Keto meal plan: 3 days at 25 g net carbs or less

Totals add up the USDA values for each food in the amounts shown. Calories on a label or in a tracker can differ by a few percent because they round each item.

% DV uses FDA Daily Values for adults. A nutrient USDA does not report for a food counts as zero in the sum, so the real number is at least what is shown.

Protein foods

• Eggs, hard-boiled: 14 large eggs (700 g)
• Chicken breast, skinless, roasted: 4 oz (113 g)
• Salmon (Atlantic, farmed), baked: 6 oz (170 g)
• Light tuna, canned in water, no salt added, drained: 6 oz (170 g)
• Ground beef 93% lean, cooked: 6 oz (170 g)
• Shrimp, cooked: 4 oz (113 g)
• Pork tenderloin, roasted: 5 oz (142 g)

Milk and cheese

• Cheddar cheese, sharp: 1 1/2 oz (43 g)
• Mozzarella, part skim: 1/2 oz (14 g)

Vegetables

• Spinach, raw: 1 cup (25 g)
• Mixed salad greens: 6 cups (210 g)
• Cucumber, peeled: 1 cup (133 g)
• Broccoli, boiled, no salt: 1 cup (156 g)
• Cauliflower, boiled, no salt: 2 cups (248 g)
• Zucchini, boiled, no salt: 1 cup (180 g)
• White mushrooms, cooked, no salt: 1 cup (156 g)
• Cherry tomatoes: 1/2 cup (74 g)
• Green beans, boiled, no salt: 1 cup (125 g)

Fruit

• Raspberries: 1/4 cup (38 g)

Nuts, seeds and oils

• Avocado: 1 1/2 avocados (204 g)
• Olive oil: 13 tbsp (176 g)
• Almonds, dry roasted, unsalted: 4 1/2 oz (128 g)
• Pumpkin seeds (kernels), roasted, unsalted: 2 oz (57 g)

Meat, fish, grains, pasta and beans are listed as cooked amounts, oats as dry. Raw and dry amounts weigh differently, so check the package when you shop.

Add or take away one of these foods from the plan. Each line is one step of about 100 calories.

• Olive oil, 1 tbsp (14 g): 119 calories, 0.0 g protein
• Almonds, dry roasted, unsalted, 1/2 oz (14 g): 85 calories, 3.0 g protein
• Avocado, 1/2 avocado (68 g): 114 calories, 1.3 g protein
• Cheddar cheese, sharp, 1 oz (28 g): 116 calories, 6.9 g protein
• Chicken breast, skinless, roasted, 2 oz (57 g): 94 calories, 17.6 g protein

This is a sample plan for healthy adults, not a diet prescribed for you. Talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian first if you:

• are pregnant or breastfeeding
• are under 18
• take insulin or another medicine that lowers blood sugar, because the dose depends on what and how much you eat
• have, or have had, an eating disorder
• have kidney disease or another condition where your care team sets limits for protein, potassium or sodium

Why

• Level C A meta-analysis of 20 studies with 25,401 people with eating disorders found about 3 times higher odds of electrolyte abnormalities, with low potassium in 15%. PLoS One, 2026
• Level C Observational data link restrictive dieting with binge eating: 53 of 76 studies found restrictive diets increase binge eating, mostly alongside negative emotions. Nutr Rev, 2026

What keto does for weight

• Level A When calories are matched, a ketogenic diet beat a higher carbohydrate diet by about one and a half kilograms, and the evidence behind that is weak. Nutrients, 2026

The other side

• Level A Swapping carbohydrate for fat at equal calories improves some blood markers and worsens another, so there is no single winner. European Journal of Nutrition, 2026
• Level E Net carbs is not a regulated term, and manufacturers were documented defining it in conflicting ways. FDA, Food Labeling: Revision of the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels, proposed rule, 2014

Levels: A meta-analysis of trials, B a single trial, C observational, D lab or animal, E an expert body. How we verify.

Every food is one USDA FoodData Central entry, listed with its FDC ID under Sources. Amounts are US kitchen measures taken from USDA's own portion weights, or ounces for meat and fish, with grams in brackets. A program set the amounts so each day lands within 3% of 2,000 calories while keeping fiber, sodium and saturated fat near the references above. Each day had to stay at or under 25 g of net carbs (total carbohydrate minus fiber). Vegetables, beans and grains are cooked without salt. Add salt, sauces or dressing and the sodium and calories rise.

• 2,000 calorie meal plan: 3 days with exact numbers
• High-protein meal plan: 3 days, 150 g protein, 2,000 calories
• 1,900 calorie meal plan: 3 days with exact numbers
• 1,800 calorie meal plan: 3 days with exact numbers
• 2,200 calorie meal plan: 3 days with exact numbers
• 1,800 calorie high-protein meal plan: 3 days
• All meal plans by calories, protein and diet