Planning is your key to success on the keto diet for weight loss. Knowing which foods to eat (and which to avoid), meal prepping and following a keto meal plan for weight loss will help you reach your macro goals and stay in ketosis. Below, a sample 7-Day Keto Meal Plan is laid out for you — perfect for your first week on the keto diet. Feel free to follow it to the letter or tailor it to your individual goals. Before you dive into the meals, review how to calculate your macros and which foods are keto-friendly. This will set you up for success after your initial week on the keto diet for weight loss.
Which Version of Keto diet Should You Follow?
Why do you want to start a keto diet for weight loss? Do you want to finally lose the stubborn excess body weight you’ve been lugging around? Are you looking for better mental clarity and more energy? Or will you be using a keto diet to lower your blood sugar and cholesterol levels and find better overall health? Your approach to the keto diet for weight loss will differ depending upon your individual goals. Below are a few common keto objectives, and the keto diet type best suited for accomplishing each.
FOR FAT LOSS AND OVERALL HEALTH: STANDARD KETOGENIC DIET
The standard keto diet (SKD) is the most common approach to keto and the most highly recommended method for beginners. Those who follow SKD are typically looking to achieve weight loss or fat loss. They might also be looking to improve certain symptoms related to depression and mental health, inflammation, and cholesterol levels. The basic rules for standard keto diet are:
- Consume of 20-50 grams of net carbs per day
- Consume moderate amounts of protein
- Consume high amounts of fat
An intake of 30 grams of net carbohydrates or less will typically induce ketosis.
FOR IMPROVED WORKOUT PERFORMANCE: TARGETED KETO DIET
The targeted keto diet (TKD) for weight loss is ideal for maintaining exercise performance, and therefore best for athletes or those who follow a rigorous training schedule. How does it work? The targeted keto diet for weight loss allows for glycogen re-synthesis without interrupting ketosis for extended periods of time.
To follow The targeted keto diet, use these guidelines:
- Consume 25-50 grams of carbs per day
- Consume highly digestible carbs 30 minutes to one hour prior to exercise
- Consume high amounts of fats and moderate amounts of protein
FOR THOSE WHO NEED MORE PROTEIN: HIGH-PROTEIN KETO DIET
If you lift four times or more per week, you might find you require more protein on the keto diet for weight loss. While the standard keto diet typically limits protein intake to 20% of total calories, the high protein keto diet (HPKD) requires 35% of total calories come from protein.
To follow the high protein keto diet, try this:
- Consume 35% of total calories from protein
- Consume 60% of total calories from fat
- Consume 5% of total calories from net carbs
Calculate Your Macronutrients
Macronutrient ratios are very important on a keto diet. The macro ratios on a keto diet typically look like this (for simplicity’s sake, the following percentages are based on the standard keto diet approach):
- High fat: 70-80% of your calories
- Moderate protein: 20-25%
- Low carb: 5-10%
Start by using our keto macro calculator below to help you determine what and how much of each category to eat based on your specific body composition and lifestyle. You’ll have a rough estimate of how many grams of fat, protein, and carbs your meals need to cover over the course of one day.
INSTRUCTIONS With Keto Diet For Weight Loss
- Select the Standard KetoCalculator for a classic keto diet of 75% fat, 20% protein, 5% carbohydrate (recommended)
- Select Specialized Macronutrient Calculator to input specific amounts of fat, protein, and carbohydrate
Plan Your Keto Diet Meals
Now that you’ve calculated your macros, pick one day each week to sit down and plan out your keto diet meals for the next seven days. Your first week on the keto diet is covered below, but after that, you’ll want to check the new recipes on the Perfect Keto diet website and add them to your repertoire so you’re never bored. If you stumble on a recipe without a macro count, you can enter the ingredients into a diet app like KetoDietApp or MyFitnessPal to get the macros and calorie count of any meal sans complicated math equation.
If you come across other recipes you’d like to use, follow the keto diet cheat sheet at the end of this guide or visit the Ultimate Keto Diet Foods to plan your keto diet meals for weight loss. Before you go grocery shopping, consider
When planning your ket diet meals for the week, considering the following:
- How many people in your home will be eating the meals (How many servings will you need to make?)
- Do you want to make enough for leftovers the next day?
- How do you want to structure each day? Do you plan to eat breakfast every morning, or will you fast through breakfast and only eat lunch and dinner?
Once your meals are planned out, make a shopping list with the ingredients you’ll need for each meal and head out to the store.
Start Cooking Your Keto Diet Meal
You have your keto diet meals planned. You have your ingredients. Now everything comes down to the specifics. Maybe you’ll want to prep and cook most of your keto diet meals on your day off and store them for easy grab ‘n go during your hectic work week. Consider what fits your schedule and lifestyle most. That’s the easiest way to stick with it.