If you’ve been around here a while, you know that free keto meal plans are a staple of I Breathe I’m Hungry content – and this series of 12 weeks of meal plans was one of the first. If you’re OG enough to remember those early days, thanks for sticking around (or returning) and if you’re brand new to IBIH — welcome. I’m really glad you’re here.
This completely revamped Week 1 Keto Meal Plan is designed for people who want a clear plan without overthinking it. It’s realistic, structured, and intentionally simple — especially for January, when motivation is high but energy is often low.
If you prefer a looser guide with room for flexibility, this plan can still work for you. Just be sure to read the plan notes which give direction on swaps and adjusting macros within the plan.
Welcome to Week 1
If you’re just starting keto, this is exactly where you should be.
Week 1 is not about doing everything perfectly. It’s about:
- eating real, satisfying food
- keeping carbs low enough to get results
- and building confidence that you can actually do this
This plan is straightforward on purpose. You don’t need special ingredients, complicated cooking skills, or a ton of free time. You just need to follow the plan as written and give your body a chance to adjust.
If this is your first week of keto, it’s normal to experience detox symptoms like headaches, fatigue, and cravings (keto “flu” is a real thing) while your body adjusts to using ketones for energy. There are ways to minimize the discomfort and make the transition easier.
For more information about keto flu, the role of electrolytes, and other keto specific topics, check out my beginners guide to keto in the 3 Day Keto Kickstart.
A Note If You’ve Seen This Plan Before
This is not a minor update.
This Week 1 plan has been rebuilt from the ground up with new recipes. The goals are the same — simple, low-carb, high-protein meals — but the execution is completely different and far more realistic for real life.
If you’ve done my Week 1 plan in the past, this version will feel entirely fresh.
More weekly keto meal plans will follow using this same structure, so you’re never guessing what comes next.
How to Use This Plan
- Each day below tells you exactly what to eat
- Daily macros are already calculated
- If you follow it as written, no tracking is required
- Net carbs stay under 20g per day
- Calories average 1,600–1,700 per day, with normal variation
Standard Items
Standard Side Salad (1 serving)
- 2 cups chopped romaine
- 1 cup sliced cucumber
- ½ cup sliced celery
- 2 tablespoons keto-friendly dressing
Macros assume up to ~170 calories from dressing. If your dressing is higher or lower, adjust accordingly.
Romaine for Tuna Salad (1 serving)
- 2 large romaine leaves, or
- 1 cup chopped romaine
Whole leaves = wrap style.
Chopped = fork salad.
Coffee Notes
Coffee is shown with heavy whipping cream because it’s predictable and keto-friendly.
Macros in this plan assume 1 tablespoon of heavy whipping cream per cup
(≈ 50 calories, negligible carbs).
If you prefer a different creamer or use more than that, you’ll need to account for the difference yourself.
Daily Treat
- 1 Pistachio Truffle
Included in daily macros.
This is optional, and you can omit it completely or replace it with another store bought keto treat that has 2g net carbs per serving. Some people appreciate a sweet reward built into the plan, but if you can take it or leave it, I’d skip it.
Avocado Breakfast Swap
If you don’t like avocado or can’t eat it, you may omit it or substitute:
- 1 additional egg, or
- 1 additional slice of bacon
No other adjustments are needed.
Week 1 Daily Menu
Daily calories are calculated based on defined portions and recipe macros. Small variations may occur depending on brands and preparation.
Where no quantity is specified, it’s 1 serving as defined in the recipe.
