Super Short Guide to the Ketogenic Diet

This is a very, very basic guide to starting the ketogenic diet. The reason I do not go into more detail is due to the fact that there are people in this world who can explain the science better than I ever could; especially Joseph Arcita and his Guide to Ketosis. Joseph is a fellow blogger whose amazing break down of the ketogenic diet makes my humble explanation look like child’s play.

Who should try the ketogenic diet?

Anyone can do this diet, but it is recommended for people with epilepsy, and women with fertility issues. Over the past eight months, I have seen people with a variety of health issues who would try the diet and have better managed health including issues such as:

·         Type 2 diabetes

·         Crohn’s disease

·         High cholesterol/blood pressure (these usually go hand in hand)

·         Anxiety and depression (also can go hand in hand)

·         Fertility issues – Lack of menses and PCOS

  I am a combination of both the fertility issues, and the anxiety and depression. My anxiety has lessened, and my depression is gone. PCOS is managed, and my cycles have returned.

Basics of the diet

Consume less than 25 g of carbs per day. That will ensure that you're in a constant state of ketosis. My husband consumes 35 g of carbohydrates because that is the amount he can consume and stay in ketosis. I consume between 19-25 g. (Read about my change in carb consumption in the macros section)

Cut out all sugar, sugar alcohols, starches, and 95% of your carbohydrates. No more bread, cookies, cake, beer, soda, milk, root vegetables, and fruit (I know, I’m sorry about the fruit). You will still get carbohydrates from the food you are allowed to eat on the diet. We aren't completely strangling carbs from our diets.

Here's a list of keto friend foods and their carb count. Very useful google document! Print it out!

Also try Linda's Keto Recipes - I use this every day. Love this website!

WATER IS YOUR FRIEND.

I cannot stress this enough. You must drink 2 or 3 liters of water every day, or deal with kidney issues. It is no joke!

Keto flu

You will experience something called the keto flu within the first two weeks of the diet; usually a bad headache and fatigue. It is just a result of your body being starved of carbohydrates. The best way to fix this is to get your electrolytes back in balance. Purchase and use lite salt (found at any grocery store), and magnesium supplements, and drink chicken or beef broth. Good sources of potassium include lite salt, coffee, spinach, kale, salmon, avocados, almonds, pistachios… to name a few.

Please read more into the keto flu and potassium and magnesium deficiency here: “Keto-flu” and Sufficient Intake of Electrolytes

Hitting your macros

Macros are your ever day nutritional goals. You should eat 65% fat, 30% protein, and 5% carbohydrates. To figure out your macros use the Keto Calculator created by a Redditor named Martinus.

I just now redid my macros, and it looks like I have to lower my carbohydrate intake. My personal macros are: 1600 kcal, 85g of fat, 90 g of protein and 15g of carbohydrates. That is what I have to eat every day to ensure weight loss is happening, which it has not since my pregnancy in February. Time to fix that!

Best way to ensure you’re staying under your macros of fat/protein/carbs is to have and use a food journal. I have a food journal on MyFitnessPal.com, and customized it to ensure I am following my macros. I have made it a habit to use my journal every day. You’d be surprised at how easy it is to blow over your goal, even if you’re eating only keto food. Food scales and measuring cups are also pretty freaking awesome to have, and thank God for nutritional labels. Always read labels!

Tonight, after I'm done babysitting, I will set up a variety of links that will help you in your journey on the keto diet. reddit.com/r/keto has been the most helpful with information to this diet. I love that community so much! Go and visit!

Salek