Last year, the ketogenic diet was the biggest weight loss trend, but will the Ketotarian Diet take over this year? Traditional keto is still going strong, but despite its trendiness, its reputation for being less than healthy due to a heavy reliance on animal-based fats is placing doubt on the technique that wasn’t too much of a concern last year.

While this does make it a popular eating strategy for people who love meat and butter, many people would prefer to moderate their animal-based food intake. In comes the Ketotarian Diet. This is a plan that promises the same benefits without having to pile on the meat. Therefore, healthy weight management, balanced hormones and reduced brain fog is still a possibility, just without the side of bacon on virtually everything.

What is the Ketotarian Diet?

The Ketotarian Diet was created by functional medicine practitioner, Will Cole, D.C., in his book titled “Ketotarian: The (Mostly) Plant-Based Plan to Burn Fat, Boost Energy, Crush Your Cravings, and Calm Inflammation.” This book states that a traditional ketogenic diet is possible while consuming primarily plant-based foods.

This can make it sound like the best of both worlds. It provides the nutrient-based focus of what is essentially a pescatarian diet, along with the weight management advantages of traditional keto dieting. This diet is meant for people who prefer to eat more plant-based foods, who have sensitivities to the foods recommended for a traditional keto diet, and yet still allow the body to use ketosis for weight loss.

How to Follow a Ketotarian Diet

The principle behind following the Ketotarian Diet is comparable to that of regular keto. That said, it reduces or eliminates the animal-based protein and fat sources that are central to keto, while keeping others such as ghee (clarified butter), eggs and fish. That said, those animal-based sources are not required, they’re simply allowed. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, you can simply opt not to use those sources.

Foods you can eat while following the Ketotarian Diet include:

• Low-fructose fruits (such as berries, especially raspberries, lemons and limes)
• Non-starchy veggies (such as asparagus, artichokes and salad greens)
• Plant-based fats (such as olives, seeds, nuts, avocados and vegetable oils)
• Optionally you can also eat: wild-caught fish, ghee and organic eggs.

At the same time, while following the Ketotarian Diet, you will not consume dairy (other than ghee), meat, starchy veggies (such as peas, corn and potatoes), grains, high-fructose fruits (such as watermelon, apples, papaya and mango), or legumes (such as beans, peanuts and lentils).