Keto Diet – Tips and Tricks to Adopting the Lifestyle

OK, so you’ve had an introduction to keto, you’ve read the pros and cons, and you’ve decided (with physician approval) you want to get on board! Congrats!  Now all that remains is how do you actually do it. Learn some keto tips & tricks to help you adopt keto not just as a diet but as lifestyle!

How to Adopt Keto – In Short

I’m going to bottom-line it for you so you get the short and sweet answer first and then I’ll go into details.  Adopting the keto diet as a lifestyle is an iterative process that takes refinement, introspection and adjustment. Your basic steps include:

1. Do your research. That’s what you’re doing now but don’t stop here. Understand as much as you can about keto, ketosis, ketones, everything. Be as informed as you can. Science is constantly revealing new information and thus changing our preconceived notion of things. Don’t stop learning and researching so you can stay on top of things as science uncovers more.
2. Calculate your macros. There are a lot of online resources for calculating your optimal intake for fat, protein and NET CARBS. Find calculators that take into account your activity level, your body fat index, weight gain/loss goals, etc. You will need to recalculate from time-to-time as your body changes and goals change.
3. Get a Food Tracker and Use it! Find a convenient, easy way for you to track your NET CARBS and macros. I use the Lose It! application because I can create recipes and it’ll calculate the nutritional information based on the ingredients. It also lets me share recipes with my boyfriend so that makes it easy for us to both track meals we cook at home.
4. Plan your meals. Plan your menu so you know what your daily NET carb will be. When you’re first starting out, be very strict and meticulous about weighing out your food and tracking everything down to the gram. Good meal planning and precise measurements are essential to ensure you’re actually in ketosis.
5. Measure key factors. This goes beyond just your weight. Use ketostix to make sure you’re staying in ketosis. Get regular blood work-ups to make sure you’re getting all the vitamins and minerals that are essential. Listen to your body. If something doesn’t feel right, talk to a doctor or nutritionist and make adjustments.

Rinse and repeat. As you learn more, as your body changes, as your weight goals change, you’ll have to revisit all of the above.

Keto Tips & Tricks to Making Keto Work

The above probably seems like a lot of details but there’s so much more I want to share with you! I’ve picked up some tips and tricks I think can help anyone who wants to try keto. These discoveries have made adopting the keto as a lifestyle a lot easier for me.

The Transition

The transition into keto can be hard. Especially if you experience the keto flu, which can last a couple days. Besides that, the radically different way of planning and preparing your meals is a complete shift in thinking. Here are some things that make keto a little easier to ease into:

1. Find a partner. Just like having a workout buddy can motivate and hold you accountable to your goals, having a keto buddy can provide the same support! Sometimes it’s easy to cheat on ourselves but it’s hard to cheat on our friends.
2. Throw out the carbs. It will be easier to adjust if you are not tempted. When I first started keto, we gave away hundreds of dollars of food — pasta, rice, flour, sugar, snack foods, etc. Stuff that was already open, my boyfriend brought into work for his co-workers. My pantry was rather bare. But this step alone felt very cleansing in and of itself. No temptation = No cheating.
3. Buy only keto-friendly foods. Make sure to inspect the food label on everything you buy. Only stick to foods and ingredients that won’t completely destroy your NET CARB daily budget. For example, don’t buy bread with the promise, you’ll just eat half a slice a day. If you’re going to do keto, embrace the fact that carbs are bad and fat is good.
4. Start on a Wednesday. That sounds oddly specific. It is likely you’ll experience keto flu as your body enters ketosis. Everyone is different, so you can’t predict when it’ll hit, if it does. The gist is this: it takes time for your body to deplete its carbohydrate and glycogen stores before it switches over to fat as an energy source. During this period of carb deprivation, you might experience the keto flu. There’s no way to know exactly when this will hit because it depends on how much glycogen you have but usually a few days in. So hopefully starting on a Wednesday will mean keto flu hits you over the weekend, when you can rest comfortably at home.
5. Fast for 36-48 hours. If you are looking for a quick entry into ketosis, go on a water-only fast. After at least 36 hours, your body will have likely burned off all the carbs and glycogen stores and you will enter ketosis a lot quicker.  Fasting is safe to do for short periods but be mindful when you start eating again. If you’ve never fasted, you might find the hunger pains drive you to high-carb comfort foods. Resist temptation! Have a plan and be prepared for coming out of your fast with bone broth, keto meals, etc.
6. Find foods you love. Are there foods you love that were your “once in a while treats” because they were too fatty? Find out if they are keto-friendly or how to make a keto-friendly version. Starting keto off with the anticipation of getting to eat all the foods you love will surely be a good introduction to keto. Having a list of keto foods that will keep you happy (and healthy!) will help you forget about everything you’re giving up by being on the keto diet.
   

