How to Keto Diet | JENNIE-O® Turkey (2024)

By Jennie-O

TAGSKeto FriendlyNutrition & Diet

What is the Keto Diet? Jennie-O’s Guide to Cutting Carbs and Cutting Weight.

The keto diet— a high-fat, low-carb eating plan—is everywhere. Maybe you’ve heard people talking about it at the gym. Maybe your neighbor is trying it out. No matter how you heard about it, people all over the world are trying out a keto lifestyle and are rapidly shedding weight by cutting carbs in a major way.

(If you’re a seasoned pro and looking for great keto diet recipes, head on over to our great directory of keto diet recipes and menus.)

What is the Keto Diet?

The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that’s all about dramatically reducing carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. This may be counterintuitive to most fad diets you’ve heard about. However, the keto diet is rooted in the idea of the body reaching a metabolic state known as ketosis.

When your body reaches ketosis, your body has become more efficient at burning fat for energy. It will also begin turning fat into ketones in the liver, which supply energy for the brain. A ketogenic diet can be the catalyst to massive reductions in insulin and blood sugar levels.

Foods to Eat

Carbohydrates can be hard to quit, as they are in just about everything. But, that doesn’t mean you have to deprive yourself of great tasting food.

Here are the main foods that are high-in-fat, low-in-carbs and are great starting place for anyone wanting to dip their feet into keto diet:

  • Meat: Steak, ham, sausage, bacon, turkey, and chicken.
  • Cheese: Cheddar, cream cheese, goat cheese, mozzarella, or blue cheese (always unprocessed).
  • Low-carb veggies: Tomatoes, peppers, onions, and most green veggies will do the trick.
  • Fatty fish: Salmon, tuna, mackerel, and trout.
  • Condiments: You can still use salt, pepper, and other various herbs and spices.
  • Eggs: Look for omega-3 or pastured whole eggs (from cage-free, free-roaming hens).
  • Butter and cream: Always go for dairy from grass-fed cows, whenever possible.
  • Avocados: Whole avocados.
  • Nuts and seeds: Walnuts, flax seed.
  • Healthy oils: Coconut oil, avocado oil, and most of all, extra virgin olive oil.

Foods to Avoid

Now that you have your bases loaded for what you should be eating, it’s time to talk about what foods you should be avoiding in order to maintain ketosis.

  • Sugary foods: Fruit juice, smoothies, candy, cake, ice cream, and sodas.
  • Grains or starches: Many wheat-based products like pasta, rice, cereal, and others.
  • Alcohol: Many alcoholic beverages can contain high-carb content, throwing your body out of ketosis.
  • Beans or legumes: Kidney beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils, and other beans are all great sources of protein but also are usually packed with carbs.
  • Root vegetables and tubers: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, and carrots are all very high in carbs and starches.
  • Fruit: Shockingly, nearly all fruit should be avoided on the keto diet, with the exception of small portions of berries
  • Low-fat diet products: Highly processed diet foods tend to be made with lots of carbohydrates to supplant their lack of calories.
  • Sugar-free diet food: More highly processed foods that do not contain sugar, but come with high levels of sugar alcohols, which can impact ketone levels in your body.
  • Some condiments and sauces: Make sure to read the labels of your favorite condiments. Herbs and spices are typically keto-friendly, but some sauces can come with high levels of carbohydrates.
  • Unhealthy fats: Processed vegetable oils and things made with them (like mayonnaise) can affect your ketosis status.

Avoiding carb-based foods like sugars, grains, potatoes, candy, juice, and even most fruit will be essential for finding the results you are looking for with a ketogenic lifestyle.

Take a look at all of our great keto diet recipes and menus and get moving toward a happier, more nutritious you.

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FAQs

Can you eat turkey on a keto diet? ›

Here are the main foods that are high-in-fat, low-in-carbs and are great starting place for anyone wanting to dip their feet into keto diet: Meat: Steak, ham, sausage, bacon, turkey, and chicken. Cheese: Cheddar, cream cheese, goat cheese, mozzarella, or blue cheese (always unprocessed).

