulate you and thank you for all you are doing!
I too have a *little* online business and answer every question/comment…. but not many people do- it is great to read all of your interesting and helpFULL responses here- your generosity and care for others is what drew me in and although I had a couple of Kindle books in my cart at Amazon- I now will purchase from you 🙂
And MOST important of ALL: THANK YOU for doing something especially for women!! YOU ROCK!
Thanks a bunch for the awesome feedback and words of support Claudia 🙂
My first question (before analyzing what you’re eating) is how much are you eating? Are you tracking your foods, have you figured out what your macros are supposed to be?
How much water to you drink on a daily basis?
Once you answer these, I can probably give a bit more feedback on what to tweak!
I purchased your Keto-fied book on Amazon on Friday and then found your site. All I can say is WOW and thank you for all of the fantastic information Craig! I have been reading a ton about Keto diets and everything makes so much sense. Right now I am just trying to get my head around high fat food that tastes SO good after eating high protein/high carb and low fat for as long as I can remember.
I am very active (run, swim, weights) but it is a struggle for me to lose about 10 pounds of body fat. I think keto is the way to go. However, I don’t think intermittent fasting is right for me, would you agree? Just because I don’t have a lot to lose.
I am downloading your book for the recipes to give me some base ideas and to support the great work you are doing. THANK YOU!!
You’re very welcome Kim – and thanks for stopping by to be a part of the site! Intermittent Fasting isn’t really going to make you lose more weight or less weight, it is more for the mental clarity and health benefits. If you do IF for weight loss, it just won’t work. But, since you’re very active, I think fasting wouldn’t be the best bet (at least not in the beginning stages). So your best bet is to keep carbs low, continue being active (you’ll probably feel sluggish at first), and then wait until you’re fat adapted (4-6 weeks, usually). Once you become fat adapted, you’ll be able to all the exercise just fine using fat as energy.
Glad you’re taking this path – good luck on your journey! Always know that I’m around to help answer questions 🙂
Hi there
I already eat a low carb high fat diet (close to atkins) with one “cheat” or carb day in 14.
Im pretty sure my macros were way out but when I ate a keto diet I followed 3 basic rules.
1: Keep the carbs away no matter what
2: Heaps of fat
3: moderate meat
I did well on keto in the first 2 weeks lost about 6 kg…. then it sort of tapered off although admittedly I didnt have much to lose in the first place, but I collapsed a couple times cause my blood sugars were so low and I have a medical condition. (ambulance medic clocked my blood glucose level at 1.8!!!) healthy is between 6-14!!!!!
Im interested to try your 30 day plan but Im also afraid if I do I will collapse again.
also how can I keep meat intake lower while intaking so much fat!!!! I find it hard enough as it is at the moment….. can you please help me with a few fatty foods I can add to my list 🙂 thanks SO much 🙂
Maria,
Making sure your macros are on par would probably be helpful to your blood sugar. You can download the plan for free by putting in $0 as the price and then clicking “buy now”. It will just take you through the sign-up process and then allow you to download it. If you like it, you can feel free to donate for the time I’ve put into it, but that part is up to you. In there, you will find tons of ways to get your fats up without making your protein ridiculously high.
Hope that helps 🙂
Hi craig thank you ever so much.
I might get it in the next few days and I will definitely put a donation in there too 🙂
live long and Keto hahah.
Sounds like a plan – hope you enjoy 🙂
Just started day one, the first two meals were fabulous!! I found some butter flavored olive oil and it made the simple salad taste like I was eating buttered popcorn, LOL!! Can’t wait to try more recipes, and just may purchase the cookbook as well!! One question – what about snacking in between meals – a no-no or do you have any suggestions??
Hey Karen – glad you’re liking it so far – that salad sounds awesome! Snacking between meals, I think you shouldn’t do. If you find that you’re peckish, drink more water to fill that gap.
Believe me, I’ve been VERY tempted (I have 3 “eating me out of house and home” kids under the age of 8!), but my willpower has been great and I have been able to deal with it by drinking more water 😛 Thanks for the quick response!
