The keto diet has been around since the 1920’s, but over the past few years it has made quite a big splash in the health and wellness industry, and for good reason. Many studies show that eating a high fat, low carb diet can lead to increased energy levels, balance blood sugars, promote fat loss among other things. Here are 10 tips to help make keto part of your everyday life:
Started eating keto and don’t know if you’ve been doing it right? Achieving ketosis is so individualised that it can be helpful to test your ketones to ensure you are achieving your health goals. Keeping the body in ketosis is the key to weight loss on this diet. They tell the body to burn stored fat as energy.
Ketones are little acids that float around the body. When you’re in ketosis it means that they have been correctly balanced. They send signals that tell your body to burn the stored fat as fuel as opposed to the muscle. This allows the weight to melt off while in the state of ketosis. Ketone strips provide a fast, convenient way of testing urine for the presence and concentration of ketones (acetoacetate).
They are the most inexpensive and easiest way to measure if your body is in ketosis. When you expose a ketone strip to your urine, the pad on the stick will change colour if ketones are present and the severity of the colour change will indicate the approximate concentration of ketones in your blood.
When we are hungry, it becomes super easy to ‘cheat’ or grab ‘convenient’ foods. Hunger is a strong driver, and so many of us will fall off the wagon because of it. It is often best to plan for the worst. Give away your high sugar and carb rich foods. Make sure your keto friendly foods are easily accessible. Have some keto snacks ready to rock like hard boiled eggs, beef jerky, chopped vegetable sticks with dip or Alpha Lipid™ Ultra Diet 2™. Following a plan is a great, easy way to stay on track and prevent you from surrendering to your temptations. Make sure you prep and plan your meals in advance or have some keto friendly restaurants up your sleeve.
Our brain is made up of almost 80% water, so it’s really a ‘no brainer’ to stay hydrated no matter what diet you are on. We often get so caught up in our day to day lives that we forget to drink water. We need to pay extra attention when on a keto programme because your body will excrete more water when there are no carbs present. We want to aim for at least two litres of water per day and drink more on days when we are sweating more like hot days or exercising.
Your gut microbiome is a key factor in your digestion, including how your body responds to being on a keto diet. Having a healthy, diverse ecosystem of gut bacteria is crucial for helping your body to absorb fat, support optimal nutrient absorption, keeping you energised (so you can enjoy the benefits of the diet), maintaining healthy metabolism and helping to balance your blood sugars.
Are you getting enough fibre from your keto diet? Constipation is one of the biggest enemies, this leads to feeling bloated and being uncomfortable.
There are many ways to include fibre in your diet – if you stick to whole foods and get a few servings of low-carb, non-starchy vegetables daily, you shouldn’t experience a lack of fibre. If you want to add more fibre to your diet, there are certain types of keto-friendly fibre supplements you can have such as FibreMax™ which is made up of both soluble and insoluble fibre.
Vegetables, besides generally being a good source of fibre, contain a lot of different micronutrients that have several health benefits, and many of them are low in net carbs, so there’s no reason to avoid them on keto.
Diet foods don’t have to taste bad, this is a common misconception that all ‘diets’ have boring food. But then again, this isn’t a diet, it is a lifestyle, so you can eat all of the delicious foods. There are hundreds of recipes online. Have a look at your options, you’ll be surprised at what’s on the menu... bacon anyone?
Most diets limit food for you to be able to see results. This is damaging to your long-term health. High fat foods are more satiating so you will actually end up naturally eating less as they keep you fuller for longer.
Who has weighed themselves daily? Only to find there are little results compared to yesterday? We don’t want to rely solely on the scales. We should weigh ourselves no more than once per week and make it consistent (e.g. same day and time). Also track your body measurements using the same points each time (e.g. waist and hip every 2-4 weeks). Over time you will see a huge difference. Ultimately you can’t go past before and after photos. By tracking your progress it acts as an anchor and shows you just how well you are going. It also motivates you to succeed.
Most diets don’t succeed because all diets have an end date. They are all short-term solutions for long term problems. A lifestyle doesn’t restrict you, cut calories or have an end date. Make keto a way of life and make your main meals, fast, simple and delicious. This way you have a game plan and are more likely to stay on track.
Focus on yourself. There will always be people trying to tear you down. I mean it does sound like a ridiculous idea, eat more fat and you’ll lose weight and get healthy. Focus on yourself and your progress. Once they see your health improving and your weight falling off, they’ll get curious.
5 tips to Joint Health
Children's Immunity
Bridging The Gap In Nutrition
Building Strong Immunity
Protect your family this winter
Colostrum and Sport
Colostrum - How might it benefit my health
