The Banting Diet

The Banting diet is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet, named after its founder William Banting. The idea behind this diet is that when eating a diet with lower cards and higher fat makes your body shifts from burning carbohydrates for energy to burning fat.

Banting Diet Benefits:

• The Banting Diet gives you an overall feeling of well-being and drastically decreases stress which results in better sleep.
• Food cravings begin to subside. This is mainly because fat has proven to make you feel fuller for longer.
• Weight Loss begins almost immediately.

Banting is:

• Being able to enjoy the food that you thought was bad for you while still losing weight.
• Staying away from high processed foods such as sugars and refined grains.

10 commandments of the Banting Diet

All you need to know before you start this change to a healthy lifestyle;

1. Consume animal fat – This is the focal point of the Banting Diet. This challenges the way we think because we have always been taught that fat makes us fat. The truth is that sugars and refined carbohydrates causes insulin spikes which tells your body to store energy as fat.

2. Consume as much vegetables as possible – Vegetables are known as the ‘bulk food’ to all Banters. Green veggies are the go-to-vegetables and all banters know that eating a variety of these veggies is the best for the body.

3. Snacking is a big No-No unless its Banting Friendly – Snacking is a form of cheating especially when on the first week of Banting. Try not to snack unless its Banting-friendly. The solution to beating down those hunger pangs is to increase the amount of animal fat intake as fat acts as a natural appetite suppressant.

4. Never lie to yourself – Consuming high carbohydrate foods that are professed usually hide in foods such as peanuts, baked beans and legumes. Refer to the “Banting Diet red list; foods that should not be consumed as a Banter” to make sure you stay within the guidelines.

5. Never over eat and never under eat – Beginner Banters have a habit of either eating too much or too little. Just because you are confined to a low carb diet it doesn’t mean you can eat as much fat as you like. At the end of the day if you eat more calories than you burn you will still put on weight.

On the other hand don’t under eat while being on the Banting Diet. Fat contain fewer calories compared to carbohydrates so you will probably need to eat more than you expect. If you become extremely hungry during the Banting diet chances are you are either under eating or you have not been eating enough fat. The great thing about this diet is fat is a lot more filling than carbohydrates so you shouldn’t feel much hunger at all if done properly.

6. Try not to consume too much protein – The Banting diet is a high fat, low carb diet and NOT a high protein diet. The main point of the Banting Diet is to cut out the carbohydrates from your diet and replace it with more fat. Don’t focus on increasing your protein intake. You will naturally get enough protein with all the vegetables and meat you will eat.

7. Always read Food Labels – Always be on the lookout when it comes to ready made meals or processed foods. These foods almost always contain carbohydrates. Stay away from foods that claim they are low in fat. These foods may be low in fat but the fats have been replaced with sugars to compensate for the loss of flavor. “Low Fat Meals” are nothing but a sly marketing tactic.

8. Avoid consuming too many fruits and nuts. – Fruits contain natural fructose which is “natures sugar”. On the Banting diet ANY sugar should be limited, if not avoided completely.

Nuts can be found on the Banting Diets green list however like any food they should still be eaten in moderation. People tend to over eat nuts because they make the perfect snack to carry around all day.

9. Control the amount of dairy you consume – Dairy does contain carbohydrates, and yes, it can be good for the body however is should be strictly controlled and moderated. Dairy does contain small amounts of carbs therefore its not a free for all. If you are lactose intolerant avoid dairy all together.

10. Remain strong – A lot of people tend to give up early while being on the Banting Diet. The first 10 days in this diet venture are always the most difficult because your body is still in the process of getting rid of those nasty carb cravings. Stick with it, after 10 days when the carb cravings disappears you’ll start seeing drastic changes, not just with your weight but also your over all mood.

Banting Diet Food Allowed?

Imagine driving in your car towards a robot, if the robot is green you can continue driving, when it changes to orange you know you need to take caution by driving slowly, however, when the robot turns red we know we must stop.

The Banting diet food list is similar to the robot. Eat as much as you like from the green list, be cautious of the orange list and finally stay away from the red list.

The Banting Diet Green List

A low carb list of foods that can be consumed routinely.