I’m having strong sugar cravings that I hope will subside soon – been chewing some sugar free gum to keep me satisfied. And oh, the best news, I’ve already shed roughly 5 pounds in the last four days, pretty sure a lot of it is water weight mixed with some light cardio – will be starting my training for a half marathon at the end of the four week meal plan and dropping some weight will make it MUCH easier! So thankful I ran across your website!!
Good luck on the half-marathon! It sounds like you’ve been doing great so far, so let me know how it all goes!
Craig,
THANK YOU! About a month ago, I started a high protein low carb diet. My vegan muscular husband was then diagnosed with high cholesterol, which made me do some research. This is when I learned about LCHF diet and then I learned specifically about ketogenics. I would say that I have been doing this for two weeks. I have just been adding a lot of fat to my routine, but my recipes have been really boring. Downloading your 30-day plan was the best money I have spent. It explained what the goals and purpose of this diet so well and cleared up any confusions about what I was doing. For example, I thought only a total of 50g of carb, but really it was net carbs. I just went through every recipe and wrote down every ingredient I needed and the quantity. I am gluten free and have much of this in stock already. But, I will be shopping at the farmer’s market tomorrow to pick up as much as I can and then go to the store for the rest.
Originally, I was posting to ask if I could do substitutions, but I am guessing the answer is yes since you also include a “make our own keto plan.” Now I am posting to ask if there are specific reasons that you use certain ingredients. You have so carefully planned out every meal, that I don’t want to lose out on any nutrients or macro ratio for which you intended. The following are some changes I was going to make and would like your feedback. 1) I only buy produce that is in season, so I can’t get sugar snap peas right now. I was thinking of just using green beans. 2) I am trying to live the Weston Price way, so I can’t do any citrus products. I was just going to avoid them. 3) I read that raw spinach is not the best way to consume it for full nutrient impact. I want to substitute kale and maybe some other greens with some kelp sprinkled on it. 4) I use coconut oil for high heat cooking and olive oil only for non-cooking items. I see you sometimes include both in a recipe. 5) I do not like coffee. I was hoping I could create a bulletproof tea instead. 6) I am not a big fan of cheddar cheese, and was thinking of using colby or gouda. 7) Just wondering your thoughts on ghee.
Sorry, for so many questions. Again, I want to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! After reading this plan, I went online to see the possibilities of other cookbooks and there really is nothing out there. You have basically created one of the only resources for those who want to live this lifestyle. And the fact that you respond to all the posts is also truly amazing. After I complete this plan, I will buy your cookbooks. (Otherwise, I will stay up another 3 hours looking at each and every one .)
Hi Elaine,
Really glad you took the time to give a bunch of complimenting feedback on the site. Really, it means a lot! I am going to be releasing a new meal plan (it’s going to be a starter kit, of sorts) pretty soon. I am also in the process of redesigning the website to -hopefully- make navigation a bit easier for everyone. So just keep an eye out for those. To answer your questions:
1. Green beans would be fine to use.
2. You can choose to omit the citrus. It’s mostly just for the flavor profile.
3. You’re welcome to use other greens, just make sure they fit into your macros for other days.
4. You can use just coconut oil or just olive oil, or both however you’d like. It’s just my own cooking preferences.
5. Yes, you can definitely make bulletproof tea.
6. Yes, you can sub out the cheeses as long as they fit into your protein/fat/carb macros.
7. Ghee is fine. I normally just use regular butter because it’s expensive as it is – and ghee is just more expensive. But clarified butter is great and you can use it just fine.
This meal plan is more of a conceptual meal plan where you can pretty much do as you want. You can sub in and out different ingredients as long as they’ll fit into your macros. As said in the beginning, I modeled this meal plan after the average macros of about 200 women, so I figured that it would be a good starting point for most people. If you’re not overweight, though, you guys might have to eat extra.
Hope that all helps but feel free to ask more if you have any comments/question!
Craig
Craig,
Thank you so much for your response. I just used the keto calculator and it says based on my estimates to eat 1667 calories, so your 30 day plan is PERFECT! ANd can I say that calculator was so useful. When I was reading the intro and you talked about make sure it is just in your macros…I thought to myself, how does one know that? Well – you have thought of everything to help us! Clearly there is so much on this website that I need to explore. As I do, I am sure you will see more comments from me.
