The Keto Diet - What It Is & Who's Doing It!

Keto curious?

We’re here to answer questions about the ketogenic diet kraze, including what it is, what you can really eat, and who’s following it!

Read on for everything keto:

Contents [hide]

1 What Is Keto?
2 What Can You Eat?
3 What To Avoid Eating
4 Who’s Eating Keto?

What Is Keto?

A ketogenic (AKA keto) diet is a high-fat, low-carb lifestyle which has become increasingly popular in the past several years. This style of eating has been shown to offer quick weight loss results, with many studies proving it to be beneficial when it comes to different health disorders such as epilepsy, and is currently being studied to see the effect on other brain conditions including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

The lack of carbs in your body puts you into a metabolic state (ketosis). When this happens, your body is able to burn fat more efficiently, and turns fat into ketones in the liver which serves as added brain fuel. Aside from that, the keto lifestyle has been shown as an effective way to lower your factors for disease, triglycerides, and your blood pressure.

What Can You Eat?

The diet is actually a lot more than just eating lots of avocados and skipping the pasta. Here are some keto staples you’ll want to have on hand at all times:

Meat: Go crazy with all meats!
Fatty fish: Fish works too! Try tuna, trout, mackerel, and salmon
Eggs: Cook ’em any way you’d like. Look out for omega-3 whole eggs at the store.
Cheese: Unprocessed to avoid any unnecessary additives (cheddar, cream, blue, goat, mozzarella)
Butter and Cream: Noticing a trend? Fats are good! Look for grass-fed when possible.
Avocados: Because who doesn’t love avocados? Low-carb veggies are great, too.
Nuts & Seeds: Almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds

What To Avoid Eating

And here’s what to avoid:

Grains & Starches: All wheat-based products (pasta, rice, cereal, etc.) are no more
Beans & Legumes: Say goodbye to chickpeas, lentils, peas, etc.
Fruit: With the exception of small portions of berries
Root Veggies: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, etc.

Additionally, you’ll want to be mindful of most low-fat, sugar-free, and diet products. Many of these are heavily processed and high in sneaky carbohydrates, as well as unhealthy fats.

Who’s Eating Keto?

So who’s following a keto diet? Most notably, Vinny Guadagnino of Jersey Shore fame has spun his weight loss success into a keto lifestyle brand: Keto Guido, complete with a book and popular Instagram account where he shares plenty of diet hacks:

View this post on Instagram

Tonight I made my meatballs from the #KetoGuidoCookBook with a twist . The base recipe are pork meatballs but I wanted to make a meat mixture … so I doubled the recipe and did 1/2 pork 1/2 80% fat beef. I also cooked them in the air fryer and no joke these are the BEST BALLS I’VE EVER HAD IN MY MOUTH. ????… seriously though I’m amazed at how good they are , and I come from a Sicilian family of amazing meatballs… one might say these taste BETTER than traditional balls, and because there not breaded and fried, are much easier on my stomach … I ate them with sautéed zoodles in @primalkitchenfoods tomato basil sauce (not an ad , just giving credit ) _ _ a super fun part about having a cook book is that you can use the 102 recipes I have in there as a guide,and then edit and tweak them however you want . There’s a healthy #keto option for 100 dishes…so give the book to your grandma , mom, or other master chefs in your family and say “follow these guidlines and make me the healthy version “ of whatever it is you’re craving that’s in the book. _ _ I know I’m making big claims here about my balls, but I dare you to try to make them like I explained in this caption. (I posted recipe for free a few posts back) Use them as a test to see if this book is the real deal. #KetoGuidoCookBook out this Tuesday Sept 24. LINK IN BIO

A post shared by Vinny (@ketoguido) on Sep 22, 2019 at 4:09pm PDT

Ever wondered how Halle Berry stays in such great shape? The actress swears by the ketogenic diet to help manage her diabetes, which she has dealt with for over 30 years. Take a look at the 53-year-old’s Insta Story highlights for food and fitness inspo!

View this post on Instagram

#FitnessFriday Today let’s talk about food. I think the most important part of being healthy and in great shape largely depends on what and when you eat. Being diabetic most of my life, I have always had to take food very seriously. So for years, I have been following the keto or ketogenic diet. I hate the word “diet” so while you’ll see the word diet, just know I encourage you to think of it as a lifestyle change NOT A DIET! Keto is a very low-carb food plan which actually forces your body to burn fat like crazy. I also believe it’s been largely responsible for slowing down my aging process. The keto lifestyle offers so many benefits such as weight loss, (moms that’s how we get rid of our baby bellies), appetite control, more energy and better mental performance. If you’re like me, you can possibly reverse type 2 diabetes, you’ll experience better physical endurance, better skin and also less acne if that’s an issue. And it even helps control migraines! I’m sharing two links (check Stories!) that will explain the lifestyle in detail and it also offers a plan to help you get started! So today I encourage you to say yes to keto, give it a try… what do you have to lose?! ???????? #FitnessFridayHB

A post shared by Halle Berry (@halleberry) on Jan 26, 2018 at 1:17pm PST

Similarly, Jenna Jameson has seen great results from the keto diet! The former adult star lost over 80 lbs in under a year, sharing her impressive results and slamming critics on her IG profile:

View this post on Instagram

After giving birth and trying to figure out how to delete my belly fat, I kept coming back to #keto ???? I knew this was the best way to get rid of my stubborn belly thickness. Seriously after 40, I felt like it was here to stay. Getting rid of sugar, processed foods and unneeded carbohydrates did the trick. If you’re struggling or just confused on how to start to get healthy, please look back at my past posts about my 90 lb weight loss over the past year! #beforeandafterweightloss #ketotransformation #ketoweightloss #beforeandafter #beforeandafterweightloss #weightloss #weightlossjourney #weightlossmotivation #weightloss #ketodiet #ketolifestyle

A post shared by Jenna Jameson Bitton (@jennacantlose) on May 31, 2019 at 7:43pm PDT

Vanessa Hudgens stays in shape alternating between intermittent fasting and the keto diet! She previously shared with People (below) in April 2019:

“If you have the right ingredients to keep you on track, I think it’s amazing. I’m always making sure I’m getting those healthy fats in, so I eat a LOT of almond butter. You feel really energetic and supported on the keto diet.”

Need some snack inspo? The High School Musical star put top keto treats to the test (below) so you don’t have to:

While Riverdale star Mark Consuelos has seen impressive results with the diet, his wife Kelly Ripa won’t be hopping on the bandwagon any time soon:

“My husband has gone full keto, which I don’t mind telling you is something I could never do. I just don’t have that level of discipline. Mark says that I’m carb-o because I always eat his bun if he gets a burger. And the fries. But, you know, I workout, so I feel like I’m allowed. I’m 48, I’m entitled and I’m eating whatever I want to eat.”

What do U think about the keto diet, Perezcious readers? Sound OFF (below) in the comments with your thoughts!!

[Image via Brian To/Apega/Judy Eddy/WENN & Jenna Jameson/Keto Guido/Instagram.]