How to Start a Keto Diet: 5 Easy Steps to Ketosis and living your best life
Congratulations! You have decided to start living a ketogenic lifestyle.
You have chosen to burn fat for fuel. In this article you will learn how to start a keto diet.
This guide will not tell you how to count your calories, just how to easily get into ketosis and fat adapted.
I highly recommend doing these 5 steps before worrying about calories.
Ok so Basically …
The first thing to remember is the basic premise of how to start a keto diet: low carbohydrates, moderate protein and high fat. These three components are called “Macros”.
Step one: Quit Sugar
The first step in how to start a keto diet is to get your carb count for the whole day down to 20 or below.
These carbs are net carbs. Net carbs=carbs- fiber-sugar alcohol.
For example if the nutrition label say’s 6 carbs, 2 dietary fiber, 2 sugar alcohol.
Then the total net carbs for that food would be 6-2-2=2 net carbs.
Sugar is bad mmkay?
If you are here and reading this post I am sure I do not need to convince you that sugar is bad.
Trust me, sugar sure tastes awesome but its not awesome for your body!
Dropping your sugars can be a bit daunting however it is how to start a keto diet right.
Sugar is so addicting and delicious!
Like most addictive things, sugar has its negative side effects.
The excess sugars your body does not use up will turn into fat stores.
Sugars cause inflammation and stomach upset.
Sugar can cause your blood glucose levels to spike and crash causing mood and energy swings.
To sum up, after allowing my body to become fat adapted I no longer experience blood sugar spikes or energy crashes.
Before keto I would nap every day at about 2 pm if I could.
Now that I am fat adapted can go all day with no crash when I am running on ketones.
KETO PRO TIP : Read food labels. There is sugar in a lot of processed foods. Look out for ingredients like Corn Syrup, Cane Sugar, Natural Sugar or Honey. That’s still sugar.
Becky – Omg Keto Yum
Keto Sugar Alternatives
Smart Sweets (OMG Gummy Bears! They’re so good!)
Keto Kookie (Nui)
Keto Sweets you can easily make at home
Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
Step 2 – Replace your sugars with healthy fats
It is important to realize that eating enough fat is fundamental when learning how to start a keto diet.
You have quit sugar and now it is time to ramp up your fat intake.
This will help your body fat adapt quickly.
By consuming high amounts of fat your body will get used to using fat as a food source instead of the glucose.
Don’t be afraid of fat
A common mistake with new keto dieters when learning how to start a keto diet.
They don’t eat enough fat and become hungry and quit their diet. Don’t be that person.
Go eat an avocado with salt and love it. Try a bulletproof tea and experience the deliciousness.
Add some coconut oil or butter to your broccoli.
You will be not missing sugar in no time at all.
Fat is not the enemy!
Ok – I know the standard American diet has demonized fats. Well, it was not the fat that made you fat its all that extra sugar, plus fat, being stored in your body for later.
A standard ketogenic diet calls for 75-80 percent of your daily calories to be fat.
This is a lot of fat. To see what this looks like for me on a typical day check out my full day of eating posts here.
KETO PRO TIP : Use MCT oil to supplement your fats. This oil is easy for your body to burn. I call it rocket fuel actually.
Becky – Omg Keto Yum
Healthy sources of fat:
Olive Oil
Avocados
Butter
Bacon Grease
MCT oil (Save 10% when you use coupon code OMGKETO10 )
Heavy Whipping Cream
Coconut Milk
Almond Butter
Coconut Butter
Make some Fat Bombs!
Step 3 – Eat your Protein
Protein will not only nourish your body but it will also keep your belly full.
You should shoot for .7-.8 percent of your lean body mass in protein.
Check the sales at your local grocery store and stock your freezer up.
I stock up on sirloins if they are on sale, ground beef, chicken thighs, london broils and bacon.
Check out local farms for locally sourced meats.
I get eggs from one of my neighbors and believe me free range chicken eggs taste so much better than the “normal” eggs.
You can find free range chicken eggs at the grocery store for usually a dollar or two more than “normal eggs”.
