With the keto diet becoming more popular among the fitness community and gaining more traction through the benefits being backed by studies being conducted on a regular basis, it is no surprise that many people attempt cutting the carbs
However, not everyone succeeds. Achieving the daily macros is very difficult, especially if you’re not experienced with dieting. In this article, I will explore the best ways on how to get enough fat on keto.
1. Choosing Fattier Meats
A simple way to add some extra fat without completely changing your meal plan is to pick fattier cuts of meat. Instead of lean steak, pick one with more marbling. Make sure that you get ground beef instead of ground chuck since the ground beef contains a much higher fat content than your average ground beef serving.
Choosing fattier meat will not give you a huge amount of extra grams of fat, but if you are just short of your daily goal, cutting out the lean cuts and adding in the fat content can be the push you need. The fatty cuts of meat usually taste better as well, so it’s a win-win!
2. Eat Fatty Snacks
While some people may not snack throughout the day, those that do can treat themselves to a snack that’s high in fat content. Nuts are especially good for this purpose, however, they’re not your only choice. Some other options are:
- yogurt with no added sugar
- boiled eggs
- avocado
- unsweetened peanut butter
These foods are all options that provide a good amount of fat into your diet. Each of these foods helps satisfy hunger and provide great nutritional value.
Snacks are an easy way to help reach the daily goals of fat since they do not require planning. Just grab it, munch away, and enjoy hitting your macros!
3. Use Olive Oil and Butter
A great way to boost your cooking skills and fat intake at the same time is to use both olive oil and butter when cooking your dishes. Cooking your food in melted butter or olive oil adds several grams of fats. Even though this may seem like a minor step, after several meals the extra, added fat begins to add up and may just be the thing you need to reach your goals.
Another great advantage to using olive oil is that it can be used before and after cooking. Pick up some high-quality olive oil, pick some low-carb vegetables, and drizzle it all over. This not only adds a boost of flavor but adds a good amount of fat content to food that would otherwise be lacking.
4. Add Cheese to Everything
Cheese makes everything better. It’s simply a fact. However, besides making a dish more savory, adding cheese to food also helps boost the fat content. If you’re having trouble squeezing those last grams of fat into your diet, liberally add cheese to your meats and vegetables. Adding a half of cup of mozzarella cheese to every meal would boost your fat intake considerably while improving your food.
Cheese can be eaten in a variety of ways if you need to change it up. Keto cheese sticks, keto pizza dough, keto bread; almost every keto substitute uses cheese as a base.
5.Add Bacon to Everything
Everyone loves a good slice of bacon in the morning, but why limit it to breakfast? Even though bacon is typically the first food to undergo scrutiny for being unhealthy, it can be the perfect weapon for keto dieters. Also, it’s probably not as unhealthy as your parents taught you.
Bacon is a versatile tool that contains a lot of fat. It can be quickly cooked and eaten by itself as a snack or added to meals to help add flavor and fat.
6. MCT Oil Powder
If you’re a gym-goer, you’re probably familiar with supplements. You take a scoop, mix it up, and drink away. However, when you went keto, you probably stopped using many of them as many of them contain a nasty amount of sugar. Did you know that you can still take some, though?
MCT Oil Powder is a supplement that you can mix into any drink that adds a huge boost of fat. A main idea of the keto diet is that the body will use the fat for energy, so this supplement will not only help boost your fat macros but will help with energy throughout the day. This is a natural and healthy way to hit those goals and keep you going through the workday. Also, the powder is tasteless, so feel free to add it to your favorite drink without ruining it!
7. Follow a Meal Plan
If you’re struggling to meet your macros on your own, following a meal plan may be the best step. Although meal plans get a bad rap by many people, it is much easier to grocery shop for a preset plan. Not to mention the ease in planning in achieving macros, counting calories, and buying any additional supplies you may need for the meal plan.
There are plenty of meal plans online that also stick to their low-carb guns. If you feel like you can’t follow a preset meal plan or you have a special dietary need, you can dish out some cash and have a fitness trainer specifically tailor a plan for your needs. This can range from a few dollars to some pretty high prices, depending on who you hire.
8. Mayonnaise
When I was growing up, mayo was a big no-no. My parents would always say that mayo was full of fats and extremely bad for me. However, several years later, mayo is now an essential and daily item. Mayonnaise helps add flavor to everything it’s added on while also packing in a large amount of fat in a small package.
Many brands of mayo are safe to eat for the low-carb diet. There are many brands that are specifically made with keto in mind if you’re worried about the run-of-the-mill brands. Be sure to get the full-fat versions of the sauce! If you go for another option besides the full-fat, you will lose out on the benefits of the high-fat density of mayo. Also, typically the mayo that is not full-fat is packed with sugar and other sweeteners which hinders your low-carb efforts.
9. Fat Bombs!
Desserts are typically off-limits to those who go low-carb. However, many of your favorite sweets can be recreated while being keto! By using a large amount of oil, some type of flavoring, some keto-friendly artificial sweeteners, something to add texture, and you can make almost any dessert that is also low in carbs. This trend has exploded over social media recently, and the low-carb desserts are being dubbed “fat bombs”
Another benefit of the fat bombs, besides being delicious, is the high amount of fat content. Since the recipes typically call for a huge amount of oils and other high-fat foods, like nuts, the concentration of fat is very high. These fat bombs can be used if your eating is limited or if you’re trying to eat less food overall.
10. Eat More
A major reason that many people do not reach their fat goals is that they do not eat enough. Even if every food that you eat throughout the day contains fat, if you do not consume the correct amount, you will never reach your macros. People will be so cautious to avoid overeating that they under eat and miss their macros.
The solution is simple: increase your serving sizes! Eating extra food will increase calorie and fat intake. This is the simplest way to meet your macros. Be careful, though! You may have to adjust your daily activity to account for the increase in calories.
As the keto diet gains more popularity, people will experience these issues more and more. Although some of these methods may seem simple to us, another person will have read something that they may have never heard of.
In my opinion, the keto diet is the future of human eating. I want to help everyone start cutting the carbs and I want to help every person be successful in their dieting! Hitting your daily value of fat is very hard in a low-carb diet and it’s one of the most important goals of the diet! If you don’t get the daily amount of fat, you can feel sluggish and tired due to your body needing the fat for energy. To maintain this diet for long periods of time, it is vitally important to provide your body with the fuel it needs.
What did you learn? Share in the comments! Share this article with your friends and family that also might be struggling to hit their daily macros!