How do I start a keto diet and achieve nutritional ketosis

The keto diet, also known as the ketogenic diet, has recently become one of the most popular weight loss diets in America. It involves drastically reducing your intake of carbohydrates and replacing them with fat, usually in the form of high-quality oils like olive oil or coconut oil. This process results in what’s called nutritional ketosis — not to be confused with ketoacidosis, which occurs when your body produces excess levels of ketones that can’t be processed by the kidneys.

A Realistic Guide to Dieting

For any diet to work, you have to make it work for you. No matter what diet you decide to follow, if it doesn’t suit your lifestyle or routine then it won’t be effective. While a ketogenic diet might seem like something that could help a wide variety of people shed some pounds, achieving ketosis is going to be more difficult than most people think—and they may never get there at all.

Where To Start Your Keto Journey

There are three phases to being in a state of ketosis. You can refer to them as (1) Adaptation Phase, (2) Fat Burning Phase, and (3) Ketosis Phase. For any true Keto Diet Journey, you must get through all three phases before you can say that you’re truly in an effective fat-burning state.

What Foods Are Keto-Friendly?

Following a ketogenic diet means eating foods that are low in carbohydrates, moderate in protein, and high in fat. On keto, you’ll eat a lot of meat and healthy fats like butter, olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, seeds, avocados—basically anything that comes from plants. You can also eat vegetables on the keto diet—but some vegetables have higher carb counts than others. For example, starchy veggies like potatoes or corn would be considered too many carbs to eat on a keto diet. Some fruits are okay to eat while following a keto diet—like berries or avocado. However, most fruits contain lots of sugar and carbs so it’s best to avoid them while you’re on a weight-loss plan. Fats make up 80% of your daily calories when following a ketogenic diet (for comparison purposes), so it’s important to choose those with healthier fats such as olive oil or grass-fed butter instead of lard or bacon grease. If you need more help getting started with what to eat on keto, check out our comprehensive beginner's guide to starting keto for more information!

Sample Meal Plans On A Keto Diet

A day on a ketogenic diet may look like this: bacon & eggs for breakfast, salad with grilled chicken for lunch, steak with spinach for dinner. As long as you have at least 20-30 grams of net carbs left by the end of each day, you’re fine to stay in ketosis. Eating foods like avocados, nuts or peanut butter can help you hit your daily goals. It’s important to remember that not all carbs are bad.

Common Mistakes To Avoid On A Keto Diet

Before we get into how to actually start a keto diet, it’s important to take into account how you plan on doing so. While there are no foods or ingredients that you should be eating in larger amounts (ketogenic diets are about reducing your carb intake, not adding anything extra), there are some things you’ll want to avoid. To stay healthy and in ketosis, while achieving your goals, avoid these three common mistakes.

Does The Ketogenic Diet Work For Everyone?

One of the main draws of going keto is that people tend to lose weight—and they usually keep it off. Some research indicates that certain populations can be particularly successful on a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet, such as patients with diabetes. However, there’s little evidence that following one type of macro-based nutrition plan works better than another in terms of health outcomes.

Side Effects Of Ketogenic Diets

The Keto Flu – The body is getting accustomed to its new state of lower carbohydrates, so it needs to borrow electrolytes from muscle tissue stores. During keto-adaptation, you may experience slight flu-like symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness, or excessive hunger. Be sure to drink plenty of water (room temperature or warm) during your Keto Diet adjustment period to avoid dehydration.

Know If You're In Ketosis Or Not

You’ll know if you’re in ketosis or not based on your blood ketone levels. These increase when blood sugar is low—indicating that you have successfully entered into nutritional ketosis, which simply means burning fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. For example, after eating a meal containing carbohydrates (such as bread), your body will break down any excess glucose (sugar) and convert it to glycogen to be stored in muscles. However, if there are no carbs left in your system, then glycogen can't be created from glucose. Instead, fatty acids are broken down into ketones to fuel your brain and other tissues through an alternative metabolic pathway called ketosis.

Health Benefits Of The Ketogenic Diet And Nutritional Ketosis

The premise of a low-carbohydrate/high-fat (LCHF) diet is to switch your body from using glucose as its primary source of fuel to being fueled by ketones instead. This puts you into nutritional ketosis, which is just another way of saying that your body has started burning fats for energy rather than carbohydrates.