Here’s a free keto diet plan for beginners printable for you. This diet plan is perfect for those who are new to the keto diet and want to learn what to eat on a keto diet, how many carbs to eat, keto meal prep and much more. This printable keto diet for beginners contains all the information you need to start burning fat and losing weight fast.
You can try the Ketogenic diet or a keto diet plan for beginners, you’ll see here there are different forms of this diet that will help you get started in getting the body you desire. These templates will be used over and over again to get your body into ketosis. Find out about the health benefits of the keto diet below.
Whether you are looking for a sample keto diet plan for beginners or a more established keto dieter, this post will help you find ways to stay on target in your quest for a healthier and happier you. I’ll tell you what’s the best keto diet plan for beginners and how to implement it correctly.
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Free Keto Diet Plan For Beginners Printable
Keto doesn’t have to be hard. Let me help you get started with my free keto diet plan for beginners printable which includes 5 EASY low-carb dinners plus a keto breakfast recipe complete with net carb counts and a printable shopping list.
As a general rule, I stick to simple recipes that do not require hard-to-find ingredients. Most recipes are one-pan meals that can be made in 30 minutes or less. The few exceptions are slow cooker meals that are easy dump-and-go recipes. This meal plan is designed for people who love good food but don’t want to devote hours to hard-to-make keto meals.
Easy Keto Meal Plan
Welcome to the second week of Easy Keto Meal Planning! This Easy Keto Meal Plan includes 5 EASY low-carb dinners plus a keto breakfast recipe complete with net carb counts and a printable shopping list.
This week I’ve got simple recipes packed with flavor like my favorite Bacon Cheeseburger Skillet, Slow Cooker Ranch Chicken (great for keto tacos!), and Bacon Egg and Cheese Bites, perfect for meal prep!
If you are looking for a way to lose weight, feel better and get your carb consumption under control this is it! Below you will find links to each recipe, including net carb count and how much each recipe yields. You can also check out all of my keto recipes here. The printable shopping list and meal planning guide are included below. Every week on Saturday morning I’ll be sharing a new menu for the week ahead. So, sit back and relax. Keto just got a lot easier.
Easy Keto Breakfast Recipe
The perfect easy keto breakfast! Try these Keto Bacon Egg and Cheese Bites for an easy grab-and-go breakfast! This recipe makes 24 bites, less than one net carb each! These little savory bites make the perfect meal prep breakfast to get you through the week.
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Monday: One Pan Bacon Cheeseburger Skillet
This One Pan Keto Bacon Cheeseburger Skillet is under 4 net carbs and is loaded with ground beef, bacon, a creamy sauce and cheese! This keto dinner is ready in under 20 minutes!
Tuesday: Green Bean and Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner
This Sausage and Green Bean Sheet Pan Dinner is ready in 30 minutes, requires no prep and is less than 6 net carbs per serving! This will be your new favorite easy keto dinner recipe!
Wednesday: One Pan Keto Lasagna
This Keto Lasagna Skillet has everything you love about lasagna with none of the work! Ready in 30 minutes and only 5 net carbs per serving this is a low-carb recipe you’ve got to try!
Thursday: Sesame Pork and Green Beans
One Pan Keto Sesame Pork and Green Beans has just 4.5 net carbs per serving and is loaded with tangy Asian flavor! This reheats perfectly so it is a great meal prep option!
Friday: Slow Cooker Ranch Chicken
This easy Keto Slow Cooker Ranch Chicken is the perfect set-it-and-forget-it-a meal! It is great for low-carb tacos, salads and keto meal prep! Only 5 easy ingredients!
Keto Diet for Beginners
If you’re curious about the keto diet but don’t know where to start, you’ve come to the right place. What can you eat? Is it even right for you? We have you covered with these answers and more in the Keto diet for Beginners.
Keto has become so popular that here at Prevention, we decided we’d better take a close look at it. Informed by a team of medical and nutrition experts, the guide we created is not a restrictive diet—it’s a healthy eating plan, starring whole foods with high nutritional value. Within its pages, you’ll find helpful, research-backed info on keto and how to get started, dozens of recipes, and the cooking tools you’ll need for keto success.
What is the keto diet, and why should you try it?
