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How Do Keto Diets Work? Mastering The Ketogenic Diet

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Since the ketogenic diet has been gaining popularity, many have started to try it out. This article is a complete guide that will provide beginners with all the necessary information needed to help them start you on your journey into this new lifestyle.

The article touches on what the keto diet is and why it's useful for weight loss and maintenance. It also provides tips and tricks to make starting keto easy and enjoyable.

Keto is a low-carb, low-to-moderate protein, high-fat diet that offers many health benefits. While it has been around for over 100 years, it is becoming increasingly popular as a well-regarded weight loss program. The reason for this is simple; it is safe, healthy, and actually works.

This article is a beginner's guide to the ketogenic diet. It is designed to be an introduction to the diet; a detailed and complete guide for beginners.

There are also some common mistakes that beginners make, those are detailed towards the bottom of the article.

Keto Diet For Total Beginners: What Are The Basics Of Keto?

Keto is a low carb, high fat diet. If you are really new to Keto, this might sound counterintuitive as when most dieters think of dieting and how best to lose weight they usually think of a low fat diet and meticulously counting calories as the only way to succeed.

Keto works in a different way. If you plan on following Keto or if you are already on Keto you should be restricting your daily carb consumption to no more than 50 grams of carbs, and the rest of your total daily calorie intake should be from high amounts of fat.

The standard ketogenic diet gets the best results and typically comprises 70% fat, 20% protein, and only 10% carbs.

For most people this is a big change in food intake and a completely different type of diet, which means there may be some side effects due to the change, more on that later on but nothing too serious.

How Does Keto Diet Work To Help You Lose Weight?

In a standard carb-rich diet, your main source of fuel is glucose. Insulin processes the glucose in carbs to produce fuel. When you starve your body of carbs and glucose, your body still needs to function so it starts looking for a replacement fuel source.

Most of us have some excess fat in our bodies, removing glucose from our diets forces the body to go into a metabolic state called ketosis, this mimics the effects of starvation. After starting Keto and strictly following the rules, your body should trigger ketosis after 4 days, but it differs from person to person.

Ketosis is where your body, searching for a new fuel source during starvation mode, finds excess fat and starts to convert this excess fat into fuel; this source of fuel is called ketone bodies. Ketones are produced by the liver from excess fat and fatty foods, and provide fuel for your brain and body.

As your body is now scooping up as much fat as it can to survive, these increased ketones can lead to significant reductions in weight as well as lower blood sugar and insulin sensitivity levels which is why many people use Keto to help control diabetes.

Intermittent fasting has been known to kickstart ketosis, as you are mirroring why ketosis works in the first place. Ketosis is an evolutionary adaptive process to ensure you survive in a famine.

What About Protein?

You might be thinking that cutting out carbs sounds easy, why not just eat lots of high protein instead like red meat?

Well for beginners to carefully follow Keto it is important to know that you will need to limit your protein intake as well; remember above where I said that 20% of your diet can be protein? This is due to a process called gluconeogenesis, which is the process where your body converts excess protein into carbohydrates.

If not careful gluconeogenesis can move your body out of ketosis if you start eating nothing but bacon and eggs, moderate your protein intake.

How Do You Achieve Ketosis Successfully?

Moving your body in and maintaining ketosis is not easy. To really lose weight and maintain ketosis you need good instructions and authoritative guidance, which is where my recommended product comes in: The Custom Keto Diet.

Even eating a small amount of carbohydrates, such as 50 grams of carbs per day may be too much and will not achieve ketosis.

To give you an idea of what 50 grams of carbs looks like for the healthier dieter two bananas contains 50 grams of carbs. A large portion of McDonald's French Fries contains over 60 grams of carbs (66 grams and 7 grams of protein).

20 grams of carbohydrates looks like one slice of bread, or one potato, or a kilo of vegetables.

To successfully follow Keto you need to concentrate on eating the vegetables rather than bread or potatoes.

If your daily carbs intake is too high then ketosis will not occur, and the process behind what makes ketosis effective will not happen.

