The Ketogenic Diet, or Keto for short, has taken the world by storm and many people are swearing by this new way of life. The high-fat low-carb diet had its roots as a medically prescribed diet for a variety of ailments but has found a new place amongst the ranks of the leading dietary convictions of the world.
Giving up carbs is no easy feat and there are many pitfalls to beware of when committing to the keto way of life. We spoke to 5 keto experts to get the best tips to keep you on track and ready to keto-fy your cupboards.
Patience is Key
A keto diet requires a steady mind and a flexible attitude. Many people bring a do or die attitude while adapting to the keto lifestyle which is not healthy at all. A keto diet requires patience and changes as it can be very hard to follow at times, you need to be able to reward yourself to fully appreciate the effects of this diet.
Alessandra Kessler, CEO at Healthy Body Healthy Mind
Plan Ahead
You can adopt any diet if you’re well prepared in advance, the first 2 weeks of Keto are extremely important. Adding more healthy fats to your diet is the key to your weight loss success in keto as the body goes through a sort of withdrawal of sugar and carbs.
Just take it easy and keep pushing yourself through. Get rid of all the non-keto foods in your kitchen and start trying out new keto recipes. Planning helps immensely when it comes to this diet.
Grace Woinicz, CEO at The Brilliant Kitchen
Beware of Dirty Keto
The biggest mistake people make is doing something called dirty-keto. Dirty keto is a version of keto, without considering the ingredients. They take out bread and pasta and most of the refined carbohydrates, but they don’t consider the bad oils and the synthetic, chemical ingredients.
The oils are a huge part of the equation for doing keto. If you are doing bad oils, you will stay in insulin resistance which will make it a lot more difficult to get yourself into a state of ketosis. If you are eating or drinking chemicals, such as diet sodas, you are also going to keep yourself in insulin resistance, which will also make it incredibly hard to get into ketosis.
These bad oils and chemical ingredients create massive inflammation in the body, therefore, not allowing the body to heal and make the ketones as it should.
Dr. Mindy Pelz, Functional Medicine Expert
Keep Your Cravings at Bay
After a few days, people fail the diet by feeding into their sugar and carb cravings. When cravings strike, getting something to eat will help.
Cheese, olives, boiled eggs, and so on are all good choices. When you are hungry, do not fall into your cravings. Simply make the right decision to keep your fridge/cupboards filled with low-carb foods and eat those foods.
The cravings usually subside once you take care of your hunger, but if they do not, various nutrition guides give tips and tricks for cutting sugar and salt cravings. Also, starting with an established diet like the bone broth cleanse can be a good option to consider.
Imani Francies, Keto Expert at US Insurance Agents
Meat is not the only answer
One of the problems I’ve seen with the keto diet is eating people too many meat and dairy products. I’m not a proponent of eating meat multiple times per day, or even every day, and think that people tend to go overboard with meat and dairy with this diet in particular.
At the end of the day, it’s about optimizing nutrition and lowering inflammation, which is why I feel that more keto-dieters should consider filling up on vegetables first before consuming animal protein with every single meal.
-Niki Tonik, Wellness Beverage Mixologist
So, if you are looking to enter the world of keto and kick start your fat-burning abilities, there are many things to consider and beware of. Adding easy meals like Proper Good’s range of Keto-friendly soups can help you overcome the obstacle of meal-prepping. These meals are ready in 90-seconds, are jam-packed full of flavor, and are made from clean and nutritious ingredients. Everything you need for a successful Keto lifestyle!
