By Charlie Brown
Living a low carbohydrate lifestyle can be challenging, especially for individuals who are used to eating processed and refined carbs.
If you plan on starting a ketogenic diet, you should always keep in mind that almost every cheat food has an alternative. Here are keto dieting tips that will make your transition to ketos is easier and more successful.
Clear out your kitchen: Most people usually fall for food temptations quite easily. However, you can prevent this by clearing your kitchen of any carbohydrate-rich foods. You should get rids of foods such as sugary drinks, chocolate, candy, breads, rice and pasta. You should then visit your local grocery store and restock your kitchen with low carb foods that you can snack on and eat. You will feel much better when all your food temptations are gone.
Cost factor: With a special diet, you will have a special list of foods to purchase. When changing to a keto diet, you should expect your expenses to increase. This is because some foods do not come cheap. If you are on a budget, then you should stick to basic foods such as cheese, vegetables and meat.
You can also look for coupons at the grocery store to help you save on cash.
Carb counting: When dieting, it is important for you to calculate your carb intake. This will help you keep tabs of what you are eating and it will enable you to achieve ketosis faster. Make sure that you carefully read the labels of all foods that you are eating. This will ensure that you fit your carbs into your allowed daily concentrations.
Minimizing the side effects: Even though the keto diet is safe for most healthy people, some may experience side effects as the body adapts to the keto diet for beginners. This is usually called the keto flu and it usually lasts for a few days. Symptoms associated with the keto flu are poor mental function, low energy levels, increased hunger, decreased exercise performance, digestive discomfort, sleep problems and nausea. You can eliminate these symptoms by regularly indulging in a low carb diet as you slowly eliminate the carbohydrates.
Supplements: Even though supplements are not necessary when keto dieting, it can help to consider some useful supplements. You can take mineral supplements and salt when starting out because of shifts in mineral balance and water. Taking caffeine can also help in performance, energy and fat loss. You can add MCT oil to yoghurt and drinks as it provides energy and boosts ketone levels.
Eating out: It is not difficult to get keto-friendly meals in most restaurants. Most eateries usually prepare a fish or meat-based meal. You can order for protein based meals and replace the high-carb food with additional vegetables. You can also opt for bun-less burgers or swap fries with vegetables instead and add additional eggs, bacon, cheese or avocados. Most Mexican restaurants offer all types of meat which you can take with guacamole, sour cream, salsa or extra cheese.
A keto diet is great; however, it is not for everyone. A low-carb diet can be good for people who are diabetic, overweight or those who want to boost their metabolic health. This diet may not be suitable for athletes and individuals who want to add lots of weight or muscles. Just like other types of diets, the ketogenic diet will only show results if you are consistent and use it in the long-term.