Best Indian Keto Diet Plan For Vegetarians

Ketogenic diets are infamous for their weight loss benefits and have become all the rage over the past 5 years. While this Indian keto diet plan may sound relatively new, the concept of eating high fat, low carb meals have been around for centuries and has been recommended to treat many diseases. While ketogenic diets are trendy in the west, they are slowly gaining momentum in India as more people shift towards healthier eating habits. However, Indian diets are usually high in carbohydrates and low in fat and with most people following a largely vegetarian diet, the idea of going keto can seem preposterous. For those wondering what to eat on keto diet, especially if you’re vegetarian, we are here to help with a thorough Indian keto diet plan with recipes to help ease you into your new, healthy lifestyle.

But before we get started, let’s take a deep dive into what is ketogenic diet and why is it better for your body to follow this Indian keto diet plan.

What Is Ketogenic Diet?

A ketogenic diet is a low carbohydrate, high fat and low to moderate protein diet that can help with weight and fat loss. By drastically reducing carb intake, your body is put into ketosis where fat is burned for energy instead of carbohydrates and sugars.

In a traditionally healthy, balanced diet for an average human being, their diets should comprise 45-65% carbohydrates, 10-35% protein and 20-35% fat. With carbohydrates being the most significant part of your diet, you consume carb-rich foods like bread, rice and starchy vegetables. Your body breaks down these carbohydrates into simple sugars/ glucose which provides energy for your cells, organs and tissues.

While following a standard ketogenic diet, your diet comprises of 70% fat, 20% protein and only 10% carbs. To explain the science behind a ketogenic diet in simpler terms, your body burns fat for energy instead of carbohydrates and this process is called ketosis. This shift to burning fat usually takes place after 2-4 days of consuming 10% carbohydrates per day but this is a highly individualised process that depends on many different factors.

A standard ketogenic diet comprises low to moderate protein intake. This is because the body is capable of converting protein into glucose when carbohydrate intake is low. If you consume high amounts of protein, it could potentially slow down your transition into ketosis. However, many people who follow this diet continue to consume medium to high amounts of protein, particularly if they are vegetarian as protein can help keep the body full for longer, therefore making the dietary shift easier. You can read more about 11 Indian vegetarian protein sources that you can incorporate into your diet.

Now that you understand what is ketogenic diet and how it works, let's discuss why keto is one of the best Indian diets for weight loss.

Benefits of Keto Diet for Weight Loss

For decades now, a ketogenic diet has been prescribed to type 2 diabetic patients and patients suffering from epilepsy. While there are countless benefits of going on this diet, the primary reason why most people adopt this diet is because of its weight loss benefits.

When your body primarily receives fat from your diet to burn for energy, it turns the fat into ketones. As you continue with the diet, your body becomes accustomed to burning fat while preserving muscle mass. Following a ketogenic diet can also help you feel full and reduce your desire to snack, making it one of the best Indian diets for weight loss.

However, like any diet, it takes time to notice drastic results in your weight loss. Besides being consistent with the keto diet for weight loss, there are several other factors that can determine the speed at which you lose weight like age, agility, genetics and preexisting health conditions.

Before we discuss what to eat on keto diet with an Indian keto diet plan, let’s take a look at some of the common side effects and risks of following a keto diet for weight loss.

Side Effects

A common side effect of following a keto diet plan including this Indian keto diet plan is getting the keto flu. A keto flu or a carb flu is a temporary group of symptoms that show up around 2-7 days after starting a keto diet.

Symptoms of the keto flu include:

Headache & foggy brain
Body pain and overall fatigue
Stomach pain, nausea and constipation

These symptoms show up as your body adapts to your new diet and gets into the state of ketosis. There are temporary imbalances in your energy source along with mild hormonal and insulin imbalances. But there’s nothing to worry about as the keto flu usually goes away within 1-2 weeks of beginning the diet.

Besides this temporary side effect, you might experience other side effects while following a ketogenic diet based on your genetics and medical history. It is highly recommended to consult a physician if you have any preexisting health conditions or if you are above 60, before following a keto meal plan.

Vegetarianism and the Ketogenic Diet

Most people think that being a vegetarian hinders you from following a ketogenic diet but we are here to break that myth. While a traditional ketogenic diet is highly dependent on meat and fish, there are several vegetarian foods you can substitute them with to get on an Indian vegetarian keto diet plan.

What to Eat on Keto Diet - Vegetarian Edition

Traditionally, people on a ketogenic diet are recommended to eat foods that are high in fats like red and white meat, fish and eggs. But if you are vegetarian, here is a list of foods you can eat while following a vegetarian Indian keto diet plan.

