Keto Low Carb Challenge

August 25, 2021Low Carb RecipesJeff Fidler

7-Day Low Carb Challenge

Join us in this 7-Day Low Carb Challenge to help kick you into ketosis and start your low carb journey for health, weight loss, or managing a medical condition such as diabetes.

Are you thinking about starting a low carb or ketogenic diet? It’s not always easy, but with the tips, recipes, and 7-day meal plan we’ve outlined in this article, you can start planning and get motivated to begin your low carb journey!

This 7-Day Low Carb Challenge is intended for those wanting to kick-start ketosis, a fat-burning metabolic state that can help you lose weight, control blood sugar levels, lower inflammation, reduce blood pressure, and even improve mental focus!

The meal plan provided at the end of this article follows a standard ketogenic diet approach, defined as a low carb, moderate protein, high fat diet that involves the following macronutrient ratios:

70-80% of your calories from fat
20-25% of your calories from protein
5-10% of your calories from carbohydrates

This challenge is a great place to start if you have never done a low carb diet before or are looking to get back on track of your low carb diet. We encourage you to get out of your usual routine, as a new reality awaits on the other side. Be curious about your capabilities and open-minded about the outcome. Whether the next 7 days are what you expected or not, be proud of yourself for even partaking in this challenge, which is by no means a simple task!

Disclaimer: As always, speak to a medical professional prior to starting this 7-day low carb challenge, especially if you are managing a chronic health condition such as diabetes or a neurological disorder.

How Long Does It Take to Get into Ketosis?

First things first, let’s tackle this frequently asked question. How long does it take to get into ketosis? The answer is it depends. If you cut carbs all at once (the “cold turkey” method), it generally takes anywhere from 2-7 days to get into ketosis. But if you remove carbohydrates from your diet gradually, the answer can really vary!

In this 7-day challenge, we will be taking the cold-turkey approach. However, there are some common experiences associated with this approach that you should be aware of. Many people experience physical side effects (collectively known as the “Keto Flu”) after reducing their carb intake drastically. These might include:

Irritability
Irregular sleep and fatigue
Headache or dizziness
Brain fog
Constipation or diarrhea
Nausea
Sugar cravings
Difficulty while exercising

These physical changes are short-lived and should not deter you from continuing your journey. After all, it’s no surprise that some of these discomforts occur, considering you are making a major change in your diet! Dietary changes affect our brains and bodies in a big way; check out our blog for more information about how food influences your mood and sleep!

Getting Started: The Basics

Before we dive into our 7-day meal plan, let’s cover the basics of a low carb, moderate protein, high fat diet.

#1: Fat quantity and quality matters.

The number one thing to keep in mind before starting this 7-day challenge is that fats are your focus for the next week! Not only do you need to keep track of how much fat you are getting, but you also need to be choosing the right kinds of fats. Learn about “good” vs. “bad” fats.

Here are some examples of foods that provide healthy fats:

Avocados and avocado oil (great for high heat cooking)
Almonds or almond butter
Walnuts
Pecans
Macadamia nuts
Sunflower seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Chia seeds
Hemp seeds
Flax seeds, flaxseed meal and flax oil (great for dressings and drizzling)
Extra virgin olive oil
Unrefined coconut oil
MCT oil (from coconuts)
No sugar added dark chocolate (70%+ cacao)
Alternative flours made from nuts/seeds such as almond flour and coconut flour
Fatty fish such as salmon, trout, mackerel, sardines, and anchovies
Egg yolks
Grass-fed butter or ghee

The following foods should be avoided as they contain mostly unhealthy fats:

Canola oil (AKA rapeseed oil)
Corn oil
Soybean oil
Grapeseed oil
Sunflower oil
Safflower oil
Grain-fed or reduced-fat dairy
Processed meats (bacon, sausages, hot dogs, and deli meats)

#2: Limit your protein.

You may be wondering why you need to limit protein on a ketogenic diet. The reason is that when you eat more protein than your body needs, some of it is converted into glucose (sugar), which can prevent you from entering or staying in ketosis.

The important thing to remember when choosing proteins for your ketogenic diet is to opt for complete proteins – those that contain all 9 essential amino acids – to ensure you are getting all your required nutrients. While many sources may recommend eating fattier cuts of meat on a ketogenic diet, these can actually contain “bad” fats and raise LDL cholesterol levels. Opt for lean sources and supplement your fat requirements from other foods.

