Adapting the Keto Diet for Less Fat

When someone decides they want to eat healthier and lose weight, a quick internet search will land them with many different diet options. For some, having a diet plan with specific guidelines and lists of foods that they can and cannot eat can be easier to follow rather than trying to put it all together by themselves. 

One of the latest trendy diets with a handy list of rules is the ketogenic diet, called the keto diet for short. This way of eating encourages higher amounts of protein and fat but does away with carbs/sugar. If you’re interested in learning more detailed information about the keto diet, please check out our free resource on the eating plan.

All About The Fats
As mentioned above, the keto diet does prioritize eating healthy fats, which can make it a tricky diet to adopt for those limiting their fat intake for health or personal reasons. Taking medication, like CONTRAVE, can also make adopting this diet a little challenging.

We’ve talked before about why you should avoid taking CONTRAVE with high-fat foods. A high-fat meal is one that contains three grams of fat per 100 calories. So the keto-approved breakfast of fried eggs, bacon, and coffee with cream would not be recommended for those taking CONTRAVE. 

Ways to Adapt the Keto Diet
Just as we talked about with intermittent fasting, we can still find elements from established diets that we can work into our own personalized healthy eating plans—and the keto diet is no different. Below, we talk about some ways you can get inspired by the keto diet.

Remember, talk to your healthcare provider before starting any type of keto diet or similar eating plan. Work with them to develop a plan that considers your medication schedule. You should take CONTRAVE and other medications exactly as directed by your healthcare provider.

Eat your fats when you’re not taking CONTRAVE
Just as with intermittent fasting, the time-based CONTRAVE dosing schedule means what you eat at what time matters. Since the medication should be taken alongside a low-fat meal, consider eating more fat during meals you don’t take your medication—so for most people, lunch.

Reduce the right carbohydrates 
Eating fewer carbs while upping your protein and fat intake can help your meals feel more satiated so you’re less likely to snack. If you are still struggling to meet your calorie goals, consider further reducing your carbohydrates—especially ones like white bread and pasta—while introducing leaner sources of protein into the mix. This can help cut calories without making you feel deprived.

Ultra-processed foods aren’t accepted under the keto rules either, especially the carb-laden sugary snacks and treats so many of us crave. Swapping those calorie-dense, nutrition-poor items for nutritious whole foods can help you feel more satisfied in the long term—and may even help you avoid the afternoon snack attack.

Use fat wisely
You can’t (and shouldn’t) cut out fat entirely from your diet. However, fats are calorie-dense, so even though the keto diet encourages fats, they are not the shortcut to healthy eating for weight loss.  

Eating fewer fats can make it easier to meet your calorie goals. (Calculate your basal metabolic rate—how many calories your specific body needs to function each day—and customize your calorie goals with our free BMR calculator.) Consider staying away from extremely fat-dense foods, such as “keto bombs” or “fat bombs,” entirely. Instead, get your fat from a drizzle of olive oil on your salad or baking your sweet potatoes with coconut oil. 

Another idea is to cook vegetables in the leftover butter or olive oil from cooking meats—not only will it give your veggies a punch of flavor, but it will also cut down on the overall amount of fat used to cook your meal. Trust us—you don’t know how delicious vegetables can be once they’re cooked with a (sparing) amount of healthy fat!

Speaking of vegetables...

Incorporate more plant-based foods
While the high fat and protein aspects of the keto diet can lead you to believe it’s a meal plan for carnivores, eating too much animal-sourced fat is never a great idea. Plant-based fats, like those found in avocados and coconuts, are unsaturated—aka the good kind of fats. (Still, save those for when you aren’t taking your CONTRAVE pill.)

The sugar-limiting keto diet infamously has it out for fruit, but followers of the diet are allowed fruits with lower amounts of sugar, such as berries. Veggies, on the other hand, are on the table. Pass on the carb-dense vegetables (like potatoes), and instead focus on colorful vegetables and leafy greens. Keto-approved veggies include kale, Swiss chard, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, bell peppers, zucchini, celery, mushrooms, onions, and more. 

Keto not for you?
The keto diet is not for everyone—and that’s okay. Here are some other healthy eating ideas to get you started:

• Do you like rice and other grains too much to follow the keto diet? Consider the Mediterranean diet, instead.
• Do you not want to change what you’re eating, but just eat less of it? Consider adapted intermittent fasting or portion control.

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