This is your 7-day Ketogenic Diet meal plan

IT IS the diet that’s taking the world by storm — but what does a day on a plate actually look like if you’re wanting to go Keto?

THE KETO Diet is a low carb, higher fat diet that’s currently one of the trendiest eating plans in the world.

In short: it transitions your body to burning stored body fat instead of relying on carbohydrates as its preferred source of energy.

To make this transition, you need to dramatically decrease your carb intake to below 50g per day — with some people going as low as 20-30g of carbs per day.

In context, that’s about five rice cakes or a single medium banana.

This allows your body to draw from stored fat for energy, resulting in a metabolic state known as ketosis.

KETO SUCCESS: This woman shed half her body weight in less than a year

The Keto diet focuses on high fat foods.

Health benefits include: a reduction in excess body fat, helping build lean muscle mass, enhanced energy and optimal mental clarity. At its core, the keto diet is made up of high-quality proteins, plenty of seasonal vegetables and healthy fats. You’ll need to cut out sugar, starchy carbohydrates and gluten.

WHAT ARE THE CONS?

The transition process can be hard, especially when moving away from a diet that is normally carbohydrate heavy. This can sometimes bring on flu-like symptoms for a couple of days — ‘keto flu’ is a thing! You can also experience a reduction in energy. However, if you persist you’ll quickly transition through this stage and come out the other side bursting with energy!

Below is an example of a 7-day meal plan.

DAY 1:

Breakfast: Poached eggs, sautéed greens cooked in coconut oil

Lunch: Grilled chicken served with a seasonal salad

Dinner: Baked salmon with a nut crust served with baked cauliflower

An example breakfast on the Keto diet is poached eggs and sauteed spinach.

DAY 2:

Breakfast: Smoked salmon served with leafy greens and smashed avocado

Lunch: Low carb Thai beef salad served with tamari dressing

Dinner: Butter chicken with cauliflower rice

DAY 3:

Breakfast: Omelette served with mushrooms and spinach cooked in coconut oil

Lunch: Line caught tuna served with heirloom tomato salad, drizzled with olive oil

Dinner: Crispy skinned salmon served with zucchini noodle pesto

Try adding zucchini noodles with your salmon for a healthy dinner.

DAY 4:

Breakfast: Mountain Coffee — long black, grass-fed butter & MCT oil

Lunch: Naked burger with raw kale slaw

Dinner: Slow cooked pulled beef with rainbow slaw and baked brussels sprouts

DAY 5:

Breakfast: Zucchini & bacon fritters cooked with butter or ghee

Lunch: Mexican chicken lettuce wrap with avocado

Dinner: Middle Eastern chicken rissoles with seasonal greens

Roast chicken breast with vegetables is a good lunch option

DAY 6:

Breakfast: Buttered mushrooms, sautéed greens and crispy bacon

Lunch: Roast chicken breast served with avocado and seasonal greens

Dinner: Grass fed sirloin steak with steamed greens

DAY 7:

Breakfast: Veggie medley — capsicum, zucchini, tomato, seasonal herbs sautéed in coconut oil served with eggs

Lunch: Zucchini noodle and salmon salad served with avocado dressing

Dinner: Lamb kofta with seasonal greens

SNACKS:

Low carb Protein Shake

Bone broth

Boiled eggs

Handful of nuts (macadamias, almonds, walnuts)

Small can of tuna

This article originally appeared on Body and Soul and has been republished with permission.