How to start eating Keto? That is a very good question and I get this one a lot since I started sharing my weight loss journey. Eating Keto helped me lose weight and gain control over my eating habits. I want to break down how to start eating Keto in this article, so I can help you achieve the same. Finding Keto is a true blessing to me because it gave me sooo much peace of mind, it’s crazy! So let’s start with basics right diddy.
Low carb, high (healthy) fat
Keto is described as a low carb, high fat diet. To me and many other keto-ers it’s not just a diet, it’s a lifestyle. Yes, you can use Keto to lose weight the healthy way like I did. But it can be so much more if you let it. The basic rule of Keto is eating up to 20 grams of carbs per day. Carbs are the main source of energy for your body, but eating and drinking too many carbs will probably get you overweight. That is what happened to me.
Eating less than 20 grams of carbs per day, will force your body to use the carbs that your body has stored away in the form of fat. This state is called Ketosis and you’ll get into it when your body starts to use your body fat to make energy. This will of course help you lose the weight, because all of that never used fat is finally getting used for energy. Getting into ketosis will not happen overnight, but it can happen within four to five days of eating Keto.
How to start eating Keto
I would recommend you to download the My Fitness Pal app. This app has saved my life! It will help you keep track of your food and drink intake. Something that is very important if you want to understand your current diet and what needs to change. I started eating Keto by tracking my normal way of eating in the My Fitness Pal app for a week. I found out that I sometimes was eating more than 1400 grams of carb per week.
No wonder why I wasn’t losing weight because most carbs come from sugar, oops! After finding that out I started eating Keto, meaning eating up to 20 grams of carbs per day. Which means I went down to 140 grams of carbs per week. Yes, that is a drastic change and I noticed results within a week. So if you want to start eating Keto, you should definitely check how you are eating now. This will help you understand why you are nog losing weight.
Understand your diet
Eating Keto means eating mostly vegetables, meat, fish and fatty fruits like avocados. It means you have to stop eating bread, pasta, candy, sugary drinks and fruit. This will probably make you feel like there is nothing left to eat. Don’t worry, it’s simply because you are so used to eating that way. Eating Keto is completely different and it takes some time to adjust. Dive into your kitchen cabinet and start tossing or giving things away.
Take out bread, candy, cookies, pastas, potatoes, fruit, cereals, sugary drinks and everything else high in carbs. Replace it with vegetables, cheese, eggs, meat, fish, fatty fruits, water, thee, coffee and other low carb snacks. There is no cheating with Keto, so don’t even think about keeping a little something-something behind. From now on you will be eating up to 20 grams of carbs per day and get into ketosis within a week.
Take your time
How to start eating Keto? Well, I hope you learned a thing or two through this article. I also want to tell you that you should take your time. Going from probably at least a 1000 grams of carbs per week, to a maximum of 20 grams of carbs will have an effect on you. Eating Keto will also force you to cook very different than you are used to. I really had to learn how to do that. I also had to learn how to meal prep because getting a sandwich on the road isn’t an option anymore.
Don’t worry if you go over 20 grams of carbs per day in the beginning. You are already eating very low carb if you stay under a 100 grams per day. I started with eating between 20 and 50 grams of carbs per day. I noticed a big difference already within a week. So don’t be too tough on yourself and listen to your body. It takes some time to adjust to this way of eating and forcing yourself isn’t necessary.
Check out my Keto grocery list and check this video to get some meal ideas,
Kaya-Quintana
P.S. I also have some low carb and Keto recipes for you to try.
