Today’s post is about achieving Keto Success. There’s a saying that goes, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
Nothing could be more fitting for those going on a Keto diet.
Of course, it is possible to fly by the seat of your pants and make decisions at each meal, but in the very beginning, that might be hard to do.
Hello and welcome to Fearlessly Holistic.
My name is Irma and I want to share my journey to improved health by eating whole foods, moving my body and eliminating stress as much as possible.
It is my hope to inspire you to make daily changes. Why? Because eating fresh, seasonal food, getting some sunshine, and purging unhelpful thinking is the best way to increase longevity. But you do not want just a long life.
You want a quality long life.
Ready to start keto? Grab my KETO FOOD GUIDE and start eating better today. Keto diet, and especially clean keto which I advocate for, it healthy and delicious and nourishes your body which encourages healing and weight loss.
My blog posts are my opinion and the results of things that I have tried that either worked for me or didn’t. My opinions are for informational purposes only and are not intended as medical advice. Medical advice should always be obtained from a qualified medical professional for any health conditions or symptoms associated with them. As well, there may be affiliate links in this post. Read more here.
Plan Ahead for Success on Your Keto Diet
Don’t worry that the diet is complex, because it’s not.
This is one of the easiest diet plans you’ll find.
But you’re just not used to eating plenty of quality fats and protein, planning is necessary to retrain your brain for your future weight loss success!
I will give you my best tips to help ensure that you can succeed on keto diet.
1. Educate yourself on what you can and can’t have carb-wise.
Try to eliminate or replace those items in your kitchen.
For example, you may not want to give up your coffee, but you’ll need to replace low fat milk with high fat heavy cream.
Heavy cream is mostly fat, so you have to start off slow, because it is so rich.
But this “keto coffee” will fill you up and give your brain some quality fat to work with.
2. You’ll want to plan for keto snacks on the go
This will help you avoid the drive-thru or convenience stores that are packed with processed foods.
You can have bags of pecans or string cheese to take with you.
If you cannot get home, head to a gas station convenience store. They always have keto snacks like:
- Jerky
- Pepperoni sticks
- Individual cheese packet
- Pork rinds
3. Get a free food tracking app such as Cronometer
Chronometer is a food tracking app that helps you see your macros for the day, as well as your micronutrients.
You start by adding your personal information, like height, current weight and weight loss goal, to get your target macros (fat, protein, carbs).
Then you add your food items and it will calculate whether you are likely to stay in ketosis or not.
You can manually add ingredients for recipes you create at home, and it will tell you the nutrient profile of the total recipe and each serving.
4. Get mentally prepared
A big key to success with Keto diet is knowing what is coming up and being prepared for it.Click To TweetGet a journal or planner and think about why you want to be on keto and what you hope to accomplish.
And what you will do when roadblocks happen or you are quite late getting home from work.
My Fearless Keto Diet Kit has a planner like that.
You also get tips for success, recipes, and a shopping list. It can really help you get started successfully.
It is important to think ahead and have contingency plans for various situations that can de-rail you.
5. Keto flu is real
Keto flu is not technically a flu, like the virus.
It is more a variety of symptoms that people may get from switching diets, and it usually hits in the first few days.
You may feel tired, have headaches, or just feel crappy. You should drink bone broth with added salt or sugar free electrolyte mixes.
A simple way to lessen the symptoms is to ease into keto diet rather than switching “cold turkey” style.
Cut back carbs, increase protein and low carb veggies until your diet is mostly keto.
You can do this over a period of two or three weeks and skate right past keto flu.
I use unsweetened sparkling water with some sea salt and apple cider vinegar. Drink this through a straw because vinegar is hard on your tooth enamel.
6. Meal plan for variety
Some people on keto can eat the same foods over and over again and not get bored.
But if you are starting keto from the Standard American Diet, which is high in carbs, you may want more variety.
And it is a good idea to create a list of foods you like, so try lots of recipes.
Learn which foods taste best to you, such as a dark chocolate.
