11 SUCCESS TIPS FOR THE KETO DIET
In short, the keto diet requires you to reduce the carbohydrates in your diet and replace them with healthy fats. When you restrict carbs from your diet, you re-adjust your body to run off body fat and ketones as its main source of energy. By doing this low carb, high fat diet, we are seeing many health benefits like improved brain function, fat loss/ weight loss, reduced inflammation and more!
But it you're like me just the thought of cutting almost all carbs out of my diet can freak you out or even be discouraging so here are 11 tips to help you on your keto/ "keto-ish" journey:
1. INTERMITTENT FAST
Intermittent fasting (IF) is the most effective tip you can put into action right away to get into ketosis where you are burning fat for fuel and to help you lose weight — if that is one of your goals.
IF means you don’t eat or drink anything that contains calories for an allotted period of time.
A recent study also showed that intermittent fasting can manipulate your body’s mitochondria in similar ways as the ketogenic diet to increase your lifespan! Awesome right?
When you don’t consume calories for a few hours, your body starts depleting all of the excess glucose that’s stored in your body from eating carbohydrates. To start burning fats for energy, which is the whole point of a keto diet, your body needs to first burn through any glucose that is present in your body.
There are several types of IF schedules that can help you enter ketosis faster. If you are a beginner just skipping breakfast in the morning is an easy and great way to start with IF.
If you are already keto-adapted because you have been doing a keto diet for a while, fat fasting is a common way help with weight loss, especially if someone feels like they are stuck at a plateau. Fat fasting is when you consume 80-90% of your calories from fat for a set period of time (no more than three to five days) while limiting everything else. Doing this allows your body to speed up its metabolism to burn more fat!
2. MAKE SLEEP A PRIORITY
Sleep is a weapon and poor sleep will increase levels of your stress hormones which can prevent you from getting into fat-burning mode.
It’s critical to get at least seven to nine hours of sleep every night. But if you’re currently getting way less than that, try making small changes each night like moving things back by a half hour every night until you hit your sleep goal.
Many studies have shown that poor sleep can greatly hurt your ability to lose weight.
3. DECREASE STRESS
Chronic stress isn't good for any one on any diet and it will severely hinder your body’s ability to enter ketosis. Why? Because the stress hormone cortisol elevates your blood sugar levels, which then prevents your body from burning fats for energy because there is too much sugar in the blood.
Starting the ketogenic diet may not be the best idea if you are currently going through a high stress period in your life
I believe it's always best to begin keto when you can keep stress to a minimum and you’re able to devote a large portion of your waking hours towards staying in ketosis. It isn't hard but it requires a little extra energy, paying attention to detail and planning.
When you decide to begin the keto diet just be sure to take steps to reduce the stress in your life such as getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, taking time to do something you enjoy or practicing relaxation techniques like meditation or yoga. I am telling you both are game changers for anyone!
4- ADD SALT TO YOUR DIET
Many people have a negative stigma when it comes to how much salt/ sodium you should be consuming daily. In the past we have been taught that our sodium intake should be very low but this is typically only the case on high carbohydrate diets.
This is because higher carb diets means naturally higher levels of insulin and when insulin levels are high, our kidneys begin to retain sodium.
But when do keto and you adopt a low carb, high fat diet, insulin levels are much lower and your body excretes more salt since there are no carbohydrates present in your body to spike insulin and hold onto the sodium.
It is recommended that when you’re in ketosis to add an extra three to five grams of sodium in your diet.
This will help you deal with and avoid imbalances with electrolytes. The healthiest ways to get more salt in your diet include:
- adding Himalayan sea salt (or pink salt) to your foods
- drinking bone broth or better broth everyday
- eating low carb foods that naturally contain sodium
- eating salted nuts like macadamia :) ( i love this one because i love macadamia nuts...in moderation of course ;)
5. STOP DRINKING DIET SODA, ANY SODA AND USING SUGAR SUBSTITUTES
Just because diet soda has zero calories doesn’t mean it fits into your ketogenic diet plan. Did you know that diet sodas use several sugar substitutes that can signal to your body that a large amount of sugar is entering the body. This can lead to increased blood sugar levels. When you load up on zero-calorie sweeteners, you’re only going to increase your cravings for sweet foods and drinks in the future- it's crazy that a " diet" drink increases cravings. One of the big benefits of a keto diet is that you retrain your taste buds to crave healthy, low carb whole and real foods. But this can't happen if you’re constantly bombarding them with sweet tasting foods like sodas so ditch them and feel the difference!! Even see the difference too!
If you love the bubbles of soda substitute it with sparkling water! It does the trick without adding sugars!
6- MÜV YOUR BODY REGULARLY
Maintaining a regular exercise schedule while on the keto diet can boost your ketone levels and help you transition into a low carb, high fat lifestyle much quicker than without exercise. To get into ketosis, your body needs to get rid of any glucose present in the body.
