Sometimes, you don’t have enough time to prepare a keto-friendly meal. That’s why it’s practical to grab your lunch or dinner from the nearest fast food restaurant. The only challenge is ensuring that you remember the essential rules of eating a ketogenic diet.
When you eat out, here are some important tips you should follow so that you can stay on track with your ketogenic diet while enjoying your meals.
Remove the burger bun
As a rule of thumb, you should minimize carb intake if you want to keep your fast food meals keto-friendly. For example, the burger bun on everyone’s favorite McDonald’s Quarter Pounder contains 30 grams of carbohydrates. If you want to add texture to your burger, you can opt for lettuce wraps instead.
Say no to deep-fried food
While a ketogenic diet entails consuming fat-rich food items, it doesn’t mean that you should indulge in deep-fried goodies like fries, mozzarella sticks, and fried chicken. Remember to go for grilled instead of fried food.
Go for cheese, veggies, and meat
There are so many low carb fast food meals that are available through online delivery that you can enjoy nowadays. That’s why you can still stick to your keto diet even if you miss preparing a ketogenic meal. Be wary of some fast food items that contain a high amount of carbohydrates. For example, the KFC coleslaw contains 14 grams of carbs! The majority of the carb content comes from sugar.
Be extra careful with salads
Salads can be quite problematic. While they all contain cheese, meat, and a lot of veggies, some salads contain dried fruits, sugar-coated nuts, and croutons. These three food items contain a high amount of carbs.
Also, most fast food salad contains carb-rich sauces. To enjoy your favorite salads, ask the server to place the sauce in a separate container. Then, you can remove all the other solid ingredients that contain a lot of carbs.
Why switch to a keto diet
The ketogenic diet is one of the best types of diet that can help you lose weight. It is effective because it involves reducing carb intake in every meal. There is a specific ratio of proteins, fats, and carbs that you need to integrate into your weekly diet plan.
Take note, however, that some individuals can’t follow this type of diet. For example, it’s not good for people who suffer from diabetes and high blood pressure because it can cause complications.
Many health benefits await
The keto diet provides a great number of benefits including reducing abdominal fat and triglycerides in the bloodstream. As such, you can prevent health conditions like heart attack, obesity, and stroke. It also increases the levels of high-density lipoproteins or HDL which can protect your heart from diseases like hypertension.
If you’re not sure how to plan your meals to follow a ketogenic diet, you can consult with an expert. They can provide a list of food items that you must include in your diet. They can also teach you what ingredients you shouldn’t include in your recipes.