15 Foods you Can’t Eat on Keto (and What to Choose Instead)

The keto diet is based on a simple principle – consuming fat-rich foods with moderate amounts of proteins, and little to none carbs. Such an approach allows your body to enter a specific metabolical state called ketosis, in which it starts using fats as a main source of nutrition. In this state, you can lose weight quite quickly, which makes keto so attractive to many people.

Extracting all the advantages of the Keto diet

Some studies demonstrate that keto is even more effective for losing weight than the low-fat diet. Of course, you should still consult with a medical professional to be safe, especially if you have some health problems. A rational and thorough approach is key to gaining all the advantages offered by keto. Although it might seem challenging at the beginning, it isn’t as restrictive as some nutrition plans. You can prepare tasty and nutritious meals each day, enjoy snacks, and even eat some fast food from time to time!

Meat, cheese, nuts, and other low-carb, high-fat products form the base of your keto rations. However, you need to avoid carb-rich products, so check the labels on the products you purchase at a grocery store. We’ve created a list of foods and drinks you should refrain from if you want to get the desired results through keto, and prepared some alternatives to make these restrictions easier.

Foods to avoid on keto: and their delicious substitutes

1. Rice, buckwheat, cereal, and other grains contain a lot of carbs. While a small portion might fit into your daily carb limit, sticking to alternatives like non-starchy vegetables will provide you with more vitamins without risking your ketosis.
2. The same goes for grain-based foods, like baked goods and pasta. Once again, non-starchy vegetables offer you a good alternative that contains the much-needed fiber and poses no danger to your diet. 
3. Legumes are generally considered a healthy product, but they are also starchy. Thus, broccoli and spinach will suit your keto standards much better.
4. Sweet fruits like bananas, pineapples, mangos, and pears can quickly spike your blood sugar. By choosing some berries instead, like raspberries and blackberries, you’ll get a fiber- and vitamin-rich option without unnecessary carbs.
5. Potato chips and French fries are crunchy and tasty but as all potato-based foods they are extremely rich in carbohydrates. Choose a portion of dried seaweed instead, or some fresh non-starchy vegetables dipped in mayo or other fat-based sauce.
6. Raisins and other dried fruits contain even more carbs than their fresh counterparts, so swapping them for nuts will offer you a tasty keto-friendly snack.
7. Carrots are delicious but starchy, so while eating a piece once in a while won’t disrupt your diet, choosing bell peppers, celery or cucumbers will be a reasonable decision in the long run.
8. Sugar is your main adversary on keto – and so are some alternatives, like honey and syrups. However, you can choose an artificial sweetener: for example, stevia, which contains no calories and carbs at all.
9. Sweets that contain added sugar should be avoided at all costs. However, you can always find a healthy and low-carb option, like high-quality black chocolate, and enjoy them – in limited amounts, of course.
10. Sweet potatoes are starchy, so their carb content is too high to enjoy on your diet. Thankfully, you can try using some cauliflower, which is also delicious but much more keto-friendly.
11. Bottled sauces with added sugar, such as ketchup or barbeque might be tasty, but their carb content poses a challenge to your diet. Try choosing fatty sauces, like mayo to go with your dishes, or search for sugar-free ketchup alternatives.

The least keto-friendly drinks

1. Drinking soda is not a good decision if you want to reach and maintain ketosis. However, you can choose some sparkling or plain water with a drop of lemon juice and mint, which will be even more refreshing.
2. Milk, especially its low-fat variety, contains small amounts of fat and a lot of lactose, which doesn’t fit the rules of the keto diet. However, you can choose unsweetened almond milk, which is low-carb and contains a lot of healthy nutrients.
3. Many alcohol drinks, like dark beer and sweet cocktails, are rich in carbs. Still, light beer and pure alcohol drinks like rum and vodka are fine (though not healthy to drink in large amounts).
4. Fruit juice, no matter if fresh or bottled, contains a lot of simple carbs, so substituting it with water will be your best bet.

Conclusion

As you can see, the keto diet places the strictest limitation on carbs, which probably makes some of your favorite products unavailable. However, there are a lot of tasty and healthy substitutes, which help you enjoy your food every day. Trust us: you’ll be surprised by the amount of delicious and keto-friendly alternatives to some popular foods. Some of them are so good that not trying them would be a shame even for those who aren’t dieting right now!