When you’re on the keto diet, you want to keep your carb intake as low as possible. However, there are some “no carb” and “low carb” foods out there that you should avoid consuming, even if they don’t have a lot of carbs.
I’ve been living the keto life for a while now. And I love it! (check out my reasons besides weight loss)
My husband has always been a giver, and knowing how hard it is for me to find keto-friendly foods, he will bring home anything that says ‘keto’ on it for me.
Sadly, most of the time, the products do not follow the key points of keto, which is to stay away from foods that create inflammation like grains and sugar.
Now he’ll call or facetime me at the store and show me the labels of what he wants to buy before getting it.
I will share with you my top 8 things that I stay away from, especially when first starting out on the keto diet.
It can be difficult to know which foods are going to help you reach your goals and which ones will stall your progress. While you want to keep your carbs as low as possible, there are some foods with zero or extremely low carbs that are still not good for you to consume. Try to stay away from these “no carb” or “low carb” foods and additives, including low carb wheat bread, margarine, and liquor.
Fake Keto Foods To Avoid To Lose Weight
1: Processed Meats
I actually do eat processed meats quite a bit, but I check the back to see how ‘natural’ and ‘fresh’ I can get it, and if they have hidden sugars.
Processed meats are meats that have been treated with chemicals and preservatives in order to extend their shelf life. These meats are often high in sodium and unhealthy fats, and they can be difficult to digest. Getting the meat freshly cut from behind the counter is better than the mystery meat prepackaged (in my opinion).
2: Diet Sodas
I have never been a fan of soda. . .or drinks in general, so it wasn’t hard at all to give these things up.
When I do need something, I usually go with ZEVIA which uses the natural sweetener stevia.
Diet sodas may not have any carbs, but they’re still not good for you. Diet sodas often contain bad artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose, which can cause digestive issues and headaches., and can also lead to cravings for sugary foods. If you’re craving something sweet, try drinking seltzer water with a dash of juice or eating a piece of fruit instead.
3: Frozen Meals
It’s hard to find real keto frozen meals. The closest thing that I have found are meals from the brand Real Goods. They still have a lot of ingredients that I wonder about, but they at least stay away from grains.
Frozen meals are often high in sodium and unhealthy fats, and they usually don’t have enough protein or vegetables to be a well-rounded meal. If you’re looking for a quick and easy meal, you can freeze bags of cooked ground beef, and use these ideas to make a quick meal (also most keto meal leftovers are easy to freeze for later).
4: Low-Fat Dairy Products
Low-fat dairy products often contain added sugars and carbs, so they’re not ideal for the keto diet. Full-fat dairy products like cheese, heavy whipping cream, butter, and some plain greek yogurt brands are a better choice since they tend to be higher in healthy fats and lower in carbs. When buying dairy products, make sure to always check the label to see how many carbs it contains per serving.
5: Sugar-Free Desserts
My two biggest rules are: Stay away from grains, and stay away from sugar and it’s fake sweeteners.
Just because a dessert is sugar-free doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Sugar-free desserts often contain artificial sweeteners like aspartame or sucralose, which can cause digestive issues and headaches. Sugar-free desserts can also lead to cravings for sugary foods.
These sweeteners might have zero carbs, but they are still not good for you. Artificial sweeteners aren’t natural, and often lead to sugar cravings. The lack of carbs isn’t always worth being able to make faux sweets with them, since you might then crave the real thing. It is better to stick to the most natural sweeteners you can that don’t have carbs, like Stevia, or even erythritol.
If you want something sweet, try freezing some blueberries, and snacking on those, or making your own keto-friendly dessert with natural sweeteners like stevia or monk fruit extract. (Like this keto cheesecake)
There are a handful of store-bought desserts that use the ‘safe’ sweeteners: I will eat Rebel Ice cream all day long. I also like the Lily’s Brand of Chocolate chips.
6: Low Carb Wheat Bread
Just because a food is labeled “low carb” doesn’t mean it’s good for you. A lot of low carb breads are made with processed wheat flour and other unhealthy ingredients. The makers claim keto because they add a ridiculous amount of fake fiber to make it look low carb. If you’re going to eat bread on keto, try making some 90 second bread, or Chaffles. I have yet to find a local store brand keto bread that has grain-free ingredients.
7: Margarine
Please, please just use butter.
Margarine is a highly processed food that’s full of unhealthy trans fats. Trans fats have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. If you’re looking for a healthy alternative to margarine, try using avocado oil or olive oil instead.
In terms of fats that you can have, margarine is among the worst ones to use when you are on a keto diet or any other diet.
Margarine does have nearly zero carbs at 0.1 grams of carbohydrates per tablespoon. However, butter also has zero carbs, so there is no reason you shouldn’t go for the real thing.
Margarine is made from vegetable oil, which is one of the few oils you want to avoid on the ketogenic diet. A better option is to just get the regular, real butter, getting those fats without the added trans fats. Grass-fed butter is ideal, but when the choice is because non grass-fed butter and margarine, always go for the butter.
8: Liquor
It can be tempting to have liquor on a regular basis since clear liquors have little to no carbohydrates, but they can stall your weight loss and even knock you out of ketosis.
The reason they lead to a stall is because your body needs to burn off all the alcohol before it will burn fat. In a typical day, the alcohol is burned instead of any fat, so you won’t lose anything during those days. Drinking occasionally won’t do much harm, but daily drinking can lead to no weight loss and might eventually knock you out of ketosis.
Also, while alcohol itself is low in carbs, many liquors may be high in sugar. Drinking too much alcohol can lead to weight gain and disrupt your sleep patterns. It’s a good idea to avoid cocktails or drinks made with sugary mixers like juices or sodas.
These are just a few of the low-carb foods you should avoid while you’re on the keto diet. While it’s important to keep your carb intake low, it’s also important to make sure you’re eating healthy foods that will give your body the nutrients it needs.
There are a lot of “low carb” foods out there that aren’t actually good for you if you’re trying to lose weight and get healthy on the keto diet. Be careful of processed foods that claim to be low in carbs but are actually full of unhealthy ingredients. Stick to whole, unprocessed foods like meats, vegetables, and healthy fats if you want to reach your keto goals.
