מעבר לפליאו: The Ketogenic Diet Food Pyramid and Basic Guidance

The above food pyramid was created by me in order to help get a visual of the Ketogenic diet with some basic guidance.

There are many ways to follow the Ketogenic diet. Though after years of experience and experimenting, lots of reading, and may I say, common sense, this pyramid (and its guidelines), would be the best way to follow it in my humble opinion.

As long as you stick to the basic guidelines, the diet will provide all of the essential nutrients in the highest bio-available form and will maximize your ability to burn fat.

Most importantly, it could help you fight most medical conditions associated with the Metabolic Syndrome (also known as, or highly associate with, Insulin Resistance) like Obesity, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases, Alzheimer, Dementia, Epilepsy, some Cancers, Depression, Hypertension, Autoimmune Diseases, Attention Disorders like ADHD, and more [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 - just to name a few].

Allow few weeks for "keto-adaptation" (the time it takes to get fat adapted and go through carbohydrate and sugar withdrawal). During that time, which usually takes about 2 weeks but could last longer than that, you might feel weak, dizzy, nauseous, experience muscle cramps and changes in bowel movement, have increased cravings, "keto-breath", and your physical performance may be limited in the interim.
Don't forget to add salt to the diet during that time. Be patient and consistent, this is only temporary and will subside soon after you become fat adapted.

For lack of space on the pyramid itself, I did not mention the most obvious rule to the diet - avoidance of all starches and sugars.

No breads, pastas, rice, potatoes, pretzels, chips, cakes, bagels, candies, sugary sodas, corn, yams, sugars in all its forms, cereals, grains, sugary fruits and the like.

Keep scrolling down for the basic guidelines, some pictures of various meals to help you visualize the diet even better, and some recommended videos that will help you understand the rational behind the diet.

Basic guidance:

1. The safest, most nutritious and richest basis to the diet is animal source foods - highlighted in red in the pyramid. Anything beyond that base is potentially problematic to some degree - especially dairy, nuts, sweeteners and chocolates.

2. It is highly recommended to stick to the base of the pyramid, especially for those who are a beginner, have high goals ,are dealing with insulin resistance, overweight, or diabetic.

3. There's no organized menu. We don't count Calories nor points. We eat when we're hungry and don't eat when we're not hungry. In ketosis, it is OK to not eat an entire day if you're not hungry.

4. As long as you limit Carbohydrates and are not overdoing proteins, fat is the macro-nutrient that will be consumed based on satiety levels - more fat if hungry, less fat if less hungry (Note that while losing weight, energetically fat could be mobilized from our own adipose tissues).

5. Due to mineral secretion in the keto-adaptation phase (that could last a few weeks or even months), it is recommended to add more salt, especially in your stocks and soups.

6. As long as we stick to the base of the pyramid, the diet will be very rich in all essential nutrients, in the highest biological availability. Therefore, unless there's a proven nutrient deficiency, there's no need for any additional supplements.

7. Consistency is key - the diet will not work optimally (if at all) if you are inconsistent and keep eating Carbs even every now and then. For some, inconsistency would be a sure way to fail.

Various meal pictures for example: