So you have family and friends who’ve gotten great results from following the keto diet, and you’re thinking you should give it a try. They’ve hit the goal of achieving ketosis, a state where a glucose-deprived body turns to burning fat instead, leading to weight loss, higher energy and other benefits.
Here are some tips for getting onto the road to ketosis:
- First, check with your health-care provider about any conditions you have that might put you at more risk for complications from the ketogenic diet, including kidney damage, heart disease, diabetes, pregnancy or nursing and gallbladder removal.
- Once you’re comfortable that it’s a safe choice for you, you’ll have to prepare your kitchen and pantry for what’s probably going to be a radical departure from what you’re accustomed to eating, unless you’re already following a low-carb diet. A typical keto diet has about 70% of its calories from healthy fats, 20% from protein and 10% or fewer from carbs — usually around 20g net carbs daily.
- Start planning your meals. Particularly when you’re starting out it’s important to make sure your carbs are as low as you think they are. Eliminating or reducing carb-based foods including grains, sugary food, beans and legumes, most fruit, root vegetables including potatoes and carrots, unhealthy processed fats and especially trans fats, and alcohol are critical.
- Good staple foods for a keto diet include meat, fatty fish, eggs, butter and cream, avocados, nuts and seeds, healthy oils including olive, avocado and coconut, and nonstarchy vegetables including salad greens, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, peppers and onions.
There are so many keto meal plans out there now for you to choose from, so find the one the one that will be the easiest to fit into your lifestyle. Make sure it follows the guidelines for a successful diet — you can’t overdo it on the protein, either. And know there’ll be an adjustment period of about two weeks — commonly known as the “keto flu”— but many dieters have reaped great benefits after clearing that hurdle.