Again, a huge thank you for all the time you have invested into making sure the rest of us can be successful in our ketogenic paths. You are truly a blessing. :o)
Peace,
Elaine
You’re very welcome Elaine – I look forward to your other comments 🙂
See you around!
Craig
Hi Craig!
Me again. I just read all these comments and see that some of the questions I asked were already answered by you previously (sorry). You offered to several people, the excel spreadsheet. Might I be sent it?
I have some specific questions about the recipes.
I do not use a microwave. Any suggestions for the two mug recipes (BCC Biscuit & the Chai Spice)?
In the BCC recipe, I see that almond flour is listed twice. Are they for different uses?
In the Chorizo & Cheddar meatballs, it says 1 1/2 chorizo sausages. When I made my shopping list, I wrote that as 1 1/2 pounds so I purchased one long link. I am not guessing that meant 1 1/2 small links? How many grams of sausage do I need for that recipe? Oh, and it is goat chorizo.
On a side note, today was the first time I had pork in close to 25 years. It was delicious in that fritatta! What I realized in cooking the bacon, is that I don’t know how to choose bacon. Some slices seemed almost all fat and others were mostly meat (I bought it from a small local farm). Fat being my friend, I was not that concerned, but I would love any advice on how to know “good” bacon.
Hey Elaine – no problem.
You can do the mug cakes in the oven at 350 for around 8-9 minutes (from what I hear, I haven’t tested it out before). The almond flour was just listed twice because when I had written the recipes, I had used different amounts of almond flours (but the base had stayed the same). There’s not much reasoning for it, you can use it all in the same step.
Yes, these are links. They were ~4oz. per link. It was just normal chorizo, but you can use whatever type you like (as long as it fits into your macros).
Bacon is delicious – I prefer to go after bacon that has good marbling on it, which means a pretty even ratio of fat to meat. If it’s all fat, it turns into very small pieces, but when a lot is meat it will usually keep close to its original size.
Hope that all helps!
Craig,
I think you are a genius. You have compiled a staggeringly comprehensive body of work that is based in good science and beautifully put together. Extraordinarily helpful, this is my keto bible, and I wanted to say thank you for sharing it so generously. You are a Divine contribution the the keto community.
Thank you so much Connie – I really do appreciate it 🙂
Hello Craig,
I am amazed what you did here and that you are sharing this to all of us. Thanks a lot.
I have a question. I cant find fresh spinach anywhere and ive been searching for weeks now and I wanna start the diet now.
Is it possible to use something else instead of the spinach?
Thanks so much in advance.
Sandra
Any leafy green vegetables should work, Sandra. 🙂
Hi Craig. Just got your stuff; looks very good.
1 – You said no snacking recommended. These meals seem smallish compared with what I’m used to eating — more volume and something between meals — and am concerned about having to struggle too much. Why no snacking? You have said that your meal plan is on the lighter side of the carbs allowed.
2 – I’ve been reading up on Coconut oil, which they call a miracle food (and I bought some). One website I saw said to be sure to have 1-1/2 to 3 TB of it with EACH meal. Your thoughts on the stuff?
Keep up the good work!
Linda,
1. You should calculate your macros and make sure that the plan comes in at your ranges. If not, you’ll have to adjust. Snacking can alter metabolic states, so I prefer people don’t snack – but if you absolutely must, choose a handful of almonds. Preferably, you can just drink water between meals and be filled up, since most people that get hungry throughout the day falls into not enough food eaten (hence why you should check your macros) or not enough water.
2. It’s very good for your health, but I don’t see a point in overeating on it. If we were to overeat on all the things people market/scream about that’s healthy, we’d still be fat 😉
Your information on here is very helpful! Thanks for being on here.
Thank you for the kind words Beth!
Hi Craig,
I am doing your 30 day plan however I live in Australia and Amazon won’t post the flour, meal and sugar substitute you provide a link to in your plan. Are you able to suggest alternatives I can purchase over here? Completely understand if this is in the too hard basket, but thought I’d ask in case someone else from Australia has had the same issues. Thanks a million for the easy to use plan that is focused on women *whoop whoop* and can be easily done *fist pump* by someone working full time – brilliant!