It is not enough to just stop eating bread, pasta, and candy/sweets. You either need to follow a diet that is customized towards your specific food preferences and lifestyle, like the Custom Keto Diet, or you need to carefully monitor your daily carb intake and be vigilant in not exceeding your carb limit.

Following the Custom Keto Diet is the easier option.

Keto Diet Plan For Beginners Weight Loss Video

Keto Diet For Beginners: How Do I Know If I Am In Ketosis? Complete Guide.

There are ten common signs of moving into ketosis. They are all short-lived.

  • Insomnia, you might find it harder to get to sleep.

  • The brain loves ketones, you might find a bit of brain fog initially but once you are in ketosis the should see an improvement.

  • Keto breath, you might find that your breath smells fruity, this is due to the increase in ketones. Sugar free mints or gum can mask this.

  • An increase in ketones reduces feelings of hunger.

  • Fatigue is quite common when you start keto, this is due to the cutting carbs and glucose no longer being produced.

  • Along with fatigue, you might find it harder to manage extended workouts. This is also related to less glucose in your body.

  • When cutting your carb intake your body produces less insulin, which causes your kidneys to produce more sodium, throwing your electrolyte balance way off course. This can lead to temporary muscle cramping.

  • With this massive change in diet you might experience some digestive discomfort, such as diarrhea or constipation.

  • Keto is associated with weight loss, many people try the Keto diet for weight loss. There will be rapid weight loss at the start as you expel water weight. Over time your body gets used to burning fat instead of losing water weight, so will lose body fat instead of water.

  • When you first start Keto you will likely experience rapid weight loss. This is because ketosis has a diuretic effect which results is a rapid loss of water weight. This initially will increase urination.

  • sin or slim Keto Diet For Beginners ketosis infographic ketones

    Keto Diet Plan For Beginners: Clean vs Dirty, Lazy, Modified Keto. What Are These Different Types Of Keto And How Do They Differ?

    What Is Clean Keto?

    I primary subscribe to the clean Keto ethos and this entire article talks about the health benefits of following the clean Keto way of life.

    Clean Keto essentially means that you eat healthy, whole foods, that are nutrient dense, usually but not always farmed organically. Food quality is very important on clean Keto.

    What Is Dirty Keto?

    Dirty Keto is also called lazy or modified Keto. It is where followers only monitor carbs and don't pay too much attention to healthy, whole foods.

    They eat what they like as long as the total carb count for that day is less than 50 grams. They might, for instance, buy a double bacon burger (without the bun) rather than a grass-fed steak.

    The occasional day or meal of dirty Keto is fine, as it is not always easy to buy Keto-friendly foods when eating out, but I prefer the clean Keto way of life for my long-term diet.

    Keto Diet For Beginners: What Are The Potential Benefits Of Keto Diet?

    Many studies show that losing weight on Keto works, even with eating mostly healthy fatty foods. Keto has other health benefits too, not just weight loss. Research shows that it can protect against Alzheimer's disease, cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, and headache/migraine.

    The diet has been used since the 1920s to treat people with epilepsy. The list of the benefits of Keto diet doesn't end there; it can also increase the amount of HDL (good) cholesterol, which lowers risk of heart disease.

    All of these benefits all from eating a high fat, low carb diet. These health benefits are well established, making Keto one of the few diets that is well understood and comes with compelling scientific evidence.

    sin or slim keto foods history

    Keto Diet For Beginners: Here I List Seven Benefits Of The Keto Diet

    What are the benefits of going on a keto diet? Here is a brief overview and summary of some of the benefits of keto diet that I think are the most important.

    Weight Loss

    A number of research studies have shown that individuals on high fat, low carb diets, burn fat at a faster rate than those on high carb, low fat diets.

    Ketosis also lowers hunger levels, which can be extremely useful in controlling calorie consumption and promoting general weight-loss. Low carb diets like Keto are also reliable in reducing visceral fat, mostly stored in the abdominal cavity.

    The high fat content and absence of sugar means fewer cravings, fewer blood sugar level swings, and feeling full more often. Increased satiation means eating less.

