When you are on a keto diet, you’d obviously want to make sure everything in your diet is ketogenic. That includes cereal. But how to choose a keto-friendly cereal? That’s a question many people fail to answer, despite wanting to go on a keto diet.
Cereal is an integral part of most people’s breakfasts. It’s high in nutrients, such as fiber and folate. And you can eat it almost any time of the day, with milk or even yogurt. But not all cereals are low in carbs, though many people think they are.
You’ll find that keto cereal brands have a carb count ranging from 1g to 14g. Some are even higher.
But there are ways to make low-carb cereal. The good news is that many of these companies offer great-tasting cereal options, if not for the great taste then at least because they’re low in carbs.
But which cereals are keto? How can you tell which ones to buy and which ones to avoid? And what’s the best way to eat them?
There are a couple of things you need to consider before making your purchase, so you should do your research well before you choose a keto-friendly cereal for your breakfast.
In this guide, we explain how to choose a keto-friendly cereal. Keep reading to learn more about such cereals and how you can consume them.
What is Ketosis?
Ketosis is a state of the body in which the liver breaks down fat and converts it into ketones. Ketones are similar to glucose, which means that your body can use them for energy.
Apart from that, they also have a diuretic effect, thus helping you lose weight. Ketogenic diets have become quite popular among people who want to lose weight because they help people burn fat and lose weight faster.
You can achieve ketosis by consuming less than 20 grams of carbs per day. Therefore, you need to lower your carb consumption if you want to follow a ketogenic diet.
Even though ketogenic diets may sound like a great idea, they do have some disadvantages as well.
Even though they can help you lose weight faster, it is important to eat more vegetables while following a ketogenic diet because the lack of carbohydrates could cause weakness and fatigue.
There are many different ways in which people choose to follow these low-carbohydrate and high-fat diets.
Some people prefer to keep themselves quite strict by limiting their carb consumption to 20 grams per day or less while others allow for a bit more flexibility with their daily intake of carbs.
How Do You Achieve Ketosis?
There are many ways you can reach this metabolic stage, including fasting, exercising, or eating a high-fat and low-carb diet.
The last option is the most effective one, as long as you stick with it for an extended period of time. Today’s guide will focus on how to choose a cereal product that allows you to stay in ketosis without experiencing any side effects such as bad breath or constipation.
Once your body is in ketosis, your metabolism will run at an accelerated pace, you’ll shed weight faster, and reach your ideal body composition much faster.
No carbs are needed to stop hunger pangs in such a state, so you can easily enjoy eating three meals per day without any cravings or food addictions.
One of the best ways to go into ketosis is to incorporate low-carb options in all your meals, including breakfast. That’s why you need to consume keto-friendly cereal in the morning.
Why Do You Need to Eat Keto-Friendly Cereal?
Breakfast is the first meal of the day and experts advise you should eat a heavy breakfast. It will keep you full for the whole day and make sure you have sufficient energy to go with your day.
Therefore, your breakfast should be well-balanced, nutritive, and low in fat. That’s because fats tend to make you slow and lazy. The importance of breakfast cannot be overemphasized as it is the first meal of the day which sets you going in positive energy levels till the end of the day at work.
To eat right you should have a breakfast that is nutritious, filling, and which will help you work all day. There are several foods that may taste great but if you eat them for breakfast, they may just make you feel miserable at the end of the day.
If anyone has failed to have breakfast or skipped one meal entirely in the morning-no matter how busy they are, they usually suffer from feeling lethargic during the entire day until lunchtime.
However, when you are on a keto diet, you need to make sure breakfast is ketogenic too. Cereals have been part of American diets for as long as we all can remember.
They’re very convenient, easy, and fast to prepare with no mess or hassle. Eating cereal is like eating junk food without guilt since they don’t have sugar or added ingredients that aren’t helpful for our bodies.
