Keto Diet Guide for Beginners: Complete Guide to Getting Started

This KETO DIET GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS will provide you with all the information and help you need on how to start Keto Diet and your weight loss journey and achieve your weight and health goals using the Keto Diet! This guide will give you all the information step by step. In the end, you will find links to more helpful information about the Keto Diet and how to avoid the most common mistakes most people make during their weight loss journey.

KETO DIET GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS INTRODUCTION

Keto has become a highly popular way to lose weight, promote overall wellness, and improve many different health conditions. It takes a lot of determination and discipline to completely change your way of eating, and keto may not be for everyone. This keto diet guide for beginners is created to help you!

If you’ve recently started a keto diet, or are considering starting keto soon, it helps to know what to expect so you feel prepared and confident in creating your healthy keto lifestyle. Remember to make small changes, and trust that it is so worth it because YOU are worth it!!

WHAT IS KETO DIET?

A ketogenic diet – or keto diet – is a low-carb, high-fat diet. It can be effective for weight loss and certain health conditions, something that’s been demonstrated in many studies.

A keto diet is especially useful for losing excess body fat without hunger, and for improving type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome. On a keto diet, you cut way back on carbohydrates, also known as carbs, to burn fat for fuel. When you eat far fewer carbs, your body begins to burn fat for fuel. This can put your body into a metabolic state called ketosis. In this state, your liver turns fat into small energy molecules called ketones, which your brain and other organs can use for energy. Keto diet lowers insulin levels, often dramatically, which can help you access your body fat stores for energy.

Many studies show significant weight loss on keto, without having to count calories. Keto diets may have other positive health effects, such as reducing blood sugar levels.

More about Keto Diet Guide for Beginners below but first…

I’ve put together A FREE THE ULTIMATE GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS as a thank you to all my subscribers – it includes all you need to know to start your weight loss journey with Keto Diet. You can download it for free from HERE!

KETO DIET GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS AND KETONES?

A ketone is the by-product of fat being burned. It is basically an alternative source of energy (fuel) for your body. A more common source of body fuel is the burning of glucose (sugar), but ketones are a preferred way of fuelling the body. They are more efficient for the brain and the heart and are better for your metabolism than running on glucose.

KETO DIET GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS AND KETOSIS?

Ketosis is a metabolic state in which your body uses fat and ketones rather than glucose (sugar) as its main fuel source. Glucose is stored in your liver and released as needed for energy. However, after carb intake has been extremely low for one to two days, these glucose stores become depleted. Your liver can make some glucose from amino acids, glycerol, and lactate via a process known as gluconeogenesis, but not nearly enough to meet all the needs of your brain, which requires a constant fuel supply. Fortunately, ketosis can provide you, and especially your brain, with an alternative source of energy. Ketones, or ketone bodies, are made by your liver from the fat that you eat as well as from your body fat. Your liver produces ketones regularly even when eating a higher-carb diet. This happens mainly overnight while you sleep but only in tiny amounts. However, when glucose and insulin levels decrease, such as on a carb-restricted diet, the liver ramps up its production of ketones to provide energy for your brain. Once the level of ketones in your blood reaches a certain threshold, you are considered to be in nutritional ketosis. According to leading ketogenic diet researchers Dr Steve Phinney and Dr Jeff Volek, the threshold for nutritional ketosis is a minimum of 0.5 mmol/L of BHB (the ketone body measured in the blood).

Although both fasting and a keto diet will allow you to achieve ketosis, only a keto diet is sustainable over long periods of time. In fact, it appears to be a healthy way to eat that people can potentially follow indefinitely.

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KETOSIS SYMPTOMS

Bad breath

People often report bad breath once they reach full ketosis. It’s a common side effect. Many people on ketogenic diets and similar diets, such as the Atkins diet, report that their breath takes on a fruity smell. This is caused by elevated ketone levels. The specific culprit is acetone, a ketone that exits the body in your urine and breath.

While this breath may be less than ideal for your social life, it can be a positive sign for your diet. Many ketogenic dieters brush their teeth several times per day or use sugar-free gum to solve the issue.

