That’s it! You have finally decided that you are going to get control of your health. You’ve spent your time researching what’s best for you and have decided on trying keto. Now you need to know, how to start Keto? For beginners.
Because you have tons of questions like; What foods can I eat? Will keto work for me?
It can all be a bit overwhelming, and that’s certainly understandable. I’ve been there before. And with tons of information coming at you on the daily it can be hard to know what is what.
While, I am not a doctor, I have been following a ketogenic diet for 2.5 years. Research, trial and error and a strong keto community have helped me on this journey. So, I put together this list and hope it helps you figure out how to start keto.
Here are 6 tips to help you get started.
1. Talk to your doctor.
I am a firm believer in the doctor patient relationship being a team. Not just do as I say, sometimes you have to advocate for yourself. You want to know how to start keto? This is a great place to begin. When I first started keto, I made an appointment to get a physical and requested some blood drawn so that I could have a point of reference. I had a chat with my doctor, and surprise surprise! She was not for keto at first. But I assured her that I had done research, and was tracking my macros. She requested to see me in a few months and honestly I was happy to oblige. A few months later I came back and she was so happy with the progress that I had made that she gave me her full support.
2. Calculate your macros so you know how much of what to eat.
Macros? What the heck are they? I promise they are less scarier than they sound. Everyone eats for their body type and goals when doing keto. And that’s what makes it so incredibly personal for each person.
Macros are a break down of the amount of calories, fat, protein, and carbs you are going to eat. We already know that when following a ketogenic diet net carbs is going to be kept at 20. But how do you calculate the rest? Visit ruled.me and input your weight, height, activity levels and goals you’ll get the exact amount of what to eat.
These are my macros with a 20% calorie deficit based on my current goals and information So, my goal is to eat 1766 calories, 141 g of fat, 104 g of protein and 20 net carbs. Once you find yours, stick to that and you’ll see the weight melt off!
3. Download Carb Manager, or any food tracking app
Now that you have your macros, it’s time to track your food. There are tons of apps out there. But I like the simplicity of carb manager. Think about it like balancing your checkbook, as you eat the app will calculate everything for you and let you know how much you have remaining. This is a great visual and will slowly teach you how to portion control as well. As you lose weight and update the app the macro amount changes in each category, keeping you on target to reach your goals.
Technology has definitely advanced so don’t worry, you don’t have to manually enter in your food. You can scan the barcode on your food packaging, enter the serving size you’re eating and the app will do the rest. I have an IGTV video you can watch here for more details.
4. Shop for basics to start keto.
Don’t worry about getting everything all at once. You are going to learn as you go. Just start with the basics. Whole foods and low carb veggies are a great place to start. Here’s a list I made when I started a basic keto week challenge on Instagram. You can find most of these things at the grocery store. Specialty items can be found online at Amazon.
5. Take baby steps when you start keto.
Listen, when you decide to change your eating habits, understand that there is a learning curve. You will make mistakes but once you get the hang of it, it really becomes second nature. Just be easy with yourself and take it meal by meal.
Try this approach while you’re learning. Eat how you normally would, just take out the carbs of that specific meal. For example a burger with no bun. If you have an avocado 🥑 add that to it and that’s a great beginners keto meal. 🙌 It doesn’t feel so restrictive when you’re revamping the foods you already eat.
6. Have fun experimenting
Once you’ve gotten your feet wet and are comfortable with the basics, here’s where the fun comes in. When you run into wanting a carby meal like waffles for example. All you have to do is Google keto waffles and hundreds of recipes will pop up, or you could check my favorite waffle recipe here 😉..
Regardless of the craving almost any substitution can be found, and I love that.
Just take it slow and learn as you go. Have fun and the rest will come. I’ve always loved eating; obviously 🤣🤣. And living a ketogenic life lets me do that in a fun, creative and healthy way.
I hope this list helps you figure out how to start keto. Pin it for later, and share it with friend.
As always. I’m here if you need me. 💕
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