Some examples of complete proteins include:

Free range chicken or turkey
Free range eggs
Grass-fed beef
Wild-caught fish
Shellfish and mollusks such as shrimp, crab, mussels, and oysters (check out our recipes for the best low carb seafood here!)
Organic tofu or tempeh
Clean protein powders (added to things like smoothies and baked goods)
Grass-fed yogurt and cheese
Grass-fed or marine collagen peptides

#3: Don’t forget about fibre!

Fibre found in non-starchy vegetables not only improves digestion, but it can also help keep you feeling full and reduce sugar cravings. Non-starchy vegetables are also a great source of other essential nutrients including vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that contribute to good health. While technically fibre is a carb, it does not count towards net carbs, which is really what we’re concerned with when it comes to low carb diets. Fibre does not cause spikes in blood sugar levels, nor is it stored as fat if we eat too much of it, unlike sugars and starches.

One last thing to note is that fruit, although high in fibre, is also high in naturally occurring sugars. Try to limit your intake of fruits or stick to low carb fruits such as berries, melons, and avocados. You can also use freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice to add a boost of vitamin C and flavour to your meals.

#4: Stay Hydrated

During the first week or two after starting a ketogenic diet, you will probably experience a lot of water loss (and more frequent urination), which also means you’ll lose many important electrolytes. This happens when the body starts burning through extra stores of glycogen, a molecule consisting of sugar and water.

Be sure to sip on water consistently, aiming for 2-4L per day. You can also add a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon or lime to replenish some of those lost electrolytes. Learn more about the importance of consuming enough salt on a keto diet.

Calculating Your Macros

Finally, before we dive into the 7-day meal plan, we have one last helpful tip for getting started with a low carb diet. One point of confusion for many first-time low carb dieters is how to calculate your macros. Fat, protein and carbohydrates all have different caloric densities; meaning 1g of fat does not contain the same amount of calories as 1g of protein or 1g of carbohydrates. Since we want to know what percentage of our daily calories we should attribute to each macronutrient, it is helpful to know how many calories are in each. Use the following guide below to help you calculate your macronutrient ratios:

1g of fat = 9 calories
1g of protein = 4 calories
1g of carbohydrates = 4 calories

If you consume 2000 calories a day and you want to achieve, as an example, a 70:20:10 fat to protein to carb ratio, you should consume the following grams and calories of food:

Fat: 70% x 2000 calories = 1400 calories / 9 calories per gram = 155g of fat
Protein: 20% x 2000 calories = 400 calories / 4 calories per gram = 100g of protein
Carbohydrates: 10% x 2000 calories = 200 calories / 4 calories per gram = 50g of carbohydrates

7-Day Low Carb Meal Plan

Here’s a look at how the next 7 days will look if you follow this 7-Day Low Carb Challenge! Note that this is not a one-size-fits-all meal plan, but it can point you in the right direction if you are looking to start a ketogenic diet and need some recipe inspiration.

On the first two days, we recommend fasting until lunch time. The body naturally enters a state of ketosis after 12-16 hours of fasting, so aim for the 16-hour mark to have your first meal. You can drink coffee or tea in the morning, just don’t add any milk or sugar as this will add calories and kick you out of your fast. You can, however, opt for a zero calorie sweetener such as Lakanto Monk Fruit Sweetener, or one of these flavoured Organic Liquid Stevia Drops from Crave Stevia!

You’ll notice that the first two days are also very low carb and low calorie. This is intended to help your body get into ketosis faster and create a caloric deficit that can help you shed some weight. For the rest of the week, there is more wiggle room for carbs and regular caloric intake resumes (based on a 2000 calorie/day diet).

Day 1

	Recipe	Fat	Protein	Carbohydrates	Calories
Breakfast	Fasted	0	0	0	0
Lunch	Low Carb Omega 3 Fat Bomb Salmon	73g	49g	3g	859
Dinner	Keto Chicken Fajitas	29g	28.5g	5.5g	423
Snack/Dessert	Keto Macadamia Nuts and Keto Chocolate Shake	21g 34g	2g 7g	2g 5g	200 336
	Total	157g	86.5g	15.5g	1818