Animal protein: 

• Eggs
• Offal
• Poultry
• Meats
• Natural cured meats
• Seafood

Vegetables:

• Cauliflower
• Lettuce
• Avocados
• Broccoli
• Sauerkraut
• Tomatoes
• Spinach
• Aubergines
• Cabbage
• Spring onions
• Leeks
• Onions
• Pumpkins
• Artichoke hearts
• Radishes
• Asparagus
• Mushrooms
• Olives
• Courgettes

Dairy:

• Full-cream milk
• Cottage cheese
• Cream cheese
• Cream
• Full-cream Greek yoghurt
• Soft cheeses
• Hard cheeses

Fats:

• Any rendered animal fat
• Macadamia oil
• Almonds
• Avocado oil
• Nuts and seeds
• Olive oil
• Flaxseeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Sweeteners
• Butter
• Coconut oil
• Pine nuts
• Walnuts
• Lard
• Cheese
• Mayonnaise, full fat only
• Pumpkin seeds
• Erythritol granules
• Macadamia nuts
• Duck fat
• Ghee
• Pecan nuts

Flavorings and condiments:
All flavorings and condiments are okay, provided they do not contain sugars and preservatives or vegetable oils.

The Banting Diet Orange List

Food on the Banting orange list contain between 6 grams to 25 grams of carbs per 100 grams. Food in this food list needs to be eaten with caution.

QUANTITY ALLOWED KEY
C = cups per day
T = tablespoons per day
t = teaspoons per day
g = grams per day

Fruits:

• Blueberries ½ C
• Quinces 2
• Honey 1 t
• Watermelon 2 C
• Blackberries 3 ¼ C
• Raspberries 2 C
• Nuts
• Peaches 2
• Bananas 1
• Vegetables
• Cashews, raw, 6 T
• Mangos, sliced, under 1 C
• Carrots 5
• Kiwi fruits 3
• Nectarines 2
• Pawpaw 1
• Chestnuts, raw, 1 C
• Clementine’s 3
• Pineapple, sliced, 1 C
• Sweeteners
• Sweet potato ½ C
• Figs 3
• Oranges 2
• Gooseberries ½ C
• Guavas 2
• Pears 1
• Litchis 18
• Plums 4
• Grapes (green) under 1 C
• Prickly pears 4
• Cherries 1 C
• Pomegranate ½
• Strawberries 25
• Apples 1
• Butternut ½ C

The Banting Diet Red List

The Banting red list contains all the foods you should stay away from completely. These are either toxic or extremely high in carbohydrates. It is strongly advised that you avoid all the items on this list.

Baked goods:

• Pastas, noodles
• Rice
• Beans
• All grains – wheat, oats, barley, rye
• Sorghum
• Rice cakes
• Millet
• Breakfast cereals, muesli, granola of any kind
• Brans
• Couscous
• Breaded or battered foods
• All flours from grains, wheat flour, cornflour, rye flour, barley flour, pea flour, rice flour
• All forms of bread
• Buckwheat
• Crackers, cracker breads
• Corn products – popcorn, polenta, corn thins, maize
• Cakes, biscuits, confectionary

Thickening agents:

• Gravy powder
• Stock cubes
• Maize starch

Beverages:

• Fizzy drinks of any description other than carbonated water
• Beer
• Diet drinks of any description
• Cider

Dairy / dairy-related:

• Rice milk
• Cheese spreads, commercial spreads
• Puddings
• Fat-free anything
• Commercial almond milk
• Ice cream
• Coffee creamers
• Reduced-fat cow’s milk
• Soy milk
• Condensed milk

Fats:

• All seed oils
• Margarine
• Vegetable oils
• Chocolate
• Marinades
• Salad dressings
• Vegetable fats

Fruits and vegetables:

• Fruit juice of any kind
• Vegetable juices

General:

• All fast food
• All processed food
• Any food with added sugar such as glucose, dextrose

Meat:

• All unfermented soya
• All processed meats
• Meats cured with excessive sugar
• Vienna sausages, luncheon meats

Sweeteners:

• Agave anything
• Cordials
• Malt
• Dried fruit
• Artificial sweeteners
• Fructose
• Honey
• Syrups of any kind
• Sugar