Should you start keto cold turkey? ›

Consider easing in. “Prior to starting a keto diet, individuals may benefit from tapering down their carbohydrate intake, instead of reducing carbs cold turkey,” says Lara Clevenger, a ketogenic dietitian-nutritionist with a private practice in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

How do you survive Thanksgiving on keto? ›

A few general tips for making your Thanksgiving keto-friendly: Swap out mashed potatoes for mashed cauliflower, nix adding any flour to thicken recipes like green bean casserole or creamed spinach, and load up on the low-carb veggies like Brussels sprouts, spaghetti squash, and mushrooms.

Is turkey deli meat keto-friendly? ›

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.

What foods do not break ketosis? ›

Foods you can eat on the keto diet include fish and seafood, meat and poultry, non-starchy vegetables like bell peppers, broccoli, and zucchini, avocados, berries, nuts and seeds, eggs, high-fat dairy products, olive oil and other oils, and high-cocoa chocolate.

What meat is not keto friendly? ›

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.

What's the hardest day of keto? ›

1.The First 10 Days May Be The Toughest

Before starting, you should be aware that if you drop carbs cold-turkey, the first few days you will most likely experience symptoms of your body adjusting to lack of glucose. Many people starting off keto will go through this and it's often referred to as the “Keto Flu”.

What happens on the first 3 days of keto? ›

In the initial stages of a ketosis diet, people may feel more tired and weaker than usual. This fatigue occurs as the body switches from burning carbohydrates to burning fat for energy. Carbohydrates provide a quicker burst of energy to the body.

What are big mistakes on keto? ›

Not watching your carb intake - Sugar and refined carbs are in many foods. You should be aiming to eliminate these from your keto diet. “Try to keep your net carb content under 20 grams/day or total carbs under 30 grams,” Dr Riggs says. Keep close track of your sugar and carb intake by reading nutrition labels.

Can I cheat on keto for Thanksgiving? ›

There Are Plenty of Conscious Ways to Have a Keto Cheat Day

Or, if it's Thanksgiving, don't offer to cook green beans or turkey (which are already keto-compliant). Instead, bring a low-carb pumpkin pie or make mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes.

How do you not starve on keto? ›

Increase the size of your meals with nutrient-dense foods. This will promote a sense of fullness and reduce the urge to snack in between meals. Include plenty of fibre in your meals. While fibre from foods like green leafy vegetables is considered a carbohydrate, we don't digest it, so it doesn't count.

What happens if you quit carbs cold turkey? ›

A sudden lack of carbs will make you lose weight. It's mostly water weight at first, though. This is mostly because cutting carbs also wipes out the glycogen stores in your muscles. Glycogen helps your body retain water.

Are pickles keto friendly? ›

Luckily, pickles are keto friendly, especially those that are of the dill pickle variety, as sugar is low. “Simply put, sweet pickles are made with sugar which will automatically push the carb count up,” says Hultin. “Dill or salt pickles don't have the added sugar and carbs, naturally,” she says.

What cheese can you have on keto? ›

You can eat high fat foods like cheese on the Keto diet. Cheddar, Gouda, goat cheese, and blue cheese are the best to consider. Cheese to avoid on Keto are cottage cheese and low fat and processed varieties.

Are hot dogs keto friendly? ›

Eating keto doesn't mean missing out on grilling out. Low in carbs and high in fat, sausages and hot dogs are keto-friendly! Although we recommend eating processed meats sparingly, hot dogs and sausages can be a great meal choice if you're following a flexible keto diet.

What meats are allowed on the keto diet? ›

Plenty of meats: Chicken, pork, steak, ground beef, lamb, bacon, turkey, ham, and sausage (in limited amounts). Fatty seafood: Salmon, snapper, tuna, halibut, cod, trout, catfish, scallops. Shellfish: Crab, clams, oysters, lobster, mussels.

What foods are off limits for keto? ›

10 Foods You Can't Eat on the Keto Diet & Their Substitutes
  • Grains and Starches. ...
  • Sugary Foods and Sweets. ...
  • High-Carb Fruits. ...
  • Starchy Vegetables. ...
  • Legumes and Beans. ...
  • Processed Foods with Hidden Carbs. ...
  • Alcohol and co*cktails. ...
  • High-Carb Sauces and Condiments.

Is popcorn allowed on keto? ›

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.

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