    Many individuals have food sensitivities to grains, even gluten-free ones, so removing grains and gluten increases the ability to take in minerals like magnesium and potassium, which means your body is more nourished and you have fewer food cravings.

    Benefits Of Keto Diet: Mental Performance

    According to current evidence-based research the ketogenic diet can have powerful benefits for the brain. The ketones produced from a low carb diet are a far more efficient source of energy than glucose.

    Research studies have suggested that using ketones instead of glucose can improve cognitive impairment and help reduce symptoms of Alzheimer’s, mild cognitive impairment, and Parkinson’s disease. There is ongoing research that is investigating the effects of Keto on people with these and other brain disorders.

    The high-fat diet assists to support the balance of omega threes and omega sixes which are vital for optimum brain function. Additionally, ketosis has the ability to increase mitochondria production and adenosine triphosphate within the brain's memory cells, thus improving mental efficiency and cognitive clearness.

    Benefits Of Keto Diet: Reduced Risk Of Chronic Disease

    Keto can increase the body's defence against a range of conditions. By lowering inflammation, and improving mitochondrial function, it can help to mitigate the risk of numerous persistent diseases.

    Cancer cells generally have dysfunctional mitochondria, these need an increased supply of glycogen. Ketosis allows for normal cells to be fed while starving the cancer cells, as due to their dysfunctional mitochondria they are unable to use ketones for fuel.

    One study found evidence that the ketogenic diet led to a significantly increased survival time and slower cancer tumour development.

    Benefits Of Keto Diet: Improved Blood Pressure

    High blood pressure significantly increases the risk of numerous illness and is a leading cause of deaths worldwide.

    A low-carb Keto diet has been shown to be more reliable than a low-fat diet in minimizing blood pressure. This combined with the weight-loss derived from Keto, is certain to vastly enhance cardiovascular health and function. Many people find that they no longer need to take blood pressure medication once they are in ketosis.

    It has been shown by many nutrition science studies that Keto has a really positive influence on general health and physical function.

    Benefits Of Keto Diet: Reduced Blood Sugar And Insulin

    Since carb consumption is limited, blood glucose and insulin levels are lowered. This is particularly important for individuals with type 2 diabetes, which causes a build-up of glucose in the blood stream.

    Keto can be utilized to decrease or remove the requirement for diabetic insulin injections, Halle Berry has been using Keto for 30 years to control her type 2 diabetes.

    Benefits Of Keto Diet: Reduced Triglycerides

    Fat subunit molecules called triglycerides usually flow in your blood stream. High levels of triglycerides are a substantial risk factor in the development of heart disease.

    In Keto, because fat is being burned for energy, the number of triglyceride molecules in the bloodstream decreases, reducing the risk of heart disease.

    Benefits Of Keto Diet: Improved Cholesterol

    "Bad" (LDL) cholesterol is another risk factor for heart disease. Too much bad cholesterol in your bloodstream builds up in your arteries, narrowing them and causing atherosclerosis, a type of cardiovascular disease. The Keto diet minimizes bad cholesterol levels while increasing the level of "good" (HDL) cholesterol in your body.

    Keto Diet For Beginners: Keto Diet Foods Shopping List For Beginners: Best Meal Plan?

    Some foods have almost no carbs, like high fat dairy, meat, fish, cheese, olive oil, and avocados. One egg contains around half a gram of carbohydrate, you can read more about how amazing eggs are for Keto by reading this article. So if you love eating meat, fish or vegetables you may only need small tweaks to your diet to start losing weight fast.

    I have written an article about the ten most common keto-friendly foods, you can find the list of foods.

    Keto Diet For Beginners: Common Keto Diet Mistakes Made By Beginners Explained. Hints, Tips And Tricks

    This next section is about some common Keto mistakes that beginners make, so make sure you read them all so you don't make them yourself.

    sin or slim keto cutting board slices plate featured image

    Keto Diet For Beginners- Beginner Mistake 1: Eating Too Much Or Not Enough Fat

    Eating Too Much Fat

    When adjusting to a diet plan that is vastly different from what you are used to it often takes some time to adjust, to work out what foods you can now eat, and how much you should be eating. With Keto you should be eating a lot more fat than what you are probably used to and due to this change in fat intake your body needs time to adjust. 

