A Ketogenic Diet is a high fat, adequate-protein, low -carbohydrate diet that is traditionally used to treat children with epilepsy. Yes I did just copy that from the wikipedia page on Ketogenic diets, but I will rewrite it again in my own words. On Keto, your carbohydrates are limited to 20-25g a day, they will ideally come from green leafy vegetables like broccoli, kale, spinach, pak choi, cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, Brussels sprouts, you will eat a moderate amount of protein probably no more than you do already, and the rest of your calories will come from fat, butter, mayonaise, olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, and higher fat percentage portions of meat. Oh and cheese, this time last year I didn't eat cheese unless it was thoroughly melted, now I'm lucky if a block lasts me a week. The ratio of carbs/fat/protein should be 5/65/30 or there abouts.
How I do it
I track absolutely everything I eat on the my fitness pal app or website, it is fully set up for UK users and the barcode function is fantastic if you can't be bothered to manually search for everything you eat in a day.
Try to eat breakfast, although I invariably fail some days. I have yet to find a breakfast I don't get sick off which doesn't require cooking. I will continue hunting for that illusive breakfast I can grab out of the packet and eat on the way to uni the way I once did toast, until then I will make bacon and eggs, or a flaxseed pancake every day (oh the horror!).
Cook everything from scratch, through trial and error I have found I use up my carb allowance way too quickly if I am constantly eating prepackaged meats and cheeses in snack form, and given my current love affair with cabbage that is a very bad thing.
Experiment, experiment, experiment. I rarely have two weeks I make the same meals twice, variety is what makes this diet great, and with so many foods to try it is hard to get bored.
Plan everything, if you are going out with friends, look at the menu online before and search on MFP to see what is the best keto meal for you that day, don't be tempted by looking at the menu when you get there. If you are going to be out of the house for 16 hours take snacks (almonds, cheese "crisps", chorizo "crisps"), temptation is easier to resist if you aren't hungry.
Water and sleep. The two things I have found to trip me up, not drinking enough water, and spending a week getting 5 hours sleep on consecutive nights.
Hopefully I will post a weekly shopping list of what I'm cooking, but we shall see if I ever get organised enough to do that!
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