I have some Aussie friends I’ll reach out to and see. I know that some of my friends get their stuff at local health food stores – maybe you can inquire there?
Thanks Craig – I just want to ensure I’m converting like for like. I have emailed Mrs Flannerys (large healthfood chain over here) and my local health food store. Fingers crossed for positive responses!
Sounds like a plan – I’ll keep my ear to the ground 🙂
Hi Natalie
Did you manage to find what you needed from Mrs Flannery’s? I’m also in Australia and am looking for some of these products
Hi Craig,
I just downloaded the 30-Day Diet Plan and I am going to start once I buy all the supplies, but my question is that the day to day meals calories add up to more than my calorie deficit allows. (1200 calories a day, 1360 kcal). Should I be portioning to only consume at that amount or should I be following the plan exactly? Thanks.
Amanda,
1200 calories seems low. Double check that with the keto calculator on the website (Under Keto Diet in the navigation menu). If your calories are lower than 1600, you will have to adjust, though.
Tried again and came up with 1381. Is this closer to a safer number? I have used My Fitness Pal in the past and based on my goals it has always said I should not consume more than 1200 calories a day, but I’ve always found that incredibly difficult and I am always hungry during the day. I am hoping keto will make me feel fuller and less prone to snacking, binge eating.
Sounds a bit better. Just make sure your deficit isn’t too high.
Craig,
I just purchased the 30 day diet plan and my wife and I are very excited to start. However, we do not drink coffee at all in our home. Is there an adequate substitute that we could use instead of the coffee. We both love to drink our breakfasts. It saves us a lot of time in the morning. Very impressed with your website and everything you’ve compiled here. We are using this to get healthy as both of us have quite a bit of weight to lose. We will have to keep you updated on our success.
Thank You,
Craig
Hey Craig,
Yeah sure – you can replace the coffee with either tea or bone broth. Either of those would give some nice flavors and with the bone broth, will bring extra micronutrients. I look forward to hearing about both your success – and thank you for the compliment!
My best,
Craig
Craig,
Ok, so I made the cheddar bacon explosion last night and what a disaster! I used less bacon so that the macros would match up closer to what you posted (who knew every bacon has such different macros). The top was crispy, the bottom was not. It was still tasty though. I
I have three questions:
1) I was supposed to start Week 4 on Sunday, but I can’t because I just started antibiotics yesterday that needs to be taken twice a day with food. Would you recommend that I continue with Week 3 type fasting or go back to week 1 or 2 type meals and start again? (I need to take them for 20 days).
2) When creating my own meals or substituting items, what should be the macro I am aiming for the most? For example, is my aim the calorie amount and be closest on fats?
3) If my net carb goal is 20, is it ok to have a little more? ( I feel I need more fiber)
I need to thank you for making me more of a gourmet cook through this process. 😮
Hey Elaine,
Sorry to hear about the bacon explosion – I have heard the same about that from some people, too. I think it depends on the bacon and also the oven and I apologize that it came out a bit weird. Next time, if that happens, you could flip it over and broil it for a little bit to crisp up the bottom a bit more 🙂
For your questions:
1. That’s really up to you, you could repeat week 1 and 2 again if you’d like. You could sub some foods out so it’s not as boring.
2. Well, macro grams and calories are one in the same – fats are 9 calories per 1g, and protein and carbs are 4 calories per 1g. So, you should try to keep your fats high and your protein moderate to try to get them to match up; but, if you’re off by a little bit, it shouldn’t be a big deal.
3. You shouldn’t really need more fiber, and I would recommend staying at around 20g of net carbs at the maximum end. But if you have to go over, I’d say no more than 30g net. When you’re taking medications (depending on the type of medication), it can raise your glucose – so watch out for that interfering with ketosis. There isn’t much you can do about that, I’m just letting you know.
Glad you’re enjoying it so far!
Craig,
I am so bummed to hear this medication can mess me up after I have been doing so well these past 3 weeks. I am going to eat two meals by using week 4 dinners (as I already bought all the ingredients) and Week 1 breakfasts.