    In the beginning, a mistake that many people make is to overdo it with high fatty foods too quickly. Is it common for instance for people to completely remove all carbs and replace these with excessively large quantities of whipped cream, coconut oil, and other fats.

    Doing this will almost certainly lead to rather unpleasant gastric distress: stomach cramps, nausea, and diarrhea. This is due to your body not having the chance to increase the enzymes it requires to absorb all the extra fat you are now eating. These intestinal symptoms are the outcome of having a lot of undigested fat moving through your digestive system. 

    The gastric distress can be very unpleasant and prevent some people from sticking with the diet. It is therefore very important to keep close track of the carbs, protein, and fats (macronutrients) you are consuming in the beginning until you understand better what, and how many macronutrients you can eat. This will also help make sure you are getting just the right amount of fat, and significantly minimise the likelihood of experiencing gastric distress early on.

    Eating Too Little Fat

    Another common mistake is the exact opposite: namely, not eating enough fat when starting Keto.

    Most of us have been taught that lower fat in our diet will lead to there being less fat in our bodies. I have been told for decades to eat less fat since fat is bad for my health. These pervasive and longstanding messages may make some people reluctant to eat the required amounts of fat needed on Keto.

    However, the fact is that excess calories from any source - whether it be carbs, protein, or fats - will be stored as fat in your body. Too many carbs means excessive body fat; too much protein means excessive body fat, too much fat means excessive body fat.

    The body stores excess calories as fat, where excess calories comes from does not make much difference. 

    As far as dietary fat being bad for your health, it is now understood that not all fats are created equal. Numerous markers of healthy living and overall health actually improve for people when eating plenty of healthy fats on Keto. I have described some of these health benefits of Keto diet above.

    Unhealthy fats are a different story, which I will talk about more in point 2 below. But the main point is that there are healthy fats and unhealthy fats, the latter are bad for you even in moderation whereas healthy fats are not. So just because they are called “fats” does not automatically mean that they are bad for your health and well-being.

    Keto uses a different source of fuel than before; previously your main energy source was carbs (glucose) it is now fat (ketones). You still need to reduce calories and exercise to maintain or lose weight, the distinction is that you get the majority of that energy from fat instead of carbs.

    If you do not eat enough calories, you might feel lethargic due to absence of energy usage. You will also be in danger of not getting sufficient minerals and vitamins.

    sin or slim keto food bowl salad

    Keto Diet For Beginners- Beginner Mistake 2: Not Consuming The Correct Fats

    Fat can be a confusing topic. There is a lot of mixed messaging about what are healthy oils and healthy fats and what are unhealthy oils and fats. The fact is that the jury is still out on many fat sources, and sometimes, the answer as to what fats are healthy or unhealthy depends on context.

    Nevertheless, considering that fat is your main energy source on Keto you are going to be eating a lot of it. So, if you want to do your best and achieve the benefits to your health that Keto offers it is best to use/eat the best kinds of fats for your health.

    What Fats Can Be Consumed On The Keto Diet?

    Dieticians do not have all the answers but here is a short list of some fats that are known to be healthy, especially in the context of Keto:

    Extra virgin olive oil is a fantastic oil to drizzle on your favourite foods or to use when cooking. It is full of heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty-acids; it is a rich source of essential antioxidants, vitamin E, and phenols; it helps decrease cardiovascular risk factors such as bad cholesterol (LDL), and it may even help battle cancer and prevent Alzheimer's disease. Due to these factors olive oil should be a staple part of your Keto diet meal plan.

    sin or slim keto extra virgin olive oil healthy fats

    Coconut oil

    Coconut oil is a unique oil in that it is made up primarily of small and medium-chain saturated fatty acids. Roughly half of the fat in coconut oil is lauric acid, which is a medium-chain fat that has strong antimicrobial properties.

