The ketogenic diet, or the keto diet for short, is a high-fat (70 to upwards of 80 percent), moderate-protein, and low-carb diet. A common goal on the plan is to change your body’s biochemistry and, in turn, lose weight.
“Following a ketogenic diet changes your fuel source from one that primarily burns carbohydrates to one that burns fat,” says Olivia Wagner, RDN, a functional dietitian and founder of Liv Nourished in Chicago. In metabolic terms, this process is called ketosis.
If you find that your results are plateauing while on keto, you may want to take it easy on the cheese, says April Kelly, RDN, founder of Orange County Nutrition Coaching in Newport Beach, California. “Sometimes people lose weight much quicker and feel better when they take out dairy,” she says. If you find you tolerate it okay, there’s no reason to omit it; but if you’re struggling with gastrointestinal side effects or water retention — or if you find that you’re not losing weight despite being in ketosis — it may be time to discuss the role of dairy in your diet with your healthcare team.
If you’ve decided to include cheese on your keto diet menu, you should be aware that not all cheeses are created equal. Here’s what you need to know about which cheeses to eat, which to limit, and which to skip altogether on this low-carb plan.