The keto diet is one of the most buzzed-about and sometimes controversial food fads from recent years. Quite simply, keto is a high-fat, low-carb eating plan that encourages weight loss by burning fat for energy instead of glucose. “Ketosis” is just a fancy word for the metabolic state your body enters to turn fat into energy. Some benefits include:
- Feeling full longer
- Greater amounts of energy
- Fewer cravings
Several keto studies have found promising results in weight loss, blood sugar control, and the prevention of cardiovascular disease. In Keto for Beginners, we looked carefully at these studies and consulted with experts to assemble all the information needed to approach the diet in a thoughtful way. It’s not just about what you’re eating–it’s about how your whole body will feel.
It’s important, with the keto diet, to build up to the right balance of healthy fats, proteins, and carbs. This helps ease your body into this way of eating and avoids any negative keto side effects. Keto for Beginners will help you do exactly that.
What you’ll eat using Keto for Beginners
With guidance from doctors and nutritionists, we’ve identified the 15 all-star foods you need on the keto diet—and they are ones you probably already love, like in –salmon and other seafood, lean beef, nuts, eggs, avocados, leafy greens, and tomatoes, to name a few.
Some delicious recipes featured in Keto for Beginners, all dietitian-approved:
- Sausage-stuffed zucchini boats
- Moroccan cauliflower pot roast
- Veggie and cheese taco cups
Do’s
Decrease carbs (but eat more veggies)
Eating a very low-carb diet is important to achieving ketosis, but low-carb does not mean no-carb. With Atkins 20, net carbs are restricted to 20g or fewer per day for about two weeks to guarantee that ketosis is achieved. After this induction phase, you will gradually add small amounts of net carbs back into your diet while still burning fat.
You can easily count the net carbs you are consuming with the Atkins® app or this guide. When limiting your carb intake on a keto diet to 20–40 net grams per day, it is important to eat plenty of foundation vegetables to ensure you’re getting all of your necessary vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber.
Reach for nutrient-dense, non-starchy veggies like kale, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, mushrooms, and peppers. Another bonus: the combination of eating whole foods plus gradually adding net carbs as you maintain ketosis also helps prevent setbacks, hunger pangs, and cravings for processed foods. Bonus tip: Swap in low-carb ingredients to make your favorite meals. For example, use zucchini noodles to replace regular noodles in your favorite pasta dish!
Decrease stress
We know that sometimes this is easier said than done! High levels of the stress hormone cortisol can elevate your blood sugar levels and get in the way of your body’s ability to achieve ketosis. If your job or personal life is currently more stressful than usual, you may want to wait to start a keto diet. You can also help reduce stress by getting lots of sleep, exercising regularly, and trying relaxation techniques like meditation or yoga. Bonus tip: Prioritize sleep by sticking to a set bedtime schedule, and aim for a consistent 7–9 hours of sleep every night.
Increase healthy fats
Low-carb keto diets replace your reduction of carbs with an increase in fat, which typically accounts for at least 60% of your daily calories. Because we’ve been told for so long to avoid fat, most people undereat fat when trying a keto diet. It is important to choose healthy fats from high-quality plant and animal sources, such as olive oil, avocado oil, and coconut oil as well as cheese, eggs, nuts, and fish. Bonus tip: If you find yourself getting hungry between meals, you may not be consuming enough healthy fats.
Increase exercise
As with any diet, increasing your activity levels can help you achieve your weight loss goals. Regularly exercising while on the keto diet, however, can also help you achieve ketosis and transition into a low-carb, high-fat lifestyle more quickly than you would otherwise. That’s because to achieve ketosis, your body needs to get rid of any glucose, and the more often you exercise, the quicker your body uses up its glycogen stores before turning to fat for energy. Bonus tip: It’s not uncommon to feel a bit sluggish when starting a keto diet. Ease into any new workout regimen, and be sure to include plenty of low-intensity exercises as you adapt to your new diet.
Increase your water intake
Water is crucial to supporting your metabolism and regular body functions, and low-carb diets like keto have a diuretic effect on the body. Not consuming enough water, especially during the induction phase, can lead to constipation, dizziness, and cravings. In addition to drinking enough water, make sure you’re getting all of your electrolytes by adding some broth to your diet or a little extra salt to your food. Bonus tip: Stay well hydrated and drink a minimum of 6 to 8 glasses of water daily. Drink even more if you have upped your exercise or if it’s a hot day.
