What is the Keto diet?

I have been on the Ketogenic or keto diet, the easiest diet I have ever done. I genuinely think that I will be low-carb for life; I don’t see why not. The ketogenic diet is high fat, moderate protein, and low carb. Based on your height and weight, you can calculate how much of each you should be eating, but as a general rule, you should eat 70% fat, 20% protein, and only 10% or fewer carbs daily on this diet.

Why Keto?

I have been trying for over a year to lose weight, and I was done failing and felt mentally prepared to go on a strict diet. My husband suggested we go on the keto diet together. After we watched Fat Fiction on Youtube, I was convinced to do the diet. After the first week of trying it, I felt great. I feel energized, healthier, and happier as my weight slowly decreases. I find this diet very sustainable.

How to Start Keto

1. Get Educated

To begin any diet, you must know what it takes to go through it. What can or can you not eat? How much of each food group should you eat while on this diet? And if weight loss is your goal, you have to cut calories and exercise to see any weight loss results. I would recommend stocking up on books and reading some credible online resources to get started. You can also watch the free documentary called Fat Fiction to get hyped and motivated. As you know, I am studying to become a librarian, so a few books I read that have helped me on my journey are Easy Keto for Busy People by Jennifer Garza and The Keto for Two Cookbook by Lindsay Boyers.

2. Go Grocery Shopping

If you’re going to be serious, you will have to rid your cupboards of anything that you won’t be eating; in that case, you will have to go grocery shopping to restock on items you can eat. Luckily for you eating keto is super simple. Going grocery shopping will mean you must look at the nutrition label, period. I try not to pick up anything with carbs in the double digits. I didn’t understand before, but I know now that fiber doesn’t count, and neither do sugar substitutes such as stevia because those types of carbs don’t spike your insulin and are necessary for your diet. So subtract the fiber and sugar substitute for whatever you see next to carbohydrates. Let me give you a quick example: I like Lilly’s milk chocolate because it is sweetened with stevia instead of white sugar.  Lilly’s milk chocolate peanut butter cup has 17 grams of carbs, subtract the 8 grams of fiber and 5 grams of erythritol, and you are left with only 4 grams of carbs for serving size (2 peanuts butter cups). Sweet!

3. Get rid of temptation

After you get over the initial withdrawal from sugar and carbs, swapping your favorite foods with dupes becomes easier. Even though I look a little weird doing this, I take my favorite Poppi drink and Lilly’s chocolate to the movies instead of buying candy and soda from the theaters. You don’t have to deprive yourself; find a few items that would be a suitable replacement for your favorite foods. I used to hate going on diets in the past because when I felt like eating ice cream, I forced myself to have a piece of fruit instead. Some keto desserts taste so good it almost feels naughty. I was so programmed to believe that fat is wrong and that eating foods that I enjoy are terrible that I was shocked when I stepped on the scale the next day and lost weight! So don’t deprive yourself; prepare for those times when cravings hit. The thing about sustainability is that you’re changing the way you think about food.

4. Stick it out

But, losing fat takes time, and the slower you lose weight, the slower it will take for you to put it back on. Many crash diets may give you the desired results, but soon, after all, that weight returns. In the beginning, it will be difficult because you want to see the pounds shed off you quickly, and it might not. That’s why the number on the scale is not as significant as how you feel in your clothes and how much more energy you have. The increase in power alone kept me going for the first few weeks. Also, what kept me going was knowing that 1-2 lbs of weight loss a week is healthy. Yes, there were times when I wanted to give up, but I’ve come too far to quit now.

I hope you all enjoyed hearing from me. My classes start on Monday, and I wanted to ensure I cranked out a quick little blog post before I started. I hope everyone who reads this knows you’re loved by God up in Heaven. I don’t know if anyone needed to hear that, but I feel compelled to share that with you.

"Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? ... No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow — not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below — indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."(Romans 8:35, 37-39)

-with love, Amanda