5 Things Every Person Should Know Before Starting The Keto Diet

The keto diet is one of the most followed diets in the world due to its health benefits and high effectiveness. Namely, it can help you lose weight, lower your blood sugar levels, lower the bad cholesterol levels, improve your brain function, boost your energy, etc. Apart from being beneficial, it’s also healthy because it doesn’t restrict your food too much but allows eating most foods you usually eat, including desserts, such as the keto chocolate shake.

In terms of effectiveness, you can expect to start losing weight or experience the other benefits after only one week from starting the diet. This is because of the consumption of high-fat low-carb foods, which puts your body into ketosis. This is a metabolic condition in which your body changes its primary energy source from carbs to fat. However, if you want to have easy dieting, there are 5 things you should know before you start the keto diet.

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  1. The Foods You Can And Can’t Eat While On The Keto Diet

Since the keto diet is a high-fat low-carb diet, it means that there are certain foods you can and can’t eat. Namely, you shouldn’t eat most fruits (due to being rich in natural sugars, thus carbs), grains, legumes, root vegetables, sugar, and any product deriving from them. On the other hand, you can eat other foods, such as meat, most vegetables, full-fat dairy products, avocados and berries (from fruit), healthy oils, nut butters, nuts, seeds, and keto-friendly sweeteners such as stevia.

You will also have to know which drinks you can and can’t consume. For example, alcohol and carb drinks (even diet cola) are off the limits. On the other hand, water, tea, coffee (especially the bulletproof coffee), smoothies, and non-dairy milk is something you can enjoy during your dieting.

  1. You Will Have To Track Your Macros

Although the keto diet doesn’t require calorie counting, it does require macro tracking. In that way, you will make sure you consume the right amount of fat, carbs, and proteins as the diet suggests. Out of all macros, you should pay attention to your carbs because when tracking your macros, you will have to include only your net carbs, not their total value (net carbs + fibre). You can calculate your net carbs following this equation:

Total Carbs - Fibre = Net Carbs

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  1. You Will Have To Plan And Cook Your Meals

Even if you aren’t cooking enthusiast, you will have to accept that the keto diet requires to cook your own meals. This is simply because processed foods aren’t allowed on the keto diet due to being high in carbs. Also, preparing your meals at home is the best way to ensure your meals are keto-friendly, which also helps you sustain on the diet.

Moreover, you need to know that you will have to plan your meals in advance. This will ensure you choose the right combination of products used. In this way, you will always have high-fat low-carb meals.

  1. The Side Effects Of The Keto Diet

As with every diet, you should also be aware that the keto diet also has some side effects. Although they are nothing serious, you should be prepared for them so that you can prevent them or at least reduce their effect on your body. The side effects of this diet are known as keto flu.

The keto flu has the same or similar symptoms as the regular flu, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue, limb weakness, headache, muscle cramps, and stomach pain. But, this doesn’t last long, only the first week or so until your body adjusts to the ketosis. Therefore, instead of panicking, you should prepare for it. You can do that by ensuring you:

  • Eat a lot of nutrient-rich products, such as vegetables, meat, fish, and healthy oils

  • Drink plenty of water

  • Consume enough electrolytes

  • Take supplements (if needed)

  1. You Will Have To Make Your Home Keto-friendly

Once you learn about what the keto diet is, how it works, and which foods you can eat, you should prepare your home. This means you should buy the most common keto-friendly products and remove all keto-unfriendly one from your kitchen. In this way, you will ensure there’s nothing that will tempt you to get out of ketosis, thus helping you to stay on the right track.

In the end, let’s not forget that you should have an after plan because you can’t eat keto for the rest of your life. So, if your goal is to lose weight, keto-ing for a couple of months the keto diet is ok. However, if you want to continue your healthy eating and maintain your weight continuously, you will need an eating plan to follow after that because the keto diet is a short-term solution.

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