The Ketogenic diet may present health benefits for certain dieters. But there are certain things you should know about it if you are looking for a good 7-day keto meal plan.

So in the following article, we will tell you what you need to know about the keto diet including how to get started with it, what foods to eat, and how to devise an effective meal plan for it.

Key Takeaways

  • The ketogenic diet limits your carbohydrate intake and emphasizes healthy fats and proteins.
  • Some of the purported benefits of the keto diet include weight loss, reduced appetite, improved metabolism, and blood sugar control.
  • A 7 day easy keto meal prep plan for each day of the week for beginners
  • Other factors to take into account if you are considering starting the ketogenic diet

What is the Keto Diet?

The core precept of the ketogenic diet is to reduce your intake of carbs as much as possible. This is supposed to usher your body into a state of ketosis in which it burns stored fat for fuel as opposed to carbohydrates.

Some of the purported health benefits of the keto diet include weight loss, faster metabolism, mental clarity, blood sugar regulation[1], and reduced appetite.

A 7-day keto diet plan for beginners can be a bit daunting at first so make the transition slowly. Start by cutting out carbs from white bread and refined sugars and replacing them with vegetables.

Then, you can start incorporating keto-friendly fats from nuts and avocados into your diet.

7-Day Keto Meal Plan for Beginners

A one-week keto meal plan for beginners does not have to be an overwhelming concept. To help take the guesswork out of the process, take a look at the following keto-friendly meal plan for one week:

Day 1

  • Start with a keto-friendly omelet loaded with vegetables like bell peppers and spinach.
  • Your lunch could be a salad with grilled chicken or fish (add paprika to the protein for a weight-loss boost).
  • For dinner, try steak with roasted vegetables.

Day 2

  • For breakfast, whip up a keto smoothie.
  • For lunch, you can have leftover steak from the night before with a green salad (kale, spinach, romaine, arugula, etc.).
  • For dinner, try grilled shrimp with zucchini noodles.

Day 3

  • For day 3 breakfast, try scrambled eggs topped with avocado slices.
  • For lunch, you can have leftover shrimp and zucchini noodles from the night before.
  • Chicken stir-fry with cauliflower rice can be your day 3 keto dinner.

Day 4

  • Start day 4 with keto-friendly yogurt and mix in some berries.
  • Lunch can be your leftovers from day 3 dinner.
  • Grill up some salmon and asparagus for dinner.

Day 5

  • Your day 5 breakfast can include bacon and eggs while you can bring back your leftovers from day 4 for lunch.
  • Try pork chops and Brussels sprouts for dinner.

Day 6

  • Breakfast can include keto-friendly pancakes with sugar-free syrup.
  • Day 6 lunch can be day 5’s dinner leftovers.
  • A pizza with a keto-friendly crust and low-carb toppings like bell peppers and tomatoes can be enjoyed for dinner.

Day 7

  • On the last day of the week, start with avocado toast and eggs.
  • For lunch, have your leftover keto-friendly pizza.
  • For dinner, try steak with roasted vegetables.

Keto-Friendly Recipe Ideas

An image of the keto diet bread sandwiches meal plan recipe for 1 week. An image of the keto diet bread sandwiches meal plan recipe for 1 week.

For even more ideas on how to craft the best keto diet plan for beginners, take a look at the following recipe ideas:

  • Stuffed Peppers – Start with big, fresh bell peppers and slice each one in half. Fill the peppers with ground beef, taco seasoning, and maybe some cauliflower rice, and bake for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees.
  • Keto Burgers – Buy or make your own black bean burger patties and pair them with healthy cauliflower or keto-friendly (low-carb) burger buns. You can include leafy romaine lettuce, sliced tomato, and low-carb cheese [2]. Season the patties to taste and grill them for about 5 minutes depending on thickness.
  • Keto Tacos – Who doesn’t love a good taco? All this recipe requires is keto-friendly corn tortillas, ground beef, cheddar, romaine, arugula, or iceberg lettuce. Use a bit of olive oil to cook the ground beef and season to taste. Chop up your leafy vegetable of choice and shred cheddar cheese. Combine for the perfect keto-friendly taco night.

Shopping List

The beginner’s guide to keto meal plan success starts with ingredients. So keep your pantry, freezer, and fridge stocked with the following items:

  • Protein – Protein will likely be the cornerstone of all your keto-friendly meals because it’s filling, it can help reduce inflammation[3], and most proteins won’t add a bunch of carbs per day to your meals. Start with chicken breast, salmon filets, ground beef, scallops, crab, and shrimp.
  • Produce – Produce will also be very important for complementing your keto meals and providing sides and toppings. For this, try picking up non-starchy vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, bell peppers, garlic, and green beans. You will also need leafy greens for salads like kale, spinach, cabbage, and romaine lettuce.
  • Dairy – You should be prioritizing cheese that is made from whole milk because it will contain fewer carbs than heavily processed cheese like American cheese. Be sure to stock up on eggs, almond or coconut milk, heavy cream, sour cream, and yogurt when you hit the dairy aisle.
  • Fruits – Fruits are great as keto-friendly standalone snacks or as toppings to salads and yogurts. Some examples of keto-friendly fruits include blueberries, lemons, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, limes, and avocado.
  • Cooking Oils – You should be replacing unhealthy cooking oils like corn and canola oil with healthier, keto-friendly options which include avocado oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, and medium-chain triglyceride oils.

Additional Tips for Keto Success

  • Meeting your health and weight loss goals through the keto diet is all about sustainability and setting realistic goals for yourself. Start by identifying a realistic target weight – maybe just 5 pounds to start with.
  • Once you achieve that attainable goal, you will be more motivated to push forward and set more lofty goals. Also, be sure to give yourself enough time to see results. Remember that everyone’s body is different and will react to diets in different ways.
  • So allow yourself at least a couple of months to hit your target weight and don’t worry about how fast someone else may have lost weight with the keto diet – they are not you.
  • Find keto meals and recipes that you really enjoy. This is the best way to make the keto diet more sustainable for you. That’s why we have included a keto meal plan for week 1 and an additional shopping list because it’s very important to enjoy the keto foods you eat.
  • Reducing stress will also help reduce the release of cortisol[4] which can have conflicting effects on the keto diet.
  • Cortisol signals the body to hold on to fat while the keto diet encourages your body to burn stored fat. So you can maximize the potential effects of the keto diet by limiting stress. Try practicing yoga and meditation, doing low-impact aerobic exercises, and limiting your time spent on social media.
  • And as always, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor about the keto diet. Your doctor will be able to help you set realistic goals and provide you with insights based on your unique health status.

    • Conclusion

    Whether you want to regulate your blood sugar more effectively or you simply want to slim down, the keto diet is a viable option. In addition to all the meal and lifestyle tips we’ve offered, it may also be helpful to look into high-quality keto supplements to make it easier to reach a state of ketosis and maintain it.

    Remember that cutting carbs out of your diet isn’t the end of the world. There are plenty of delicious and enticing keto-friendly meals like the ones we have listed. Remember to stay realistic, vigilant, and to maintain a healthy diet and you may just have success with the keto diet.