The keto eating plan is amazing. However, with its emphasis on high fat, you’ll be wondering how to eat enough fat on Keto to reach your macros.
This is because the keto diet has a set daily ratio of carbohydrate, protein and fats. To follow the keto diet well, the vast majority of your daily intake will be in the form of healthy fats.
You’ll need to ensure that you’re eating enough high fats. They an important part of the keto diet.
Aim to consume no more than 20g net carbohydrates and 5% of your total food intake each day. Protein should account for be about 20%, and the rest – a whopping 70-75% – will be reserved for your necessary fat consumption.
To find out how much carb, protein and fat you should eat visit this this calculator
Exact macro allowances are a personal thing, and will vary from person to person. It’s important that you stay with the recommended amounts at least for the first few weeks.
Why do you need to eat enough fat on keto?
High Fat intake is vital if you are going to reach the desired state of ketosis , which is the aim of the keto diet.
Once you’ve replaced your normal carbs with fats you will be shifting to burning fat for fuel.This is in place of burning glucose which came from carbohydrates.
It’s also important that you ensure that you’re eating enough fat to meet your daily energy needs. You should be replacing most of the carbohydrates you were previously eating with fats.
This will feel strange at first, especially if you are used to avoiding fats.
The healthy fats recommended for the keto diet need to become your new best friends.
It may take a little getting used to, but you will be rewarded by less hunger and more stable blood/glucose levels.
This will help you to maintain the diet, especially in the first week or two.
Once you’re in ketosis you will be burning that fat to meet all your energy needs in a steady and healthy way.
Healthy Fats
The emphasis on keto is to use only healthy fats. Avoid seeds oils completely.
Seed oils are not good for your health and are associated with the development of several health conditions.
Choose from these healthy fats:
- Olive Oil
- Butter
- Ghee
- Tallow
- Lard
- Coconut Oil
- MCT Oil
- Avocado Oil
Add healthy fats to your keto drinks
The Keto Coffee, or sometimes known as the Bulletproof Coffee is a great way to add extra fat.
Not only that, a bulletproof coffee has a lot of extra benefits that will make you feel amazing.
Start your day with a keto coffee. You will be adding to your daily fat requirement plus benefiting from a number of healthy extras:
- Extra boost of energy which will last for several hours.
- Increased cognitive function and focus. You’ll feel happier and more creative.
- Decreases inflammation, which is a major cause of disease.
- Kills harmful bacteria. It’s important to maintain a healthy balance of Gut Bacteria. An imbalance can lead to food cravings.
- Keeps you feeling full. Fat is very satiating and will help to minimize the times you need to snack in between meals.
For many more ways to enjoy a keto coffee or two visit bulletproof coffee recipe keto and experiment with one of the suggested variations.
Add healthy fats to low carb vegetables
There are many low carb keto friendly vegetables which can be stir-fried, or fried in a healthy fat.
Try adding some chopped up meat such as bacon to add extra taste as well as fats.
Choose olive oil or butter and gently fry the vegetable until it is just cooked. Add salt and pepper to take your veggies to the next level.
Low carb vegetables include:
- Cauliflower
- Zucchini
- Cabbage
- Brussels sprouts
- Green Peppers
- Eggplant
- Tomato
- Olives
- Avocado
Olives and Avocados are super foods, packed with goodness. Try to eat these a few times every week, if not every day.
Don’t worry about the high carb count in avocados. Their fiber count can be subtracted from this making avocados the perfect high fat keto food.
Jalepeño or asparagus bacon wraps are amazing. Healthy and with plenty of fats. See the recipe in this list of quick keto snacks
Nuts for added fat
Nuts are of course very high fat. They are a great way of increasing how much fat you can eat each day.
You will need to take care of how many of these you eat. They do contain carbohydrates and its all too easy to over eat them.
However, they have numerous health benefits and contain a lot of valuable micro nutrients so they are worth incorporating into your keto eating plan.