I either need more fiber or I am having other health issues as I am not having regular bm since starting this and I am getting quite worried.
So, when I went to my doctor for the issue that I needed antibiotics, she did blood/urine tests. My cholesterol is high, uric acid is high and I have ketones, so she wants me to go on a low fat diet and eat every 3 hours – clearly opposite of what I am doing. She also won’t authorize a particle size test. I know you are not a doctor and my doctor has a different point of view, so do you have resources of where I can go to get information? I would love to know what someone who is an expert in this subject wold say about all my levels.
On a side note, I love that it is 1pm and I still am not hungry after eating my breakfast. Before I ate every 3 hours and was always hungry before my next meal. :o)
On another side note, my husband must hear me say “Craig says…” multiple times a day. To be able to go to a single place to get questions answered, a keto calculator, find recipes, find good exercises and everything else is an unbelievable HUGE help. You are an amazing human being for doing all this. I really can’t thank you enough!
Lack of bowel movements is pretty common on keto. I suggest adding some magnesium supplement to your diet which is great for the micronutrient factor but also helps with proper bowel movements.
As for the advice, I’d really just start looking it up on google. There’s tons of resources out there for free, but I don’t feel comfortable going against your doctors words. I would suggest to you to try to find a supporter of keto if you can, but that’s a lot easier said than done (doctor-wise).
I’m happy to be of a help – and glad I am! 🙂
Is this meal plan for just 1 person? Me and my husband will be doing this together so I wasn’t sure how it would work…
Keri,
Yes, it is. But you could easily double the ingredients in the recipes and use those to serve both of you 🙂
Hello Craig,
I just stumbled on your wonderful site while searching for information on Keto diet and boy can I tell you this site is ah-mazing! Very informative!
A friend who adapted a vegetarian keto diet and has lost 3 pants sizes in 3 months, balanced her hormones and metabolism kicked and has also left pre-diabetic state, referred me to the diet when I complained about excessive weight gain that has been stubborn to loose, loss of energy, acne, hormones raging and more. I also want to adapt a vegetarian keto life style and try to make up for fats through nuts and oils.
My keto calculator: 2118 calories; 4%/20g/80 calories carbs; 16%/86g/345 calories protein, 80%/188g/1693 calories fat. I have always been scared of eating much fat as I assumed it would make me gain more fat till I read through your site – more fat low carb makes the body turn fat into energy to use or thereabout.
I have tried something similar, the atkins and that worked good for me some years ago, although it focuses more on high protein than fat.
I will be downloading your plan to start tomorrow but will be adjusting to fit my lifestyle and try to be more vegetarian as possible or keep it to chicken/fish/seafood leat once a day in my meal or twice a day (lunch and dinner).
Was wondering if you have any advise as I take this journey in general.
Thanks for your wonderful site again and blessings to you!
Hey Kiki,
Sounds like an awesome plan! I am guessing you exercise if your calories are that high (if so, it’s no problem). I’m glad you’re taking the time to learn about it all and now giving yourself a plan of action to use.
Keto is similar to atkins, yes, but you’re correct – atkins does allow for a much higher protein ratio.
Most of the advice you’ll find inside the 30 Day Plan, so just give it a good read in the beginning and I think you’ll be all set. Whenever you’re bored, take a bit of time to go through the various articles I have in the Keto Diet section of the site. Good luck!
In addition,
I’m having issues accessing the 30day plan likely cause I’m out of the country and my card blocked….was wondering if I could create my own week plan with the recipies you have on the site until I get back on the 8th and follow up with week 2.
Are there specific things in the first week you can tell me so I can be on track. I will tract using myfitnesspal
Thanks again!
Hey Kiki,
You could download the 30 Day Plan for free and start to follow it for the meantime. If you think it’s worth a donation – then you could give one once you’re back into the country 🙂
Hope that helps!
I,m impressed, your site sure is awesome. I don,t know, if it,s for me i want to lose 128 lbs. I need my carbs to be 15=20 grams. i know i can,t use any kind of flour and stay under 20grams of carbs , are there other meal plan, for people who want to lose a large amt of weight in 1 year?