Scroll to the bottom for the Shopping and Prep Lists
Monday
Breakfast:
2 eggs, 2 slices bacon, ½ avocado, coffee with cream
Lunch:
Tuna salad (½ cup) + romaine (see note above)
Dinner:
Cheesy Ranch Chicken & “Rice” + Standard side salad (see note above)
Treat: 1 Pistachio Truffle (optional)
Daily Macros:
1,612 calories • ~15g net carbs • ~84g fat • ~84g protein
Tuesday
Breakfast:
2 eggs, 2 slices bacon, ½ avocado, coffee with cream
Lunch:
Tuna salad (½ cup) + romaine
Dinner:
Cheesy Ranch Chicken & “Rice” + standard side salad
Treat: 1 Pistachio Truffle (optional)
Daily Macros:
1,612 calories • ~14.5g net carbs • ~84g fat • ~84g protein
Wednesday
Breakfast:
Cream Cheese Pancakes, coffee with cream
Optional: zero-carb pancake syrup
Lunch:
Cheesy Ranch Chicken & “Rice”
Dinner:
Broccoli Cheddar Soup with Chicken (see prep notes below) + standard side salad
Treat: 1 Pistachio Truffle (optional)
Daily Macros:
1,698 calories • ~14g net carbs • ~92g fat • ~97g protein
Thursday
Breakfast:
Cream Cheese Pancakes, coffee with cream
Optional: zero-carb pancake syrup
Lunch:
Cheesy Ranch Chicken & “Rice”
Dinner:
Beef Stroganoff Meatballs + Cheesy Cauliflower Purée
Treat: 1 Pistachio Truffle
Daily Macros:
1,721 calories • ~12–13g net carbs • ~96g fat • ~80–85g protein
Friday
Breakfast:
Cream Cheese Pancakes, coffee with cream
Lunch:
Tuna salad + romaine
Dinner:
Beef Stroganoff + Cheesy Cauliflower Purée + side salad
Treat: 1 Pistachio Truffle (optional)
Daily Macros:
1,603 calories • ~14g net carbs • ~88g fat • ~76g protein
Saturday
Breakfast:
Cream Cheese Pancakes, coffee with cream
Lunch:
Broccoli Cheddar Soup with Chicken
Dinner:
Beef Stroganoff + Cheesy Cauliflower Purée + side salad
Treat: 1 Pistachio Truffle (optional)
Daily Macros:
1,674 calories • ~15g net carbs • ~92g fat • ~83g protein
Sunday
Breakfast:
2 eggs, 2 slices bacon, ½ avocado, coffee with cream
Lunch:
Beef Stroganoff + Cheesy Cauliflower Purée
Dinner:
Broccoli Cheddar Soup with Chicken
(Or the Week 2 dinner if you’re prepping ahead)
Treat: 1 Pistachio Truffle (optional)
Daily Macros:
1,706 calories • ~13g net carbs • ~90g fat • ~92g protein
Week 1 Shopping List
Protein & Poultry
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs – ~2½ lb
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts – ~1½ lb
- Ground beef – ~1½ lb
- Bacon – 1½–2 lb
- Eggs – 2 dozen
- Canned tuna – 4 cans (5 oz each)
Dairy
- Cream cheese – 2 blocks (8 oz each)
- Mascarpone cheese – 8 oz
- Shredded cheddar cheese – 16 oz
- Sour cream – 8 oz
- Heavy whipping cream – 1 pint
- Butter – 1 lb
Produce
- Avocados – 4
- Romaine lettuce – 3 hearts or 2 large heads
- Cucumbers – 3–4
- Celery – 1 bunch
- Broccoli – 1 large head
- Cauliflower – 2 large heads or 2 large bags florets
- Garlic – 1 bulb
- Yellow onion – 1 small
- Sliced mushrooms – 8 ounces
Pantry (check before shopping)
- Olive or avocado oil
- Chicken broth – 2 quarts
- Beef broth – 1 quart
- Ranch seasoning
- Salt, pepper, paprika
- Italian seasoning
- Garlic powder, onion powder
- Mustard
- Worcestershire sauce
- Keto-friendly salad dressing
- Zero-carb pancake syrup (optional)
- Shelled pistachios
- Low-carb sweetener
- Vanilla extract
Week 1 Prep Plan
Sunday
- Make 4 batches Cream Cheese Pancakes (1 batch equals 1 serving)
- Make 1 batch Cheesy Ranch Chicken & “Rice”
- Make 1 batch Tuna Salad (2 servings)
- Make Pistachio Truffles
- Cook bacon in advance if desired
Wednesday
- Make Broccoli Cheddar Soup with Chicken NOTE: The soup recipe does not call for chicken except as an add on. Simply make the soup as called for. Cook the chicken breasts (2 lbs from the shopping list) separately (baked, sautéed, or steamed), then chop or shred and add to the soup when serving or portioning. Alternatively you can purchase cooked chicken breast pieces or rotisserie chicken and chop that and add it to the soup. The calories might vary but the carbs will stay the same.
Thursday
- Make Beef Stroganoff Meatballs + Cheesy Cauliflower Purée
- Make second batch Tuna Salad (2 servings)
Extra Servings
After completing Week 1, you may have some food left over from the following recipes:
- Cheesy Ranch Chicken & “Rice”
This recipe makes 6 servings.
4 servings are used in the Week 1 plan. - Broccoli Cheddar Soup with Chicken
This recipe makes 6 servings.
Not all servings are used during Week 1. - Tuna Salad
Each batch makes 2 servings.
Two batches are made during the week.
How to Use Extra Servings
- Extra servings may be eaten on days you’re hungrier.
- They can be used to replace another meal you’re tired of.
- Soup and chicken-based meals can be frozen and used in future weeks.
If you choose to add extra servings or swap meals, simply keep your total daily net carbs under 20g and adjust macros as needed.
