How To Start The Keto Diet

So it has been weighing on your mind that you need to lose weight. You have seen many social media posts and videos on the Keto diet. Maybe your doctor has advised you to lose weight. You have been thinking about starting a diet and you have finally decided you need to do something about your current weight. Personally, I lost 20 pounds on the Keto diet and these are the tips and tricks I used to achieve Keto weight loss.

Write down a date to start your diet and place it in view so you see your date daily.

This will be your visual reminder to start your new way of thinking about food and health. You will need to start reading about Keto and see what you have in your pantry that is Keto friendly. Decide if only you will start Keto or will other family members be on Keto as well. Your partner or spouse may want to join in so speak with them. Friends love to do things in pairs as well so ask a friend if they will join you.

Do not throw out all foods in your pantry or fridge.

You will still need your current inventory of food to feed visitors to your home and other members of your family who are not going to be on your diet. You have paid for these items and it would be a waste to throw out your current pantry items. Many pantry staples can still be Keto friendly like olive oil, salt, canned sardines, canned tuna and chicken, avocado oil, coconut oil, and shelf stable unsweetened nut milks. Keep unsweetened dark chocolate and cocoa powder for future recipes.

Look up recipes and Keto friendly foods to see what foods you can have.

You may be surprised by what you can eat on Keto. Keto is high fat, moderate protein, and low carb. It doesn’t mean you will have boring flavors or food. There is a Keto version of just about everything so go crazy looking up recipes. I am a fan of the Ruled.Me You Tube channel for recipes. Check out their channel https://www.youtube.com/@RuledMe/about. There are also a ton of dessert recipes that are super tasty.

Just think in a few months you can be slimmer.

Reminding yourself that Keto does work and you can be slimmer in a few short months is the motivation to start your diet. You just have to start! It takes about 3-4 weeks to start getting used to eating sugar alternatives and adjusting to the new diet. Remind yourself daily why you need and want to lose weight. This is another motivation for weight loss and a healthier way of life. Every day you get used to the idea of dieting and the idea of changing the way you think of food. Every day drink plenty of water and eat three protein rich meals a day. As you progress on Keto, your appetite for snacks decreases. This is a good thing. You will feel satiated as you have more protein rich meals and need less filler foods likes chips and processed snacks. I also noticed I did not need breakfast and was less hungry during the day once ketosis kicked in. My husband lost 13 pounds in the first three weeks and I lost 7 pounds. I lost another 5 pounds the next week. After four months, I had lost 20 pounds and he had lost 30 pounds.

Drink a glass of water followed by a couple of berries when you crave sugar.

When I got a sugar craving in the first few weeks of starting Keto, I would drink a glass of water followed by some berries. This would satisfy my need for something sweet and I was able to stick to the diet. Trust me this works as I have a big sweet tooth. Again, remind yourself that you can do this. Drink water and stick with it. Usually, I would just grab a small handful of berries at night before bedtime. This is all you need to do to stop the sugar craving and drink a glass of water and the craving is gone. I also made keto peanut butter cookies in the first few weeks and had those for dessert. Coffee with cream was also my go to after dinner in the early days.

Buy monk fruit sweetener and erythritol as your sugar substitutes.

These sweeteners are added to recipes as your sugar substitute and can be used for your morning coffee. There are some other popular substitutes like Xylitol and Swerve. You will have to look at their net carbs per serving on the package but try different ones and see which ones you like. They are sweet and it took me a few weeks to get used to their flavor but it is completely doable. I eventually went to just black coffee with water or just coffee with heavy cream. Sometimes I used unsweetened coconut milk in my coffee. I no longer need sugar in my coffee and I no longer miss sweet coffee. You can get there too.

Talk to your doctor if Keto is right for you.

Keto is high fat so you need to ask your doctor if this is the right diet for you. There is healthy fat from foods like avocado and avocado oil. Your doctor can advise you which diet is best for you. Work with your doctor to achieve your weight loss goals whether it is Keto or not. Just get started and do not lose heart no matter what.

Buy these foods to start with.

I started with eggs for breakfast with half an avocado. For lunch, protein with salad or green beans and for dinner protein with veggies and a salad. I added shredded cheese to my salads and added vinaigrette only if needed. As you are on your weight loss journey, you will adapt to your new lifestyle of eating. You will no longer miss certain foods that you used to eat because you will feel so much better without them. Here is a list to start with for beginners.

