Hey all. My name is Jeff and I’m starting keto tomorrow in an attempt to improve mental health. Along with wanting to lose 20 or so pounds. I was wondering if anyone had any advice for me? As in what to expect in the first couple of weeks and what to do and how to stay motivated. Basically, just want to hear about your experience and successes. What could I expect in the first month and after?
Thanks in advance
Here’s a handy guide:
Keep up on your electrolyes. Carb withdrawal can be tough, but you’ll make it! It takes time for your body to adjust, so give it time.
To stay motivated keep coming to the forums, we will help! 
Welcome Jeffrey and good luck to you. I don’t know what you’re dealing with as far as mental health but I had some common carb associated mental health issues I discovered. Depression and anxiety. It was at it’s worse in a decade for me in weeks before I started KETO. I had a full blown panic attack and also had some weakened immunity strength issues. I was depressed for two months straight. I went on a six week alcohol and sugar binge and went from normal to diabetic in one month according to my bloodwork. I’m on steroids too. When I went KETO I had a drastic change within a week. Not everyone gets that but it happened that way for me. I’m over a year without anything like those times now. I wish you success like I found. 
Hi Jeffrey, welcome to the forum.
You have already received excellent advice from @KetoCancerMom and from @David_Stilley so I just wanted to welcome you and for sure keeping your carbs at 20 grams or less, no sugar, adequate proteins and healthy fats, no snacking, start with 3 meals a day, drink enough water and electrolytes, and you should be loving Keto and having amazing benefits in no time =).
Hi Jeffrey,
Limit carbs, I seem to do well at 50g. Fat is your new friend embrace it. I thought of keto in the beginning as an upside down bizarro world where everything I had been told was good is now bad. The first week is the worst but for me it was that I felt a bit off rather than flu like. I will take a salt grinder once or twice a day and grind some in my palm and pop it in my mouth for a pick me up. It started feeling good at about ten days and kept getting better. I was fat adapted at about three months and that was about 18 months ago. I enjoy keto and pork rinds are my junk food now. I highly recommend starting the 2keto dudes podcast at episode one and keep going. I would listen during my morning run. Lots of great books on the keto WOE and its benefits too. Do this for a year and you will be like “I am never going back” Good luck.
Hi Jeff and welcome.
I’d go to ketokarma.com and just use the free macro calculator to obtain your daily fat macro. I only tracked for the first several weeks so that I got a sense of the macro values of the commons foods I ate, and also to make sure I was eating enough fat. Once you get a sense of what you are doing, you won’t need to track anymore.
For the first 2-3 weeks, I would encourage you to eat three decent meals a day. Like @RClause said, learn to embrace fats. They will provide you satiety, limit or eliminate your carb cravings, alleviate hunger and help restore your body and mind. Once your body acclimates to this new way of eating, you will most likely not want to eat as often as three meals a day. At that point, you can do whatever your body is telling you. Don’t try to fast for several months. Keep the carbs at 20g/day or less, if you can. Don’t count calories - and don’t be afraid of the fat you are consuming.
Good luck! Every person here started at some point.