Most people like to eat cereal for breakfast since it’s filling and doesn’t make you bloat. However, most cereals contain high amounts of carbs and they can get your body out of ketosis.
Therefore, it’s important to eat keto-friendly cereal if you want to stay in ketosis. Eating low-carb and high-fat foods is good for a keto diet since it keeps the body in ketosis.
How to Choose a Keto-Friendly Cereal for Breakfast?
Keep the following tips in mind when picking a breakfast cereal if you’re on a keto diet:
Look for Whole Foods
Make sure the cereals have whole foods in them and not refined ingredients, especially sugars. Whole foods are great for your body because they are natural, and keep you healthy. Some examples include seeds, nuts, and coconut flour.
Avoid Artificial Sweeteners
You should avoid fake or artificial sweeteners, like aspartame, sucralose, and saccharin which are made in a lab.
Some low-calorie sweeteners that might be okay to use include Stevia (a natural herb from South America), LoHANo, honey, and pure maple syrup.
The word “fake” implies something artificial or made-up. Fake sugar isn’t real sugar but neither is it really sugar; it’s not even close to being the same thing.
Real sugar is known as sucrose – two glucose molecules bonded with one fructose molecule. The glycemic index of this blend of carbohydrates has been found to be between about 65 and 100 in most people.
This means that the bloodstream is exposed to a slow and steady supply of energy.
The glycemic index of fake sugar is very low; most products containing it have a glycemic index ranging between zero and 20.
The blood is never given a chance to settle down, instead, it goes from being completely flat to having an intense peak of activity over and over again. False sugar spikes your blood sugar through stimulation then drops you into a lull period and leaves you wanting more food quicker than real sugar would.
Thus, it can completely mess up ketosis for you.
Look for Fiber
Look for cereals that have fiber in them since many people on a keto diet fail to incorporate enough fiber into their diets.
Fiber is good for your body because it helps your colon and digestive system. Fiber relieves constipation and may protect against diverticulosis, heart disease, colorectal cancer, diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome.
It also reduces blood sugar levels in diabetics. The Institute of Medicine recommends that adults consume 38 grams of fiber per day to maintain health.
This is a HUGE amount of fiber. The majority of people don’t get their recommended daily intake.
Make Sure Cereal has Fats
If you want to go into ketosis, you need to eat high-fat foods and avoid carbohydrates. This is due to the fact that ketosis is developed as a result of a lack of glucose in your body, provided that you don’t consume carbs.
To get into ketosis with no problems, make sure to eat plenty of fats from whole food sources such as eggs, meat (fatty cuts), lamb bacon, fatty fish, and avocado.
You should also consume low-carb vegetables including leafy greens like spinach and lettuce; broccoli; cucumbers; celery; peppers; onions and cabbage.
As for breakfast, make sure your cereal has enough fats to keep you in ketosis. Only then, you will be able to have a successful keto diet.
Conclusion
The primary goal of eating keto is to enter a state called ketosis, which occurs when the body burns fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates.
Most people find that they begin adapting to ketogenic eating habits after one week, with noticeable weight loss occurring within 3 weeks.
Eating plenty of nutritious fats can help you burn through excess glycogen stores, but only if you also limit carbs so that your body has no other choice but to burn fat from excess food consumption or stored body fat.
Now that you know how to choose a keto-friendly cereal, you can help your body stay in ketosis for as long as you need.
FAQs
Keto-friendly milk alternatives include unsweetened almond, milk, coconut milk, macadamia nut milk, flax milk, soy milk, cashew milk, pea milk, half and a half, and heavy cream.
Ingredients include a protein blend (milk protein isolate and whey protein isolate), coconut oil, tapioca flour, chicory root fiber, natural flavors, salt, and a sweetener blend. The list of ingredients is not entirely perplexing.
Due to its extremely low net carb content, perfect keto cereal barely affects blood sugar levels. Even while consuming perfect keto cereal frequently you need to be able to maintain ketosis.