KETO PRO TIP : Since you are no longer buying carby things such as cookies and crackers. You can afford to spend a little more on good meats and eggs. Invest in yourself, YOU ARE WORTH IT!
Becky – Omg Keto Yum
Step 4– Get your electrolytes in check.
Because you are no longer consuming carbohydrates in the quantities that your body was used to before, your body will be burning up all the glucose in your body.
Your body will be flushing a fair amount of water weight out of its system.
Your body’s electrolytes will be flushing along with the water.
It is important when learning how to start a keto diet to replenish your bodies electrolytes with nutrient rich foods.
Nevertheless some people experience a thing we call the “KETO FLU”.
This is where your body is transitioning to burning fat for fuel instead of the glucose.
A point often overlooked that is important to realize your body is deprived of electrolytes due to the flushing and some people can experience headaches or nausea.
Get your electrolytes in order as soon as you start transitioning to try and cut off the keto flu before it starts.
–Keto Pro Tip : If you are experiencing a headache from the keto flu try a swig of pickle juice!
Becky – Omg Keto Yum
The three big ones that you should worry about are salt, magnesium and potassium.
I take potassium and magnesium supplements and drink sole water. I also add Pink Himalayan sea salt to my foods.
Sometimes I grab a pinch of Pink salt and put it on my tongue as a pick me up.
Step 5 – Drink your Water
Like I stated above, your body is flushing out a lot of water weight when you first start keto.
Water is important to prevent dehydration and keto flu. Try to drink at least your body weight divided by two in OZ of water.
I carry a water bottle with me through out the day to keep track of how much water I am drinking.
Once you think you have drank enough water, drink some more. Do not pound the water.
If you drink too much all at once it can be hard on your kidneys.
Keto Pro tip: Add a pinch of Pink Himelean sea salt to your water to get your salt in and to help your body hang on to the water longer.
Becky – Omg Keto Yum
That’s it kids: That’s how to start a keto diet
In conclusion, follow these 5 steps.
If you can do these five things for a week or two then you are set.
Give your body time because it is a good body, treat it well.
Once you have mastered keeping your carbs below 20 then you should start worrying about macros and calories.
Check out my All about Macros post here.
good recommendations here. i doubt i can start a keto diet due to my health conditions but i’m down to try a few of your sugar recommendations like monk fruit! going to look and try that for sure!
Thanks for your comments, I hope you like the monkfruit!
Is there a list somewhere that shows yes foods and no foods. Like, is spaghetti squash OK? I’m just starting Keto, need to lose about 50 pounds and want to feel better. I’m a very picky eater, no fish, very little vegetables I can eat without gagging. Help?
I do not have a list of keto friendly foods myself but I should make one. Do a google search for keto friendly foods I am sure some one has made a good list.
My advice to you would be to find a vegetable that you do like and stick to that. If you can handle dairy, add some cheese or butter or sour cream to the top of it and its amazing!!
Maybe you should look into a keto carnivore diet? I tried Carnivore for a month or so and it was great. I missed my veggies though so I didn’t stick to it.
Good luck!
I have been trying the keto diet for about a month. I have only lost about 4 lbs and cannot make my body go into ketosis. I check urine strips and they have stayed negative. Any tips? I am so frustrated but don’t want to give up
Hey four pounds?! That’s amazing! How many lbs did you loose the month before keto? Be proud of those first 4 lbs! I would suggest making sure that you are actually keeping to 20 net carbs. Check labels and make sure there are no sneaky carbs getting into your diet. Make sure your drinking water too. Water will help flush your system and help the whoosh effect.
I just found your site and want to try the cookie recipe. I bought a bag of almond flour already when I went on low carb awhile back and want to try again. Will it work well enough and do I need to adjust the amount vs. coconut flour? Your site inspired me to try it again! Thanks!
I am so glad you wrote me on here! As far as the ratio of Almond Flour to Coconut Flour, things can get tricky. Check out my new Pumpkin Muffin recipe, it uses almond flour! Also most of my muffin and cake recipes are almond flour. Good luck!
Thank you so much for sharing with us I’m going to start tomorrow ,I have diabetes I need to lose weight,,,, thank you so much I learned something new from you,,, Emma