Farra,
The only other meal plan I have is the Keto Academy ( //www.ruled.me/keto-academy/ ) which is more aimed toward people wanting to be consistent and to lose weight for the long term.
I am pescatarian and finding it difficult to come close to my daily fat intake of about 120g without going above 20g of carbs and 60g of protein. I don’t know what to do
I’m not familiar with pescatarianism. Can you eat eggs?
Hey Craig- I have been doing body building going pretty much paleo with whey protein supplements. I have a history of gastric bypass and motility issues due to a complication of the bypass so I am only able to take in about 2 oz of meat (fish or chicken, red meat seems to be too difficult for me to digest, at a time (thus all the protein shakes and bars). Is Keto something that I would be able to do? THe only carbs I take in currently are from non-starchy veggies and fruit. Thanks,
Amanda
Amanda,
Yes, you could. There’s many people that do keto with gastric bypass, but I am not super knowledgeable on the topic. We have a few people (and a moderator) that has had WLS before and you could find more support on the forums I’m sure 🙂
What kind of body fat lost can you wait in a person with a 20% of body fat?
Alex, I’m not sure if I understand your question. But if you are asking how much body fat you can lose – then that is up to you and it also depends on your own body type.
I will be ending my 14 day water fast next week. I’m doing to reset my body, lose weight, and build a healthy relationship with food. I’m planning on breaking my fast with about 2oz of watermelon or papaya every 2 hrs for 3-4 days and building from there depending on how I feel as I refeed. Do you suggest I break my fast differently? At what point after breaking my fast do you suggest I begin the keto diet?
Joselin,
I really don’t know much about long-term fasts with minimal to no nutrition. I don’t want to give any improper advice so I would just do as you think is right.
I will be ending my 14 day water fast next week. I’m doing to reset my body, lose weight, and build a healthy relationship with food. I’m planning on breaking my fast with about 2oz of watermelon or papaya every 2 hrs for 3-4 days and building from there depending on how I feel as I refeed. Do you suggest I break my fast differently? At what point after breaking my fast do you suggest I begin the keto diet?
Joselin,
I really don’t know much about long-term fasts with minimal to no nutrition. I don’t want to give any improper advice so I would just do as you think is right.
I do not eat red meat what can I substitute with?
Chicken with added fats (bonus points for chicken thighs) and fatty fish like mackerel or salmon. You’ll have to get a little creative I’m sure.
What do I do in weeks 3 and 4 if I don’t drink coffee?
You can use tea instead. Alternatively if you don’t drink tea is to add to a cup of warm almond or coconut milk (from the carton).
Hi, Im trying to download the 30 day meal plan and when I get to the payment part I get a message that says the username/password are wrong.. Im using my credit card tho, not paypal..
Sol,
I’m not able to replicate that error and I’m able to receive payments still from people at this moment in time. Possibly you are choosing the wrong type of payment? When you go to pay, you can click “Pay with Credit Card”, then fill out the form, and then it takes you to a payment screen that has 2 options on it: Pay with PayPal or Pay with Credit Card.
You should just be able to fill in the credit card information and click pay, and it will let you through to the next screen where you can download it.
Hope that helps but let me know if you run into any problems and I’ll try to take a deeper look into it.
That’s what I thought the first time and did again carefully choosing “credit card” method.. same happened.. I just did it again .. and the same..
Hm, I have tried on multiple computers and browsers but am not getting this error. You can download this plan by entering $0 in the cart and get it for free if the credit card thing is still happening. You could alternatively choose to pay with PayPal and I believe there is a setting on PayPal that says “Pay with credit card” and under the login box you can choose “Do not login”.
Whenever I’m in a fasting/ketogenic state I get major heart pain/palpitations. So far it’s been a few weeks and I’ve felt like I’m teetering on the edge of a heart attack this whole time.
If you’re getting pain and heart palpitations like that while fasting then I would suggest against fasting.
Are you sure this is because of fasting? I cannot fathom how they can be both linked.
It could be from a lack of micronutrients from the fasting.
Whenever I’m in a fasting/ketogenic state I get major heart pain/palpitations. So far it’s been a few weeks and I’ve felt like I’m teetering on the edge of a heart attack this whole time.
