How to Get Started on the Keto Diet

So, wondering how to get started on the Keto Diet?

You’ve come to the right place. Here is a good explanation of the ketogenic diet and remember, when first starting out on keto, it’s important to focus on getting fat or keto-adapted.

You have to change your mentality from, “fat is bad for you”, to, “fat is good for you”. Yes, it’s a big change to what we have been taught, but it’s time for a new way of thinking. This source defines the best fat sources to eat on keto.

You have to be all-in to make keto work

In order to start keto and be successful, you have to understand that much of what we have been taught about nutrition has been wrong. I recommend reading this article that debunks many of the myths associated with the keto diet.

If you want to lose weight and get healthy it might be time to start keto

I get it, you want to lose weight on the keto diet for your New Years Resolution. Smart move, however, one of the most important reasons I recommend starting the ketogenic diet is the way it can prevent and even reverse type 2 diabetes.

If you are in a hurry to get started on keto, here are some speed keto techniques that will speed up the fat-burning process.

Start keto by cleaning out your cupboards

After you clean out your cupboards and throw out all your sweets, bread, crackers, cookies, cakes, rice, noodles, pasta, potatoes, chips, corn, and flour you’ll have to go buy some real food. You’ll need to get rid of those high carb foods to prevent temptations.

Costco is a great place to shop for keto products

Most of this stuff you can get at your local mom and pop grocery store, but some of it needs to be located at specialty food stores like Whole Foods, Natural Grocers, Sprouts, Trader Joe’s or another organic/health food store.

Try to avoid lazy keto when learning how to get started on the keto diet.

If you can afford it, and if you can find it, try to find food that is naturally raised. Organic is always better than inorganic and animals that are raised in their natural state are going to be healthier than an animal raised in over-populated confinements.

In those confinements, the chickens, hogs, cows, and beef are raised without sun exposure and are fed unhealthy grains like corn. In some cases, for example, chickens are fed a sugar/syrup solution. Those animals are also given growth hormones in order for them to grow faster and then given antibiotics when they get sick.

So look for organic, pasture-raised or grass-fed beef, butter, and free-range chicken and eggs. I get it, this stuff is expensive and most people can’t afford all these pasture-raised, organic foods.

Don’t let that stop you from eating a healthy Ketogenic diet though. Get what you can afford. A hot dog is still more healthy than a honey bun.

Here are a few things to look for you while shopping:

Beef, eggs, pork, butter, cheese, olives, cream cheese, keto avocados, pickles, bacon.

Frozen vegetables, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower rice or florets (for pizza crust), olive oil, avocado oil, heavy whipping cream, lettuce (for salads).

Frozen or fresh chicken wings and thighs, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, cherry tomatoes, low sugar pizza sauce, pizza toppings of choice.

Almond flour, coconut flour, pecans, macadamia nuts, cabbage, spinach (green leafy vegetables), kimchi, sauerkraut, tuna. Especially spinach and dandelion greens.

Spinach is high in potassium and magnesium and dandelion greens are loaded with prebiotic fiber that can prevent keto-constipation that sometimes occurs on the Ketogenic diet.

Eating as many of the keto superfoods as you possible will help you maintain optimum health as you lose weight.

Sardines, sausage, lunch meat, fish (salmon), *sugar substitute, cucumbers, avocado mayonnaise, sugar-free salad dressing (Primal Kitchen).

For a more complete list see our keto food shopping list.

Apple cider vinegar helps control cravings, improves insulin sensitivity and can even prevent Keto heartburn. A squeeze of lemon, a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and a dash of salt in a cup of filtered water is a great way to stop cravings for sweets and help prevent the Keto Flu.

Use sugar substitutes with caution when getting started on keto

Don’t eat too many keto snacks and fat bombs. Keto snacks can help you get past the sugar addiction. Artificial sweeteners aren’t as harmful to your health as real sugar, but they can slow down your keto progress.