If you’re using gum or other alternatives like sugar-free drinks, check the label for carbs. These may raise your blood sugar levels and reduce ketone levels.

Weight loss

Ketogenic diets, along with normal low-carb diets, are highly effective for weight loss.

As dozens of weight loss studies have shown, you will likely experience both short- and long-term weight loss when switching to a ketogenic diet.

Fast weight loss can occur during the first week. While some people believe this to be fat loss, it’s primarily stored carbs and water being used up.

After the initial rapid drop in water weight, you should continue to lose body fat consistently as long as you stick to the diet and remain in a calorie deficit.

Increased ketones in the blood

One of the hallmarks of a ketogenic diet is a reduction in blood sugar levels and an increase in ketones. As you progress further into a ketogenic diet, you will start to burn fat and ketones as the main fuel sources. The most reliable and accurate method of measuring ketosis is to measure your blood ketone levels using a specialized meter. It measures your ketone levels by calculating the amount of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) in your blood. This is one of the primary ketones present in the bloodstream.

According to some experts on the ketogenic diet, nutritional ketosis is defined as blood ketones ranging from 0.5–3.0 mmol/L.

Measuring ketones in your blood is the most accurate way of testing and is used in most research studies. However, the main downside is that it requires a small pinprick to draw blood from your finger.

Appetite suppression

Many people report decreased hunger while following a ketogenic diet. The reasons why this happens are still being investigated. However, it’s been suggested that this hunger reduction may be due to an increased protein and vegetable intake, along with alterations to your body’s hunger hormones. The ketones themselves may also affect your brain to reduce appetite

Increased focus and energy

People often report brain fog, tiredness and feeling sick when first starting a very low-carb diet. This is termed the “low carb flu” or “keto flu.” However, long-term ketogenic dieters often report increased focus and energy.

When you start a low-carb diet, your body must adapt to burning more fat for fuel, instead of carbs. When you get into ketosis, a large part of the brain starts burning ketones instead of glucose. It can take a few days or weeks for this to start working properly. Ketones are an extremely potent fuel source for your brain. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that long-term ketogenic dieters often report increased clarity and improved brain function. Eliminating carbs can also help control and stabilize blood sugar levels. This may further increase focus and improve brain function.

Short-term fatigue

The initial switch to a ketogenic diet can be one of the biggest issues for new dieters. Its well-known side effects can include weakness and fatigue. These often cause people to quit the diet before they get into full ketosis and reap many of the long-term benefits.

These side effects are natural. After several decades of running on a carb-heavy fuel system, your body is forced to adapt to a different system. As you might expect, this switch doesn’t happen overnight. It generally requires 7–30 days before you are in full ketosis.

To reduce fatigue during this switch, you may want to take electrolyte supplements. Electrolytes are often lost because of the rapid reduction in your body’s water content and the elimination of processed foods that may contain added salt. When adding these supplements, try to get 1,000 mg of potassium and 300 mg of magnesium per day.

Short-term decreases in performance

As discussed before, removing carbs can lead to general tiredness at first. This includes an initial decrease in exercise performance. It’s primarily caused by the reduction in your muscles’ glycogen stores, which provide the main and most efficient fuel source for all forms of high-intensity exercise.

After several weeks, many ketogenic dieters report that their performance returns to normal. In certain types of ultra-endurance sports and events, a ketogenic diet could even be beneficial.

What’s more, there are further benefits — primarily an increased ability to burn more fat during exercise.

One famous study found that athletes who had switched to a ketogenic diet burned as much as 230% more fat when they exercised, compared to athletes who were not following this diet.

While it’s unlikely that a ketogenic diet can maximize performance for elite athletes, once you become fat-adapted it should be sufficient for general exercise and recreational sports.

Digestive issues

A ketogenic diet generally involves a major change in the types of foods you eat.

Digestive issues such as constipation and diarrhoea are common side effects in the beginning. Some of these issues should subside after the transition period, but it may be important to be mindful of different foods that may be causing digestive issues. Also, make sure to eat plenty of healthy low-carb veggies, which are low in carbs but still contain plenty of fibre. Most importantly, don’t make the mistake of eating a diet that lacks diversity. Doing that may increase your risk of digestive issues and nutrient deficiencies.

