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When you’re on a low-carb or keto diet, you notice that most fruits are high in carbs which means that you aren’t able to enjoy some of them on a daily basis, especially if you’re daily carb intake is set to 20 grams a day. So what does this mean for fruits like watermelon?
If you’re wondering whether the succulent, juicy and refreshing watermelon slips into the keto-friendly side, the answer is yes – due to its low in carbs compared to other fruits.
Table of Contents
- What is Keto?
- What Are Watermelons?
- Can You Eat Fruit on the Keto Diet?
- How Many Carbs in Watermelon?
- Why is Watermelon a Good Choice for Keto?
- Is Watermelon Keto?
- Fruits to Eat on Keto
- Eating Watermelon on Keto
- FAQs
What is Keto?
The ketogenic diet or keto for short, is a low-carb, high fat diet that offers many healthful benefits. It involves drastically reducing carbohydrate intake and replacing most of your favourite meals with low-carb or high fat alternatives.
The reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis. When this happens, your body becomes incredibly methodical in burning fat for energy. It also turns fat into ketones in the liver, which can supply energy for the brain.
There are many versions of the ketogenic diet including:
- Standard Ketogenic Diet
- Cyclical Ketogenic Diet
- Targeted ketogenic Diet
- High Protein Ketogenic Diet
Standard Ketogenic Diet
This is a very low carb, moderate protein, and high fat diet, typically allowing 70% fat, 20% protein, and only 10% carbs.
Cyclical Ketogenic Diet
This diet involves periods of higher carb refeeds, such as ketogenic days followed by 2 high carb days.
Targeted Ketogenic Diet
This diet allows you to add carbs to your meals around workouts.
High Protein Ketogenic Diet
This is quite similar to the standard low carb keto diet but incorporates more protein, allowing 60% fat, 35% protein, and 5% carbs.
What Are Watermelons?
Watermelons are a deliciously refreshing summertime healthy snack. Amongst its terrific health benefits in promoting hydration – thanks to its high water content – it also happens to be a great source of several nutrients, including vitamins C and A.
Watermelons contain several antioxidants, such as lycopene which can be linked to improving heart health and lowering the risks of certain cancers.
Fitting watermelon into a healthy diet that involves limiting your carb intake can be a little tricky, but once you know how many carbs are evident in the watermelon, you can work out how much you’ll be able to consume in a day, or week.
Can You Eat Fruit on the Keto Diet?
You can most certainly enjoy the luscious taste of fruits on keto, it just depends on which fruits you choose to eat and the portion size. Here you can check out if you can eat bluberries on keto diet. No food or fruit is completely forbidden on a keto diet plan, as long as you’re hitting your daily keto macro goals you should be good to go.
There are certain high carb foods that can make achieving this, pretty challenging, including some fruits and vegetables. But as long as you’re aware of the carbs that are present in your portion size, then you can enjoy as many varieties as you like, on multiple days of the week.
How Many Carbs in Watermelon?
Most fruits are high in carbs, so those following a keto diet can only enjoy nature’s candy in very small amounts. But when comparing watermelon with other types of fruits you’ll notice that watermelon is relatively low in carbs. Essentially, 1 cup of diced watermelon contains about 11.5 grams of carbs and 0.5 grams of fibre meaning that it has about 11.5 grams of net carbs.
Being able to eat watermelon whilst on a keto diet, can only be determined when you know what else you’ll be eating throughout the day.
For instance, on a 2000 calorie diet, you might restrict your carb intake to just 100 calories or 25 grams per day. This would mean that a single slice of watermelon could take up almost half of your daily carb allowance.
You can most certainly fit watermelon on a keto diet, but it might take careful planning and require a reduction in portion sizes to avoid exceeding the limited amount of carbs you may consume in a day.
Why is Watermelon a Good Choice for Keto?
The majority of people on low carb keto diets enjoy snacking on watermelon and the reasons for this are: it’s a low-calorie snack that’s also low in net carbs.
The high water content helps you stay hydrated, which is very important for anyone who has just started their keto journey, much like other varieties of fruit, watermelon is an excellent source of several essential vitamins and minerals, you can enjoy this delicious fruit as an afternoon snack, or use it to make a refreshing smoothie.
Is Watermelon Keto?
Watermelon is one of those rare fruits that manages to be 100% keto-friendly, although it contains more sugar and net carbs than it does protein and fat combined. Despite this watermelon happens to offer enough nutritional value creating the necessary push needed in incorporating this fruit in your low carb keto diet.
Watermelon provides you with heaps of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, as well as other phytonutrients that are essential for bodily health, in a similar way that healthy fats and proteins are.
Using a 100 gram serving size of watermelon you’ll end up with the following nutritional breakdown:
- 30 calories
- 0.2 grams of fat
- 0.6 grams of protein
- 8 grams carbs
- 0.4 grams fiber
- 6 grams sugar
Fruits to Eat on Keto
Although fruits are considered nature’s candy, with their limitless health benefits, very few fruits are actually considered low carb when you count the carbs in a typical serving size. However you can appreciate the different tastes and textures of fruits in smaller qualities, so that you don’t exceed the limit of carbs you can eat in a day.
