The main principle of the ketogenic diet is to consume more fat, moderate protein, and less carbs. Specifically, nutritionists break down keto macronutrients to 70 percent fat, 20 percent protein, and 10 percent carbs. Because a huge chunk of your daily calories should come from meat, steak is your best friend and a staple food in the keto diet regime.
That’s why a lot of people advocate for the keto diet. Not only can it be incredibly effective in weight loss, with research showing that keto dieters had a greater reduction in weight than those practicing other diet regimes, but it’s also less restricting, allowing you to consume tender and juicy steak as you please.
In this article, we break down the nutrition facts of steak and help you incorporate it into your keto diet.
Steak, on its own, is quite keto-friendly. In fact, diet experts suggest that steak can provide a near-perfect macro percentage with its zero carb content.
Not only that, but steak also contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a type of fat that offers a range of health benefits. Its main advantage for weight loss is that it may decrease body fat while increasing lean muscle mass, helping you lose weight and tone your body.
As the human body cannot manufacture conjugated linoleic acid on its own, steak provides keto dieters with a prime source of CLA fat to facilitate weight loss, muscle growth, and optimal health and wellness.
When incorporating steak into the keto diet, the type of cut matters. Keto dieters often look for the fattiest cuts to supply their bodies with more fat and protein. Steak is essentially carb-free, regardless of what cut you go for.
Their differences only concern their calories, fat, and protein content. However, there are some steak cuts with minimal carb content, such as Salisbury steak with 5.78 grams of carbs per 100 grams.
Nutritionists often consider ribeye steak as the best to consume on the keto diet. This is because of its abundance of healthy fats and protein. 100 grams of ribeye steak, for example, contains 21.8 grams of fat and 23.7 grams of protein.
It’s also rich in essential micronutrients, including thiamin (0.071 mg), riboflavin (0.287 mg), niacin (4.91mg), pantothenic acid (0.536 mg), vitamin B6 (0.477 mg), vitamin B12 (2.1 µg), calcium (11 mg), magnesium (22 mg), manganese (0.08 mg), potassium (260 mg), iron (2.24 mg), copper (0.08 mg), phosphorus (152 mg), selenium (29.7 µg), and zinc (5.91 mg).
To help you choose the correct cut of steak to add to your keto diet, here are your top options at a glance. The nutritional information in this table is for a serving of 100 grams of steak.
|
Beef Cut |
Calories |
Fat |
Protein |
Carbs |
|
291 kcal |
21.8 g |
23.7 g |
0 g |
|
|
155 kcal |
6.39 g |
22.8 g |
0 g |
|
|
219 kcal |
11.4 g |
27.3 g |
0 g |
|
|
190 kcal |
12.8 g |
18.2 g |
0 g |
|
|
248 kcal |
19.4 g |
17.5 g |
0 g |
|
|
237 kcal |
17.8 g |
18.4 g |
0 g |
|
|
176 kcal |
6.36 g |
27.7 g |
0 g |
|
|
243 kcal |
14 g |
27 g |
0 g |
|
|
149 kcal |
10.47 g |
6.98 g |
6.78 g |
|
|
341 kcal |
27 g |
23 g |
0 g |
|
|
456 kcal |
29.1 g |
48.7 g |
0 g |
Keto advocates consider steak as the king of keto meats thanks to its high fat, high protein, and zero carbohydrate content that fits perfectly into keto macros. But that’s not its only advantage.
Research has attributed steak consumption to reduced muscle loss, increased immunity, and lower risk of anemia, diabetes, and heart disease, among others. This is because steak is abundant in vitamins and minerals essential for overall health, including:
The specific nutrients present in steak will depend on the cut. But generally, a steak weighing 221 grams contains 41 grams of fat, 58 grams of protein, 0.7 mcg of vitamin D, 38 mg of calcium, 3.9 mg of iron, and 698.4 mg of potassium.
Steak in itself is keto-friendly. The only time that steak consumption can get you in trouble with your macros is if you consume it with common side dishes like rice, mashed potatoes, and fries, all of which have a high carbohydrate content. All of these can easily take up your daily carb allowance if you’re not careful.
To keep your steak meals keto-friendly, you should opt for low-carb side dishes like:
These side dishes are just a couple of ideas to use as alternatives to high-carb rice and potatoes. Feel free to get creative with your recipes and whip up a keto-friendly dish to complement your steak!
Steak is a staple in the ketogenic diet regime. You can’t go wrong with adding it to your meals, allowing you to enjoy tender and juicy goodness while staying committed to your daily macros. Just remember to consume steak with keto-friendly side dishes to keep your carb intake low!
Love beef, but also pork? Pork rinds are a healthy and keto-friendly meat option you can also enjoy.
Steak is perfect for the keto diet because of its abundance of healthy fat, protein, and essential micronutrients. In fact, nutritionists consider it the best fat and protein source for keto dieters. The best part is that there are many cuts to choose from, almost all of which contain zero carbohydrates.
Yes, a diet consisting of steak and eggs is zero-carb and therefore ketogenic. According to experts, eating these two simple food items also provides the body with loads of nutrients. For best measure, consume ¾-1.5 lbs of fatty steak and 4-6 eggs per meal to keep the body in a state of ketosis conducive to weight loss.
