Kick-Starting Your Low-Carb Keto Diet Journey

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb, low-to-moderate protein diet. It involves drastically reducing your carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis, where your body uses fat for fuel instead of carbs.

The keto diet is often challenging to start and stick to, as it requires a significant shift in your physiology and lifestyle. However, it can be beneficial for weight loss and improving various health conditions, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease.

1. Eat keto-friendly foods and avoid carb-rich foods: Focus on meat, fish, eggs, healthy oils, nuts, seeds, and low-carb vegetables. Limit grains, sugar, fruit, tubers, and starchy vegetables.

2. Eat the right amount of keto-friendly foods: Calorie consumption is critical for weight loss or gain. Use a keto calculator and calorie-tracking app to determine your ideal intake of fat, protein, and carbs.

3. Prepare for the keto flu: In the initial days of the keto diet, you may experience flu-like symptoms due to your body's adaptation to reduced carb consumption. Increase your sodium, potassium, and magnesium intake, and consume more fat to remedy these symptoms.

Eat more veggies and less carbs

The keto diet is a high-fat, low-carb eating plan that can be tough to start. It involves drastically reducing your carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis, where it burns fat for energy instead of carbohydrates.

So, how can you eat more veggies and less carbs on the keto diet?

Know Your Veggies

Not all vegetables are created equal on the keto diet. You'll want to boost your intake of non-starchy vegetables, as these are lower in carbohydrates. Reach for nutrient-dense, non-starchy veggies like kale, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, mushrooms, peppers, cauliflower, zucchini, and arugula. These veggies are packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, and are excellent choices for a healthy keto diet.

Limit Carb-Heavy Veggies

While the above veggies are great for keto, there are some vegetables that you should limit or avoid due to their high carbohydrate content. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, green peas, onions, and winter squashes like acorn and butternut squash are all high in starch or carbohydrates and should be consumed in moderation or avoided on the keto diet.

Get Creative with Veggie Substitutes

One way to eat more veggies on the keto diet is to get creative with veggie substitutes. For example, you can use zucchini noodles instead of regular pasta, cauliflower rice instead of regular rice, or mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes. These substitutes allow you to enjoy your favorite dishes while sticking to your keto diet.

Focus on Whole Foods

When following the keto diet, it's best to base your diet mostly on whole, single-ingredient foods. This includes a variety of meat, fish, eggs, butter, nuts, healthy oils, avocados, and plenty of low-carb veggies. By focusing on whole foods, you'll naturally increase your vegetable intake while staying within the keto diet guidelines.

Plan Your Meals

Planning your meals in advance can be beneficial when following the keto diet. It allows you to ensure you're getting a good variety of veggies and staying within your carb limits. There are many keto-friendly recipes and meal ideas available online and in cookbooks to help you get started.

Manage Your Stress

Stress can impact your blood sugar levels and make it more difficult for your body to achieve ketosis. If you're going through a particularly stressful period, you may want to wait to start the keto diet or find healthy ways to manage your stress, such as getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, or trying relaxation techniques like meditation or yoga.

Prioritize Sleep

Getting enough sleep is important for overall health, but it can also impact your body's ability to achieve ketosis. Aim for a consistent 7-9 hours of sleep every night to support your health and wellness goals while on the keto diet.

Remember, it's important to consult with a registered dietitian or your healthcare provider before starting the keto diet to ensure it's safe and appropriate for you. They can also provide personalized guidance on how to incorporate more veggies and less carbs into your diet.

Consume more healthy fats

Consuming more healthy fats is a crucial aspect of the keto diet, as it helps you stay satiated and energized while your body transitions to burning fat for fuel. Here are some detailed tips to incorporate more healthy fats into your keto diet:

Choose Healthy Fat Sources

Select fats from high-quality plant and animal sources. For example, olive oil, avocado oil, and coconut oil are excellent choices. Additionally, include cheese, eggs, nuts, and fish in your diet as they are rich in healthy fats.

Increase Fat Consumption

Since fat is your primary source of calories on the keto diet, ensure you're consuming enough. This may require increasing your fat intake beyond what you're used to. Fat helps you feel full and satisfied, so don't be afraid to incorporate more into your meals.

Cook with More Fat

Start cooking your meals with more fat. For example, use generous amounts of olive oil or avocado oil when cooking vegetables or meat. This will help increase your fat intake while also adding flavour to your dishes.

Choose Healthy Fats as Snacks

If you find yourself feeling hungry between meals, opt for snacks that are rich in healthy fats. Examples include avocados, nuts and seeds, or even a handful of olives. These snacks will help tide you over between meals and ensure you're getting enough healthy fats.