    Small and medium-chain fatty acids are used for energy and are absorbed much faster than the long-chain saturated fatty acids found in animals. They likewise increase thermogenesis, which is increased energy expenditure from food and might help in weight loss.

    Coconut oil might improve your blood lipid profile, minimize inflammation, and supply substantial antioxidants to prevent cellular damage. It might also help in reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

    Avocado oil

    Avocado oil is an excellent source of powerful antioxidants, including vitamin E, and is an excellent oil to cook with because it can withstand very high temperatures. It is also an abundant source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids.

    In a study in where butter was replaced with avocado oil, inflammation and blood sugar levels were improved.

    Comparable to extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties similar to ibuprofen

    For other sources of fat on Keto I have written another article that focusses on suitable Keto, you can read it here.

    What Fats Should Be Avoided Or Reduced On Keto?

    As mentioned above, there is much debate about fat, meaning that not everyone agrees which fats are bad for you. Here is a short list of some fats that most dieticians agree that you should reduce or avoid completely.

    Fats To Avoid: Trans-fats

    There is no question about trans-fats; these should be avoided completely. There is broad consensus in the health science community about the dangers of trans-fats.

  • Trans-fats are mostly found in processed foods, like margarine, cookies, crackers, coffee creamers, fast food, and frozen pizza.

  • Trans-fats are known to increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, LDL, and decrease good cholesterol (HDL).

  • Trans-fats are currently banned in 58 countries including the United States of America and Canada. The World Health Organization has set the goal of elimination trans-fat globally by 2023. If they have not yet been banned in your country make sure to read the ingredients label on your food and look for hydrogenated or partly hydrogenated oil; here is a pdf that contains a detailed list of countries that have banned trans-fats.

  • Fortunately, another benefit of Keto is that trans-fats are not present (or very, very rarely) in Keto-approved foods. They are certainly absent from the foods selected for you by the Custom Keto Diet meal plan.

  • Fats To Avoid: Processed vegetable oils

    Processed vegetable oils should be avoided completely. If you are looking at a big plastic container with “Vegetable Oil” written on it it is in your best interest to avoid these in your diet. These oils are extremely susceptible to oxidation and tend to be high in omega-6 fatty acids, both attributes can contribute to increased inflammation. These may include several of the following oils: canola, safflower, sunflower, corn, soy, and others.

    Keto Diet For Beginners- Beginner Mistake 3: Not Drinking Enough Water

    Being hydrated should be a high priority whether you are on a diet or not. When your body is adjusting to Keto water consumption should be increased. This is due to two significant factors:

    Water in your body is normally stored with carbs in the form of glycogen. In fact, about three grams of water are stored for every one gram of glucose. Therefore, eating reduced carbs means that there is less glycogen storage which in turn means there is less water storage.

    Similarly, carb intake causes insulin secretion. Insulin triggers salt retention, which triggers water retention. Therefore, less carbohydrate intake means less insulin secretion which in turn means less water retention.

    For women it is recommended to drink 2.7 litres (11.5 cups) of water per day; this increases to 3.7 litres (15.5 cups) for men. Dehydration is a common issue in Keto and often leads to Keto flu and Keto headaches. You can read more about them, here (Keto flu) and here (headaches).

    sin or slim keto drinking water cup

    Keto Diet For Beginners- Beginner Mistake 4: Not Eating Enough Sodium/Salt

    As explained in point 3 above, salt is excreted in addition to water when your body is using ketones for fuel. This is due to a lack of insulin secretion. Your sodium requirements are going to be slightly higher on Keto than on a typical carb-based diet.

    Furthermore, Keto requires that you remove numerous kinds of processed foods, which tend to be high in sodium. Eliminating these processed foods is obviously a good thing for your health, however when combined with decreased salt retention it is important that you include additional salt to your meals to make up for this deficit.

    Salt is an important electrolyte, and in appropriate amounts it is a vital nutrient to the normal and healthy performance of your body. Too little sodium is called hyponatremia and can trigger lots of flu-like symptoms, such as nausea and throwing up, headache, low energy/fatigue, irritability, muscle weakness, spasms, and cramps, I talk more about these in separate articles about Keto flu and Keto headaches.