   Cured meats and cheeses… mmm mmm good!

7. Intermittent keto. I don’t personally do this but some people find success in an intermittent keto diet — 5 days on, 2 days off. Basically, keto Monday through Friday and the weekends are free carb days.  What’s nice about this is that it might work out better for you both socially and in terms of the food lifestyle you want to have. I have considered this but the main reason I don’t do it is because I want all the health benefits of keto — not just the weight loss. Keto is what it is, so if you want all the benefits, you have to do the work. Also, I have my own skepticism of whether you are in ketosis during the 5 days you do keto. It takes time to deplete the carbs and glycogen from your body before you’re in ketosis. So if you’re eating carbs on Sunday, just because you return to eating a keto diet on Monday doesn’t mean your body flipped a switch to ketosis mode. Even if you are in ketosis, you’ll never reach deep ketosis where your body becomes efficient at operating in this state.

Frame of Mind

As with anything new you try, some degree of your success is contingent on your mindset — your determination, how you choose to react to set-backs, etc. It’s important to focus on the big picture and have a healthy frame of mind going into keto. Whether this is just a weight loss goal or a lifestyle change, it starts with a good attitude. But ultimate success is determined by keeping yourself in the right frame of mind.

• Don’t sweat the small stuff. I keep talking about precision and measuring your food and tracking macros. Yes, you should do all these things, but don’t sweat it if you went over your NET CARB limit. In the bigger picture, one meal will not determine your ultimate health. If you haven’t hit your macros perfectly, that’s not the end of the world. The macros that are calculated are just a guide because they can’t possibly factor in your specific body chemistry. Understand the principles of what you’re trying to achieve and aim towards that. Perfection isn’t the goal. The goal is to think of food in a healthy way and make good food choices.
• 

  Healthy weight loss takes time. You can’t expect daily results so don’t measure yourself daily.

  Stay off the scale. If you’re trying to lose weight, don’t obsess over your weight every day. Weighing yourself every day or even every week is not productive. You will initially drop a lot of water weight and that will feel fantastic. But your weight loss rate will slow and you may even gain some weight. That doesn’t mean it’s not working. It’s not realistic to expect daily weight loss so you’re just setting yourself up for disappointment if your expectations aren’t realistic. Weigh yourself every month and you’ll feel so great about your results!

• Listen to your body. Eat when you are hungry. Don’t eat when you’re not hungry. It’s so simple, but convention tells us to eat three square meals. That breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Well, convention be damned. Your body will tell you what it needs and when it needs it. Get into the mindset of being mindful about your body and don’t eat for the sake of eating. Pay attention to how you feel and how your body is reacting to what you’re putting into it.  If that means your first meal is at noon, so be it. If it means you aren’t hungry for dinner, don’t eat dinner.
• Be Open-Minded. Firstly, the premise behind keto is hard to understand because we’ve had so much education in direct opposition to the very foundation of keto. So it takes some open-mindedness to accept that fat is good. Secondly, you’re going to have to eat some weird stuff. No joke. If you want to to make keto-friendly versions of things like pasta or mashed potatoes, you’re going to have to put together ingredients that seem like they have no business together. Look at this as a culinary adventure!
• Reflect and React. As I mentioned at the top of this article, keto isn’t a regimen that you strictly follow 365 days of the year. Find out what’s working for you and what’s not. Adjust your plan, your lifestyle, your mentality to work towards success. Everyone is different so your body may react very differently to carbs and to the keto diet. Some people are not carb sensitive and can eat 50 grams of carbs and still stay in ketosis. Others are very carb sensitive and a slightly higher carb meal is enough to send them out of ketosis. You just won’t know unless you pay attention. Reflect on what you’re eating, how your body responds and react by making the adjustments you need.
• Don’t be hard on yourself. If you have an imperfect day that throws you out of ketosis, don’t give up. It’s going to happen and what matters is how you bounce back.

Getting Enough Fat

Once you’re into keto, you’ll quickly realize it’s hard to get enough fat into your diet. Don’t be scared of fat. You need it as your energy source and these keto tips help you get enough fat into your diet.

1. Fat bombs. Always have a couple batches of fat bombs. It’s a struggle to get enough fat in your diet. That sounds strange and against the grain but it’s essential when you’re on keto. I made a tiramisu that was 390 calories and 37 grams of fat (my macros suggest I eat about 100 grams of fat) and only 2 NET CARBS. Talk about a fat bomb!
2. 

   Egg, sandwich, keto-friendly bread = fantastic fat bomb!