Artificial sweeteners can delay the breaking of the sugar addiction and some can cause a small insulin response. However, they might be able to act as a bridge to help you while you are trying to get over the sugar addiction. The sugar addiction is real. Do you get Hangry and irritable between meals? The keto diet is the cure for the Hangy feeling.

So, using artificial sweeteners is not considered “clean” keto, but if eating fat bombs and keto snacks can keep you from quitting keto, they still have value. Just use them with moderation.

Artificial sweeteners are both a blessing and a curse

This article published in Science Direct shows that sucralose (Splenda) alters the gut microbiota and alters the learned responses that help control glucose homeostasis.

Sugar substitute: You’ll have to taste a few and find the one that you like the best. Some common natural sugar substitutes are stevia and monk fruit and they do not raise blood sugar.

Sugar alcohols like erythritol and xylitol are another option but they can upset your stomach and xylitol does raise blood sugar slightly. Xylitol is not calorie-free, it has 2.4 calories per gram.  However, Xylitol’s glycemic index is only 7, compared to table sugar (sucrose) which is between 60–70.

The artificial sweeteners to stay away from are aspartame, cyclamate, saccharin, acesulfame-k or sucralose (Splenda). They are artificial, man-made chemicals and have been reported to damage intestinal probiotic bacteria (flora). Just remember artificial sweeteners, while they don’t raise blood sugar, they can still stop autophagy, which is how our body repairs itself.

Here is a good fasting and OMAD (one meal a day) guide

Start fasting, but go into it gradually. You will want to stop snacking and extend the time in between meals. Time-restricted feeding is the new term to use instead of fasting. It doesn’t sound as difficult as “fasting.” A common protocol is picking 6 hours of the day to eat and then not eating for 18 hours.

Keto and therapeutic fasting (long term) can actually extend your healthspan and help you live longer

Now I am going to give you a few of my favorite delicious keto meals

Tuscan butter salmon. You can switch the salmon for almost any meat, like pork chops or chicken.

Cauliflower Crust Pizza. This is a must. It’s a little bit of work to make the crust, but it’s amazing.

Egg Roll in a Bowl. If you like egg rolls you will like this and it’s fast, cheap and easy.

Avocado deviled eggs. These are amazing and can be used with a Keto Egg Fast.

Try some keto chaffles, they can be delicious

Some keto snacks to eat when getting started on keto

Non-breaded chicken wings or thighs with:
Bacon-wrapped asparagus or Keto bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers.

Keto Cheesecake: I would use monk fruit and erythritol as the sweetener, but that’s just a matter of taste. Caution, this cheesecake is addictive.

Snacks: cheese, green olives, and pecans or walnuts. Pickle wraps are one of my favorites. Use small dill pickles, spread cream cheese on your lunch meat of choice, lay the pickles on the lunchmeat, and roll it up. You can cut them up into pieces if you would like.

Here is a delicious Keto Coffee recipe

Make sure you keep your gut microbiome healthy by eating probiotics. Fermented foods like natto, milk kefir, kimchi, and beet kvass are excellent choices.

If you want to learn how to get started on keto you have to do some research. Here is a very extensive keto diet plan for beginners’ guide.

Keto like any diet is not perfect, here are the downsides of the keto diet and how to avoid them.

I urge you to stick with it and give it a chance. Most people fail only because they give up to soon and start believing all the false keto myths out there.

If you have a bad day and break your keto diet, don’t despair, it happens. Just get back on the wagon and start again. Here are some ways to get back into ketosis in 24 hours. Also if you have any questions or need more support you can contact ketogenicinfo here.

Knowledge is the key to success. Here is the top 23 keto questions and answers.

• Keto Diet Beginners Guide for 2020
• The Dirty Keto Diet: Can You Lose Weight?
• How Sugar is Poisoning America!
• The Keto Egg Fast
• 7 Reasons Why We Get Hangry and How to Prevent it