    It is likely that the Keto flu is associated with electrolyte deficiency. To prevent or decrease the seriousness of these symptoms you should increase your salt consumption by salting every meal. You might also consider adding sea salt to your drinking water and drinking it throughout the day.

    Drinking broth from bouillon cubes, or taking an electrolyte supplement, such as Dr. Berg's Electrolyte Formula can also help with sodium deficiency.

    sin or slim keto white salt

    Keto Diet For Beginners- Beginner Mistake 5: Excessive Dairy

    Dairy foods like cheese, butter, and cream can make a really good and nutritious low-carb, high-fat meal.

    If you are starting Keto to lose weight, you might want to consider not eating too much diary as it can slow down how quickly you lose weight. This should not be an issue is you are burning more calories than you consume, irrespective of what Keto-friendly foods you are eating.

    A randomized controlled study in 90 overweight women found that those who ate a high fat, high protein diet lost more weight and gained greater muscle mass than the groups that ate less of each.

    Dairy products suppress appetite, so by eating dairy you end up eating fewer calories as you feel fuller after eating or drinking them.

    Dairy can also increase cholesterol, which sounds bad for your health. However, dairy increase HDL (good) cholesterol and reduces LDL (bad) cholesterol, source, and high-fat dairy helps protect against heart and cardiovascular disease, source.

    Many dairy products contain added sugar, so you need to be very careful concerning which and how dairy products you eat. Reading the ingredients labels of everything you eat or drink should come as second nature to you while on Keto.

    Keto Diet For Beginners- Beginner Mistake 6: Too Much Snacking

    One of the very best features of Keto is that, if you are following it correctly, you will feel more satiated, less hungry, and have fewer food cravings.

    Just as with any diet however, if you are doing too much snacking, your daily calorie count will increase unnoticed. Besides too much snacking might get in the way of your weight loss goals.

    Something else to be mindful of early on in Keto is that you will likely have extreme cravings for carbs. It will be difficult to resist sugary foods and fruit juice, but it is important to be strong as these cravings will quickly fade once your body has completely adapted to Keto.

    To help you here is a link to a Keto diet ebook with some keto friendly diet plan recipes that can help with these cravings, it is one of several keto diet books for beginners that really helped me when I first started Keto.

    the custom keto diet, click to get your free ebook

    Keto Diet For Beginners- Beginner Mistake 7: Not Getting Enough Sleep

    Lack of sleep interferes with cellular repair, immune function, DNA duplication and repair. Poor sleep may also increase the risk for metabolic conditions, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, and cancer. It is therefore important that you get enough sleep as a lack of sleep can negatively interfere with your health and dieting goals.

    To make things even worse, research suggests that absence of sleep can increase cravings for processed food by reducing activity in the frontal lobe, which handles complex decision-making and executive function, and increases activity in the cortex, the area of the brain that respond to reward.

    It is recommended to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep every night. It can also be beneficial to reduce screen time one to two hours before bedtime as artificial light can interfere with your circadian rhythm.

    You should also try going to bed at the same time every night as routine can be important for regular sleep. Avoiding caffeine in the afternoon and not eating directly before attempting to sleep can also be important when trying to get a good night’s sleep.

    It is very important that some individuals experience impaired sleep early on when starting Keto. If this is the case for you, follow the guidelines above. For most people, as their body gets used to Keto, problems getting enough sleep go away.

    sin or slim keto sleep benefits

    Keto Diet For Beginners- Beginner Mistake 8: Worrying Excessively About What The Scales Say

    If you are attempting to lose weight it is tempting to weigh yourself often to track your progress. While your weight is obviously very important, there are a few extremely crucial things to keep in mind about what the scale says.

    You are going to lose a lot of weight very quickly when you start Keto. This may be rewarding, but it is mainly due to water loss. This can increase your expectations of how quickly you will be able to reach your target weight. Keep in mind, stored carbs retain water as I said above in point 3. As your body burns through your carb stores you are going to lose a lot of that water weight too.