High fat dairy products will help you to eat enough fat
High fat dairy products are a great and healthy way of reaching your fat macros.
Avoid anything that says “low fat” or “Skimmed”.
Choose from these foods:
- Butter
- Ghee
- Cheese, all cheese especially hard cheese
- Full fat cream, don’t include full fat milk as it contains too many carbs.
Try to eat grass fed butter if this is within your budget. It really is a lot more healthy for you.
Use butter on top of meats or fish. Fry with it or add it to almost anything.
Cheese is another high fat item that can be added to just about everything that you make.
If you’re a fan of cheese, there are endless different types to choose from.
However, although all cheese is keto friendly, hard cheeses tend to be lower on the carb count. Check the amounts before you enjoy.
Cream cheese can be used in baking too and as the basis for many keto sauces.
Cream can be used in much the same way, and as with the other keto fats, be as generous as you want to be.
High fat meats and fish
All meat and fish is keto friendly, so eat whatever you enjoy.
However, to help you to eat enough fat, choose fatty versions of your favourite meat or fish. If you’re eating chicken, keep the skin.
Some examples of fatty meats and fish are:
- Salmon
- Tuna
- Herring
- Mackrel
- Steak
- Porterhouse
- Ribeye
- Beef
- Bacon
- Sausage
- Chorizo
Further, these foods will help you to absorb essential fat-soluble vitamins and minerals.
MCT Oil
MCT oil is an amazing product that can add a big boost to your keto diet.
MCT stands for medium-chain triglycerides, which are fatty acids containing between 6 -12 carbon atoms.
These fatty acids are used as a supplement that can be found in both coconut oil and palm oil, although at lower concentrations than MCT oil.
The unique property of MCT’s is that they can be directly used for energy as they can be converted into ketones as soon as they reach the liver via your bloodstream.
They will give you a quick and healthy boost that is far superior to the energy drinks from the store.
Due to the fact that MCT’s are processed so quickly, this minimizes the chances of them being stored as body fat.
There are several studies that demonstrate the ability of MCT’s to increase the body’s ability to burn fat. (1)
This study (2) also concluded that MCT helped with weight loss.
So, not only will MCT oils help you to reach your fat macros. They will also help you to lose weight.
MCT oil is tasteless, so you can add it to any food. It makes a great addition to keto coffees too.
For full details of this amazing oil see mct oil for keto.
Eating enough fats is vital if you are to get the most out of the keto diet.
This is because a high fat intake will help you to get into ketosis.
Moreover, fats will also reduce your appetite and help you to regulate your eating.
Further, fats are essential for the absorption of many important fat soluble vitamins and minerals.
It may seem daunting in the beginning to have to eat so much fat.
Most of us have been bought up in an environment that is full of advice to cut out fats as they are not healthy.
This is not true, and there is now overwhelming evidence that healthy fats and saturated fats are beneficial to your health.
If you´d like to know more about this, read it here:
Finally, although fat should make up about 75% of your daily intake, you shouldn’t be eating way too much.
There is no need to count calories on the keto diet. However, you can’t treat it as an all-you-can-eat buffet either.
Simply eat until you’re full and don’t eat again until you’re hungry.
This may sound simple, but it you’ve had a long time of eating high carb foods, you may have become used to snacking in between meals.
The keto diet with its inclusion of high fat will keep you full for a lot longer that you are used to.
Take the time to work out if you are genuinely hungry before you reach for a snack.
Adjusting your fat intake
If you do find that you are not losing enough weight, then increase your fat intake slightly until you are seeing the loss that you are looking for.
The opposite is also true. If you find you’re losing a little too quickly, adjust your fat intake upwards.
Too quick a weight loss is not a good idea.
Don’t adjust your other macros of carbohydrates and protein. These amounts need to stay the same.
After a week or so of eating high fat on the keto diet you will be pleased with the health and weight loss benefits.
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