A keto diet for beginners

 A ketogenic diet – or keto diet – is a low-carb, high-fat diet. It can be effective for weight loss and certain health conditions, something that’s been demonstrated in many studies.

 the keto diet is especially useful for losing excess body fat without hunger, and for improving type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome.

On a keto diet, you cut way back on carbohydrates, also known as carbs, in order to burn fat for fuel.

In this beginner’s guide, you’ll learn all you need to know about ketogenic diets, including how to get started to achieve the best results safely and effectively.

1. What is a keto diet?

A keto diet is one that limits carbs and has many potential health benefits.

When you eat far fewer carbs, your body begins to burn fat for fuel. This can put your body into a metabolic state called ketosis. In this state, your liver turns fat into small energy molecules called ketones, which your brain and other organs can use for energy.

Eating a keto diet lowers insulin levels, often dramatically, which can help you access your body fat stores for energy.

Many studies show significant weight loss on keto, without having to count calories.

Keto diets may have other positive health effects, such as reducing blood sugar levels.

2. What to eat on a keto diet?

Here are typical foods to enjoy on a ketogenic diet. The numbers are net carbs per 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of food.

To remain in ketosis, foods with lower counts are generally better:

What’s the most important thing to do to reach ketosis? Avoid eating too many carbs. You’ll likely need to stay under 50 grams of net carbs (total carbs minus fiber) per day, ideally below 20 grams.

The fewer carbs you eat, the more effective the diet appears to be for reaching ketosis, losing weight, or improving type 2 diabetes.

Counting carbs can be helpful at first. But if you stick to our recommended foods and recipes you can stay keto even without counting.

What to drink

What can you drink on a ketogenic diet? Water is the perfect drink, and coffee or tea is fine too. Ideally, use no sweeteners, especially sugar.

A splash of milk or cream in your coffee or tea is OK, but beware that the carbs can add up if you drink multiple cups in a day (and definitely avoid Caffe lattes!). The occasional glass of wine is fine, too — but steer clear of sweet alcoholic drinks.

Try to avoid

Here’s what you should avoid on a keto diet – foods containing a lot of carbs, both 

the sugary and the starchy kinds.

Foods to stay away from include:

• Bread, tortillas, muffins, bagels, pancakes
• Pasta and rice
• Cereal
• Cakes, cookies, and other baked goods
• Sugar and anything made with sugar
• Most fruits and fruit juice.

3. Keto results —
how can it benefit you?

If you are wondering what kind of results you can expect from a keto diet, the answer depends on how strict you are, along with a number of other factors.

Evidence shows that keto diets help with weight loss, blood sugar control, and many other conditions. But outcomes from even the most well-run study are still an average of what each participant experienced.

That means that your experience with keto will be unique. Your weight loss and health improvements may be sudden and dramatic or they may be slow but steady.

What you can expect from keto, almost without exception, is to eat foods you enjoy, without hunger or calorie-counting. If your diet is easy, enjoyable, and provides adequate essential nutrition, you’ll more likely be able to follow it long-term to lose weight, improve your health, and maintain these benefits.

1.Weight loss without hunger

2.Control or reverse type 2 diabetes

3.Improve metabolic
health & blood pressure

4.Control type 1 diabetes

5.Improve fatty liver disease

4. Potential risks of a keto diet

Does eating a keto diet pose any health risks? Although research on long-term health effects is needed, the evidence to date suggests that keto diets providing adequate nutrition are unlikely to cause harm.

It is true that some people following ketogenic diets have experienced adverse effects, including kidney stones and vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

However, these side effects are rare and we suspect they may vary with the variety of foods eaten.

In some cases, elevations in LDL-cholesterol and LDL-particle number have occurred in people who eat keto or low-carb diets with less fat and more protein than the classic ketogenic diet.

However, individuals with diabetes or insulin resistance often respond to low-carb eating with improved lipid markers overall, as discussed earlier.

5. How to get into ketosis

Ketosis is a metabolic state in which your body uses fat and ketones rather than glucose (sugar) as its main fuel source.

How can you get into ketosis quickly and stay there? Here are three things to know:

1. Eat less than 20 grams of net carbs per day. Cutting way back on carbs can help you get into ketosis rapidly, often within a few days.
2. Avoid eating too often. If you’re not hungry, don’t eat. Intermittent fasting or even just eliminating snacks can help you get into ketosis faster.
3. Measure ketones. Testing for ketones in your blood, breath, or urine can confirm that you are indeed in ketosis. Each of these methods comes with pros and cons. For a detailed comparison, see our full guide to the best way to test ketones.

6. Common mistakes

The “perfect” approach to keto will likely differ from person to person. But to help you get ahead of the game, here are some common mistakes to avoid to achieve keto success.

Going overboard with fat

Eating too many nuts and dairy products

Fear of too much protein

Chasing higher ketone levels

7. Intermittent fasting & keto

Some people on a keto diet choose to also practice intermittent fasting to speed up weight loss or when trying to reverse type 2 diabetes.

Intermittent fasting involves cycling between periods of fasting and eating. When eating a keto diet, many people feel hungry less often. And since we advise eating only when you are hungry, this means that you might naturally begin to eat fewer meals a day — or you may deliberately plan fewer meals to match your reduced appetite. For some people, this could mean eating two meals a day (often skipping breakfast). For others, this could mean eating once a day, which is often referred to as OMAD, meaning “one meal a day.”

8. The keto flu & side effects

Once you’ve been on a keto diet for a few weeks or more, you will likely feel great and have lots of energy. However, the first few days to weeks can be tough, as your body switches from burning mostly glucose to burning mostly fat for fuel.

Keto flu

When your body makes this shift, you may experience what’s commonly known as the “keto flu.” It happens as a result of changes to your body’s balance of fluid and minerals when you begin eating very few carbs.

Symptoms of keto flu include:

• Fatigue
• Headache
• Irritability
• Lack of motivation
• Difficulty focusing (“brain fog”)
• Dizziness
• Muscle cramps
• Less energy for intense exercise

Fortunately, you can minimize these symptoms before they start by replenishing fluids and salt. Good strategies include drinking a cup or two of salty broth or being liberal with the salt shaker.