    The number on the scale is a measurement of your entire body, not just your fat. That includes your bones, organs, fat, water, muscle. Everything is being weighed at the same time. Your scales are not able to distinguish between all the different kinds of tissue that comprise your body. If you are working out a lot and building muscle while you are shedding fat, the scale may not give an accurate reading of your weight loss.

    Losing weight is likely important for you otherwise you will probably not be reading this article. If you want a much better measurement of your progress, try to find a smart scale. You can buy one or see if your local health club or gym has one. This type of scale provides an estimate of your fat mass compared to your lean mass and is a better marker for your progress.

    It is just as important to increase your muscle mass as it is to lose weight. Increasing muscle mass will add weight to your body. This might mean that you don't lose that much weight at some point in Keto, but what it does mean is that you are getting stronger and healthier, so it should be something to look forward to rather than feared.

    Your bodyweight changes throughout the day so it is important that you remember that it is not good for you to keep tracking your weight multiple times a day. Doing so will not give you any useful information, and it will likely just trigger stress and trigger obsessive habits.

    It is best practice to weigh yourself at the same time of day, typically first thing in the morning, this routine will give you a more reasonable indication of your weight loss progress. It is very important that you try not to obsess about your weight. Doing so can cause unhelpful stress and hamper your progress.

    Finally, if you really want to track your weight, it is best to only weigh yourself every few weeks or once a month; this should still be at the same time of day, as recommended above. Since bodyweight naturally fluctuates from day-to-day and throughout the day, measuring yourself less frequently than everyday will give you a much better indication of the progress you are making along your weight loss journey.

    A realistic goal on Keto should be to lose between half a kilo (1.1 pound) and one kilo (2.2 pounds) every week.

    sin or slim keto weighing scales

    Keto Diet For Beginners- Beginner Mistake 9: Not Paying Attention To Your Vegetable Intake

    Vegetables contain carbs meaning that you have to monitor how many vegetables you eat, even lettuce which is commonly considered to be mostly composed of water contains 3 grams of carbs for every 100 grams you eat.

    If you are not careful or are eating vegetables without limits, you might eat more than the required daily maximum carb limit of 50 grams; plus your carb limit might actually be lower than this. As I wrote above, this will stop the ketosis process and you will no longer be following Keto. Meanwhile, if counting every baby carrot is getting too complicated you might start excluding vegetables from your diet entirely, which would not be advised. It is important to eat vegetables as part of a healthy Keto diet as these include fibre which can prevent some of the gastric distress mentioned above in point 1.

    Non-starchy vegetables are essential in Keto as many of them are low in carbs especially leafy greens, cucumber, tomato, broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, and asparagus. I have written a Keto Diet For Beginners food list guide on what foods you can and cannot eat on Keto, you can read it here.

    Keto Diet For Beginners- Beginner Mistake 10: Getting Stuck Counting Carbs And Forgetting About Food Quality

    When the main objective of Keto appears to be to significantly cut carbs, the other requirements of the diet might seem like an afterthought. Reducing your carb intake is important, but focusing on higher-quality foods when budget allows is just as important to improve your health and well-being.

    A diet that comprises foods that are high in omega 3 like wild salmon, grass-fed, regional, or organic meats, and snacking on whole foods instead of processed Keto-approved treats will really increase your health and help make the planet more sustainable. 

    Whether on Keto or not, it is important to follow a balanced diet plan by integrating as many nutrient-rich fruits and veggies as you can. A side salad without any of the extra salad dressings can be an effective way to cut carbs and eat better.

    Some dietitians do not recommend Keto because it may lead to nutrient deficiencies, therefore it is important to be mindful of this and ensure that you are eating nutrient-rich, healthy whole foods. It can help to avoid some of these concerns if you work with a dietician or a carefully set out Keto diet plan such as the Custom Keto Diet.

    sin or slim keto jumping fish

    Keto Diet For Beginners- What Is The Best Keto Diet? The Custom Keto Diet Plan

    I have already mentioned a few times the Custom Keto Diet. You might be asking yourself why do I like it so much? Well for started it really helped me cope with my transition from a carb-rich diet to a fat-rich diet. I tried to go Keto by myself without guidance first and it was a miserable failure, and I only really got to grips with Keto after I bought the Custom Keto Diet.