Maintain your protein intake
A keto diet requires eating enough protein to supply the liver with amino acids to make new glucose for the cells and organs, such as your kidneys and your red blood cells, that can’t use ketones or fatty acids as fuel. Not consuming enough protein can lead to loss of muscle mass, while consuming an excessive amount can prevent ketosis. Bonus tip: When following a keto diet such as Atkins 20, aim for 20-30% of your diet to be made up of protein.
Maintain your social life!
Starting a keto diet doesn’t mean you have to eat every meal at home. Make smart choices when dining out by checking the menu ahead of time, asking the restaurant for nutrition information, sticking to meat and veggie options, and opting for a side salad instead of a starchy side like fries. Bonus tip: Replace sugar-laden condiments like BBQ sauce and ketchup with yellow mustard, ranch dressing, hot sauce, or butter. Also, meet up with your friends at these keto-friendly restaurants!
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What to Keep in Mind When Creating Your Ketogenic Meal Plan
If you’ve decided to move forward in trying the keto diet, you will want to stick to the parameters of the eating plan. Roughly 60 to 80 percent of your calories will come from fats. That means you’ll eat meats, fats, and oils, and a very limited amount of non-starchy vegetables, she says. (This is different from a traditional low-carb diet, as even fewer carbs are allowed on the keto diet.)
The remaining calories in the keto diet come from protein — about 1 gram (g) per kilogram of body weight, so a 140-pound woman would need about 64 g of protein in total. As for carbs: Everybody is different, but most people maintain ketosis with between 20 and 50 g of net carbs per day. Total carbohydrates minus fiber equals net carbs, she explains.
Keto-friendly foods
When following a ketogenic diet, meals and snacks should center around the following foods:
- Eggs: pastured, organic, or conventional all work fine
- Poultry: chicken and turkey
- Fatty fish: salmon, herring, and mackerel
- Meat: beef, venison, pork, organ meats, and bison
- Full-fat dairy: unsweetened yogurt, butter, and cream
- Full-fat cheese: cheddar, mozzarella, brie, goat cheese, and cream cheese
- Nuts and seeds: macadamia nuts, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, and flaxseeds
- Nut butter: no-sugar-added peanut, almond, and cashew butter
- Oils rich in healthy fats: olive oil, avocado oil, and sesame oil
- Avocados: whole avocados can be added to almost any meal or snack
- Non-starchy vegetables: greens, broccoli, tomatoes, mushrooms, and peppers
- Condiments: salt, pepper, vinegar, lemon juice, fresh herbs, and spices
Foods to limit
When possible, it’s best to avoid or limit foods rich in carbs while following a keto diet.
The following foods should be limited:
- Bread and baked goods: white bread, whole wheat bread, crackers, cookies, doughnuts, and rolls
- Sweets and sugary foods: sugar, ice cream, candy, maple syrup, honey, agave syrup, and coconut sugar
- Sweetened beverages: soda, juice, sweetened teas, and sports drinks
- Pasta: spaghetti and other noodles
- Grains and grain products: wheat, rice, oats, breakfast cereals, and tortillas
- Starchy vegetables: potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, corn, peas, and pumpkin
- Beans and legumes: black beans, chickpeas, lentils, and kidney beans
- Fruit: citrus, grapes, bananas, and pineapple
- High-carb sauces: barbecue sauce, ketchup, honey mustard, sugary salad dressings, and dipping sauces
- Certain alcoholic beverages: beer and sugary mixed drinks
Though carbs should be restricted, you can enjoy low glycemic fruits, such as berries, in limited amounts as long as you’re maintaining a keto-friendly range of macronutrients (carbs, protein, fat).
Be sure to choose plenty of whole foods and steer clear of processed foods and trans fats when possible.
Keto-friendly beverages
Sugar can be found in a wide variety of beverages including juice, soda, iced tea, and coffee drinks. While on a ketogenic diet, you should limit or avoid high-carb drinks, just like high-carb foods.
It’s no small matter that sugary beverages have also been linked to various health concerns — from obesity to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
There are many tasty sugar-free options for those on the keto diet. Keto-friendly beverage choices include:
- Water. Water is the best choice for hydration and should be consumed throughout the day.
- Sparkling water. Sparkling water can make an excellent soda replacement.
- Unsweetened coffee. Try using heavy cream to add flavor to your cup of coffee.
- Unsweetened green tea. Green tea is delicious and may provide many health benefits.
If you want to add some extra flavor to your water, try experimenting with different keto-friendly flavor combinations. For example, tossing some fresh mint and a lemon peel into your water bottle can make hydration a breeze.
