I tried 'most manageable' diet and in four weeks my confidence had sky-rocketed

A nutritionist has revealed the best foods to eat on the keto diet after it helped him lose two stone in just two months - and he says you can still enjoy a good meal

Over the years, I've dabbled in countless fad diets - none of which have yielded any long-term results and most of which were downright unfeasible.

Too many diet plans demand that we relinquish our love for food in order to shed some weight - a commitment that's incredibly difficult to maintain. However, there's one diet that turns this notion on its head by promoting a high-fat intake. In essence, all you need to do is give up carbs and let your body handle the rest.

This is the ketogenic or 'keto' diet, which doesn't require people to eliminate everything they enjoy from their meals - they just need to envision their plates sans carbs.

What is the keto diet?

Well, it begins with understanding that our bodies typically use glucose from carbohydrates as a primary energy source. When this source is depleted, the body resorts to using reserves from the liver and muscles.

After about three to four days, when these reserves are used up, the body then starts burning stored fat, converting it into ketones in the liver - a process known as ketosis.

The time it takes to reach ketosis varies depending on an individual's BMI. To sustain ketosis, it's recommended to limit carb intake to around 20-50 grams per day.

On a 2,000-calorie diet, a typical keto diet will consist of 55-60% fat, 30-35% protein, and a mere 5-10% carbs. In short, ditch the carbs and your body will burn the bad stuff due to lack of alternative energy sources.

What should you avoid on keto diet?

Slashing the biggest culprits from your diet is a must:

White bread
Rice
Pasta
Potatoes

Beers, with their high carb count and low nutritional value, are also a no-go. Mixed drinks with vodka, gin and rum also rack up the carbs, mainly thanks to their sugary soda and fruit juice mixers. Overall, alcohol should be given a second thought when going keto.

Honey and syrup are not your friends on this diet; they'll send blood sugar levels soaring and boot you out of ketosis. They're mostly sugar, so you're not missing out by giving them the boot. Likewise, juice, sugary sodas, and your favourite sweets will do much the same - best leave those out of your trolley during your weekly shop.

And here's a curveball: sauces can be sneaky saboteurs. Ketchup, sweet chilli and the like sneak in sugar that'll snap you right out of ketosis. And don't be fooled by "low fat foods" which often bump up sugar content to makeup for the lost fat.

In essence, refined carbs and sweet treats are the villains of this story. If you're dabbling in keto, keep a watchful eye on those carb and sugar levels listed on food packaging.

But fear not, it's not all about sacrifice. Sure, some joys may appear stripped back, but actually embracing ketosis doesn't have to dull your dining experience.

Keto diet replacements

The biggest issue I've faced following a diet is feeling unsatisfied. I don't want salads, I want something nice. Thankfully, I didn't have to cook several different meals at dinner time just to maintain ketosis. Below are a few things I substituted for dinner time:

Rice - Cauliflower rice
Mashed potatoes - Mashed cauliflower
Spaghetti - Courgette
Pasta - various vegetable substitutes
Chips - butternut squash
Tortilla - Lettuce leaf

Cauliflower steals the spotlight, with its chameleon-like ability to transform into "rice". Blended with spices, it pairs well with any meal and mimics couscous. Separately, a sizable dollop of "mashed potato" made from blended and boiled cauliflower will not disappoint.

Bid adieu to pasta woes, as courgette comes to the rescue allowing spaghetti bolognese lovers to rejoice. Running it through a mandolin or shredding it with a cheese grater offers up a quick "spaghetti", or one can opt for readymade veggie pasta alternatives found in supermarkets for a swift fix.

Butternut squash transforms into chip wedges, while lettuce leaves can niftily become wraps for burritos and tacos - these may deviate slightly from their traditional counterparts but they deliver on flavor.

Ditch sugary fizz for its zero-sugar sibling or hydrate with plain water. Those partial to a drink need not fret as a sneaky red wine or a dry white wine in the pub won't derail your diet - both typically contain less than 5g of carbs per serving.

There are also plenty of sauces you can still have to pack your meals with flavour. Hot sauces such as Tobasco and other vinegar-based sauces are fine, as are mustard and mayonnaise.

You can also find a range of low-sugar variants in most supermarkets.

My keto diet menu

You can repackage your meals with new flavours and recipes every day. A few of my base meals on keto included:

Breakfast

• Scrambled eggs and avocado
• Fry-ups (without toast and beans)
• Omelette
• Yoghurt

Lunch

• Salads
• Soups
• Chicken and cauliflower rice

Dinner

• Curry and cauliflower rice
• Courgette spaghetti bolognese
• Courgette carbonara
• Fish and cauliflower mashed potato/butternut squash wedges
• Stuffed peppers with cauliflower rice
• Fajitas with lettuce leaf
• Burritos with cauliflower rice
• Open burgers and butternut squash wedges

One month after keto

I want to preface this by saying I've tried quite a few diets and many I wouldn't recommend. Everything from the coffee diet that sees you swap snacks with a hot cup of java to cutting out red meat and carbs permanently. The keto diet was the easiest and most rewarding thing I've ever attempted.

The worst part of any diet is feeling unsatisfied and hungry. It's the biggest telltale sign you'll crumble and run back to the fridge. Eating keto was like I was eating everything I typically would. There was everything from curries to tacos and fajitas. The only thing I did struggle with was the lack of sweet treats but the fewer of those the better, anyway.

Planning meal time wasn't a daunting task like many other diets. It was a simple task of "What am I substituting this evening?" and cracking on with what I wanted. At the end, I found my stomach shrank because I was no longer bloating.

I didn't have to suck in my gut just to flatten my body in certain clothes. The bloating was gone and my confidence skyrocketed. I've always bloated over the smallest of snacks so this was genuinely a game-changing experience. I'd recommend doing keto even if reducing your bloat is the only goal.

However, there were more benefits. Without really trying, I managed to lose 5lbs. There was no accompanying workout regime or extremely reduced diet. By simply changing a few bits of my meals, the weight fell off naturally with little effort. I ate what I wanted and still reaped the rewards.

But the biggest change was how I looked in the mirror rather than how much I weighed. The fat around my body shifted (or disappeared) and suddenly I carried my weight better. After one month, the changes didn't warrant a before and after shot but I could tell, and I could feel it, which is all that matters.

The keto diet is one of the easiest on the market and not as dangerous as many out there. It's very simple to do and you won't regret it. You certainly won't feel depressed when it comes to dinner time either.

What the health experts say

For the British Heart Foundation, senior dietitian Victoria Taylor said: "It’s quite difficult to have a balanced keto diet, especially when it comes to getting enough fruit and vegetables and fibre, and it also contains more saturated fat than is recommended. With fewer foods to choose from, the diet can get boring, and doesn’t always fit with eating with friends and family. All of this means it can be hard to stick to.

"With limited research into the keto diet for weight loss, and few long-term studies, we wouldn’t recommend it. There are other diets that limit carbs, but not as much as the keto diet (typically allowing 50-130g of carbs per day) which have been found to be safe and effective in the short term, for example for people with type 2 diabetes. Or you could try a Mediterranean-style diet, which has benefits for heart health."

There are lots of ways of losing weight by making small changes or by seeking support. If you need help managing your weight, you might be able to refer yourself directly to services that can help you. Please check the NHS website for further advice.