7 Day Keto Meal Plan for Women

Restricting sugar and consuming plenty of healthy fats (as recommended in the keto diet) does show benefits to blood sugar regulation, appetite control, weight loss, reversing or managing chronic disease, calming inflammatory conditions, and even preventing and reversing cancer.

Beginning a keto diet can feel exciting since it includes a high amount of delicious, satiating fats. But let me be clear: grabbing a double bacon cheeseburger without the bun is not going to make you healthy. Junky high-fat options like that are full of chemicals, hormones, fillers, trans-fats, and artificial ingredients that our bodies are not able to process.

The true benefits of the ketogenic diet surface when you consume good quality fats and whole foods rather than their highly processed alternatives.

Keto Meal Plan: What’s on the Menu?

A detailed list of foods you can eat is always a must when pursuing any new dietary protocol. Remember, the goal of the ketogenic diet is to get the body into a state of ketosis or fat-adapted. Focusing on fat as the main course in all meals will help you to achieve ketosis faster.

Fats

Go crazy with this list! Fat is what a keto meal plan is all about.

Coconut (meat, cream, oil, milk, butter)- Check for food sensitivity first.
Avocado (the fruit and/or avocado oil)
Cacao butter
Olive oil (this one is my favorite)
Lard
Tallow
Duck fat
Grass-fed butter (or ghee for a dairy-free ketogenic diet)
Heavy whipping cream (full-fat coconut milk for dairy-free keto)- Check for food sensitivity to dairy first.
Medium-chained triglyceride (MCT) oil
Aged grass-fed cheese (cheddar, gruyere, manchego, gouda, blue cheese, and parmesan)- Check for food sensitivity to dairy first.
Pepperoni/salami/prosciutto
Bacon fat/lard/beef tallow for cooking
Healthy mayo
Nuts: almonds, pecans, pistachios, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts
Seeds: chia, hemp, pumpkin
Macadamia nuts/oil (best option for nuts as they have a high omega-3 fat content)
Pasture-raised pork rinds (I like this assortment)
Green or black olives
Sardines
Wild-caught salmon

Higher-Fat Proteins

Find a local farmer with these options, or there are some great mail-order options that ship humanely raised grass-fed meats and quality seafood right to your door.

Pasture-raised pork/bacon
Grass-fed beef
Bison
Deer
Duck
Wild boar
Venison
Turkey
Cage-free/pasture-raised chicken
Cage-free/pasture-raised eggs
Lamb
Wild-caught fish (salmon, tuna, shellfish, cod, sea bass, mackerel, mahi mahi, anchovies, sardines, lobster, scallops, mussels, crab)

Carbohydrates

Sticking to lower carbohydrate veggies (and limited fruits) are essential to staying in ketosis. The following veggies should take up most of your plate at each meal.

Broccoli
Cauliflower
Green leafy vegetables (romaine lettuce, spinach, arugula, kale, collard greens, cabbage, bok choy, dandelion greens, leeks, parsley)
Radishes
Mushrooms
Asparagus
Celery
Cucumber
Zucchini
Scallions
Seaweed
Shallots
Garlic
Onions
Fermented pickles (no sugar added)
Minimal amount of berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries)
Lemon/lime

Other

Coffee (if tolerated)
Tea
Stevia (if needed)

It is important to note that many sources promoting the ketogenic diet will use artificial sweeteners such as erythritol, sucralose, mannitol, sorbitol, dextrose. It is best to avoid these when possible as they disrupt the balance of good vs. bad bacteria in the gut. In my opinion using a little stevia is a good sugar replacement, but I still use it sparingly.

Helpful Hints

One important strategy for a successful keto diet is increasing salt intake. Especially when first beginning a ketogenic diet, this will help decrease symptoms such as fatigue and headache.

It is important to note that even on a ketogenic diet, vegetable fiber is critical to promote and maintain a healthy microbiome (gut bacteria) and should not be avoided as a means of decreasing carbohydrate intake. To put it plainly, eat a ton of vegetables!

How Much Do I Eat?