Though alcohol should be restricted, enjoying an occasional low-carb drink like vodka or tequila mixed with soda water is acceptable on the keto diet.
SUMMARY
The ketogenic diet revolves around high fat, low carb food choices and limits highly processed foods and trans fats. Keto-friendly beverage options should be sugar-free when possible. Consider water, sparkling water, or unsweetened green tea and coffee.
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Sample Keto Diet Plan for Beginners
A keto diet plan is very popular right now. The keto diet plan is a low-carb, high-fat diet. It was developed to control epilepsy in children who didn’t respond to other treatments.
This sample keto diet for beginners provides 21.4g of net carbohydrates. Atkins has even more plans personalized to your lifestyle, as well as an incredible library of delicious low-carb recipes.
Breakfast: 4.6g net carbs
Eggs scrambled with sautéed onions and cheddar cheese
Snack: 1g net carbs
Atkins French Vanilla Shake
Lunch: 6g net carbs
Grilled chicken over baby spinach, tomato, and avocado salad
Snack: 4.4g net carbs
1 cup sliced red bell pepper with 2 tbsp ranch dressing
Dinner: 5.4g net carbs
5 oz hamburger, 1 oz pepper jack cheese, 1 small tomato, ½ Hass avocado, 2 romaine lettuce leaves
Benefits and Risks of the Diet That Beginners Need to Know
Before you dive in, it’s key to know the possible benefits and risks of keto.
Research backs up undertaking a ketogenic diet in three circumstances: to aid the treatment of epilepsy, to help manage type 2 diabetes, and to support weight loss, and the last two purposes still need more studies. “In terms of diabetes, there is some promising research showing that the ketogenic diet may improve glycemic control. It may cause a reduction in A1C — a key test for diabetes that measures a person’s average blood sugar control over two to three months — something that may help you reduce medication use,” she says.
But for people with diabetes, one big concern is you’re eating a lot of fat on keto, and that fat may be saturated, which is unhealthy when eaten in excess. (The much higher total fat intake is also a challenge among keto beginners.)
Health Benefits of the Keto Diet
Keto Diet is an effective way to lose weight. It helps you shed fat by breaking down fat cells and burning them as fuel. The health benefits of the keto diet include improving mental health, reducing the risk of heart disease and diabetes, reducing cancer symptoms and slowing down the aging process.
1. May encourage weight loss
One of the most popular reasons people try the keto diet is for the claimed weight loss benefits. Multiple studies have found that the ketogenic diet is effective for short-term, rapid weight loss compared to low-fat diets (Paoli, 2014). However, a significant amount of the initial weight loss may be water weight. What is the keto diet, and should you follow it?
Some research suggests that the keto diet may be more effective than other eating plans to reduce abdominal body fat and encourage long-term weight loss. Abdominal fat is sometimes called visceral fat because it surrounds the organs. This type of fat is associated with a higher risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and fatty liver.
2. May improve cholesterol levels
Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) are considered the “bad” cholesterol and are more likely to cause heart disease and plaques. High-density lipoproteins (HDL) is called the “good” cholesterol because it helps lower the risk for heart disease.
Research shows that following a keto diet may help reduce total cholesterol while increasing HDL levels. So, the keto diet may lower your risk for heart disease by improving cholesterol levels.
This link isn’t so clear-cut, though. Some studies suggest LDL levels could increase while following a keto diet.
3. Reduces seizures
The ketogenic diet was originally created to suppress seizures before anti-seizure medications were widely used. Today, the keto diet is still used to help reduce seizures in people who have trouble controlling their seizures with medication alone (Masood, 2021).
4. May improve insulin resistance and blood sugar control
The hormone insulin pulls glucose from the carbohydrates we eat into our cells. Consistently high blood sugar can be caused by a resistance to insulin, which may lead to type 2 diabetes over time.
Since high blood glucose is the problem in diabetes, people have turned to low-carb diets as a possible way to control their blood sugar levels. Research suggests the keto diet may improve insulin levels and blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes (Shilpa, 2018). If you have diabetes and are on medication, it’s important to speak with your healthcare provider about any dietary changes you may be considering, as your medications may need to be more closely monitored.
5. May lower blood pressure
Consistently high blood pressure increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and chronic kidney disease (Fuchs, 2019). Research suggests that following a keto diet may help lower blood pressure levels and maintain healthy blood pressure levels (Masood, 2021).