Kick-Starting Keto: A Beginner's Guide To Success

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, very low-carb diet that may be one of the most reliable ways to reverse or prevent obesity and other health problems. The transition into ketosis might initially feel a bit rocky, but once adjusted to the ketogenic diet, you’ll have an easier time maintaining steady energy throughout the day and reaching satiety when you eat.

- Drastically cut your carb intake—down to only about 25-50 grams of daily net carbs.

- Eat high amounts of healthy fats—up to 80 per cent of your total calories each day.

- Eat lots of different vegetables to lower the odds of developing deficiencies or getting bored with your diet.

- Eat plenty of fibre to prevent digestive issues.

- Eat moderate amounts of protein—about 15-20 per cent of daily calories.

- Drink plenty of water and add some bone broth on a daily basis to keep side effects to a minimum.

Reduce your carb intake

Reducing your carb intake is the most important factor in entering ketosis. Your cells typically use glucose (sugar) as their main source of fuel. However, most of your cells can also use other fuel sources, including fatty acids and ketones.

Your body stores glucose in the form of glycogen in your liver and muscles. When your carb intake is very low, your glycogen stores are reduced and your levels of the hormone insulin decline. This allows fatty acids to be released from fat stores in your body.

The degree of carb restriction needed to induce ketosis varies by the person and can be affected by certain factors, such as the types of exercise you do. Some people need to limit their net carb intake to 50 grams (g) or fewer per day, while others can get into ketosis while eating more than that.

• Avoid grains like wheat, corn, rice, and cereals.
• Avoid sugar and natural sweeteners like agave, honey, and maple syrup.
• Avoid starchy vegetables like butternut squash, plantains, and yucca/cassava.
• Eat non-starchy vegetables like broccoli, zucchini, greens, cauliflower, and cucumbers.
• Eat low-sugar berries like raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries in moderation.
• Eat animal proteins like chicken, beef, pork, lamb, and turkey.
• Eat high-fat dairy (sour cream, heavy cream, aged cheeses, keto-friendly ice cream).

Increase your physical activity

Regular exercise is a great way to improve your health and well-being. Combining a keto diet with exercise can be perfectly compatible, but it's important to understand that as you are fuelling your body in a completely different way, it's going to respond differently too.

When you're on a keto diet, you're changing how you get energy. When you exercise, getting access to energy is critical to maintaining performance. Going keto will affect this. Understanding this is key to knowing how to eat a keto diet and exercise effectively at the same time.

How your body works when you exercise

Your body is an extremely complex and adaptable machine, able to handle a huge variety of situations and stresses. From sitting on the sofa watching TV to (with a little training) climbing Mount Everest. Our bodies need to be really flexible in how they get energy efficiently to perform in all scenarios.

Our bodies make use of a number of 'metabolic pathways' to provide energy, generally utilising the best one for the job. Some of the key ways we access energy are:

• Ketosis: The process by which fats within the body are oxidised and broken down into a series of compounds including ketones, which are then utilised for energy. This is one part of the 'aerobic' metabolic pathway (aero means oxygen, which is required).
• Glycolysis: This process utilises glucose as the primary fuel source for the body. For most people eating a Western diet, this is how you fuel your day. Glycolysis quickly makes use of glycogen stored directly in the muscles or in the liver to provide energy.
• Phosphagen system: For extremely intense, short bouts of exercise like quick sprints and heavy weight lifting, neither ketosis nor glycolysis can provide the energy needed fast enough. In this case, the body uses creatine phosphate stored in the skeletal muscles to quickly provide energy in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate).

Once we limit our carb intake, our body quickly depletes what remaining glycogen stores it has, until such time as ketosis can supply sufficient energy to compensate. This transition often results in a point at which we have run out of glycogen, but aren't producing enough energy from fat yet, which is why many people report

Try a short fast

Fasting is a way to restrict your calorie intake by not eating for a specific period of time. When you fast, your body is forced to use stored glycogen (a type of carbohydrate) for energy. After the glycogen is used up, your body will start burning fat for energy, which can help you enter ketosis.

Intermittent fasting (IF) is the avoidance of calorie consumption over an extended period of time. Typically, this time allows an 8-12 hour window each day for calorie consumption. Some people practice OMAD (one meal a day) – which provides them with an eating window of 1-2 hours.

Intermittent fasting is a powerful tool in relation to ketosis and will really allow you to learn how to kickstart Ketosis.

• Fasting for short periods
• Increasing physical activity
• Reducing your carbohydrate intake
• Increasing your healthy fat intake
• Consuming more MCT oil
• Testing ketone levels
• Checking protein intake

Increase your healthy fat intake

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, very low-carb diet that may be one of the most reliable ways to reverse or prevent obesity and other health problems. The keto diet food list does not include any grains, sugar, desserts or sweetened drinks, and depending on how severely carbohydrate intake is restricted, it can also eliminate starchy veggies, fruit, and beans/legumes.

To get the calories you need in order to fuel your body and prevent fatigue, doing the keto diet right requires eating high amounts of healthy fats—up to 80 percent of your total calories each day! A few of the best kinds of healthy fats include:

• Olive oil
• Coconut oil or coconut milk
• MCT (medium-chain triglyceride) oil
• Grass-fed butter
• Ghee
• Palm oil
• Organic full-fat dairy

The reason fats are so important on the ketogenic diet is that, during ketosis, the body actually uses fat for energy to keep the brain, heart and other organs functioning properly. Several servings of fat with every meal—such as 1-2 tablespoons of oil, some raw goat cheese or real coconut milk—ensures you get enough calories to control your appetite, maintain healthy mood and hormone levels, and stick with the diet.

Avocados

Avocados are another great source of healthy fats. They are also high in potassium to help with muscular and cellular functions.

Chia or flax seeds

Chia or flax seeds are also a great source of healthy fats. They provide some omega-3 fatty acids.

Nuts

Nuts are also a great source of healthy fats. Some of the best nuts to eat are:

• Almonds
• Walnuts

Consume more MCT oil

MCT oil, or medium-chain triglyceride oil, is a popular supplement for those on a keto diet. It is easily digestible and can be used as a quick energy source. It is also believed to aid weight loss, increase fat burning, and improve cognitive function.

MCT oil is typically made from coconuts, but can also be sourced from palm kernel oil, whole milk, and butter. It can be consumed in liquid form or as a powder.

• Add it to your morning coffee or tea
• Use it as a salad dressing
• Substitute it for other oils in baked goods
• Add it to your fruit smoothies or protein shakes
• Take it before or after a workout to boost energy and endurance
• Take it as a supplement to help manage ketone production, energy levels, and prevent the keto flu

Frequently asked questions