Ketogenic (Keto) Diet Plan Beginners Guide

What is a Keto Diet?

A ketogenic diet is an exceptional food that is prepared with a high content of healthy fat, adequate proteins, and low-carbohydrate content.

This type of diet is commonly recommended in medical institutions for its ability to heal several refractory problems in children such as epilepsy. Typically, the diet helps the body to burn excess fats rather than carbohydrates.

However, a ketogenic diet is widely used in weight loss programs. Being in a ketogenic diet means scrapping out carbs and concentrating on healthy high-fat foods. Proteins diet should also be incorporated within a Keto-diet as they play vital roles in the growth of the body.

Is Keto-Diet Safe for Consumption?

With the growing popularity of Keto-diet intake, there are increasing concerns about its impact. According to some studies conducted, suggested that a ketogenic diet was significantly safe for overweight and obese persons. However, other clinical reviews pointed out that the majority of the people under low carb diet regained the lost weight within 12 months.

1. Where it is helpful

Keto-diet has been found useful to people with problem losing weight. According to anonymous sports nutritionist, there are several benefits associated with Keto-diet program. These include:

• Results are quick. People who observe and stick to a Keto-diet plan can lose initial weight rapidly.
• It is simple in concept. The diet becomes more comfortable for people to follow as it entails removing a particular food group.
• Results to early satiety. The diet makes people feel full despite having few calories as well as provide the body with the required energy.

However, for optimum results, close adherence to the program is recommended, or else it will not work.

2. Where it is Unhealthy

Critics say Keto-diet works for a short term and it can as well be unhealthy. For the beginners, most of the initial weight lost is water weight. Also, once your body enters ketosis, it starts to lose muscles, becomes fatigued, and eventually enters into starvation mode, which is hard for losing weight.

The Key to Keto: Surviving Your Cravings

My relationship with sweet foods has always been decidedly unhealthy. When I was in my early teens, I was a keen tennis player, and I’d hit the courts for hours after school. After getting all that great exercise, I’d head home on my bike…

…and stop at a store along the way to buy a multipack of chocolate bars, before rapidly consuming them upon getting home. I’d then continue to wonder why I was so damn fat. Evidently I wasn’t the smartest cookie.

Then one day I heard about the keto diet, and it sounded great, but there was one big issue… how would I handle those cravings? Wouldn’t they undermine my efforts? Well… somewhat, but not entirely. I managed to survive them, and unlock all that punchy keto magic in the process.

Here’s how you can do it too:

Rewrite Your Habits

The human brain is incredibly efficient; it kinda has to be. Just think about everything it’s doing for you at the moment: it’s keeping all your systems going, monitoring your environment, mulling over various elements of your subconscious (and now even thinking about itself).

With all that going on, it can’t be wasteful with resources, and doing something new requires a resource investment. That’s why it’s so much easier to act the same way we’ve acted before. Our behavioral systems get into neat grooves and follow familiar patterns.

But you can change those patterns, and build new grooves. It doesn’t even take that long, really. If you follow a new routine for a week or so, it will turn into a habit, then suddenly stop feeling like a chore and start feeling like the default choice.

So if you invariably end up grabbing a slice of cake after leaving work, it’s just because you’ve made that a habit. Try taking a brisk walk instead; you’ll probably hate it and want your cake back, but keep it up and you’ll feel differently after a week or so.

Swap Out Your Indulgences

Despite everything I said in the last section, I know perfectly well that it isn’t realistic to propose replacing food rewards with exercise as an overall solution. We have to eat, and anyone with any kind of sweet tooth is never going to have the willpower needed to shut out treats entirely.

Fortunately, you don’t need to. There’s a whole industry built around serving the needs of health-conscious but gluttonous people like me, and it’s full of smart people making great keto products that somehow manage to taste great without losing all your tennis gains.

If I somehow had the ability to travel back in time to those halcyon days, I could slip a Perfect Keto base shake into my porky self’s racquet bag to ensure that I got all the taste of confection without the post-binge dejection.

I don’t have time-travel powers, alas, but I can engage in this kind of swapping right now, so I do. And it works. If you crave a candy bar, have a protein bar instead. Just do your nutritional research first; not all supplement manufacturers are trustworthy.

Get Pumped Up

OK, now this one may sound really obvious, but bear with me on it: sometimes you just need to get your blood pumping. Disrupt your routine. Do some jumping jacks. Flex like 1980s Hulk Hogan after a stadium show.