Cheese and paneer
Ghee, butter and heavy cream
Healthy oils like cold-pressed olive oil or avocado oil
Nuts and seeds
Greens and non-starchy vegetables
High-fat fruits and vegetables like avocados (butter fruit)

Happilo Keto Nuts & Seeds
If you are following a keto vegan diet, you can swap out all the dairy products like cheese, paneer, milk, cream and butter with vegan substitutes like plant-based milk, almond butter, cashew cream and vegan butter. Following a keto vegan diet is more difficult than a vegetarian one but it is still possible with the right substitutes and conscious efforts to consume high-fat foods.

What to Avoid on a Keto Diet

In order to ensure that you consume low carb meals, here are foods that one must avoid while on a ketogenic diet:

Bread and rice
All foods made from wheat, grains and starches like pasta, cereal
Starchy vegetables like potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes and radishes.
All sweet fruits
Unhealthy, saturated fats like mayonnaise or margarine (dalda)

Unlike many other popular diets, you cannot have cheat days when you are on a keto diet for weight loss. If you consume an excess of carbohydrates, even for a single meal, your body will get out of the state of ketosis. It takes 3-7 days to recover back to ketosis. Hence it is important to stick to a keto-only diet plan. Let’s discuss a few tips to help you with your keto diet plan.

Tips for Beginners

Here are a few tips to help ease yourself into the keto diet without having too much trouble.

Get rid of foods that may tempt you to break your diet like processed, starchy snacks. Instead, load your pantry with healthy snacks like nuts and seeds.
Consume a lot of water as it supports your kidneys and prevents you from getting hungry too often.
Anticipate the keto flu and take precautions to ease the symptoms. Don’t let the flu break your diet.
Increase your physical activity. Staying active can help in further breaking down your fat and keep you from feeling fatigued throughout the day.
Don’t forget about protein. While it is recommended to consume lesser protein, you still need to fuel your body with adequate amounts of protein to keep your muscles active and healthy.

Hopefully, these tips can help make your journey towards a keto diet much easier. But remember to also be easy on yourself. If you feel that the diet is not working for you and it’s too hard, there are several other ways to remain healthy and fit.

Indian Keto Diet Plan

Going keto can be overwhelming at first and it requires patience, time and diligence to keep up with the diet consistently. One way to help with your diet is to prep your meals in advance and following an Indian keto diet chart that works for you. Let’s discuss what an Indian vegetarian keto diet plan can look like for 1 full week:

7 Day Keto Diet Plan for Vegetarians

Now that you know what to eat on keto diet and what to avoid, let's take a look at a comprehensive 7-day keto diet plan that is perfect for vegetarians. This is an Indian keto diet plan that is crafted for the Indian palette with links for some of these vegetarian keto recipes. We have repeated some of the items on this Indian keto diet chart so you don’t have to cook new meals from scratch every single day.

Ultimate 7 Day Indian Keto Diet Plan

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Day 1	Cauliflower Upma	Paneer Bhurji with a Vegetable Salad	Creamy Mushroom Soup
Day 2	Coconut, Avocado & Chia Seed Pudding	Paneer Butter Masala with Cauliflower Rice	Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms & Veggie Salad
Day 3	Greek yoghurt with Chia seeds & Berries	Paneer Butter Masala with Almond Flour Roti	Tofu, Chickpeas and Avocado Salad
Day 4	Avocado and Flax Seeds Milkshake	Creamy Mushroom Soup	Paneer Bhurji with a Vegetable Salad
Day 5	Almond Flour Dosa with Coconut Chutney	Creamy Mixed Veg Coconut Curry and Cauliflower Rice	Creamy Broccoli and Spinach Soup
Day 6	Chia Seed Pudding with Nuts	Palak Paneer with Almond Flour Roti	Cauliflower Pizza with Cheese & Veggies
Day 7	Cauliflower and Broccoli Poha	Creamy Mixed Veg Coconut Curry with Almond Flour Dosa	Tofu, Chickpeas and Avocado salad

If you are following a keto vegan diet, you can substitute all the dairy in the recipes with plant-based high-fat alternatives.

Besides eating three meals a day, snacking can also help keep you full while following this Indian keto diet chart. Low carb snacks like almonds, cashews and walnuts along with healthy seeds like chia, flax or pumpkin seeds can boost your daily fat intake while satisfying any of your cravings for crunchy low carb snacks. Check out our blog on the best low-calorie Indian snacks to munch on while you’re following an Indian keto diet plan.

While it is difficult to follow a ketogenic diet, there are tons of vegetarian keto recipes and diet plans available online to make the process easier. Like any major lifestyle change, it takes a couple of days to get accustomed but once you do, you can live out a healthier version of yourself. To ease the process of going keto, buy some deliciously healthy almonds and pistachios from Happilo to munch on through the day, that’ll keep you going without breaking your diet. So now that you know how to get on a ketogenic diet, are you ready to commit?

The Best Indian Keto Diet Plan For Vegetarians