Keto Diet: 9 Steps for Beginners
Immediately adopting a high-fat, low-carb diet? Here is the information you need to stay clear of pitfalls and set yourself up for success.
The keto diet may be challenging for you to follow if you avoid fatty meals or aren't willing to significantly reduce your carb intake.
It could be difficult to start the high-fat, very low-carb ketogenic diet. Since the typical traditional American diet is high in processed foods and sugars, it is likely a significant departure from how you now eat.
However, a lot of people are attempting the keto diet, which causes ketosis in the body.
That's what happens when your body switches from burning carbs to burning fat, a change that can affect anything from type 2 diabetes to weight loss, while experts warn that much more research is needed on the general health impacts of keto diets.
How can you prepare for the major change that is about to occur both practically by stocking your fridge and mentally? Think of this as your step-by-step manual.
1. Be Aware of the Foods You Should Eat and Avoid While on a Ketogenic Diet
You will significantly restrict your carbohydrate intake if you stick to a keto eating plan. The Ketogenic Diet: A Scientifically Proven Approach to Fast, Healthy Weight Loss, by New York City-based dietitian Kristen Mancinelli, RD, recommends beginning with 20 to 30 grams (g) of carbs per day.
To help you make the best choices, pay close attention to which foods are high in protein, fat, and carbohydrates. For example, carbohydrates are present in foods other than the usual suspects like bread, pasta, chips, cookies, candy, and ice cream.
. Beans may have a high protein content, but they also have a lot of carbs. Most fruits and vegetables also contain carbohydrates. Only meat (a protein) and pure fats like butter and olive oil are free of carbohydrates.
2. Consider how you feel about fat—Keto Involves A Lot of It!
According to Mancinelli, people are terrified of fat because they have been convinced that it will kill them. It is confusing that there is still conflicting research today.
While some research indicates that total fat and different types of fat are not linked to cardiovascular issues, others contend that replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat (and avoiding Important for lowering the risk of heart disease is dangerous for trans fat. That is when it gets difficult to decide how to eat.
It is useful to keep in mind that food is more than just one vitamin and that the total quality of the diet is what matters, according to the authors of one study.
(They however note that additional study is still required to evaluate the long-term dangers and advantages of high-fat, low-carb diets.)
She advises making gradual changes to your daily diet, such as having a burger on lettuce leaves and swapping out fries for green vegetables, to get ready for a high-fat diet, which can be uncomfortable at first.
Instead of potatoes or rice, choose a nonstarchy vegetable for your side dish. Start using extra oil in your cooking, such as avocado or olive oil. Recognize that your former eating habits, like as grilling a simple skinless chicken breast, just don't work on the keto diet since you won't consume enough fat.
"Slowly begin introducing fat and pushing away carbohydrates. A ketogenic diet won't be effective for you if you're terrified of fat, she said.
3. This diet has moderate amounts of protein; alter your perspective on protein.
Since protein may be converted into glucose, taking too much of it can make your body come out of ketosis.
Instead of the other way around, visualize your ratios as a little bit of meat topped with a substantial amount of fat.
4. Since processed foods with a lot of carbs are not permitted on the keto diet, you should work on your cooking skills to prepare fresh foods.
Look through several keto websites and cookbooks to find delicious keto-friendly meals. Mancinelli suggests finding four to five recipes for meals you know you would like. That way, she explains, "you won't be sitting around wondering what to eat and turn to carbs."
5. Discuss Your Dietary Objectives with Your Family
Inform them of your plan. During family meals, you might not be able to consume what they are, so you should make them (and yourself) aware of your new eating habits. You can reassure them that this diet is only transitory because it is frequently followed for a brief period (three to six months).
Mancinelli advises saying, "I've done my research, I've figured out it's safe, and I really want to try this," if you encounter resistance.
Even if they don't agree with what you're doing, having their support is still beneficial. According to a 2014 study, having the support of friends and coworkers made it easier for dieters to lose weight and keep it off for two years.
It also can't harm if everyone is aware of your ketogenic diet objectives; that way, they won't encourage office sweets or recommend splitting a side of fries at a restaurant.
6. Recognize Potential Side Effects
Mancinelli suggests finding four to five recipes for meals you know you would like.
The time after you begin the diet when your body is adjusting to using fat for energy is referred to as the "keto flu." Mancinelli claims that while some people have no issues, others are miserable.
You can get severe muscle aches in your limbs for the first week or 10 days. The stairs may seem too steep to climb. You can have a mental haze. Because of the change in fiber consumption, the keto diet commonly causes constipation or, less frequently, diarrhea.
Due to this, pick a start date that falls outside of your week's busy schedule of deadlines and responsibilities; go for a relaxed period when you can take pauses as needed. As your body becomes used to burning more fat than carbs for energy, you'll want to make sure to ease into exercise for the first week or two.
7. To prevent or lessen unwelcome keto side effects, up your electrolyte intake.
8. Recognize when Keto may not be the best option for you.
With the rise in popularity of ketogenic diets, other keto hybrid diets have emerged, including plant-based variations. (One is "sectarian," which primarily consists of plants but also allows for the consumption of eggs, ghee, fish, and shellfish.) Hultin advises against trying keto as a vegan even though this method can be healthful.
You're basically only left with some tofu and will need to rely on low-carb protein powder because you can't consume beans or lentils on a ketogenic diet, and nuts and seeds are even limited due to their carbohydrate level, she says. There is a decent chance that this won't work out. Given the rigorous requirements, she claims that the diet is not sustainable.
Additionally, certain medical issues should cause you to reconsider adopting a ketogenic diet, or at the very least, consult your doctor before doing so.
According to Hultin, those include patients taking insulin as well as oral and injectable drugs that aren't insulin-based for high blood sugar or high blood pressure. Even having GI problems can be a deterrent to starting. Constipation is one of the adverse effects of a ketogenic diet, so if you battle with it, you should really reconsider starting one.
diet with a low fiber intake," claims Hultin. The ketogenic diet may be too restrictive for you if you currently have personal dietary limitations that demand you avoid things like soy, eggs, nuts, dairy, or shellfish. It can be quite difficult to stick to a diet when you start from a place of elimination, she explains.
9. Create an after strategy because using keto as a long-term weight loss method is not advised.
The keto diet is not meant to be followed permanently, thus experts advise against doing so. Mancinelli claims that some people follow a ketogenic diet sometimes, while others utilize it as a tool to shed pounds and alter their eating patterns.
According to a poll of nearly 34,000 people, a staggering 46 percent of American adults still consume a diet that is deemed "poor" by the American Heart Association. (5) Going on a ketogenic diet can be an attempt to kick bad behaviors for some people, but once the diet is finished, there is always the possibility of reverting to old patterns.
Any health advantages will probably be lost if you immediately return to a typical American diet, and you'll probably gain the weight back.
All that being said, a severe warning: Although specialists do not advise it, some people attempt to prepare themselves to follow a ketogenic diet over the long term.
A 2021 review of pertinent studies advised against it, noting that while some people may benefit from keto diets—for example, by reducing seizure frequency in those with drug-resistant epilepsy—most of the "positives" (such as a drop in blood glucose) are either temporary or equivalent to those of less contentious remedies.
For instance, a keto diet can help you lose weight, but so can a lot of other nutritional plans. The researchers came to the conclusion that over time, the dangers outweigh the advantages. (6)
Mancinelli suggests that, even if you opt to follow a ketogenic diet for a brief period, your ultimate goal should be "to shift your diet to a healthier pattern that involves eating less bread, less pasta, less flour, and less sugar," as well as more nonstarchy vegetables.