Why? Because exercise feels good, especially when it’s intense. It shocks the system and causes the release of endorphins which make you feel good. The better you feel, and the more heavily your system is laced with happy chemicals (at natural levels!), the more consistently you’ll be able to resist the allure of sugary products.

Plus it burns calories, which makes it less damaging when you do fall off the wagon and eat a donut while slowly weeping.

Keep Going Until You Get There

To quote Bryan Adams, don’t give up, you know it’s true; gotta do what you wanna do. Anyone who’s tried the keto diet knows it isn’t easy to reach the promised land. There will be setbacks, and disappointments, and there may come a point at which you ignore everything here and test your physiological tolerance for ice cream consumption.

But never accept defeat. It’s very difficult to form new habits, but once you’ve done it, everything turns around. Things that previously seemed impossible suddenly feel within your reach. The cravings dwindle from immediate compulsions to subdued inclinations. In a very meaningful sense, you achieve a new level of power over yourself.

I don’t know about you, but I reckon that’s something worth fighting for. Good luck!

5 Insanely Easy Keto Diet Tips For Beginners

If you would like to lose weight and stick to your keto diet, there are things about this diet you should understand. Many beginners complain about certain changes that happen to them when they embrace a ketogenic lifestyle and sometimes this could discourage them from continuing with the diet.

A keto diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet that could give you many health benefits, so if taken well it could improve your health.

If you are looking to embrace this diet, here are some guidelines you need to know about.

#1. Be prepared for common hurdles

Before you even move into some of the types of foods you need to embrace, you should understand that switching to a keto diet comes with some effects on your body. Some people will experience the keto flu, which happens a few days after the transition. Symptoms of the keto flu are sometimes extreme and will make some people to give up, so if you are starting out don’t give up as this is a process that happens as the body tries to adjust to the new diet. It’s a temporary condition that should cease in few days.

#2. Start your day with a power breakfast

The food you take in the morning will influence how your day will look. That’s why you need to opt for keto varieties that are suited to give you the energy you need to start the day. A good idea would be to come up with a list of ingredients including bacon, eggs, spinach, and mushrooms for the breakfast. This may look basic but it offers a satisfying diet that is also delicious.

#3. Don’t forget the greens

It’s a common assumption that a keto diet is all about bacon, but you need to also throw in some greens in plenty. You can still consume high fat foods like meat, but don’t forget you need vegetables for they also contribute immensely towards your health. Doing high fat foods alone is doing keto in the wrong way, so check that you have created a balance of fat and vegetables to have a complete diet.

#4. Plan out meals for the week

To easily manage a keto diet, it’s advisable to take a single day to plan out meals you will take in the entire week. Many people don’t have enough time to make meals and having to think about what to eat takes up even more time. Planning ahead is good because it will give you room to prepare and get the ingredients you need for various meals. You can borrow ideas from Pinterest and other online platforms that share keto recipes.

#5. Find convenient snacks

It’s a common complaint that a ketogenic diet consumes a lot of time because you have to prepare everything. However, this should not be the case because there are snacks that are made with ingredients that are constituent of the things you need for your keto diet. You can get a wide variety of foods on the go in your local supermarket that will keep you motivated to go on with your keto diet. Some of the convenient snacks you should try include hard boiled eggs, dried meats, pre-chopped vegetables with dip, and pre-cooked bacon.

Conclusion

Embracing a keto diet is a good idea that will help you to lose weight and also improve your health. There are few challenges you might encounter when you are starting, that you should not succumb to. Ensure your diet is measured well to get the calories you need and consider including vegetables and some fruits on top of foods high in fat.

Common Mistakes To Avoid When Planning Keto Meals

So you’ve decided to “go keto”—-you’ve heard talk about it, you’ve seen people posting amazing stories about physical health improvements and fitness results, and you want to be part of the revolution. That’s great!

One question for you—have you started planning meals yet?

Going keto involves a change in mindset, a commitment to avoiding certain foods altogether, and embracing a different way of cooking and eating than you’ve previously known.

Many of us who jump into the keto world are a bit unprepared for what we encounter, and mistakes are made as we navigate our way past the flour and sugar to find the golden nuggets of keto cooking.

Before you make too many of these blunders yourself, let’s take a look at some common mistakes others have made when transitioning to ketogenic cooking, and discuss what you can do to avoid them.