Exercising uses different types of energy for fuel including carbohydrates, fats and amino acids. The more frequently you exercise, the quicker your body depletes its glycogen stores so get moving- whether it's a walk, job, yoga, crossfit, barre, zumba, cycle or whatever makes you smile!
Once your body has gotten rid of its glycogen storages, it will seek out other forms of fuel and will turn to fat for energy through ketosis.
7. FOOD PREP
By doing food prep you will be able to stay on track with your healthier eating throughout the week. By having a plan, stocking your fridge with real, whole foods and you create a supportive environment that is in line with and support your goals rather than sabotages them, you won't have temptation and opportunity to cheat yourself.
By spending some time on Sundays to food prep you can set yourself up for a week of awesome meals so you don’t slip up when lunch or dinner time comes around. Having a plan and being prepared is key to success and food prepping is one way to do that!
Be sure to join my Keto Girl Community Group over on Facebook for more tips, recipes and support!
8. DRINK PLENTY OF WATER
As you probably already know, staying hydrated is important no matter what diet you’re on but you must pay extra attention when starting out on the ketogenic diet because your body excretes more water from your body when carbohydrates aren’t present.
The best way to know how much to drink in a day is take your weight and cut that number in half- that is the number of ounces at minimum that you need to drink daily!
On the days where you are sweating more often such as hot summer days or after intense workouts be sure to drink even more!
9- EAT CARBS FROM VEGETABLE SOURCES
Alot of people think keto is just about eating bacon, beef and butter and that is so not true! When doing the keto diet it’s important to incorporate vegetables to ensure you’re consuming all necessary nutrients, including fiber, which is crucial for maintaining a healthy gut.
These non-starchy veggies are great:
- Kale
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cabbage
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Spinach
10. USE MCT OIL
Supplementing with MCT- medium chain triglyceride oil) will help you get into and stay ketosis even if your glycogen storages aren’t fully depleted.
One way to incorporate MCT into your day is to enjoy it in Bulletproof coffee by using the traditional recipe or using KETO KREME which has MCT and more!
11. USE PURE THERAPEUTIC KETONES
Similar to MCT oil, consuming PURE THERAPEUTIC KETONES is like a shortcut or "biohack" to get into ketosis. I love a life hack and a biohack and ketones have made a huge difference to me and my life!
Pure therapeutic ketones contain something called BHB ( beta-hydroxybuterate) which is the active form of ketones that flow freely in the blood and are easily used by your body. Thankfully the ones by Pruvit are patented, the only fermented ones available and the most bio-available meaning they are like the ones our bodies create if we do a strict keto diet through food and fasting.
Drinking ketones can help SO MUCH during the initial phases of your ketogenic journey because you are signaling your body to start using ketones for energy instead of carbohydrates.
You still have to adopt a high fat, low carb diet to fully benefit from this way of eating, but pure therapeutic ketones have the ability to kick you back into ketosis even after an unintentionally high carbohydrate meal.
It is also an effective tool for avoiding the keto flu which is super common for people just starting the keto diet. During this time when your body is still getting used to using ketones, you can use an exogenous ketone to help eliminate all of the flu-like symptoms that come during the induction phase of the ketogenic diet.
If you do not want to do a keto diet or you want to do it cyclically- I think everyone should drink ketones because the benefits are amazing!
12. HAVE GOOD CLEAN SNACKS AVAILABLE
Here are some examples of keto snacks you can take on the go:
- Hard boiled eggs
- Beef jerky
- Guacamole or a half an avocado with seasoning.
- Fat bombs
- Bacon
- Good deli meat & cheese
- Veggie sticks
- Nuts
13. GET RID OF THE JUNK FOOD
Most people can stick to a healthy keto diet if they only have access to healthy keto foods. The majority of people fall prey to carbohydrate-laden foods simply because they’ve failed to remove them from their home.
Put on some music and do a kitchen clean out getting rid of bread, pasta, sodas, candy and rice. When these foods are out of site they will be out of mind and out of your body!
Replacing all of your old carbs, except for non-starchy vegetables, with keto-friendly foods will help you stay on track. So when those carb cravings kick in, you won’t have any comfort foods to turn to. Trust me you can do it! It's about changing old habits for new ones to help you feel BETTER!
14. HAVE A DINING OUT PLAN
When you first start the ketogenic diet, you might think it's hard to decide where to eat or what to order to stay on track but it gets easier with time. Check out this post - it gives lots of helpful tips for eating out on keto/low carb and keto-ish!
OUR BODIES THRIVE IN KETOSIS & NOW IT'S EASY TO GET KETONES INTO OUR BODIES!
Burn fat, gain energy, have fierce focus and mental clarity, sleep better, experience better skin, better digestion, joint health, be in a better mood and and obtain optimal overall health — in simple and natural way by drinking ketones like i do and so many others!
