Keto is a high fat and low carb diet, and the goal is to get into ketosis, a metabolic state where your body burns fat for energy. If you’re just starting out on your keto journey, it can seem challenging to change your diet, but our advice is to keep it simple. Scroll down for the deets on our 10 best tips for keto success.
Start with foods you know
Easing into a keto diet with familiar foods makes it more approachable and enjoyable. We like to swap carbs for keto-friendly alternatives like cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles, and more keto breads are becoming readily available at your local supermarket. It is possible to eat most of your favorites, and in some cases, more of it–hello, bacon!
Meal prep
Make bigger batches of your meals so that extra portions can be enjoyed later in the week or frozen. Just be sure to label containers with the contents and date so it’s easily distinguishable. Our faves to freeze are portions of cauliflower rice, stews, and marinated proteins to roast or stir fry in the future. Getting nice portion sized storage containers makes it even easier, it can go from fridge to microwave in seconds. We prefer these glass ones to prevent stinky residue.
Switch it up with spices and sauces
Find or make a spice mix or sauce that you love to change up flavors and make something familiar seem new. There are infinite ways to season a roast chicken for example, or even making it your usual way and adding a new sauce on top keeps things interesting. Pro tip: fred pepper flakes, shichimi togarashi (Japanese 7 spice mix), salsas, hot sauces, and assorted vinegars are super quick keto friendly ways to bump up flavors. You can even have your food sweet with monkfruit sweetner!
Exercise
As your body adapts to burning ketones for fuel, you may feel tired in the beginning of your keto journey. Listen to your body and take a day or two off from exercising or switch it to a lower intensity workout. If you’re among the lucky ones that don’t experience keto flu, then you can continue your workout regimen as normal. Exercising helps you get into ketosis faster, and stay in it. Getting a good workout doesn’t have to break the bank. We love using resistance bands because they are easy to put away and relatively cheap. Here’s one of our favorite ones: link
Give yourself grace
Indulged a bit too much or accidentally went into carb overload? It happens. Don’t beat yourself up about it! Just get back on track with your next meal.
Stress free is the way to be
When you’re stressed out, your body’s cortisol levels are raised which causes it to release glucose. You can follow your keto diet, but being under unusually high stress will slow your keto progress. There are ways to lower stress including yoga, short walks outdoors, meditation, reading books, journaling, and more. We personally love being in nature, so short hikes works best for us.
Team work makes the dream work
Going at it alone can be lonely and hard. We’ve seen tremendous success when people form keto buddies. Keto is a very popular diet, there’s several facebook groups and tons of recipe resources online. If there’s only one take away from this article, this is easily on the top of our 10 best tips for keto success. So grab a buddy and get on the bandwagon.
Stay hydrated
It’s important to stay hydrated no matter what, but more so on the keto diet since your body will be releasing excess fluids. Aim to drink more than you usually do
Rest up!
Quality sleep is key for a healthy life, and helps you reenergize for the day. Aim for at least 8 hours a night, and try to avoid any screen time before going to bed. It helps to sleep in a completely dark room with the temperature set around 65 degrees F. Better quality sleep makes it easier to control cravings and stay focused, and also reduces stress. Being well rested makes a world of a difference so prioritize this as part of your health plan.
Test and track for ketones
Your body will give you cues that it’s in ketosis, whether you’re experiencing keto flu, losing weight, or other changes. The great thing about being in ketosis is that it’s measurable. Ketone and glucose testing is the most accurate way to measure whether you’re in ketosis, and which state of ketosis that you’re in. Monitoring your ketone, glucose, and GKI numbers will give a complete picture of where you are in ketosis, guide you to make adjustments to your diet, and provide you with reassurance that you’re on the right track to hitting your health goals. And we shamelessly recommend the Tricella Trio Ketone and Glucose Smart Monitor with Auto GKI
Take the guess work out of your keto diet
Whether you’re a keto veteran or a n00b, having the right tools will help set you up for success. Our keto, glucose +GKI smart monitors is an important tool to have in your arsenal