The Ketogenic Diet is a Low-carb, High Fat Diet

The keto diet is a low-carb, high fat diet that is similar in nature to Atkins and other low carb diets.

Studies performed on ketogenic diet participants showed significant health improvements, including weight loss, better immune system function, and a reduction in symptoms specific to disease like Alzheimer’s cancer, and diabetes.

With these marked benefits shown consistently for those going keto, it is no longer considered a health craze or phase, but more of a lifestyle change.

How to go Keto…..Seamlessly

Now hold on a minute; we know you’ll have to get rid of some things in your cupboard in order to go keto, and we understand your hesitance at throwing out staples like flour, white sugar, and the like. Trust us, you’ll soon find substitutions that work just as well with the added health benefits that will motivate you to keep chugging along on the keto train. Here are some tips for avoiding common newbie mistakes:

1. Don’t go cold turkey…just yet

While it might be tempting to cut out all carbs and implement heavy protein, heavy fat eating all at once, your body will need time to adjust to this lifestyle change. People that cut out everything that isn’t keto are subject to the “keto flu”–a collection of detox symptoms that appears like flu. People report body aches, pains, nausea, vomiting, and even diarrhea, if they don’t prepare themselves for this transition. Try being a little gentler with your transition; cut out cereal one week, bread the next week, and so on until you’ve found acceptable substitutions that satisfy cravings and don’t put your body into a healing crisis.

2. Don’t allow yourself to become dehydrated

With the change in foods that you are eating, there is an increased risk of dehydration; be mindful of the water that you are incorporating into your diet, and make sure you stay properly hydrated so your body can deal with the extra protein and fat that you are consuming.

3. Don’t forget the omega-3s

While it can be tempting to turn to bacon, sausage, cheese, and cream as your fat staples, it is important to place an emphasis on eating foods that are rich in omega 3 fatty acids. Salmon, sardines, herring, and cod liver oil do the trick quite well. If seafood isn’t your thing, consider adding healthy oils to your diet like avocado oil, olive oil, flaxseeds, and chia seeds to meet your nutritional requirements.

4. Add some salt when preparing your meals

One primary source of needed sodium in our diets is prepackaged cakes, cookies, crackers, and bread. Now that these things are literally off the table, you’ll need to meet your daily sodium requirements by adding a little salt for seasoning and flavor. Chances are, you’re spending time in the kitchen anyway preparing meals from scratch, so throw on some salt for seasoning and flavor to keep your electrolyte balance in check.

5. Don’t forget those veggies

When people realize how decadent the keto diet can really be, there is a temptation to fill up on protein and fat without continuing to place an emphasis on veggies as part of a well rounded diet. Non-starchy, rainbow foods will add fiber, vitamins, and minerals to your diet, helping to regulate digestion and improve your gut health.

The Bottom Line

When designing your keto meal plan, take advantage of all of the wonderful resources that exist on the internet and in print, thanks to those who have gone before us and blazed the keto trail. You’ll be looking and feeling better in no time, and you’ll have some delicious food combinations to thank for it.

Bon Appétit!

Six Best Keto-Diet Friendly Protein Bars

With the above pros and cons of a ketogenic diet, there are available low carb proteins that provide a good dose of protein without the unhealthy sugars that would throw you of ketosis. They include:

• Keto-Crave energy bars
• Marigold Bars
• KetosLIM protein bars
• Atlas bar
• InstaKetones protein bar
• Quest nutrition protein bars

The Bottom Line

Not all protein bars are necessary for a ketogenic diet as most of them have high carbohydrate content despite being labeled as high in protein. What you need is the right protein bar that does not provide unnecessary sugar.

5 Keto-Friendly Fast Food Options

Most diets begin with the prerequisite of cutting out fast food, and for the most part, it’s a pretty fair request.

Fast food tends to be high in processed foods, saturated fats, and other substances with questionable nutritional value for you. Perhaps most importantly to those on a Keto diet, fast food also tends to be high in carbohydrates. In many cases, a single meal at a fast food restaurant will break your daily carb limit twice or three times over.

Eating out is an inevitability with certain lifestyles, so if we’re hoping to keep maintaining ketosis, we’ll need to pick and choose restaurants and meals that best align with Keto dietary needs. Luckily, there are several options to choose from.

