How to Make a Balanced Dinner Plate (Keto Edition)
The Keto diet includes foods that are high in fat and low in carbohydrates like seafood, unprocessed cheese, meat and poultry and leafy vegetables. Your body switches from burning glucose to burning ketones which can lead to significant weight loss as well as other health benefits.
Eating on a ketogenic diet might seem difficult to some, but here at WellFed we believe in making the complex simple. So, here’s your guide to making a beautiful dinner plate that satisfies your keto diet, whether you’re new to the ketogenic lifestyle or a seasoned pro.
- Table of Contents
- Ketosis: What is it?
- Why choose a ketogenic diet?
- So what can I eat?
- MContinuing your WellFed journey
Ketosis: What is it?
Ketosis is a metabolic state in which your body uses fat for fuel instead of carbs. Ketosis occurs when your body doesn’t have enough glucose in your blood to create energy. Instead, your body switches from being powered by glucose to being powered by ketones. These ketones come from your liver and act as a back-up energy source that takes over when you don’t have enough glucose to turn into energy to keep functioning throughout the day.
Ketones, or ketone bodies, are acids your body makes when it’s using fat instead of glucose for energy. Your body typically gets most of its energy from glucose with ketones serving as your back-up energy source. Now that your body has switched over to burning fats instead of glucose, your metabolism increases, your hunger goes away, your muscle mass increases, and your risk of blood pressure and heart diseases goes down.
Why Choose a Ketogenic Diet?
“Unlike other low-carb diets, which focus on protein, a keto plan centers on fat, which supplies as much as 90% of daily calories.” The goal of a ketogenic diet is to burn fats at a quicker rate than you would on glucose sugar. This makes it one of the go-to lifestyle choices for people trying to lose weight or drop their blood glucose levels. The keto diet aims to force your body into using a different type of fuel. Instead of relying on sugar (glucose) that comes from carbohydrates (such as grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits), the keto diet relies on ketone bodies, a type of fuel that the liver produces from stored fat.
So, What can I eat?
There are plenty of great recipes that rely on high fat, low carbohydrate makeups and they can range in complexity and cooking ease. Seafood, eggs, cauliflower, zucchini noodles, poultry, and unprocessed cheese are all examples of foods that fit the profile of a ketogenic lifestyle. Some favorites here at WellFed include the Keto Beef Stroganoff and Copycat Ground Chicken Lettuce Wraps. These recipes are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what you can still eat while on your keto journey. Diet doesn’t mean gross, and the ketogenic diet is a great example of how you can bring delicious flavor and tasty experiences to the dinner table every time.
Continuing Your WellFed Journey
Together with the help of curious readers like you, WellFed can achieve our goal of making the world a fun place to eat for all lifestyles. Your contributions help us make society more WellFed every time you support our content. To learn more about the ketogenic diet and other diets that can enhance your daily experiences and improve your health, visit wellfed.us
