Although some people do make the switch overnight, transitioning from a “standard” diet to a ketogenic diet does take some advance planning. Here are six steps to help you get started on your new journey …
1. DETERMINE YOUR BASELINE
In order to know where you’re going, it helps to understand where you’ve been. That means getting a good handle on how much you currently eat.
Research shows most people severely underestimate their daily caloric intake. Your mid-morning latte and scone could easily add up to 700 calories, and that’s only a snack. Most people are bad at judging food portions and forget to count the small items nibbled on while sitting at the desk, or preparing dinner. It’s especially difficult if you eat out a lot, as restaurant portions tend to be much bigger than home cooked meals.
I highly suggest downloading a calorie counting app, and tracking every bite for at least a few weeks before changing your diet. Be honest about it. Include your cheat meals, and take your best guess when eating out.
Most apps have estimates for prepared foods and meals offered at popular restaurant chains. FatSecret and MyFitnessPal are two of the most common, and both are free to use. You don’t need a special “keto” app. Any calorie counter will do.
2. DOCUMENT YOUR JOURNEY
Aside from counting calories and macros, it also helps to document other health and wellness markers.
Most people regularly monitor their weight, but measuring your waistline is just as important, if not more important. If you suffer from migraines, joint pain or seasonal allergies, be sure to track medication usage. Two other key metrics greatly affected by ketosis are sleep, and blood pressure.
Measure what matters to you. This will help confirm if your health is getting better or worse post-ketosis, and allow you to make adjustments as necessary. For more tips on how to document your journey, check out this post …
3. CLEAN OUT YOUR PANTRY
A good place to start is your fridge, freezer and pantry. If you don’t have it in the house, you can’t eat it, at least not when you’re at home.
I don’t believe you should ever throw food away, but you should have a plan to “phase out” high-carb or highly processed foods. In other words, reduce consumption, and don’t restock. Non-perishable items can also be donated to local food banks.
Here’s my suggestion for cleaning out your pantry and fridge …
- Sweets and treats: For starters, get rid of the obvious — cookies, cakes, ice-cream, cereal, rice, pasta, bread, potato chips, crackers and soda.
- Rethink fruits and veggies: Next, move on to high-carb fruits and vegetables, like potatoes, corn, bananas, pineapples, mangos, apples, pears and grapes. Fruit juices are also on this list. Dried fruit are also not keto-friendly, but it’s okay to keep a small stash on hand.
- Ditch your vegetable oils: Vegetable oils are next on the list, particularly margarine, corn oil and soybean oil. If you eat a low-fat diet, your fat sources may not be of great concern. But if you plan on getting 75% of your calories from fat, the type of fat eaten now becomes really important. Vegetable oils are highly processed and rich in omega-6 fatty acids, which some believe to be unhealthy. While there is much debate over the health effects of vegetable oil, you’re always better off sticking to whole, natural foods.
- Phase-out milk and low-fat dairy: Low-fat diary products are higher in carbohydrates then their full-fat equivalent, and generally lower in nutritional value. Milk is especially high in sugar (lactose), and should also be phased out of your diet. Low-fat yogurts are the worst offenders, as they are typically very high in sugar.
- Trash the artificial sweeteners: I’m not a fan of foods that contain artificial sweeteners for two reasons … (a) many artificial sweeteners raise insulin levels and destroy gut bacteria, and (b) relying too heavily on sweeteners will do nothing to dull your sweet tooth. Get rid of diet soda, low-calorie frozen treats and “sugar-free” candy. Any sweet food packed with artificial sugar should be trashed. The only exception would be sugar-free gum and cough drops, which are fine to use occasionally.
- Clean out the condiments: Phase out store-bought mayonnaise, pasta sauces and salad dressings, which are usually high in vegetable oil and/or sugar. Ketchup and high-sugar jams should also be eliminated.
- Flush out baking supplies: Last on the list is wheat flour and table sugar, which can be very hard to incorporate into a ketogenic diet. I do keep a very limited amount of honey and powdered sugar on hand, which is use very sparingly in my baked goods.
4. REVAMP YOUR GROCERY LIST
As you phase out high-carb and highly processed foods, slowly replace them with low-carb whole foods:
- Start with your basic proteins — meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cured meats and full-fat dairy products.
- Stock up on your favourite veggies, such as mushrooms, cauliflower, peppers, tomatoes and anything green. Add keto-friendly fruit, such as berries, if desired.
- Think about your main sources of fat — nuts, seeds, avocados, coconuts, butter, olive oil, and heavy cream.
- Lastly, stock up on keto-friendly treats and baking supplies, such as almond flour, coconut flour, stevia and extra-dark chocolate.
5. DETERMINE YOUR NEW MACROS
The next step is to figure out your daily macronutrients:
- Start by getting an estimate of your daily caloric needs, which is a function of your size, metabolism and level of activity.
- In order to shift into ketosis, your carbohydrate intake should be low enough to suppress insulin, ensuring the production of ketones. So set a maximum daily carb limit.
- Always take in enough protein to repair, maintain and grow your muscles. This is mostly a function of your bodyweight.
- Fat consumption should be enough to satisfy your daily caloric needs. If you want to lose weight, adjust that number lower, but don’t go crazy with the fat deficit.
6. PLAN OUT YOUR MEALS
The next step is where the fun starts — mapping out your daily meals. Keep it simple at first, and try to be fairly consistent throughout the week. My days are structured into two main meals, three snacks and lots of coffee:
- Early morning snack is 80g blackberries with 2 tbsp of sour cream.
- Breakfast is two eggs, bacon, butter, cheese, salsa and veggies.
- Late morning snack is 30g of almonds, with a square of dark chocolate.
- Post-workout snack is 30g cheese, pickles, olives and 3 walnuts.
- Dinner is usually 100g of meat, served with a green salad or veggies.
- I drink four coffees a day, each containing 1 tbsp of heavy cream.
Take your best guess and log it into your calorie counter, ideally the night before. Leave some wiggle room, so you can add items as the day progresses. It’s always easier to add in foods than delete something you’ve already planned to eat (or worse, already eaten). For more tips on how to start a ketogenic diet, check out this post.
Now you’re ready to start. It won’t be easy, especially not at first, as your body needs time to adapt to a new regime. But if you commit to the process, you should start to see big changes almost instantly.
And that brings us to our next post — what to expect when you first transition to a ketogenic diet.