Five Keto-Friendly Fast Food Ideas to Try

Here are five keto fast food ideas that will help you maintain your diet and keep under daily limits.

#1. Egg and Sausage Biscuits (Without the Bread)

American fast food restaurants like McDonald’s and Burger King often offer their spin on a classic breakfast item—the egg and sausage biscuit. With or without cheese, this simple meal is high in protein, low in sugars, and if you toss the bread, low in carbs.

Egg and sausage meals are great for travelers on the move and commuters that need a quick breakfast meal due to a shifting work schedule. They’re offered at almost every fast food restaurant open for breakfast, so be sure to check out regional chains and find the breakfast meal that’s right for you.

Egg and sausage meals are also great for pairing with coffee, which can help you further rise and start the day right while maintaining your ketosis.

Just be careful not to overdo it with the added sweeteners.

#2. Arby’s Meats

Thanks to a fairly provocative advertising campaign, most are aware of the large variety of meats you can find at your local Arby’s. So the next time you’re out with friends or need a quick meal, consider taking advantage of that access and loading up on healthy fats and protein.

Ordering a classic roast beef sandwich and ditching the bread can give you a freshly-cut meal that won’t throw off your diet. The company also offers corned beef, chicken, and fish in most stores across the country, so be sure to try out their other options as well.

Most of what can be ordered off of an Arby’s menu will also keep you maintain ketosis. Be careful not to order any sweetened bacon or other meats however, to keep your sugar levels low.

While it may not be the first choice for many of those on the Keto diet, a local Arby’s can provide lots in the way of versatility for anyone trying to keep under their limits.

#3. Grilled Chicken

The stable of many fast food restaurants is the fried chicken sandwich, but a quick glance at the carb count is enough to scare off even the most casual of ketogenic dieters. That’s why going with a simple grilled chicken sandwich (or better yet, a grilled chicken salad) is best to gain all of the protein from the meat without the carbs in the breading.

Americans in the South or the Southeast may be best served by a Cobb salad from Chick-fil-A—just be sure to substitute grilled chicken in for fried.

Grilled chicken is also an option at KFC, and most of their menu items can be substituted out to get you the chicken and sides you need. Speaking of sides—try to stick with green beans or other greens to make sure you keep within your limits.

Traditional burger joints like McDonald’s and Burger King also offer a grilled chicken sandwich option. With these, make sure you check online to see how many carbs you can expect with the sauces and carbs. If they seem too high for your chosen limits, ditch the bread much like with the egg and sausage biscuit and enjoy.

#4. Chipotle Salads

Whether you’re going to a national grill chain like Chipotle or something more regional, you’ll be able to enjoy fresh ingredients in a killer salad.

For example, a Chipotle salad with fresh meat keeps your carbs in check without sacrificing on taste and freshness. You can also spice things up with many of their salsas, shredded cheese, and even guacamole .

Chipotle has always been a stable for conscious eaters, and for a good reason. Regardless of whether or not a Chipotle is near you, there are many regional competitors to the company that may be in your area. Make sure there’s an online nutritional guide, and double check the values with your daily requirements to make sure you don’t go over.

#5. DIY Taco Bell

Finally, there’s everyone’s favorite place to eat late in the night.

Taco Bell may have been your saving grace in college, but unfortunately, almost nothing on the menu can be ordered as-is when trying to maintain ketosis. Their floury tortillas and taco shells tend to run high on carbs and can easily through off a good diet.

Don’t rule Taco Bell out completely, however. With the right frame of mind and clever ordering options, you can make Taco Bell work for you.

Order individual sides of meats and lettuce to combine for a quick fix, or order your favorite tacos and ditch the actual shells. Taco Bell is also very handy with their online nutritional facts so you can double-check your meal in a pinch.

Eating at Taco Bell will require some ingenuity on your part, but the result is often one of the cheapest meals you could get.

Final Thoughts

In general—eating out while on ketosis is more of a matter of remembering simple principles than asking for a “healthy” meal.

Remember to skip buns and bread when possible, never to drink sodas, and try to eat salads and straight meats. Some places will be easier than others, but these are just five of the many ways you can make a fast food restaurant with your diet.

Experiment around, always check the nutrition information online and enjoy the flexibility of a Keto diet without worrying about disrupting your ketosis.

About Shannon Clark

Shannon holds a degree in Exercise Science and is a certified personal trainer and fitness writer with over 10 years of industry experience.