Keto Diet

What can and cannot I eat?

There’s long laundry lists of things you should or not eat. If you are just starting out just focus on your macros most importantly staying less than 20g net carbs daily. After that makes sure Atleast 70% of the calories you intake are from fat. Lastly shoot for 25% protein.

Some basic things do not eat are:

Sugar
Bread
Pasta
Fruit

Here’s a very basic beginners guide:

LINK

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college kid

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You're screwed. Beer can probably get you out and being drunk leads to Taco Bell regardless of your intentions.

Also, if you come back with "I don't drink," I question if you are even in college.

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What would a keto diet look like for a college kid. Thanks

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Extremely unsustainable

Especially if you have any kind of social life that involves alcohol

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Taco Bell, Chick fil a,

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Has low carb options

Lol if you think about that stuff at 3 AM and wanting that 5 layer burrito

Right

Your diet shouldn’t make your life miserable

At that age just be active and go to the gym, keep your carbs sustainable 100-200 a day

It sounds like you just slipped a little bit for a few years, you probably don't need to go full-on keto to get back. For reference:


USDA Diet is ~60% of you calories from carbs meaning about 300g carbs/day for a 2000cal/day diet. If you have been eating what is universally considered "bad" diet, you're probably operating well north of 300g carbs/day.

Strict keto is (depending on the source) about 10% of the USDA diet, and basically asks that all of your carbs happen by coincidence (whatever carbs present in your veggies that just happen to come along for the ride).

The benefit of a strict keto is that you're not consuming enough carbohydrates to restore your liver glycogen without having to break down fats, even if you're living a non-active lifestyle.

However, the more you move, the more glycogen you have to restore (both in the liver and the muscles). Being active and keeping carbs in check (even at non-keto levels), will provide most of the same benefits and will probably be more sustainable with a college lifestyle.

The obvious decisions here are avoid sugary sodas and drinks and avoid sweets. Specific to a decision a college kid might make - don't make pizza be an entire meal, make some steamed veggies or salad or something so that you're full on 1-2 slices.

I am not saying Keto would be impossible for you to follow as a college student, but it would be incredibly difficult. That being said, I think it’s a great idea to cut overall carb intake and remove processed and refined carbs to the extent that you can. When I needed to lose my fall beer belly for spring break, I would just by green veggies and chicken breasts as these items were cheap and easy to cook. Try buying the large 5 lb bag of frozen California veggie mix from Walmart. Buy chicken breasts and ground turkey as they are cheap. These are inferior to grass fed red meat and wild caught fish, but I know you are on a budget. To get the fats your body needs, make sure to purchase coconut oil, avocado oil, and grass fed butter for cooking and organic extra virgin olive oil for salads. This will cost a lot during your first visit, but will allow you to cheaply add the fats you need to cheap protein sources. Buy organic white rice, sweet potatoes, and some cheaper fruit for snacks/treats. Eat the white rice after strength training only and with protein. Or, just exclude it altogether and stick with potatoes based on your preferences. The important thing is to maximize your veggie and protein intake for most meals but allow yourself a few social meals during the week and weekend to optimize the college experience.

I understand this plan isn’t the best, but it should be easier to stick to on a budget and for a college student. I hope it works out!