Below are the best keto-friendly fruits with less than 15 grams of net carbs per standard serving.
- Acai
- Starfruit
- Coconut (here is an article on how to open a coconut)
- Lemon
- Lime
- Blackberries
- Plums
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Figs
- Cantaloupe
- Watermelon
Acai
Net carb: 1g per 100 gram serving
Acai berries are very keto-friendly, although they are not considered very sweet on it’s own. You can choose to blend this with some other fruity ingredients and create a delicious smoothie. With almost zero sugar present in this fruit, you can try and pair this with your favorite low-carb yogurt for a keto healthy breakfast.
Starfruit
Net carb: 3.5 grams per fruit
This unique and visually captivating fruit – Starfruit or Carambola – is one of the lowest sugar options you can find, as opposed to other fruits that happen to be heavy in carbs. One medium sized fruit has only 30 calories, 3 grams of fibre and less than 4 grams of net carbs in total, so prop your feet up, and enjoy a bowl of this delicious fruit.
Coconut
Net carb: 5 grams per cup
Coconut whether it is fresh or dried, also happens to be a unique low-carb tropical fruit. It is very popular amongst keto dieters because it contains high amounts of MCT oil, which is a type of fat that supports ketosis. If you’re looking to lose weight, be mindful of your portion size, because a single cup contains almost 300 calories.
Lemon
Net carb: 5 grams per fruit
Lemons are almost never consumed entirely, a little squeeze here and there is all you might need to add a little zest to your meals. But they are very low in carbs and calories and provide a notable source of vitamin C.
You can enjoy these bright yellow fruits as a garnish or in various recipes, to capture their immaculate flavours, or you can simply squeeze them in some water, amongst other fruits of your choice to make your water a little more flavourful, encouraging you to drink lots of it throughout the day.
Lime
Net carb: 5 grams per fruit
Equal to lemons, limes are not eaten as whole fruit, but their juice is considerably low in sugar and happens to contain 32% of your daily value of vitamin C. Squeeze their juice into your favorite salad, or cut a thick chunk and add it to your water, taking small sips throughout the day to accumulate nutrients and minerals.
Blackberries
Net carb: 6 grams per cup
Blackberries are packed with fibre and naturally low in sugar, making them the perfect low-carb berry to enjoy. Combine them with other low-carb fruits, to make a delicious and healthy smoothie with ice, or throw a couple in some keto-friendly yoghurt to snack on during the day.
Plums
Net carb: 6.5 grams per fruit
Naturally puny in size, a fresh plum is a super satisfying way to enjoy a sweeter fruit without piling on the unnecessary carbs and calories in the day.
Raspberries
Net carb: 7 grams per cup
Similar to blackberries or mulberries, raspberries are high in fiber and can be tangier than sweet which might be unpleasant for some. Combining these tangy flavored fruits with something as plain as yogurt, might help elevate the taste and textures of the fruit.
Strawberries
Net carb: 8 grams per cup
A common favorite amongst many low-carb consumers, strawberries are enjoyed on their own or can be paired with various recipes, ranging from savory to sweet. Grab a handful and snack on them in the afternoon, or toss them in a salad.
Figs
Net carb: 8.5 grams per medium fig
While dried figs can satisfy that sweet tooth, fresh figs contain much less sugar, with one small fig containing only 6.5 grams of carbs.
Cantaloupe
Net carb: 11 grams per cup
While it’s not the highest fiber fruit, one cup of chopped cantaloupe has only 50 calories and provides nearly 100% of your daily requirement of vitamin C and vitamin A.
Watermelon
Net carb: 11 grams per cup
Although naturally very sweet, watermelons contain mostly water helping to bring down their total carb content. Watermelon is also rich in nutrients containing a recognizable amount of vitamin C, vitamin A and potassium. So with this knowledge, adjust your portion sizes and enjoy!
Eating Watermelon on Keto
Watermelon is a good choice of fruit to have to wait for you in the fridge, especially if you’re on a low carb diet. With its high water content its enough to keep you hydrated with every bite. Just be sure to adjust your portion sizes accordingly because there is about 11 grams of carbs per standard serving.
FAQs
How Much Watermelon can you Eat on Keto?
On a 2000 calorie diet you may be restricting your carb intake to just 100 calories or 25 grams per day. Which is why a single serving of watermelon could take up nearly half of your daily carb allowance.
Will Watermelon Knock you out of Ketosis?
The diet myths associated with keto is that fruit must also be eliminated from the diet in order to effectively achieve a state of ketosis. Fruits like avocados, watermelons, and berries can be consumed in moderation as they are healthy keto diet fruit options with very low sugar content.
Is Watermelon OK on a Low Carb Diet?
Watermelons contain 7.6 grams per one-third of a wedge, which makes them okay to eat on a keto diet.