   Make fatty meals. Speaking of fat bombs…they don’t have to come in the form of sweets. You don’t want to get hooked on sweets. Especially if you you plan to return to a normal diet. You don’t want to lose weight only to gain a sweet tooth. If you return to eating a carb based diet and start eating sugary desserts, you could put the weight back on. So, make meals that are naturally high in fat. I made a 660 calorie egg & sausage breakfast sandwich that has 55 grams fat, 3 NET CARBS, and 28 grams protein. If I added some bacon strips and avocado that would be the perfect meal (but likely the only meal I could have that day LOL)!

3. Grass-fed butter. Butter is not all created equal. First off, there are some things that aren’t butter at all — stay clear from those. There are health benefits to eating butter from cows that are not fed hormones and grain-based diets. Grass-fed butter contains more nutrients and that’s the main reason for the switch, but you’ll be happy that this is a case where something healthy for you tastes better too. While more expensive, if you’re consuming more fat — consume healthy fats. I use grass-fed butter exclusively now (despite the cost) because I incorporate it in almost everything from fat bombs to coffee to smoothies.
4. MCT Oils. These are “medium chain triglycerides”, which are a healthy fatty acid that has shown a lot of health benefits. Why this is great for keto is that it’s a clean, healthy effective source of fat. It’s easily digested so your body can break it down and convert it to energy. “Bulletproof coffee” is premised on the combination of MCT oils, healthy fat (grass-fed butter) and caffeine to give you an exceptional dose of energy and mental focus. Starting your day off with fats that can so easily and quickly convert to energy elevates what caffeine can do for you alone. I could go into the different carbon length chains and variations of MCTs, but I’ll let you research that on your own. I will say though that you want to look for C8 MCT’s and not a blend of MCT’s. Coconut oil is only 65-70% MCT and mostly C12 (which takes longer to break down because it’s a longer carbon chain).

 

Minimize Cooking

If you’re like me and time in the kitchen doesn’t feel like time well-spent, I’ve found these tips useful:

1. Cook & Freeze.  I almost always double a recipe so we either have dinner for two nights or I can freeze half for another day. It’s basically the same amount of work but you get double the meals from it! Most fat-bomb sweets freeze very well and I always have batches of fat bombs in the freezer.
2. Easy meals. I always stock up on ingredients that make for easy meals so when I’m tired, don’t have time, there’s no more freezer meals, etc. it’s an easy reach. Some great options are: sausages/bratwursts, bacon, eggs!  Eggs are great! There are so many ways to prepare them and they are the perfect food nutritionally. Add some mayo, mustard and avocado and you have a high-fat egg-avocado salad. Yum!
3. Plan ahead. Before I go grocery shopping for the week, I figure out the two or three meals I want to make that week. This sounds obvious and maybe trivial. But for some reason, I hate when 6 PM rolls around and I’m left wondering, “What should I make for dinner?” Yes, I hate cooking so much the thought of it is exhausting. It’s just easier for me to know ahead of time what my cooking schedule will be. Monday I’m making lasagna (and that’ll be good for 3 nights). Thursday I’ll make beef & broccoli with cauliflower “rice” (good for two nights). Saturday will be sausage and eggs (breakfast for dinner? anytime!).
4. Cauliflower Rice. This is something I have never heard of before starting the keto diet. You can buy frozen bags of cauliflower that is riced, meaning it’s already chopped down to little pieces. Why this is so great is that you’ll find recipes that use cauliflower as a substitute for so many things — rice for one. Cauliflower “mashed potatoes” is pretty convincing. Cauliflower mac n’ cheese, etc.  Many of these require you break down the cauliflower into bits or put them through a food processor. Buying cauliflower already “riced” is a great short-cut!
5. Portion cups. If you hate measuring every thing all the time, buy small portion cups or tupperware. I use 2oz cups (the disposable kind you get salad dressing in when you buy a salad to go). I pre-measure things I use often — nuts to snack on, dressing for salads, cacao powder for smoothies, etc. Again, when you have to bring out all the equipment and ingredients to do it once, just repeat 10 more times and save your future self some time.