Each body is different and requires different amounts of macronutrients to thrive. According to Daniel Pompa, the ketogenic diet should contain the following balance of nutrients in a day:

65-80% of calories from fat
10-15% of calories from protein
5-10% of calories from carbohydrates (most of which should come from vegetables or low-glycemic fruits)

For women, I recommend leaning more towards the higher end of 10% of total calories from carbohydrates as it will help maintain healthy hormone levels and promoting healthy gut bacteria.

When beginning the ketogenic diet, it is wise to begin tracking your macronutrients (fat, protein, and carbohydrates) using the percentage scale above. This will help to ensure that you are consuming enough fat to promote ketone production.

When Do I Eat?

Ideally, a keto meal plan means eating within a specific window of time rather than grazing and snacking all through the day. This is also called intermittent fasting and can be done in a variety of ways. One simple way to do it is to eat your last meal before 7:00 p.m. and not eat again until 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. the following day. That way we “fast” while we sleep and give the digestive system an extended rest period which allows our cells to increase energy production and efficiency.

Adjust As Needed

It is important to note that the meal plan below provides options for 3 meals per day. Once ketone production increases and the body is fat adapted, hunger and the need for frequent meals typically decreases. This is ok! Eat when you are hungry and eat until you are satisfied.

7 Day Sample Keto Meal Plan & Recipes

When starting anything new, keeping it simple and easy is key to success. Aim for an easy meal plan, even if that means a few repetitive meals or eating leftovers during the week. Focus on allowing the body to adapt to the change before diving into more elaborate ketogenic meals and varied meal plans.

Monday

Breakfast: Bulletproof Coffee or Tea

If you are sensitive to caffeine or coffee, try dandelion tea which has a similar taste and texture to coffee, but eliminates the caffeine while providing fantastic detoxification benefits.

Lunch: Leafy Green Salad with Salmon

Fresh, wild-caught salmon
1/2 avocado
2-3 cups of green leafy vegetables
1 handful of macadamia nuts
1-2 TBSP of olive oil
Primal Kitchen Ranch Dressing (or homemade dressing with quality fats)

Dinner: Grass-Fed Beef Burger with Broccoli

4 oz grass-fed beef burger (prepare 2 for leftovers the following day)
1-2 TBSP of guacamole
1 cup of broccoli cooked in olive oil, coconut oil, grass-fed butter, or ghee

Tuesday

Breakfast: Bulletproof Coffee or Veggies Scrambled in Olive Oil

Lunch: Leftover Grass-Feed Beef Burger

Top with choice of cheese, lettuce, onion, healthy mayo

Dinner: Kiolbasa

Kiolbasa (1-2 sausages)
Cauliflower rice
Asparagus roasted in butter or bacon fat

Wednesday

Breakfast: Coconut Flour Pancakes

Top with butter or an almond butter spread! Delicious!

Lunch: Chicken Salad Wrapped in Lettuce

Red onion
Celery
Healthy mayo (homemade or store-bought)
Pork rinds
6-8 Bibb lettuce leaves

Dinner: Bacon Chicken Alfredo

Use zucchini pasta in place of the shirataki noodles.

Thursday

Breakfast: Omelette

3 eggs
Bacon or sausage
Spinach
Cheese of choice (optional)

Lunch: Bacon, Turkey, and Avocado (BLA) Lettuce Wrap

Assemble ingredients in lettuce wrap and topped with mustard, mayo, or both.
Pickle on the side
A handful of olives

Dinner: Ribeye Steak

Grass-fed ribeye steak, topped with butter or ghee and seasoning.
Side salad of leafy greens with shaved almonds, parmesan cheese, and real bacon bits slathered in olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Sauteed cabbage in butter with salt and pepper.

Friday

Breakfast: Egg and Sausage Breakfast Sandwich

One piece of high-fat breakfast sausage with no added sugar served between 2 fried eggs. (Yes, really!)
A spread of guacamole over the sausage creates an excellent twist on textures.

Lunch: Stuffed Zucchini Sausage Boats

Dinner: Grass-fed Meatballs over Zucchini Pasta