Keto For Beginners: A Slow And Steady Guide

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb eating plan that can be tough to start. It involves a radical departure from the standard American diet, which is typically high in carbohydrates and processed foods. To slowly start keto, you can try the following:

- Know what foods to eat and avoid: Severely limit carbs to 20-30 grams per day and be mindful of foods that contain mostly carbs, fat, or protein. Avoid bread, pasta, chips, cookies, candy, ice cream, beans, and most fruits and vegetables. Focus on meat, pure fats like butter and olive oil, and some low-carb vegetables.

- Examine your relationship with fat: Don't be afraid of fat, as it is an essential part of the keto diet. Start making small adjustments, like ordering a burger on lettuce leaves instead of a bun and choosing non-starchy vegetables instead of potatoes or rice.

- Switch up your view of protein: Keep your protein intake moderate, as too much protein can take your body out of ketosis.

- Hone your cooking skills: Look for keto-approved recipes and find a few that you know you'll enjoy. This will help you stay on track and avoid turning to carbs when you're unsure what to eat.

- Talk to your family: Let your family know about your weight loss goals and that your new dietary habits may differ from theirs. This will help you stay accountable and ensure you have their support during your keto journey.

- Know what side effects to expect: Be prepared for the keto flu, which may include symptoms like lethargy, mental fog, and constipation or diarrhea. Choose a slow week to start your keto diet and take it easy with exercise during the first week or two as your body adjusts.

- Up your electrolytes: In ketosis, your body excretes more water and electrolytes, so make sure to get enough sodium and potassium. Salt your foods, drink salted bone broth, and eat non-starchy vegetables like asparagus, kale, bell peppers, and arugula.

- Acknowledge when keto might not be right for you: If you have certain medical conditions, such as insulin or high blood pressure medication, GI issues, or existing dietary restrictions, consult your doctor or consider whether keto is the right choice for you.

- Have an after plan: Keto is not meant to be a long-term diet, so have a plan for how you will transition to a healthier diet after keto. Focus on maintaining a balanced diet with fewer processed carbs and more non-starchy vegetables.

Gradually reduce carbs and increase fat intake

To begin a keto diet, you should reduce your carbohydrate intake and increase your consumption of healthy fats. This can be done gradually, and there are several ways to go about it.

One approach is carb tapering, which involves slowly reducing the number of carbs you eat over a few weeks. For example, you could replace oatmeal with eggs for breakfast, swap chips for nuts, and replace pasta with zucchini noodles. After a few weeks of carb tapering, you will be eating keto-friendly meals without having drastically changed your diet.

Another option is to start with a fast. This is a more extreme approach, but it can help you make a clean break from your old eating habits. A fast can be as short as 24-48 hours, and it will help you reset your eating patterns and establish new, healthier ones.

If you want to take it slow, you can make small adjustments to your diet over time. For example, you can order a burger without the bun and substitute green vegetables for fries. Opt for non-starchy vegetables like asparagus, kale, and bell peppers instead of potatoes or rice. Use more oil when cooking, and include more butter and olive oil in your meals.

It's important to remember that keto is a high-fat diet, so don't be afraid to add more fat to your meals. At the same time, you should reduce your protein intake because too much protein can take your body out of ketosis.

By gradually reducing your carb intake and increasing your consumption of healthy fats, you can ease into the keto diet and make it a sustainable part of your lifestyle.

Avoid simple carbs

To follow a keto diet, it is essential to avoid simple carbs. This means significantly reducing your intake of carbohydrates and replacing them with fats, putting your body into a state of ketosis. In ketosis, your body burns fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates, leading to weight loss and other health benefits.

To avoid simple carbs, you should limit your daily carb intake to up to 50 grams. However, this number can vary depending on individual needs, with some people needing to restrict their carb intake to as low as 20 grams per day to achieve ketosis.

• Gradually reduce your carb intake: Instead of going cold turkey, try carb tapering. This involves slowly reducing the carbs in your diet over several weeks. For example, you can start by replacing oatmeal at breakfast with eggs, then replace high-carb chips with low-carb nuts, and finally switch from pasta to zucchini noodles.
• Choose low-carb food options: Opt for low-carb, non-starchy vegetables like broccoli, spinach, kale, cauliflower, and dark green vegetables. Include small amounts of nutrient-dense options like tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers.
• Avoid starchy foods: Stay away from bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, and oats. These foods are high in carbs and will quickly exceed your daily limit.
• Be mindful of hidden carbs: Carbs can be found in unexpected places like salad dressings, sauces, and even some vegetables. Track all carbs, including those in fruits, vegetables, and grains, to ensure you stay within your daily limit.
• Understand net carbs: Focus on tracking net carbs, which is the total carbs minus fiber and half of the sugar alcohol content. Fiber doesn't impact blood sugar levels, so it's not counted in the net carb total.
• Plan your meals: Failing to plan your meals can lead to accidentally consuming too many carbs. Pre-plan your meals to ensure you stick to your daily carb and calorie limits.
• Choose high-quality fats: When replacing carbs with fats, opt for healthy fats like avocado, olive oil, fatty fish (such as salmon, trout, and tuna), nuts, and seeds.
• Stay hydrated: Drinking plenty of water can help reduce keto flu symptoms and support your overall health during the transition to a low-carb diet.
• Use tracking tools: Utilize apps like MyFitnessPal and Carb Manager to help you track your carb intake, macros, and stay within your limits. These tools make it easier to monitor your diet and ensure you're meeting your keto goals.

