The tips below are given to help you achieve success in during ketogenicdiet or keto diet:
1. You must keep track of what you eat on a per meal basis.
Since the carbohydrate allowances are so small at the beginning of the diet, it’s easy to eat too many. Protein must be tracked as well so as not to go over the daily recommended amount.
Remember, excess protein gets converted into
blood glucose, so stay within your limit.
Keep a spreadsheet, use one of the web based food intake trackers, or keep a written log.
I’ve provided one for you in Appendix H.
Not only will journaling help you accurately record food intake, it can also be used to track mood and physical changes for analysis should there be a need to troubleshoot.
A journal is a good place to track blood glucose and ketone levels as well.
Recommended tools include Fitday.com which offers both a web-based application and an
application that can be downloaded to a PC.
MyFitnessPal.com, a web-based application is
another good choice and it’s free, as is HealtheHuman.com and FatSecret.com.
The USDA’s free nutrition database here: http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ can also be utilized.
Finally, the Atkins website also has some nice tools for tracking progress on a ketogenic diet plan.
2. Get a carb counting guidebook or software application to learn how to count carbs in various foods.
Counting net carbs is a crucial part of the diet, and it's important to understand how to do this correctly.
The Calorie King book gets good reviews on Amazon and it comes in both a paperback and digital edition.
The Complete Book of Food Counts, 9th Edition by Corrine Netzer is another good choice, as is Dana Carpender’s Carb and Calorie Counter.
3. Purchase a good quality digital food scale (accurate to at least 0.5 grams) so foods can be
weighed and measured.
This ensures accurate tracking of food amounts and calories.
4. Go on a carbohydrate sweep.
Inspect kitchen cupboards and refrigerator, removing or separating all high carb foods.
Restock or rearrange the kitchen so that low carb, ketogenic foods are readily available.
A low carb food list is included in Chapter 6 under the Allowed Foods section.
5. Recognize that a ketogenic diet plan is not a "special diet" that requires special foods.
Ketogenic foods are essentially real, whole foods close to their natural state.
Avoid low carb “convenience foods” such as shakes and bars.
They are typically loaded with poor quality proteins and sugar alcohols which can affect blood glucose levels.
6. Research on sources of organic foods.
Before you start, do some research on sources of organic foods.
Find local organic food markets and take a trial run trip to familiarize yourself with the store and its products.
7. Spend more time in the kitchen
Be prepared to spend more time in the kitchen. This is an important point.
A ketogenic diet involves cooking and eating real foods.
Those who are not accustomed to preparing meals will find that this is a good time to learn about cooking in general and specifically ketogenic cooking.
8. Think about meal logistics, and learn to plan accordingly.
This will help provide a framework to follow, starting with buying the right food at the grocery store.
If proper foods have already been decided on for dinner, then it’s easier to avoid making selections based on old habits.
9. Replace old habits with new ones.
If the normal routine is to visit the nearest coffee shop for a bagel, start making coffee at home and have it with eggs instead.
10. Don’t let travel situations put you in a bind. With low-carbohydrate diets increasing in
popularity, you can find suitable options almost anywhere in a pinch.
Most gas station convenience stores now carry nuts and sometimes even hard-boiled eggs.
11. Stay hydrated.
As carb intake is lowered, your kidneys will start dumping excess water.
In addition, you need plenty of water to work toward lower blood sugar readings.
At the very least, make sure to drink enough water to replace what is lost.
A good general rule is to drink half the number of pounds of your ideal body weight in ounces of water each day.
If your ideal weight is 150 pounds, try to drink 75 ounces of water each day.
Broths without MSG are good choices for hydration because they also provide minerals.
12. Avoid high carb foods.
I’ve included a list of these in the Foods to Avoid
These are foods that drive up blood glucose and insulin levels.
13. Think about any social situations that will be encountered, and devise ways to handle
temptations to eat the "old" way.
This will help with the problem of being blindsided when someone at the office brings in a box of cookies.
Likewise, a beer with friends usually turns
into a date with potato skins and nachos.
Think salad and steak instead.
14. Don’t be afraid to eat more fat.
Many people have trouble on a ketogenic diet plan
because they just can’t get past the idea that eating lots of fat, especially saturated animal fat is bad.
To complicate the issue, particularly if total cholesterol goes up while on the diet, uninformed
physicians may voice concerns about this.
The underlying fear has to do with the message in the media (and from the mainstream medical
industry) which are still holding onto the myth that saturated fat and cholesterol are the cause of heart disease.
This is old thinking, and there is now a large volume of research which indicates saturated fat
and cholesterol have no correlation to heart disease or any other health issue. In reality, the more damaging factors in body health are
elevated insulin and blood sugar.
15. Trained Your Family About It
Talk with household members and let them know there are certain foods that are required for adherence to the diet.
It makes the diet more difficult to follow if you find the dinner you had prepared has been eaten by someone else in the house.
16. Manage protein intake.
This is perhaps the most difficult task on a ketogenic diet.
A normal breakfast of 2 eggs and 4 sausage links adds up to 28 grams of protein, a relatively large
intake for one meal. In addition, standard cancer treatments may cause side effects which make it difficult to eat protein foods.
In these cases, protein powders may be recommended by a health care professional.
Miriam Kalamian sometimes uses protein
powders as a meal replacement for individuals having difficulty with consuming and digesting whole protein foods.
She emphasizes the need to stay within the protein limits set for the individual.
LA fat or oil should also be added to slow absorption and to keep the ratio of fats to carb protein in the ketogenic range.
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