10 Quick Tips & Notes for Keto Dieters!
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Have you seen a lot about 75.15.5 ? Do you know what it means? Have you input your information on multiple websites, apps, and macro calculators and have a HUGE range/difference in what your Macros "should be"?
This is common! And, well, confusing right?
Below are some of my top tips, tricks, hacks, & snacks for First time Ketoers. The things I wish I had known my first few months. If you are stuck and questioning yourself, Contact Me. I am here to help.
You also have the option of purchasing a 4 week plan & Specialized macros calculations, from me, to get you started on the right foot. Jump over to my "Store" for this "Easy" button! This option includes daily menus with Recipes and Where to get the food/groceries. It also includes EATING OUT (yep - I'll ask you some of your favorite restaurants to eat at and incorporate this into your Month meal plan). I find out more about you, health conditions, activity level, favorite foods, foods you don't like and work all of that in as well. It is catered to YOU in every way.
* I am not a medical professional or claiming to be one. I have a Bachelor of Science, and a Masters in Health Administration. I come from a post Clinical and Pharmaceutical Manufacturing background. I have been practicing Ketogenic dieting and currently lost 85 lbs - and going!
1) Make sure you are drinking the full amount of water each day! (It is hard! Grab a big Tervis or bubba keg and just do it!)
•You should be drinking ½ of your current body weight (up to 180 oz) a day! i.e. You weigh 240 lbs, You will drink 120 oz of water EACH DAY!
•If you have trouble drinking plain, unflavored water, Ultima electrolyte water powders are the best “keto friendly” option I have found. I recommend getting the multi flavor packets first. Then once you find a flavor you really like, you can purchase the larger containers. These are typically cheaper at Thrive Market if you are a member, if you are not and want to try it out you can save a lot there. Dieting can get expensive, which is one of the problems we have in this country right now.
You should NOT use crystal lite, or other manufactured water enhancers as they WILL kick you out of Ketosis.
•Decaf coffee and Unsweet tea DO count towards water intake. I drink any type of coffee, however a lot of Ketoers will tell you that the only type of coffee to use for Keto is Bulletproof Coffee. They also make "pre made" grab and go options. Bulletproof is one of the original "keto" companies.
For morning coffee while traveling, and you do not want to pack MCT Oil or Powder, you can grab some of these packets that are great for travel. Note: I think they have a distinct "flavor" that I am not always in the mood for. My current favorite MCT oil is from Sports Research second is a powder MCT from Perfect Keto (and that is why I agreed to partner with those two companies, and the code: Ketosismom will save you at Perfect Keto and KETOSISMOM10 at Sports Research). MCT oil is a great way to add fats to not just your coffee, but mixed with salad dressings, in shakes, and even in cooked meals.
2) TRACK YOUR FOOD BEFORE you eat it! If you need help figuring out your Macros in a quick method, here is the Perfect Keto Online Calculator. I highly recommend tracking your food the night before! I use Myfitnesspal (the free version) and edit my % macros to be as close to my actual goal as possible. I am cheap, its not worth the premium cost to me to have it exact! There is also carb manager, and other Keto tracking apps you can use. But just realize, each one will tell you something different, so do not get overwhelmed.
•My meals and recipes are on YouTube and Instagram.
* @KetosisMom recipes are all loaded into Myfitnesspal already. If you make any of those you can search for the entry and add it directly instead of loading each ingredient in yourself.
•I will try to continue to upload a few recipes each week, if you have a favorite dish or meal that you want to know if there is a Keto version or if I will make it and post, just send me a msg and I will try my best.
3) Keto does not have to be hard and all cooking from scratch. We OFTEN go out to eat at the following places:
•Five Guys, Wendy’s, McDonalds, Red Robbin, Outback, Red Lobster, Jimmy Johns, Tully’s, Dinosaur BBQ, Taco bell, Chinese/Japanese etc.
You CAN find Keto options at almost ANY restaurant or ask them to make a few tweaks, so you can eat well!
I have recently been eating lunches that are prepared for me and delivered every week to my house from Rebuilt Meals. If you follow me on social media you have seen these and know I praise them. I had tried Factor (used to be Factor 75) and trifecta meals, I used to order Keto fridge and I would buy random Atkins or low carb freezer meals at the store. I do not anymore, bc I get Rebuilt or Real Good Foods and that is it. But Rebuilt is hands down my clear cut winner in the pre- prepared meals. There are discounts for both Rebuilt and Real Good in my discounts section.
4) CHOCOLATE LOVERS! If you love chocolate and cannot do w/o it, CHOCZERO is going to be your best friend. And just by using that link you will get $10 off. Boom! You're welcome.
Milk and Dark are available in squares and ketobark currently. These are high in fiber as well as their syrups (worth it) and very keto friendly. Amazon used to be the best place to order these, however the company has started placing the chocolate into small zip, reusable coolers, that if you purchase direct from them they often have "bundles" where you can save and they also ship on icepacks. They are also excellent with customer service so if you ever have issues they fix it right way. I had an advent calendar delivered that was melted, they refunded me and I bought it again (while licking the melted one out of the container - shhhh it's ok!)