Focus on complex carbs

When starting a keto diet, it's important to understand the difference between simple and complex carbs. Complex carbohydrates are those that contain longer chains of sugar molecules, which take longer to break down and provide a slower release of energy. Simple carbohydrates, on the other hand, are quickly broken down and provide a rapid energy source.

The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that aims to put your body into a metabolic state called ketosis, where it burns fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. To achieve this state, you need to reduce your carbohydrate intake to a minimum and focus on complex carbs.

• Gradually reduce your carb intake: Instead of going cold turkey, slowly taper off your carb consumption. This will help your body adjust to the new diet and minimize any negative side effects. Start by replacing high-carb foods with low-carb options, such as swapping oatmeal for eggs at breakfast or zucchini noodles for pasta at dinner.
• Choose complex carbs: Opt for complex carbohydrates that are high in fiber and take longer to digest. Examples include green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, and broccoli. These veggies are packed with nutrients and won't spike your blood sugar levels.
• Read food labels: Familiarize yourself with food labels and check the grams of carbohydrates per serving. Look for options with lower net carb counts, which is the total carbs minus fiber. Net carbs are what impact your blood sugar and ketosis state.
• Moderate your protein intake: While protein is important, too much can be converted into glucose, slowing down your transition into ketosis. Aim for a moderate amount of protein, such as lean meats, fish, and eggs.
• Include healthy fats: Keto is not just about reducing carbs; it's also about increasing your intake of healthy fats. Add extra-virgin olive oil, avocado oil, nuts, and seeds to your meals. These healthy fats will help you stay full and satisfied while providing essential nutrients.
• Plan your meals: Creating a simple meal plan for the week can help you stay on track. Focus on complex carbs and healthy fats, with moderate protein intake. There are also many keto-friendly recipes and meal ideas available online to make your transition easier.

Remember, the key to slowly starting keto and focusing on complex carbs is to make gradual changes, choose nutritious options, and listen to your body. By taking it one step at a time, you'll be able to successfully adopt a keto diet and reap the potential benefits.

Eat more healthy fats

A ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet. It can be effective for weight loss and certain health conditions. On a keto diet, you cut back significantly on carbohydrates to burn fat for fuel. Eating a keto diet lowers insulin levels, which can help you access your body fat stores more easily.

• Opt for fatty fish, such as salmon, tuna, sole, trout, and halibut.
• Cook with natural fats, such as butter and olive oil.
• Avocados and avocado oil are excellent sources of healthy fats.
• When choosing oils, consider coconut oil, which is known to contain medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). MCTs are rapidly absorbed and taken directly to the liver, where they can be used for energy or converted into ketones.
• When adding coconut oil to your diet, do it slowly to minimize possible digestive side effects such as stomach cramping and diarrhea.
• Limit saturated and trans fats, such as those found in fried foods.

Don't be afraid of fat

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb way of eating. However, due to decades of nutritional misinformation, there is a widespread fear of consuming fatty foods. This fear often makes it challenging for people to adopt a ketogenic diet. It is common for those new to keto to consume insufficient fat and excessive protein, which can lead to various issues. Understanding the role of fat in the human diet and the potential consequences of fat deficiency is crucial for anyone considering a keto diet.

Humans Are Fat-Eating Machines

From an evolutionary perspective, our ability to thrive on a high-fat diet is inherently human. Early humans discovered how to use tools to scavenge fatty bone marrow and brains left behind by other predators. This energy-rich food source fuelled the growth of our brains, enabling us to hunt larger, fatty animals. Our rapid brain development, coupled with our ability to hunt these fatty animals, likely contributed to the extinction of megafauna wherever humans migrated.

Researchers have found that our caveman ancestors consumed a carnivorous diet of extremely fatty animals for nearly 2 million years. Modern humans share the same physiological traits as these fat-loving ancestors, indicating our genetic predisposition to not only tolerate but thrive on fat. In fact, humans are not just facultative carnivores but facultative "lipivores," with a unique ability to store fat as energy and easily enter ketosis, even when well-fed.

Problems with Insufficient Fat Intake on Keto

When starting a keto diet, it is essential to aim for 70-80% of calories from fat and only 10-20% from protein. Failing to consume enough fat on keto can lead to several issues:

• Persistent Carb Cravings: Fat is satiating and helps curb cravings. Replacing carbohydrates with sufficient fat is crucial to reducing hunger and preventing binge eating of high-carb, processed foods.
• Protein Poisoning (Rabbit Starvation): Consuming too much protein and not enough fat can lead to protein poisoning, which includes symptoms such as nausea, hyperinsulinemia, hyperammonemia, and diarrhea. In extreme cases, it can even be fatal. Historical accounts from arctic explorers and studies of modern hunter-gatherer tribes demonstrate the dangers of relying on small, lean prey and the importance of fatty meats in the diet.
• Digestive Problems: Not eating enough fat can cause digestive issues such as discomfort, nausea, constipation, and diarrhea. It takes time for the body to adjust to a high-fat diet and produce the necessary enzymes and bile for fat metabolism.
• Micronutrient Deficiencies: Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble vitamins, meaning dietary fat is necessary for their proper absorption. These vitamins are crucial for immune function, hormone signalling, and gut health. Vitamin deficiencies can be exacerbated by fat deficiency, making it harder for the body to metabolise fat effectively.

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