You may find that you cannot eat much dairy but you can eat more protein. Keto needs to be tailored to what your specific body needs for optimal health.
How to Plan Meals on a Keto Diet Plan
Everyone is different in terms of how much or how little they like to plan ahead when it comes to their meals.
Some people like to avoid temptation by having everything planned and logged into a tracking system so they don’t go over their carb level.
Others like to have the freedom to eat whatever keto-friendly carb meals they want throughout the day.
It’s all up to you.
But if you’re a planner, here are some things you can do to make sticking to this diet plan a bit easier on you.
1. Purchase keto-friendly foods to have on hand at all times.
Some of the recipes or meals call for unique ingredients, such as coconut oil, and you want it to be convenient for you to prepare your foods.
2. Meal prep your favorite keto-friendly foods ahead of time.
Some people meal prep on a weekend so they have everything ready a week at a time.
Others only prep everything the night before, so it’s completely up to you.
3. Think about what you want to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks
Then log them into your food tracker the night before.
That way, you know exactly what you need to fix and how many net carbs it will be.
4. Educate yourself about which foods are keto-friendly at your local cafes.
You want to look for foods that are going to help you stay in ketosis.
If there aren’t any, you can plan ahead about how you’ll place an order tailored to your needs.
5. Plan for temptations they might be around.
Not everywhere you go will be free from the lure of carb-laden foods. So you have to be ready when you’re in enemy territory.
Some dieters have a keto-friendly snack in their bag. You can take a snack of pecans or a string cheese and satisfy your hunger without being forced to cave.
If you’re active in outdoor activities, if you travel or if you have to be away from your home for any amount of time, plan to take snacks along with you then, too.
Even if you simply drive a lot for work, you may want to have something on hand for those moments when hunger strikes.
How to Avoid Falling Off the Keto Diet Wagon
Whenever you go on any diet, the urge to quit can be strong.
Many of the processed foods on the standard high carb diet are loaded up with the highly addictive fructose to keep you hooked.
The key is to pick a diet plan that will work best for you.
1. The number one thing you really need to get used to is tracking your food.
Especially if you are brand new to keto, you need to know if your food has sneaky carbs in it.
Foods like ketchup, jerky, pepperoni, and even canned tomatoes can contain added sugar.
Learn to read food labels and track what you eat.
Tracking ensures you don’t accidentally knock yourself out of ketosis, get frustrated with a lack of weight loss, and quit.
2. Make sure you’re getting plenty of healthy fats.
Your fat ratio should be between 60-75%, and it’s these fats that will create a satisfied feeling in your mind and stomach.
This helps in preventing you from being struck with hunger, as happens on some low calorie plans.
Healthy fats include:
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Avocado/avocado oil/avocado oil mayonnaise
- Fats from a variety of meats.
This isn’t the kind of plan where you have to avoid marbled meat – in fact, it will help you on a keto diet.
3. Make keto-friendly treats to help you stay on track
Because keto is high fat, fat bombs have been embraced by many.
A fat bomb is either sweet or savory.
Sweet fat bombs use artificial sweeteners and use a base of sugar free chocolate + coconut oil, or cream cheese and butter.
Savory fat bombs are similar to a mini cheese ball
Other options are foods like:
Sugar free gelatin with either heavy cream or softened cream cheese mixed in before it sets
Keto mug cakes – these are fast to make and there are tons of recipes on the net
Whipped heavy cream – add berries or try cocoa powder + sweetener (its like mousse).
Berries are the go-to fruit on keto. You can have strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries in moderation, with or without a bit of heavy cream.
Conclusion
I love eating low-carb and being in Ketosis; it has healed so many areas of my health. I have made the Keto diet to fit my life and the concepts that I am aligned with, which are clean, seasonal eating.
If you are interested in how I do Keto, please sign up for my free food list and quick start guide.
Holism targets overall wellness, and when we are well, we only get better with age.
Eat the best food that you can afford to give your body the building blocks it needs for optimal health, longevity, and looking good for as long as possible 😉
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Until next time, here’s to our health!
-Irma