    So What Do I Like About The Custom Keto Diet?

  • Firstly, the Custom Keto Diet is very flexible, as the name suggests it is customised to your specific characteristics such as your weight, sex, age and importantly food preferences. It even provides keto diet plan for vegetarians and vegans. It is an eight-week plan that is customised to the foods that you like, so can fit easily into your busy lifestyle. You don't have to worry about spikes in cholesterol either as it is balanced to avoid this, what else would you expect from something designed by a qualified dietician and fitness expert?

  • Secondly, it is so easy to follow. It provides a detailed weekly grocery list containing Keto foods to help you adapt to the low-carb lifestyle. This makes it perfect for beginners and those that have tried to cut carbs before but found the rules too complicated to follow or didn't understand that cutting carbs is not the same thing as following the strict rules of Keto, we have all been there before!

  • Thirdly, it is an indispensable guide to help you remove carbs from your diet and replace them with healthy fats. One of the best things about it is that it advises you to buy the best quality whole foods. These have two benefits 1) they increase your health and well-being and help you lose weight and 2) by buying whole foods you automatically avoid foods that are bad for you, like saturated fats, the deadly trans-fats, and virtually eliminate bad cholesterol (LDL) from your diet.

  • Finally, it is very cheap, it cost me $37 down from $97 when I bought it. Plus you get so much for your money. All you have to do is buy, download and follow the rules of the diet as closely as you can and you will lose weight. There is no risk involved by using the Custom Keto Diet, as it comes with a generous 60-day money-back guarantee.

  • Keto Diet For Beginners: The Essential FREE Keto Diet Cookbook For Beginners.

    What Is The Best Free Printable Keto Diet Plan PDF Recipes Book For Beginners? Easy Simple Snacks And Meals Menu.

    So many people want to lose weight and take control of their health, but they don't know how. If this sounds like you, you can get a FREE ebook that contains some simple and delicious Keto recipes; it covers breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and dessert.

    It is not always easy to follow a low-carb lifestyle. It takes commitment and time to do things the right way, possibly more than with other diets. The health and weight loss benefits have never been bettered so it is worth the time and effort needed to master and understand Keto.

    By following this ebook you can start your Keto diet journey quickly, easily, and the right way. The ebook contains some delicious and simple Keto diet recipes to try out as well as more information about Keto.

    You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel, new videos are uploaded every Tuesday. Perfect for some quick beginner Keto facts.

    the custom keto diet, click to get your free ebook

    Keto Diet For Beginners: Summary

    As with any diet it is crucial that instead of concentrating on reducing your carb intake, you should take a more holistic view.

  • Make certain to get enough sleep.

  • Stay hydrated.

  • Eat healthy foods.

  • If you follow these tips, you will burn ketones for fuel more effectively, so you can experience all the benefits of Keto diet with fewer or hopefully with no disadvantages or Keto flu/headache side effects.

    This article was quite long, but also very detailed. I hope you learned something and enjoyed reading it. I also talked a lot about the 10 most common mistakes that beginners of Keto make.

    Keto can be tough, so you might have so ketogenic days where you go slightly over your carb limit. If it once a month it shouldn't have too many consequences for your long-term weight loss. This "once a month" is not a target, it is better to not have any missteps, but they do and can happen.

    If you are on keto and not losing weight I hope this article has been of help for you. It is important to be aware of these pitfalls as you journey along your new low-carb, high-fat way of life. Probably more importantly it is crucial that you follow a properly developed Keto plan.

    I recommend the Custom Keto Diet; it is as an excellent regimen to follow if you are interested in losing weight and living a more healthy lifestyle. As you have made it to the end of this article it suggests that you are interested in the kinds of health benefits that Keto can offer.

    In my opinion the Custom Keto Diet is by far the easiest low-carb diet guide I have have used. It helped me to improve and reach my weight loss, overall health and well-being goals.