Indian Vegetarian Keto Diet : 7 Easy Steps

Here’s busting the most common Keto myth for you – you can’t follow a Keto diet without including meats. WRONG! Though traditionally, the Keto diet heavily relies on meats for its protein intake, it is very much possible to reap the health benefits of a low-carb lifestyle by following an Indian vegetarian keto diet.

The basic principle of a ketogenic diet is low carbohydrates, moderate proteins, and high fats. As a vegetarian, you eliminate meats (and sometimes eggs) as your source of protein. Though this can easily be replaced by other low-carb vegetarian protein options while being mindful of including micro-nutrients and essential vitamins in your diet as well.

In this article, we will be telling you how to follow a vegetarian keto diet in a healthy way, so that you can cash in on the maximum benefits of a ketogenic lifestyle just as much as your non-vegetarian counterpart.

What is Ketogenic Diet?

The Keto diet is a restrictive diet that follows a simple thumb rule of 70% fats, 25% proteins, and 5% carbs. Given the high-fat, low-carb diet plan, its followers restrict their carbs to about 20-50 grams in a day.         

Bringing our carb consumption to below 50gm/day puts our body in the fat-burning state of ketosis in about 3-5 days. This is when our body starts using stored fats and protein inside our body to produce energy, instead of relying on fresh supply of carbs from our daily diet.

Different Types of Vegetarian Diets:     

Here’s a list of different kinds of vegetarian lifestyles being followed across the globe.

Pescatarians

Able to eat seafood, dairy, and eggs but avoid poultry and red meat. This is also known as semi-vegetarian.

Lacto-Ovo Vegetarians 

Eat dairy and eggs but avoid seafood, poultry, and meat. This is the most common form of vegetarianism in most of the world.

Lacto Vegetarians 

Eat dairy, but avoid eggs, seafood, poultry, and meat.

Vegans

Avoids all animal by-products, including dairy, eggs, seafood, poultry, meat, and even honey.

Indian Vegetarian Keto Diet – Top Food Options

Now let’s look at what can we eat on a vegetarian keto diet –

Healthy fats

Ghee (Clarified butter)	Coconut Oil
Butter	Olive Oil
Cheese	Homemade Mayonnaise
Avocados	Full-fat yogurt
Nuts	Seeds
Nut and Seed Butter

Vegetarian Keto Protein

Paneer	Tempeh
Tofu	Seitan
Almonds	Peanuts
Seeds	Eggs

Keto-friendly Vegetables

All Leafy greens	Cauliflower
Cabbage	Broccoli
Mushrooms	Capsicum
Colored Bell Peppers	Bottle Gourd
Bitter Gourd (Karela)	Gourd family vegetables
Brinjal/Eggplant	Zucchini
Avocado	Cucumber
Okra/Bhindi (small quantity)	Tomato (small quantity)
	Onion (small quantity)

How to Follow a Vegetarian Keto Diet in a Healthy Way

As you can see in the list above, there are plenty of options available for vegetarians who wish to follow a ketogenic diet.

Though one needs to keep a few things in mind while following a vegetarian keto diet.

1. Go Slow

When making a transition from a regular diet to a keto diet, gradually reduce your carb intake over a period of 7 days. Otherwise, it can lead to severe Keto Flu.

By default, the human body is designed to use carbohydrates as its source of energy. When we stop providing a fresh supply of carbs through diet, our body turns to stored fats for energy.

Gradually reducing your carbs and increasing fats will give your body time to adjust to the changes smoothly and will not cause sudden shock to the system.

2. Include Sufficient Proteins

Reducing carbs is not enough to lose weight. One must watch out for the protein intake carefully and keep it between 20-25% of the total diet plan. Insufficient protein levels can create hurdles in your weight loss journey. Consuming lower levels of protein can also cause fatigue and other side effects.

3. Optimum Levels of Carbohydrates

Once you are in ketosis, your body turns to glucose stored inside your body for energy sources. But if the carb percentage goes up even for one meal, the body rushes back to dietary blood sugar and you might come out of ketosis. So, you must maintain your carb levels throughout.

Also, as you start your journey, you will be able to find the soft spot at which your body gets into ketosis. It could be different for different people. Some might hit ketosis with a little under 50 grams/day, and then there might be others who need to maintain their carb intake at 20gm/day to stay in ketosis.

4. Keto Supplements

When following a vegetarian keto diet, one of the biggest challenges is to maintain healthy nutrient levels.

Grains and legumes are not only rich in carbohydrates, but they also provide various B vitamins, fiber, and micro-nutrients like iron, magnesium, and selenium, etc)

While on a Keto diet, consumption of these grains and legumes is completely prohibited. Hence, it becomes vital for those looking for vegetarian keto options to make sure they meet their nutritional requirements through dietary and medical supplements. Failing to do so may cause deficiency.

So, if you are someone following a vegetarian keto diet, do make sure to include B vitamins and Magnesium supplements in your daily routine. Magnesium supplements also help in setting the sleep cycle in order, as some people might find difficulty in sleeping, especially during the first few weeks of starting the diet.

Another good supplement on a keto diet is Cod Liver Oil/Omega 3 capsules.

It is also vital to have enough servings of vegetables to meet the dietary requirements through natural means.

6. Fiber

Another roadblock encountered by those on low-carb diets is a lack of dietary fiber. This is naturally present in most high-carb food items, but when you cut down on carbohydrates, you also lose out on fiber. Thus, one must make a conscious effort to add enough fiber in our diet.

This can easily be achieved by adding various nuts and seeds into our diet and consuming sufficient fiber-rich vegetables like cauliflower, avocado, leafy greens, etc. One can also add psyllium husk into a lot of keto recipes or have it as is to fix the fiber deficit.

7. Get regular health-checks

Whenever we expose our body to new things, it is extremely crucial to keep close tabs on how it is responding to the change. So, get your medical tests done at regular intervals to keep an eye on your health.

While the keto diet helps in controlling several health issues, it also has its limitations. It is strictly not meant for pregnant and breastfeeding women and people with chronic illnesses.

The Bottom Line

If you keep all the above-mentioned tips in mind, it is certainly possible to thrive on the vegetarian keto diet and design your diet plan according to food items available in your local markets without depending on expensive exotic vegetables from around the globe.

So, what are you waiting for? Start your keto journey today!

Have more questions regarding the ketogenic diet? Click on the link below

What is Keto Flu?

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