If you’re getting pain and heart palpitations like that while fasting then I would suggest against fasting.
When I started a keto diet 10 months ago…I had the chest pain, pressure, palpitations…fear and terror! After a thorough cardiac work up, turned out to be my bad gall bladder exacerbating. Had it removed and now do great with
the fats, fasts, etc!!!
My wife unfortunately has an arrhythmia in her upper chamber and was just diagnosed (hospitalized for 8 days) with ventricular tachycardia. Would this diet be safe for her?
I found another web site on this diet, and It was saying you would experience heart palpitations if you don’t get enough electrolytes so eat more salt. Your body isn’t retaining water.
I tried the download theory that didn’t work….I tried looking at the chart provided here on this page and can’t see it well enough to write it out…so as my name says I’m now frustrated with it all….hopefully I can find something somewhere that will help and not hinder this confused little mind of mine….good luck everyone…take care and be safe xx
Did you try to download the plan directly to your tablet or phone? If that’s the case, then that is probably why it didn’t work. If you download to your desktop computer or laptop, it shouldn’t have a problem. You also get an e-mail with the link to download, so if you had problems the first time, you should be able to try it again.
I just downloaded it directly to my iphone, ipad and computer…
I had the same problem. I don’t recall getting an email, though.
Were you able to get the download to work? If not please e-mail Craig and he can send you the download link again. If you message our Facebook page then I can send you the link through there as well.
Ive just started the keto diet a week ago and wasn’t counting calories until i found your website and calculator… you meal plan is outstanding and i am going to be a regular on this site from now on! so i am officially starting this meal plan tomorrow as day 1. i am a fitness competitor and plan to compete in 5 months and needed something like this to jump start fat loss … i am so intrigued by the science behind the keto diet and love the recipes – this is the most doable diet i’ve ever been on! i am excited to see my results in 30 days! should i change anything up if i exercise intensely 4-5 days a week? i do HIIT for 30 min 4 days a week and lift weights 45 mins 4-5 days a week. thank you for the recipes – can’t wait to try them !!!
Krista,
I’d suggest going through the keto calculator. If you’re working out 4-5 days a week, then I think that you’d need to tremendously increase calories. So definitely work that out before you start it so that you’re not going into too much of a deficit.
Hi Craig, thank you so much for your website it is wonderful! I have two autoimmune diseases and my doctors have recommended this diet. I’m a bit confused and would love your input and help. I’ve been told that I am a slightly overweight malnourished 35-year-old female. I live off of coffee and about one meal a day. I have consumed a lot of sugar and they believe that’s where a lot of my information comes from. I am wondering if it is okay from week one to start off with bulletproof coffee for breakfast. And do the intermittent fasting immediately? And then just consume one large meal a day with my fats and proteins? I do not have any hunger cravings and have a small appetite. Consuming the fat is going to be a challenge but I love coconut oil and butter. I would appreciate any help
Kelly, you could do that but you may find it difficult to get your recommended macros in doing that. If you can do it – then go for it. If not, then you may want to split your meals up into 2 large meals rather than 1.
I paid the money, then tried to download the pdf and it was just a bunch of numbers and letters?? What am I doing wrong??
Dory, you are probably downloading it directly to your phone. Try downloading it to a desktop computer or laptop, then transferring it. If you run into any problems, you can e-mail me and I’ll help out.
Hi Craig – just came across your website. What a great resource! Before I get started, what is the amount of time that you would expect a person to spend preparing these meals? I am someone who can cook, but wouldn’t really consider myself a decent cook. I have most of the tools that you outline, except a food processor and immersion blender (which I am going to pick up). Obviously, you are an expert now. How much time does it take you now versus when you first started?
Hey and sorry for the late reply James. It really depends on you. If you don’t have much time, you could always bulk cook on weekends and refrigerate/freeze things. But generally I’d say about an hour to an hour and a half a day. Sometimes longer, but generally if the recipe takes a long time, it is mostly hands off work.
Nowadays recipes that I produce from the site will take much longer because I have to photograph each step/end result, and take multiple shots with different setups/angles. But truth be told if I have to just throw together a quick meal for myself, anywhere in the 10-20 minute range is usually what happens.