What Should I Eat on the First Day of a Keto Diet?

Congratulations on taking up the Keto Diet. Keto, if followed properly even for a short term, can bring about great changes in your life. Keto has innumerous health benefits, it will not only help you with fat loss but also it also cures a lot of kidney diseases, heart diseases, brain disorders and reduces the risk factors related to many other common ailments.

Keto is a popular diet choice amongst today’s generation because they generally suffer from many kinds of small and big health related issues due to their lifestyle and food habits.Keto was originally introduced in the 1900’s for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and ever since then it has been effective in curing deadly diseases such as epilepsy, autism, PCOS etc.

Research and studies show that the Keto diet is also capable of curing some rare kinds of cancers in the long term. Inculcating the Keto diet in your lifestyle would lead to overall body fitness and proper health.

IDEAL KETO DIET

Keto is basically a high fat, enough protein and low carb diet. The goal of Keto is to help the body attain Ketosis wherein it will start using fats as the primary source of energy instead of carbohydrates. It can be tough for beginners to strictly follow Keto in the initial days but in the long term, iit becomes a habit. An ideal Keto diet is based on this proportion: 70% Fat Rich Foods, 20-25% amount of protein rich food and less than 50 gram of carbs, ideally below 20 grams, i.e. 5% of the diet should be carb diets.  

BASICS OF KETO DIET

Ketogenic diet gives the best results when followed strictly without skipping meals and following the rule of high fats and low carbs. The basic rule of Keto is to eat high fats; adequate protein and low carb until you finally reach the point of satiety.

The rule which follows this is to stay hydrated, try to drink as much as water you can because the  body tends to lose a lot of water molecules when it goes on ketosis and consuming more and more water would be beneficial/

You should also keep in control the salt level of the body which helps the body to stay at optimum temperatures and function properly without problems like headache, anxiety, frequent hunger attacks etc.

Make sure you take a little more salt than the usual quantity in the first few days to help your body adjust with the new changes caused by Keto flu and develop ketone acids. 

KETO MEAL PLAN FOR THE FIRST DAY

There is a lot of information available about the beginner’s Keto diet but it generally causes confusion in the beginner’s as they tend to eat a lot in excitement and thus lose the essence of Keto on the very first day which is having a balanced diet.

While there are a lot of options available as to what to eat and what not to eat on the first day of a Keto diet, such as fish, meat, cheese, berries, nuts etc. Here is a detailed description of what can be consumed on the first day of the Keto diet.

Breakfast

One should aim to eat a satisfying and full breakfast in order to stay energetic for the morning and should try not to feel hungry very often. Egg is a very common breakfast people generally have. Thankfully eggs are Keto friendly as they have high fats and protein rich content in the yolk and egg white and very less or negligible carbs in them. 

Eggs can either be consumed in the form of omelets, egg salad with extra virgin olive oil dressing or just scrambled eggs with some butter/cheese.If the person is vegan or is allergic to eggs, he can have avocado salad or starch less vegetable salad cooked in any cooking oil / vegetable oils. The salad dressings could have slices and pieces of asparagus, cabbage, cucumber, beans, and tomatoes with toppings of olive, spinach. 

A total of one ounce (28 grams) of cashew, peanuts, almonds, flax seeds, chia seeds  and walnuts can also be taken. It can be accompanied by little amounts of coffee and tea made in full fat milk in the initial days. 

This would help the person stay energetic and full for the 1st half and he would not require any snacks in between the breakfast and lunch.  If at all hunger attacks again, it can be compensated by having some nuts or fried broccoli.

Lunch

Lunch is a vital meal of the day as the body builds it up on it and it needs to be taken effectively and efficiently in order to not feel hungry until the evening and also stay energetic.Keto rejects all the foods which contain starch in them. We generally tend to consume rice, potatoes, sweet corn, peas in lunch which are high in starch and carbs which are against the rule of Keto. Thus, these should be avoided in lunch. 

Moving ahead, there are a lot of things that can be tried in lunch, on the first day.Omega 3 fatty fish is a great source of fats, protein and has no carbs at all. Fish like Salmon, Tuna, and Catfish are very high in omega 3 content and also lead to the formation of saturated fat which helps the body in ketosis. 

Salmon is considered to be the best species of Keto friendly seafood, when cooked in  olive oil or coconut oil, it not only tastes delicious but also has great health benefits such as burning fat, reducing high blood pressure and overall smooth functioning of the body.  

Fresh meat and chicken are also carbohydrate free and rich in many nutrients such as potassium zinc etc. Chicken salad, chicken with vegetable pasta, lamb meat and streak can be considered as good lunch options. They can be accompanied by low carb cheese rolls or egg omelets. 

Vegan people or people allergic to non vegetarian diet, having high cholesterol levels or other problems can consider eating some cream cheese rolls with mayonnaise dipping or avocado salad, avocado fruit mayonnaise for lunch on the first day. Avocado salad alone is a good option for lunch with some lettuce and cabbage wraps.Avocado is a Keto friendly fruit and one of the mandatory additions to the Keto diet. They can also have fried beans with tacos and vegetable salad which would be easy for digestion and a ketone body’s formation. 

Dinner

Dinner is the most important meal of the day since it is the last meal of the day. You might have followed the breakfast and the lunch properly but missing the dinner might disturb the whole process of ketosis and also cause insomnia. 

The body utilizes the energy gained from dinner for further metabolic processes in the body when the person is asleep. Skipping dinner also leads to problems like acidity and constipation which might in turn lead to problems in following the next day’s diet and disturbing the whole process of ketosis. 

A Keto dinner should be light and healthy. A Mediterranean diet is the most preferred for dinner since it is full of fruits, vegetables, herbs and nuts and seeds and these are light foods. Starch less Fruits and Vegetables are easy to digest and also rich in nutrients and fats. 

Vegetables such as cabbage, lettuce, green beans, spinach seasoned with pepper balls or avocado salad seasoned with paneer chunks can be taken as a light dinner. 

Healthy fats such as  Cabbage and Tomato Soup can also be taken with some healthy sprouts for easy digestion and a sound sleep. They would also help in formation of ketones. 

The above mentioned 1st day Keto diet for breakfast, lunch and dinner are the most comfortable and easy to go with food items. These are Keto friendly foods, high in fats, have adequate proteins and are low in carbs – exactly what the Keto diet demands to perform its work effectively and give the best results. 

The first day of the meal should necessarily include fiber rich and healthy food items so that the body gets the flavor of Keto on the very first day and adjust itself in the coming days. 

Keep your spirits high and go Keto.