A 7-day keto meal plan

Meal prep boxes with salad, eggs, avocado, tomatoes and bacon

Photo: Leanna Myers / Unsplash

This plan is made for your first week on keto, with dishes any Greek kitchen can turn out. No day goes above 20 grams of net carbs, which is the strict keto limit.

We worked out the figures from Ola Keto's food database, using the amounts we give. If you want the basics of the diet first, they are in the guide The keto diet for beginners.

Contents

How the plan works

The amounts are for one adult and come to about 1,300 to 1,700 calories a day; meat and fish weights are cooked weights.

If you need more or less energy, adjust mainly the oil and the portions of meat and fish. They contain no carbs, so the day's total stays almost the same. For a first idea of your own amounts, try the Macro calculator.

You can swap the days around or repeat the ones you like. Drink plenty of water. If "keto flu" hits you in the first few days, a hot, salty broth helps; open the Keto flu checklist as well.

Anyone who has diabetes, takes medication for a long-term condition or is pregnant should first check in the main guide when to talk to a doctor.

The same plan is also in Diet plans, with a recipe for every meal and each day's totals: Weekly keto meal plan with Greek recipes.

Day 1: about 19 grams

Meal	What you eat
Breakfast	an omelette with 2 eggs, 50 g spinach and 30 g feta, cooked in 10 g olive oil
Lunch	200 g roast chicken leg with a Greek salad of 100 g tomato, 80 g cucumber, 30 g pepper, 30 g olives, 50 g feta and 15 g olive oil
Dinner	150 g baked salmon with 150 g boiled broccoli, 10 g olive oil and a little lemon
Snack	20 g walnuts

Day 2: about 20 grams

Meal	What you eat
Breakfast	170 g strained yoghurt with 15 g walnuts and 40 g blackberries
Lunch	bifteki (Greek burger patties) made from 200 g beef mince with no bread in the mix, a salad of 80 g lettuce and 50 g cucumber, 15 g olive oil and 50 g tzatziki
Dinner	200 g boiled courgettes with 15 g olive oil and lemon, 2 boiled eggs and 50 g feta
Snack	30 g olives

Day 3: about 13 grams

Meal	What you eat
Breakfast	2 fried eggs with 40 g bacon and 50 g tomato
Lunch	200 g grilled sardines with 150 g boiled greens (dandelion), 15 g olive oil and lemon
Dinner	200 g roast pork loin with a coleslaw of 100 g cabbage and 15 g olive oil
Snack	20 g almonds

Grilled small fish with parsley on a grey plate — Photo: Alyssa li / Unsplash

Day 4: about 17 grams

Meal	What you eat
Breakfast	170 g strained yoghurt with 10 g flaxseed and 40 g raspberries
Lunch	200 g lemon chicken leg with a mash of 200 g boiled cauliflower and 15 g butter
Dinner	a salad with 120 g baked tuna, 50 g rocket, 80 g tomato, half an avocado (70 g) and 15 g olive oil
Snack	20 g pecans

Day 5: about 16 grams

Meal	What you eat
Breakfast	an omelette with 2 eggs, 60 g mushrooms and 30 g cheddar, cooked in 10 g butter
Lunch	200 g roast lamb with a salad of 80 g lettuce and 30 g rocket, 15 g olive oil and 50 g tzatziki
Dinner	shrimp saganaki with 200 g shrimp, 100 g chopped tomato, 30 g pepper, 50 g feta and 15 g olive oil
Snack	20 g walnuts

Day 6: about 14 grams

Meal	What you eat
Breakfast	2 boiled eggs with half an avocado (70 g)
Lunch	200 g baked mackerel with a coleslaw of 100 g cabbage, 15 g olive oil and lemon
Dinner	150 g roast turkey breast with 200 g spinach wilted in 10 g butter
Snack	80 g strawberries with 30 g unsweetened whipped cream

Day 7: about 19 grams

Meal	What you eat
Breakfast	170 g strained yoghurt with 15 g pecans
Lunch	200 g grilled veal sirloin with 150 g boiled broccoli and 15 g olive oil
Dinner	a chef’s salad with 100 g lettuce, 80 g cucumber, 2 boiled eggs, 40 g cheddar, 60 g turkey and 15 g olive oil
Snack	30 g olives with 30 g feta

Shopping list for the week

Because meat and fish weights are cooked, you will need about a quarter more raw.

Category	What to buy
Eggs	12
Meat	400 g chicken legs, 200 g beef mince, 200 g pork loin, 200 g lamb, 200 g veal sirloin, 210 g turkey breast, 40 g bacon
Fish and seafood	150 g salmon, 200 g sardines, 200 g mackerel, 120 g tuna, 200 g shrimp
Dairy	510 g strained yoghurt (3 pots of 170 g), 210 g feta, 70 g cheddar, 100 g tzatziki, 35 g butter, 30 g cream
Vegetables	250 g spinach, 260 g lettuce, 80 g rocket, 210 g cucumber, 230 g tomatoes and 100 g chopped tomato, 60 g green pepper, 300 g broccoli, 200 g cauliflower, 200 g courgettes, 200 g cabbage, 60 g mushrooms, 150 g greens
Fats	olive oil (about 200 ml for the week), 90 g olives, 1 avocado
Nuts	55 g walnuts, 35 g pecans, 20 g almonds, 10 g flaxseed
Fruit	40 g blackberries, 40 g raspberries, 80 g strawberries, 2 lemons

If you want to change something

Meat and fish swap freely, since none of them has carbs: sardines or mackerel in place of salmon, pork instead of lamb.

Vegetables swap for others with roughly the same carbs; Vegetables on keto lists them in order. If you do not eat dairy, make an omelette instead of the breakfast yoghurt and put avocado in the salad instead of feta.

Frequently asked questions

How much weight will I lose in the first week?

At first the scales usually drop quickly, mostly from water: your body empties its glycogen stores, and glycogen is stored with three to four times its weight in water. Fat comes off more slowly.

Do I have to eat all four meals?

No. If you are not hungry in the morning or between meals, leave out breakfast or the snack. On keto many people get hungry less often and two meals are enough for them.

What do I do after the first week?

Go back to the days you liked and swap meat, fish and vegetables for others from the food database. If you want to move to a looser keto, up to 50 grams, add more vegetables and berries.

Sources

Ola Keto food database — the carbs, protein and calories of each day, calculated with the amounts in the plan.
StatPearls: The Ketogenic Diet: Clinical Applications, Evidence-based Indications, and Implementation — The 20–50 g a day limits.
Kreitzman et al., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1992: Glycogen storage: illusions of easy weight loss, excessive weight regain, and distortions in estimates of body composition — Glycogen is stored with three to four times its weight in water.

About the author

The Ola Keto team

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