Insomnia

One big issue for many ketogenic dieters is sleep, especially when they first change their diet. A lot of people report insomnia or waking up at night when they first reduce their carbs drastically.

However, this usually improves in a matter of weeks. Many long-term ketogenic dieters claim that they sleep better than before after adapting to the diet.

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WHAT IS IF – INTERMITTENT FASTING

Intermittent fasting is an eating plan that switches between fasting and eating on a regular schedule. Research shows that intermittent fasting is a way to manage your weight and prevent — or even reverse — some forms of the disease.

Many diets focus on what to eat, but intermittent fasting is all about when you eat. With intermittent fasting, you only eat during a specific time. Fasting for a certain number of hours each day or eating just one meal a couple of days a week can help your body burn fat. And scientific evidence points to some health benefits, as well.

Johns Hopkins neuroscientist Mark Mattson, PhD, has studied intermittent fasting for 25 years. He says that our bodies have evolved to be able to go without food for many hours, or even several days or longer.

Extra calories and less activity can mean a higher risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses. Scientific studies are showing that intermittent fasting may help reverse these trends.

WEIGHT LOSS TIMELINE

Below is a typical timeline of what you can expect from the Keto diet. It is a rough illustration.

WHAT TO EAT ON A KETO DIET?

Here are typical foods to enjoy on a ketogenic diet. The numbers are net carbs per 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of food. Please check the labels of each product as different brands can have different net carbs. This list is for guidance only.

What’s the most important thing to do to reach ketosis? Avoid eating too many carbs. You’ll likely need to stay under 50 grams of net carbs (total carbs minus fibre) per day, ideally below 20 grams. The fewer carbs you eat, the more effective the diet appears to be for reaching ketosis, losing weight, or improving type 2 diabetes.

WHAT TO DRINK ON A KETO DIET?

Water is the perfect drink, and coffee or tea is fine too. Ideally, use no sweeteners, especially sugar. A splash of milk or cream in your coffee or tea is OK but beware that the carbs can add up if you drink multiple cups in a day (and definitely avoid Caffe lattes!). The occasional glass of wine is fine, too — but steer clear of sweet alcoholic drinks.

WHAT TO AVOID ON A KETO DIET?

Foods to stay away from include:

Bread, tortillas, muffins, bagels, pancakes
Pasta and rice

Cereal
Cakes, cookies, and other baked goods
Sugar and anything made with sugar

Most fruits and fruit juice

Also, avoid or limit highly processed foods and instead fill your diet with our recommended keto-friendly food options.

KETO MACROS: CARBS, PROTEIN, & FAT

When following a keto diet, the idea is to eat very few carbs, a moderate amount of protein, and just as much fat as you need to feel satisfied, rather than stuffed.

Carbohydrates – Limit carbs to 20 or fewer grams of net carbs per day or 5 to 10% of calories. Although it’s possible that you may not need to be this strict, eating fewer than 20 grams of net carbs every day virtually guarantees that you’ll be in nutritional ketosis.

Protein – Eat enough protein to meet your needs. Most people need at least 70 grams per day or 20 to 35% of calories from protein.

Fat – Include enough fat to add flavour. There’s no reason to add lots of fat unless you need extra calories. Plus, many whole foods like eggs and meat contain plenty of fat. On a keto diet, about 60 to 75% of your calories come from fat.

HOW TO START KETO DIET

There are different ways to start the diet simply because we are all different with different lifestyles, goals, and budgets.

Here are the most common steps:

Measure and weigh yourself.
Download the Keto app. Most common: Carb Manager, My Fitness Pal, Keto Cycle.
Decide what variation of Keto diet you want to follow. The most common are: clean, strict, dirty, very dirty, low carb.

Find Keto-friendly food lists according to your chosen variation.
Learn how to read labels. Different brands may have different macros and ingredients. “Keto” labelled products may not be strictly keto.
Plan, plan, plan. Plan your meals at the beginning at least. Find recipes you like and save them. Always plan your weekly meals. If needed and possible cook bigger batches and freeze.