The keto diet is a low carbohydrate, high fat diet. The diet encourages the body to burn fats rather than carbs and in doing so entices the body to lose weight. Though originally formulated for medical reasons, the diet has found favor among those looking to lose weight and get lean in recent times.
There are a couple of things that you need to know and remember if you plan on starting the ketogenic lifestyle. Below are a number of tips that will ensure you are able to follow the diet and also stick to it.
Breakfast
For breakfast, you will typically be eating more fat than you’re probably used to. Foods such as peanut butter, avocados or smoothies made with high fat foods like nuts would be the norm instead of eating say a high carb food like bread or cereal. As a result, you’ll have a great start to the day and this will help keep to your keto diet. You can use a keto food calculator if you need more guidance.
High fat foods such as avocados and nuts are high in fat and in some cases in protein as well, which will ensure that you’re well fueled and ready for the day. For some this can be a much better breakfast.
Limiting the Carbs
Next, you should know that on a ketogenic diet, you won’t be able to eat any rice or pasta and most starchy foods. However, there are many options that can help you to adapt and these include using Shirataki noodles and rice, cauliflower (as cauliflower rice). Another excellent option if you really want pasta is to make spiraled zucchini which looks just like spaghetti. In order to make this you will need to purchase a spiralizer or purchase from a grocery where the zucchini is already spiraled.
You won’t get into ketosis unless you reach a stage where you consume only 30 – 50 grams of carbs per day. Take note that if you have a serious resistance to insulin, then you may need to eat as little as 20 grams of carbs per day. You won’t be able to eat traditional flour on a keto diet, however, there are many alternatives to flour that you can eat. You can try almond or coconut flour and these can easily be substituted into any baking recipes.
Have a Plan
If you want to be successful and ensure consistency on the keto diet or any lifestyle, then you will need to plan your meals. You should at least aim to plan lunch and dinner and meal prep them if possible. Once you do this, you will be much less likely to stray from your keto meals. You can use this food guide that includes a lot of great keto recipes and foods that you can make and even freeze.
Getting those fats in
The keto diet is big on eating fat and you will need to ensure that you’re eating enough of it. You will need to eat fats such as olives, avocados, grass fed butter, mayo, olive oil, nuts. Fat should account for about 70% – 85% of all your daily calories.
As you can see, doing the ketogenic diet doesn’t have to be difficult or frustrating. The above tips can help you to easily adapt to this diet and ensure you have a happy and healthy lifestyle, but please make sure to do your research on any sort of plan that you want to follow.
Do not get hung up on the trendy diets that you see all over social media. Try something and see if it works for you, while ensuring that you remain healthy by doing your research. There are many ways to do the same thing, you just have to find what works best for you, and that may not be just one thing.
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