• Mixed greens salad
• Spinach salad
• avocado
• tomatoes
• cucumber
• onion
• blueberries
• raspberries
• shredded cheddar cheese
• shredded mexican cheese
• uncured salami slices
• uncured bacon-no sugar added
• eggs
• olive oil
• avocado oil in spray form
• avocado oil
• chicken
• steak
• pork
• ground beef
• ground chicken
• ground turkey
• ground sirloin
• shrimp
• Almonds
• Pork rinds
• Cabbage
• Heavy whipping cream
• Unsweet almond milk or unsweet coconut milk
• Almond flour for baking
• Shredded mozzarella cheese or block mozzarella cheese works fine too

I did not count macros on my diet.

Keto purists may hate me but I did not count my macros. I did not eat carbs except for what came from blueberries, raspberries, and unsweet almond milk and coconut milk. I counted net carbs only and limited those to 20 grams a day. You can have 20-50 net carbs a day while on Keto and I always tried to keep it closer to 20 grams of net carbs a day. A mini muffin has around 21 grams of carbs so let that sink in for a while. You can count macros if you prefer but I still lost 20 pounds and have kept it off.

Have a friend or your partner join you on your diet.

Have someone join you and share tips, tricks and recipes. It is more fun to have someone go through the weight loss journey with you and have accountability. You can do it solo as well and have success. Once you experience how much better you feel, you will have more energy and mental clarity. No more carb sluggishness after a heavy carb meal.

Start skipping carbs at lunch for a few weeks until you are fully on Keto.

Omit carbs from your lunch and see how you feel versus eating carbs with your breakfast and dinner. You will get some carbs from berries and nut milks but the carb count is low enough to stay on your diet. Cow’s milk is not Keto friendly as it has too many carbs for the diet so you will get calcium from cheese, nuts, and other foods instead. I started omitting carbs from my lunch and then by week 3 I was no longer eating carbs and was able to follow a Keto diet and no longer felt the need to eat starches or carbs. You start to feel satiated and feel a need for less food in between meals. Drink plenty of water daily.

Research the “Keto Flu“

I felt the need to drink lots of water upon starting the diet. I did get constipated for the first three weeks but my husband did not. Constipation can be a symptom of the keto flu and this may depend on your body. Typically, symptoms resolve within one week or two. Some people report chills or body aches with starting the diet as your body adjusts to not having carbs. I had sugar cravings but just hydrated and had a few berries and that took care of it right away. Speak with your doctor about any symptoms you may have.

It is easier than you think to start the diet but it does take a commitment to want to better yourself. You just have to start. If I can do it so can you!

Of note, certain alcoholic drinks are higher in carbs so wine, beer, and a lot of cocktails are off the diet. You would need to switch to vodka, whiskey, bourbon and other spirits as these spirits are low carb. Try a sugar free zero carb sparkling water with vodka over ice. There a lot of sugar free drinks that are zero net carbs and are fine to consume with your diet. Just do these in moderation.

I bought a ton of foods and items I thought I would need and spent way too much money when I started Keto. Don’t repeat my mistake. You can use the above mentioned list to start with. The basics to keep in mind are eat protein and do not eat potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, or tortillas with your meals. Eat salads but omit tortilla strips, wonton strips, candied nuts, and any sweetened items. If apples or carrots come with your salad, pick them out and give them to someone else. Order vinaigrette instead of honey mustard dressing or other dressings. You have to ask if a dressing is sweetened so vinaigrette is the safest option. Snack on nuts, bell peppers with cream cheese, berries, cheese, uncured salami, boiled eggs, avocado, mozzarella, pepperoni, and no sugar added beef jerky. There are more options but these are a few to start with.

There are a lot of keto snacks in the grocery aisles. I found that some of them have a high carb count per serving so read the labels and make sure to stick to 20-50 carbs per day so snack lightly. Keto ice cream is available but one I tried had 23g of carbs per serving so that one serving would be close to the daily limit so eat sparingly as a treat.

You can acheive success in your weight loss journey at any age. Set your mind to it and work towards to your goal daily. It will not happen overnight but is so worth it. Write down your goals or talk to a friend or family member about your goals. Speaking about it or writing it down is a great first step and then you continue daily. Just start! Move daily and walk daily. If you have a dog, walk them daily. They need the walk and exercise daily so get out and enjoy. Walking is great for you and helps improve mood and mental health.

Enjoy your journey no matter what path you decide on. Any weight loss program is a way to feel better and be better. I have tried other diets and always failed or never lost weight fast enough so I lost heart. Keto does work and yes you have to cut out some of your favorite foods but in no time you will not miss them. They will be replaced by something just as tasty and low carb.

Happy journey!