How to Keto: Part I
On occasion when I’ve told someone that keto or low carb/high fat eating focuses on eating a lot of healthy fats, they’ll say, “okay, but you can’t just eat fat, so what do you actually do for meals?” There are two main strategies here, and I’m going to divide this into two long posts, because there are photos!
Strategy 1: Eliminate the carbs. Many meals in many cultures find their base in a carbohydrate, be that rice, pasta, or bread products. I’ve heard so many people say “I can’t do keto; I’m Italian! All we eat is pasta!”, or “I can’t do keto; I’m Indian! There’s rice in every meal!”, etc. I would argue that most cultures’ cuisines fit the bill here, whether that’s sandwiches in your lunch or nachos for a snack or popcorn at a movie or sushi with friends. Believe it or not, though, sometimes you can just take the carb element right out. The majority of my meals are essentially meat and veggies in some combination. Here are some examples of meals where you could annex the carb element:
The meal: roasted chicken, broccoli, mashed potatoes. Eliminate the mashed potatoes.
Photo: rotisserie chicken leg with large salad (romaine, spinach, grape tomatoes, cucumber, toasted almonds, pumpkin seeds, homemade olive oil/white vinegar dressing), babybel gouda
The meal: beef vindaloo, basmati, naan, salad. Eliminate the basmati and naan.
The meal: ham and swiss sandwich, apple, hard-boiled egg. Eliminate the bread and swap out the apple for some lower-carb strawberries, and eat the ham and cheese together on their own. It sounds a little odd, but I’ve had some excellent “deli plate”-type meals that are totally satisfying – any combination of cold meats (preferably non-processed), cheese, nuts, olives, pickles, boiled eggs, and veggies makes for a great lunch!
The meal: sushi: opt for sashimi rather than rolls/sushi.
The meal: breakfast: opt for combinations of eggs, meat, veggies, and cheese rather than toast, hashbrowns, pancakes, waffles, etc.
Photo: scrambled eggs with mozzarella and broccoli, bacon.
Photo: Avocado baked eggs with pepperoni
Photo: Frittata (broccoli, spinach, red pepper, mozzarella)
Photo: breakfast salad (spinach, sliced boiled egg, bacon, cheddar, homemade olive oil/white vinegar dressing)
Sometimes it’s not as easy, though. If you take the noodles out of a pasta dish, for instance, you’d likely be left with sauce, a few veggies, and maybe some meat. So then we come to the next post: Strategy 2: Replace the carbs.
The Fasting Life 
Yum! Egg Salad (w/homemade avocado oil mayo, maybe even some bacon, toasted pecans, and chopped spicy pickle) on a lettuce “boat” is one of my favorite springtime/summer lunches!
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My point is this: you are absolutely right. You can either replace or eliminate carbs and still eat amazing and delicious things.
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Right?? I’ve seen so many articles that caution against ketogenic eating on the claim that it isn’t sustainable. Bullshit! It’s both sustainable, healthy, and totally delicious! Yes, you have to rethink your eating strategies a bit, but there’s tons of great food out there that fits into this!
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I know! There really isn’t ANYTHING about this way of eating that isn’t long-term sustainable. It’s far more delicious and sustainable than say, super restricting calories and eating nutrient-poor “diet” snacks forever.
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Well, and calorie restriction only shoots us in the foot in terms of slowing metabolism even further! Fasting and keto ramp it into high gear, on the other hand, solving the underlying issues that led to the weight gain in the first place!
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