How to know if food is keto

I suspect that the term Keto is not clearly described and confusion can result.
Keto is short for ketosis - the intention is to change the metabolism to burning fat rather than carbohydrate. To do this the amount of carbohydrate eaten is reduced - most people find that they can stay in ketosis at about 50 gm of carbs a day, and use a glucose meter to check on the levels after eating. My personal level is now 40 gm per day, just to be certain of keeping as low as possible.
The foods which are lowest in carbs, meat, fish seafood, cheese and eggs, also cream and full fat yoghurts are the basis of the diet - but it is possible to eat quite a lot of salad and low carb veges to give variety and the micronutrients, vitamins and minerals as well.
I do not eat any high carb foods, so today I ate a salad with walnuts, coleslaw, a bag of mixed salad, radishes, cucumber, tomato, and some mild cheese - I could have added more things but I was not feeling particularly hungry - there is celery and beetroot in the fridge as they are perfectly fine for me.
As you have found, the carbohydrate content of many foods is on the packaging so you can go by that as a guide for the foods which you can eat.
If you try to eat no carbs at all you might begin to feel rather ill - as it is not unusual for blood glucose levels to drop quite spectacularly - you could experience a sensation of lightheadedness or even distinctly 'spaced out' and experience phantom hypos as your brain goes into a panic at the sudden alteration.
If someone has advised you to try to eat no carbs at all they are rather foolish - if you have been eating what is considered a normal amount of carbs the shock is considerable, and you will feel awful.
Take a look at the sort of thing people are eating - there is a thread for just that, to get a better idea of what diet to follow.

Remember that a healthy ketogenic diet shouldn't be all about carbohydrate. The optimal strategy is to first focus on real, whole-food. Food made by nature in nature, not by humans in a factory. No vegetable oils (they're hidden everywhere along with wheat). This is the bedrock on which you can build the foundations of your diet. Obsessing over what is or isn't "ketogenic" may lead you down a path of eating processed garbage with "Keto!" emblazoned across it.

To an extent, avoiding literally all processed food is an impossible dream in today's world but, in my opinion, it should always be the goal. With this mindset you will be better equipped to make the right choices without too much effort. Reading labels quickly becomes largely unnecessary when you already know there is only one ingredient.

Diet Doctor is a great resource for learning about the carbohydrate content of foods. Personally I'm not into the fancy recipes that use nut flours and the like, but they cover pretty much all tastes and needs. Link below.

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/visual-guides

Hi and welcome @Divia

Can I suggest that you complete your profile details? That way members can see what type of diabetes (or not) you have, and whether you are on any medications. Sometimes these things are very useful in responding to questions.

Regarding your question about keto.
It is very easy to get sucked into the internet fashion for all things keto. There are niche brand MCT and coconut oils, bars and shakes and cereals and ready meals, and even cakes and desserts around whose main selling point is Keto! These are usually 2 or 3 times the price of 'normal' food, and are packaged for a long shelf life and processed until their only nutritional value comes from the synthetic vitamins they have added.

Apologies for that little rant
I know that your query was only about ham and mayonnaise, neither of which are as processed as the foods I mentioned above.

In theory, if you keep your carbs nice and low, at the levels you mention, then you are probably going to be in ketosis most of the time. The actual point at which you slip in and out (it is slipping, not 'kicking'. Think of a dial, not a switch) will depend on you, your carb choices, height, weight, activity levels, various hormone things, and so on.

So a 6foot4 fit, active, muscley man may be able to stay in ketosis on a diet significantly higher in carbs than a petite, unfit, sedentary woman with PCOS - as an example.

As @Jim Lahey says, stick with real food, keep the processed frankenfoods to a minimum, keep carbs low, electrolytes up, drink plenty, and allow ketosis to develop naturally. Enjoy.

The Dietdoctor website has some great info, including some excellent pictures of foods (fruit, veg, baked goods, etc) with their usual carb content. Also articles and videos, some magnificent recipes, shopping lists and other advice.

This is what I follow.



If you apply this formula to any food you eat, then you will be OK. But it should probably be used on the total over the whole day, which gives you some leeway.

My personal keto ratio is 2.5.

Divia said:

Hello, I'm super new to it and I have a few questions. I was hungry and went to the supermarket to find an easy keto food for on the go breakfast.

I looked at the labels and found quality ham with less than 1g carb on the label.

My question: is ham really keto friendly? If a food has no carbs, is it keto friendly and I can safely eat it?

Do I have to watch portions?

May I have mayonnaise if there's no carb in it, even of those bought at the supermarket?

Is salami keto friendly if it's no carb, or very little carb? Is bacon ok?

Thank you very much for your help!

Edit: I've seen cheese as 2 net carbs. But I found cheese with 0g carb. Is my cheese 0 net carb, then? Thank you!

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You might find this helpful (its from the other forum I spend some time on)

https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/keto-is-this-easy/76205