5) Morning Coffee/Shake/Smoothie…. aka FATS
•Most ketoers get in extra “good fat” with a bulletproof coffee” in the AM. This is hot coffee mixed with MCT Oils, butter, and Sugar substitute, like Swerve, to sweeten. If you need it creamier I would recommend either using MCT Powders (from Perfect Keto) or Adding heavy cream to the coffee. DO NOT and I repeat...DO NOT, use half and half or LIGHT cream. Throw that away immediately.
•If you cannot stomach coffee… You can add the same things to a hot tea. OR the MCT powder from Perfect Keto are going to be your best bet to make smoothies and shakes. 1 or 2 scoops with a nut milk and ice is a basic smoothie. I often make an iced coffee mid day with premier protein, coffee, cream, and mct oil as well (YUM!)
6) Products I personally have liked while on Keto diet:
•Perfect Keto MCT powder – Chocolate & Salted Caramel. I use these for shakes as well as in my morning coffee now. It acts as a “creamer” for me. Make sure you check amazon pricing vs pricing direct from their site with my code: KETOSISMOM - get whatever is cheaper!
•Perfect Keto BASE – you can get these as they are “exo ketones” that when you drink this it can help you remain in ketosis after a high carb meal, or help kickstart your initial diet into reaching keto faster. I would not use these regularly however because you DO want your body to hit and remain in ketosis naturally as well. Kiss my Keto also makes one that I have used as a Pre-workout drink with water and ice.
•Kiss my Keto has MCT unflavored oil that can be added to salad dressings or in recipes or even the morning coffee if you don’t mind the consistency of the oily coffee. If you get an MCT oil from anywhere, get unflavored. Trust me! My current favorite is from Sports Research.
•Ultima water enhancers – you can get multiflavored packs or a single flavor if you like it the best
•Choczero – everything they sell!
•Epic bars – the chicken and Siracha only has 1 carb and is an AWESOME snack or in-between meal
•Aldi organic peanut butter is lower in carbs and sugar – you can also spring and get Georgia Grinders peanut, almond, pecan, and cashew butters. They also have packets that are good for on the go, or even kids. Perfect Keto has also just released a low sugar keto friendly nut butter and packets.
•Always keep cheese, cream cheese, and REAL butter (I only use Kerrygold bars)
•Fat BOMBS are going to be your best friend. Pinterest some fat bombs or tag some of mine from Instagram. Make them and freeze them so they are always readily available!
•Sukrin gold, Monk Fruit, and Swerve are my favorite sweeteners to cook and bake with! I do not recommend baking with Stevia (Better Stevia) as it leaves a strange aftertaste. I DO use Better Stevia liquid drops for my drinks however!
•Almond Flour, Coconut flour, and Xanthan gum will also be baking staples for Keto. Trader Joes has the lowest carb Almond flour – but you can use ANY kind.
•Clotted cream (British thing) can be used instead of butter if you wanted a CREAMIER taste
Zevia is BY FAR the best option for "soda". Diet soda is a no go on Keto bc it will kick you out of ketosis regardless of what you tell yourself. The link above is the option for a multi pack (with multiple flavors). My favorite flavors have been Cola, Dr Zevia, Gingerale, Cream Soda, Rootbeer, and Mountain Zevia
7) Once you get started (about 2 to 4 weeks in) you can start trying intermittent fasting (See Blog post on This to understand more!). Make sure you research this before you try it. It is basically managing the TIMES you intake food.
8) Exercise is NOT necessary during Keto dieting however it CAN as always help you get faster results. Exo ketones can be taken as a “pre-workout” for added energy and fat burning. I like Kiss my keto pink lemonade for a pre-workout as I don’t like chocolate or caramel (thicker) things before a workout. My current pre and post Peloton workout choice has been from Sports research, when I do have these.
9) Be aware that each “cheat” you take can and will kick you out of ketosis and you will retain water. I am talking 8+ lbs you will see on your scale. This means your weight will go up for anywhere between 2 to 10 days while your body gets back into ketosis. I also recommend the last thing you intake each day before bed is high in fat. This has previously been shown in research to help that 4 am spike of glucose in the body. As always make sure your health care provider is aware or approves of any diet program before you begin. I had a full physical in Oct before I started and recently had another full physical and my thyroid is functioning better and I have lowered all my cholesterol. SO, if you CAN and your health insurance will cover it, try and get a blood workup before, during etc to monitor your levels. It is also important I believe to monitor (via blood device) your ketosis levels. The urine strips are not accurate, and I cannot honestly say how effective the breath test is. My favorite it the Keto Mojo. I even have a You Tube video on how to use this and common mistakes. Plus the refill supplies for this monitor are significantly cheaper. The new "thing to monitor" in the past few years has been GKI. I have a full blog post on monitors and my favorite was the foracare Fora6.
10) Fat does NOT mean Bacon and Burgers. Read that again, and then repeat it out loud!
•While yes, you CAN have these items (if your macros allow it), but you should be focused on healthier fat options and white meats (chicken, fish, pork etc.)
•Avocado is a great fat to add to almost any meal.
•Olive oil and Coconut oil should be staples for cooking EVERYTHING
•Cheese in moderation will add protein and Fat
•MCT oils and Powders are considered “brain fuel” Reasons to Use MCT oil
•Butter. If you need more fat and have NO other macros, melt some butter in chicken broth and drink away! It will help to fill you as well as get your fat in fast
I hope this helps You all get started on Your Keto Journey! As always, send me any questions you may have! I am here.
- The Ketosis Mom
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- Jennifer @KetosisMom