What’s Next
The Week 2 Keto Meal Plan builds on this same structure with new meals and flavors.
If you’re new here, stick around — this is meant to be sustainable, not a crash diet.
Diane says
Great week! Got Hubs and college daughter to follow the plan. So here are totals Me: 5 pounds down, Hubs:4 pounds down and Daughter: 9 pounds down! Grand total: 18 pounds ( as they say Priceless!!)
Thank you Melissa!!!
Lindsey says
Wow! You really are the best! :) And it is important for people to educate themselves… There is no one-size-fits-all lifestyle plan so being able to use these things you provide as a kick-start and a way of learning is an invaluable opportunity! Thanks so much for all you do!
Melanie Martinez says
Hi Melissa,
Just wanted to tell you that I am amazed that I lost two pounds after just following for two days! I haven’t starved, I’ve actually been more full than usual. I can attribute a lot to drinking extra water again (maybe), but other attempts I’ve made haven’t yielded such fast results for me. This is inspirational and now I’m even MORE excited to continue. I LOVE LOVE LOVE your recipes, I cannot thank you enough for this 7 day Low Carb meal plan. Recipes, real food that regular people eat! Oh and I don’t have to give up my coffee… just yet. I’ll keep you posted with my ongoing results.
Merja says
After my first week – total lost 11.2 lbs!!!
Mary says
Dear Melissa,
I am soooo excited to have found your blog…it is absolutely so well organized and the food looks dynamite.
I am writing to say a million thank you’s for your time in creating this 7 day Keto meal plan. -It is just exactly what I was hoping to find over the internet for a long while, but without much success!-Even if you provided a 1 day menu, I would have been grateful, but wow…you created so many options for people in creating 7 full days! -That is a lot of work and careful thought & planning on so many levels! The fact is, by just having a one day sample menu, we keto-kids would have a solid blueprint for getting into ketosis -But to give us 7 days of CHOICE meals is on your part, very loving and generous. Melissa, you have given us High Fat/Low Carbers so many options, to use one day of the menus, or all days (I’m personally using ALL :)). I know I’ve went on…but I’m overflowing with gratitude for discovering your site. -Sincerely, your new friend in Canada, Mary
Mellissa Sevigny says
9 POUNDS! You are a rock star! And your thanks is more than enough! Keep us posted on your amazing progress – it’s very encouraging!!!
Mellissa Sevigny says
This comment made me LOL Brooke! I HATE the sound of other people eating in my ear already, but a chip cruncher? Violence would have been a definite possibility – actually while suffering carb withdrawal make that a certainty! I admire your restraint! ha ha! Hopefully by now you’re getting over the crankiness part of it and the worst is over! :) Thanks for the My Fitness Pal recommendation – it’s a great resource!!!
Amanda says
You’re so sweet! Part of the issue in my house is that I do all the cooking, so I need things quick & easy and things my husband will eat (thankfully my 13 year will eat anything that won’t eat him first). As far as vegetables go, I pretty much live off green beans, broccoli, onions & peppers. I’ll eat spinach but I’m not a huge fan. My husband will eat it if it’s mixed in a salad. But mostly, he’ll only do leafy greens in smoothies. I’ve tried to do low carb before and failed, partly because I was the only one on board & because I don’t think I was eating *enough, so I was always hungry. I’m excited about trying again though! We’re having the Cuban pot roast for dinner tomorrow. I also have plans to have meatballs for lunch every day at work (using my new crockpot lunch warmer, seriously best thing ever for cubicle workers!) and I’m going to try freezer cooking for a few meals this week too – chicken fajitas (no tortillas for me) and Hungarian goulash. I don’t know the carb counts for either one, but they’ve got to be better than what we’ve been eating around here. I’m planning on really starting next weekend and seeing how I do over the long weekend.
Thanks for the motivation & your meal plans. :)
brooke says
I am fairly new to your site and I just am amazed at how generous you are with your followers. I have written out my grocery list and am about to tackle a bit of couponing to try and make this first week a little easier on the budget, but I can see how this will be more affordable in the following weeks.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart! This is the first full week plan I’ve seen that doesn’t have tons of crazy food in it that won’t be eaten. I purchased your e-book The Gluten Free Low Carber last week and I am ready to tackle these last 15 pounds with you all. Thank you!!
Kelly says
WOW! Melissa you have gone above and beyond on this meal plan! People need to realize how much this plan is worth! I paid over $300 to another keto blogger for a meal plan and you have so generously done all of this work for FREE! I am eternally greatful and have told all of my friends to check out your blog. This is better than any Christmas gift anyone could have given me. You are truly the best and I so appreciate what you are doing!