New to keto! - any tips?

(Ezra Valli) #1

Hello,

I’m new to the keto diet. Does anyone have tips to get on the right track?

(Robin) #2

Wow… first of all, Welcome! That is such a broad question, a lot to tackle. The most basic is stay under 20 grams of cabs a day. Just start there. There are apps for counting macros (fat,proteins, and carbs) and many of us started charting daily to find our way. Some stick with the tracking, others of us get the hang of it and just go with the flow. My fave part of keto is that staying under 20g has caused my physical cravings/urges to disappear. And the health benefits will be obvious. Good luck!

#3

I see keto as simply “Minimal carbs. Adequate proteins. Fats as needed (for satiety).”

First, determine your macros, keeping in mind that the proteins macro is a lower limit, while the fats and carbs macros are upper limits.

So, two priorities:

  • You need to keep carbs low to stay in ketosis.
  • You need to make sure you get enough proteins. Your body needs them. Being significantly low on them over an extended period can cause the body to get it elsewhere. That may mean break-down of muscle tissue. Not good.

After that, ideally , it should be hunger that determines how many fats and additional proteins (and thus calories) that you need to be eating, if only because leaving yourself hungry all the time means keto won’t be sustainable . You don’t need to eat all of the fats macro if you’re not hungry, because the body can make up the difference with stored body fat.

My boilerplate on foods and recipes:

There are so many low carb options…

There are lots of low carb veggies – mushrooms, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, green beans, peppers, snow peas, asparagus, radishes, celery, artichokes, onions, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, spinach, bok choy, …

There are lots of proteins – eggs, chicken, pork, beef, lamb, fish, seafood, …

There are lots of fats – olive oil, butter, avocado oil, heavy cream, coconut oil, mayo, cheese, …

There are lots of nuts and seeds – walnuts, pecans, macadamia, almonds, chia, pumpkin, sunflower, …

There are lots of spices – Salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, ginger, curry powder, …

There are all kinds of sauces and condiments – tomato sauce/paste, mustard, SF ketchup, SF BBQ sauce, salsa, guacamole, horseradish, SF jams/jellies, tartar sauce, …

There are lots of baking supplies – coconut flour, almond flour, flax meal, psyllium husk, Xanthan gum, extracts and SF syrups, unsweetened coconut or almond milks, artificial sweeteners, …

And so many I left out. Almost an infinite number of combinations.

I do cheap and easy keto meal preps based on the proteins that are on sale in a given week.

My meal preps are a variation on sheet pan meals, with a nod to slow cooking via crockpots.

Otherwise, my pantry list is mostly geared around lazy microwave recipes.

Favorite meals :

  • Joseph’s Lavash Bread or Chaffles can be the start of a lot of tasty items.
  • Cheesewiches
  • “Everything” omelets
  • Pizza
  • Meat and veggie “dump” soups (includes chili and curries)
  • Smoked salmon + capers + Jalapeno cream cheese + chopped hard-boiled eggs + diced onions

Favorite side dishes :

Favorite snacks :

I subscribe to these YouTube channels for all kinds of recipe ideas :

You can even eat low carb junk food and fast food. You just need to make different choices. A few restaurant references I’ve saved:

(Carnivore for the win) #4
(UsedToBeT2D) #5

Embrace it. Research it. Do it. Look forward to a better, healthier future.
It isn’t a piece of cake at first.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #6

One thing you can easily do is to look through the Newbies section for useful information, of which there is a lot. I can, however, quote Prof. Benjamin Bikman: “Control carbohydrates, prioritise protein, and fill in with fat.” The rest is simply tweaks for better results.

(Marianne) #8

Welcome!

I’d get your macros (ketokarma.com is a good one - free), and then make a database of the simple, “clean” foods you enjoy the most along with their carb, protein and fat grams. I did that and comprised my meals of those choices. Nothing elaborate as I don’t like to “cook.” In addition, I ate three times a day, which I had never done before. Meet or exceed your fat macro. Keep the carbs as low under 20 the better. Breakfast was easy - always 2-3 eggs with a couple pieces of bacon or sausage. Lunch was whatever I could throw together quickly. Dinner was always a steamed vegetable in bacon grease and salt, and a large piece of seared, fatty meat. No snacking. Once you do that for several weeks, you may not want to eat three times a day - but never force going to two meals a day. It will happen naturally. You just won’t physically want to eat that often.

I wouldn’t have been able to start without this forum. I was an active member and posted all of my questions, which people were more than happy to answer. I found dietdoctor.com to be another valuable resource. Lots of free content without a subscription, and the success stories were so inspirational to me. I felt the people were speaking my language, and I had a strong sense that this was going to work for me, too, if I just followed what people said.

Good luck to you!

#9

eat real food.
don’t go down the ‘buy this keto product’ crap route and with the tons of other good info you got on this thread, eat well and enjoy the ride!

(Tim Cee) #11

Welcome!
My best tip is to completely dump all foods that are designed for the high carb tongue. Instead of trying to do a keto replacement for bread, for example, learn to like a no-bread menu. It’s best to develop a taste for food and forget food substitutes.

(Robin) #12

OH SOOO TRUE!!! I know many who love to bake keto friendly recipes, and can stay keto with no problems. Not me. For instance, if I eat keto cake, it makes me want the real deal.