Be Mindful of Portion Sizes

While it's important to increase your healthy fat consumption, be mindful of portion sizes, especially with nuts, seeds, and dairy products. These foods are calorie-dense, and their calories can add up quickly. Keep portion sizes in check to maintain a healthy calorie balance.

Prioritize Healthy Fats Over Steaks and Red Meat

The keto diet is not just about eating large amounts of red meat or steak. While these foods can be part of your diet, prioritize healthy fats as your primary source of fat and energy. This will help you stay within a healthy range of saturated fat intake and provide your body with essential nutrients.

Maintain protein intake

Maintaining your protein intake is an important part of the keto diet. While the diet is high in fat and low in carbs, it is also a moderate-protein diet. This means that you should eat enough protein to meet your body's needs, but not so much that it prevents ketosis.

Protein is essential for supplying the liver with amino acids, which are used to make new glucose for cells and organs that cannot use ketones or fatty acids as fuel. These include the kidneys and red blood cells. Not consuming enough protein can lead to muscle mass loss, while consuming too much can prevent ketosis. Therefore, it is important to eat a moderate amount of protein while on the keto diet.

When following a keto diet, it is recommended that protein makes up 20-30% of your diet. This is equivalent to at least 70 grams of protein per day, or 20-35% of your daily calories. This amount can vary depending on your individual needs and goals.

To ensure you are getting enough protein, include a variety of protein-rich foods in your meals. These may include meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy products. By incorporating these foods into your diet and monitoring your protein intake, you can help ensure you are getting the right amount of protein while on the keto diet.

Plan meals and snacks

Planning meals and snacks is an important part of starting a keto diet. Here are some tips to help you plan your meals and snacks effectively:

• Eat plenty of foundation vegetables: When limiting your carb intake, it is crucial to consume a variety of nutrient-dense, non-starchy vegetables. These include kale, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, mushrooms, and peppers. Foundation vegetables ensure you receive all the necessary vitamins, minerals, and fibre. They also help prevent setbacks, hunger pangs, and cravings for processed foods.
• Increase your healthy fat intake: Low-carb keto diets require an increase in fat consumption, typically accounting for at least 60% of your daily calories. Choose healthy fats from high-quality plant and animal sources, such as olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, cheese, eggs, nuts, and fish.
• Maintain your protein intake: Aim for protein to make up around 20-30% of your diet. This is crucial as it supplies the liver with amino acids needed to produce new glucose for cells and organs that cannot use ketones or fatty acids as fuel. Not consuming enough protein can lead to muscle mass loss.
• Stay hydrated: Water is crucial for supporting your metabolism and regular body functions, and keto diets have a diuretic effect. Drink a minimum of 6-8 glasses of water daily, and more if you exercise or it's a hot day. Add broth to your diet or extra salt to your food to ensure you're getting enough electrolytes.
• Plan your meals: Planning your meals in advance can help you stay on track and save time. There are many keto-friendly recipes and meal ideas available online and in cookbooks to help you create a custom menu.
• Snack smart: If you feel hungry between meals, opt for keto-approved snacks such as a handful of nuts or seeds, hard-boiled eggs, keto-friendly snack bars, full-fat Greek yoghurt with nut butter and cocoa powder, or celery with salsa and guacamole.

Monitor health and progress

Monitoring your health and progress is an important part of the keto diet. Here are some ways to do that:

Monitor your body composition

Keep track of your weight and waist circumference. Weigh yourself and measure your waist circumference regularly (at least once a week) to monitor your progress. Don't be discouraged if you don't see immediate results, as weight loss can take a few weeks to become apparent. Additionally, don't focus solely on the number on the scale, as muscle weighs more than fat, and you may be gaining muscle while losing fat.

Monitor how you feel

Pay attention to how you feel physically and mentally. Are you feeling more energetic, or are you experiencing fatigue and brain fog? Are your moods and emotions stable, or are you feeling down and drained most of the time? These factors can give you valuable insight into how your body is responding to the keto diet.

Monitor your blood biomarkers

Consult with your doctor to get regular blood tests and keep track of your blood work. Monitor key biomarkers such as triglyceride, HDL ("good") cholesterol, and LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels. While the keto diet has been shown to improve these markers in some people, it may have the opposite effect in others. Therefore, it's important to track these markers to ensure the diet is working for you.

Monitor your ketosis level

To ensure you're in ketosis, look for signs such as increased thirst, dry mouth, frequent urination, and decreased hunger. You can also use ketone tracking tools, such as blood ketone meters, breath ketone analysers, or urine strips, to measure your ketone levels directly. This will help you confirm that your body is in a state of ketosis and reaping the benefits of the keto diet.

Frequently asked questions