Cheating – What to Do When You Fall Out of Ketosis

1. Expect to cheat. It is inevitable that you will fall off the wagon, so to speak. If you drop out of ketosis at some point, it’s no biggie. If you expect it will happen, then you can plan for it.  Keto isn’t about depriving yourself. It’s about making healthy choices.  While you do have to be precise and measured about your macros, you shouldn’t expect to be flawless.
   However, cheating isn’t fun. It probably won’t be guilt over lack of will power you regret but the physical reaction to carbs. When you’ve been on keto for a long time, eating a high-carb meal can be rough on your body. Your body isn’t used to the carbs and that can throw it for a spin — headaches, stomach/gut issues, bloating, and an overall fatigue or lethargy. Sound familiar?  And if you’ve knocked yourself out of ketosis, you can look forward to keto flu again when you re-enter ketosis. Everyone is different and your carb sensitivity (i.e. how easily you transition in and out of ketosis) may have a big impact on whether it’s worth it to cheat.
2. Ketone Salts. Ketones are what your body naturally produces when it breaks down fat for energy. Ketone salts are naturally produced and is a great product. But a common misconception is you can just drink this supplement, eat what you want and then watch the weight melt off. Not true. Consuming ketones doesn’t put you into ketosis. You want your body to produce its own ketones naturally by burning fat and shedding those unwanted pounds.  Even if you’re in ketosis, consuming ketones means your body will use them instead of burning your own excess fat.
   So what are ketone salts good for? There are a few cases where you want to use ketones. One of them is to lessen the effect of cheating. If you’ve had a high carb meal, taking a dose of ketones will help encourage your body to remember that it wants to be in ketosis. You might still get kicked out of ketosis, but it can help reduce the negative effects as well as help you re-enter ketosis. Look for true ketones that don’t list “proprietary blends” of BHB (the type of ketone that’s naturally produced). Transparency in product labels is important. Look for purity. And if you’re going to supplement your diet, look for ketone salts that are attached to other minerals that your body needs: sodium, potassium and magnesium.
3. 

   Restaurant desserts are generally not sugar-free. Steer clear!

   Restaurant plan. Have an idea of what foods to look for when you have to eat out for social occasions. If you can, look up the menu ahead of time so your dinner companions aren’t waiting on you to scrutinize the menu. There should be at least one thing you can find on any menu. While it’s unlikely you’ll find a keto-perfect dish, you can find options that avoid obvious carbs.  You’ll just have to be OK with not knowing what you’re eating sometimes and not having a perfect keto meal. I bring a portion cup of keto salts that I can drink at the end of the meal for a little keto insurance.

Summary of Ingredients & Equipment to Have On-hand

You’ll need to stock your kitchen and home with some new items, most likely.

• Ketostix. These are inexpensive strips that you pee on to determine if you’re in ketosis. It’s an imperfect measurement because what it actually measures is excess ketones that you are expelling. However, it’s calibrated to give you a good idea for whether or not you’re in ketosis. Just know that when you are deeply in ketosis, your body is so much more efficient at using ketones that you actually excrete less of it. So, ketostix will show a decrease in ketones, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t in ketosis.
• Cooking scale. Get a scale that will measure down to at least 1/10 of a gram and can measure in various units – ounces, grams, etc. This will help you be precise about what you’re eating. It’ll also make it easier to follow various recipes.
• Water bottle. You are going to find yourself constantly thirsty. Keto does tend to dehydrate your body and mess with your electrolytes. It’s good to always have a water bottle with you so you are in the habit of drinking water throughout the day. If you aren’t eating salty foods (e.g. bacon, sausage, etc.), then throw a pinch of salt into your water bottle so you get electrolytes.
• Coconut Oil or MCT Oil. These are a great source of healthy fatty acids that your body can use and easily convert to energy.
• Grass-fed butter. This is a higher-quality butter with more nutrients and better flavor than standard butter. You’re going to be eating more fats, so find healthier, higher-quality fats.
• Avocado. Technically a fruit, avocados are also rich in good fats and make for a good standard item to stock.
• Erythitol, Stevia or monk-fruit powder. These are natural sweeteners that are plant-based. They are zero calorie, zero carb, zero sugar. Basically, these become a staple of your baking as a sugar replacement. While derived from natural plants, they can’t be absorbed by your body, so they just pass through your system. That’s why they are zero calorie & zero carbs. They do have a funny taste though.
• Almond and Coconut Flour. These are going to be your flour replacement for baking.
• Cacao / Cocoa Powder. I buy this in bulk now to make smoothies and fat bombs. Cacao powder gives you the chocolate taste without the sugars. It’s also a source of fiber, which is helpful.
• Ketone Salts. This is rather optional, but I find it helpful to have when I eat a carb-heavy meal. If you need a little extra energy to work out, ketone salts are good as well since they are an instant energy source.

I hope these keto tips are helpful to you. I’m sure I’ll continue to learn how to adapt to the keto lifestyle. As I learn more about how to fit this into my freelancer lifestyle, I’ll be sure to share! I definitely want to hear your tips too so feel free to leave comments!

DISCLAIMER: I’m not a doctor, nutritionist, dietitian or a health professional of any sort. The information and advice I offer on this site are 100% from my own experience, understanding and independent research. I encourage you to discuss any diet/nutrition changes you’re considering with a trained health professional.