Category: PART ONE

CHAPTER One – Low-Carb, High-Fat

CHAPTER TWO – Go Keto in Five Steps

Low-Carb, High-Fat

MAINTAINING A LOW-CARB, HIGH-FAT DIET is beneficial for weight loss. Most importantly, according to an increasing number of studies, it helps reduce risk factors for diabetes, heart diseases, stroke, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, and more. The keto diet promotes fresh whole foods like meat, fish, veggies, and healthy fats and oils, and greatly reduces processed, chemically treated foods. It’s a diet that you can sustain long-term and enjoy. What’s not to enjoy about a diet that encourages eating bacon and eggs for breakfast!

Studies consistently show that a keto diet helps people lose more weight, improve energy levels throughout the day, and stay satiated longer. The increased satiety and improved energy levels are attributed to most of the calories coming from fat, which is very slow to digest and calorically dense. As a result, keto dieters commonly consume fewer calories because they’re satiated longer and don’t feel the need to eat as much or as often.

Carbs (sugar) cause blood glucose spikes, which result in crashes soon after, followed by cravings for more carbs. This cycle causes constant spikes in insulin and eventually may lead to prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

Why Go Keto?

When you eat a ketogenic diet, your body becomes efficient at burning fat for fuel. This is great for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is that fat contains more than double the calories of most carbs, so you need to eat far less food by weight every day. Your body more readily burns the fat it has stored (the fat you’re trying to get rid of), resulting in more weight loss. Using fat for fuel provides consistent energy levels, and it does not spike your blood glucose, so you don’t experience the highs and lows when eating large amounts of carbs. Consistent energy levels throughout your day means you can get more done and feel less tired doing so.

In addition to those benefits, eating a keto diet in the long term has been proven to:

• Result in more weight loss (specifically body fat)

• Reduce blood sugar and insulin resistance (commonly reversing prediabetes and type 2 diabetes)

• Reduce triglyceride levels

• Reduce blood pressure

• Improve levels of HDL (good) and LDL (bad) cholesterol

• Improve brain function

Getting into Ketosis

When eating a high-carb diet, your body is in a metabolic state of glycolysis, which simply means that most of the energy your body uses comes from blood glucose.

In this state, after each meal, your blood glucose is spiked causing higher levels of insulin, which promotes storage of body fat, and blocking the release of fat from your adipose (fat storage) tissues.

In contrast, a low-carb, high-fat diet puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis. Your body breaks down fat into ketone bodies (ketones) for fuel as.

SUPPORT FOR YOUR NEW LIFESTYLE

When starting the keto diet, it’s important to let your closest friends and family members know you’re serious about it and which foods you’re trying to avoid. This will help during gatherings or outings. You may face some resistance in the beginning, and that’s absolutely normal. The high-carb, low-fat diet has been the standard in most people’s lives, and keto is a complete turnaround. Just focus on yourself and your progress. Soon enough, your high energy, weight loss, and overall positive outlook will make even naysayers curious.

A great place for initial support is reddit.com’s keto subreddit: www.reddit.com/r/keto.

You’ll find hundreds of thousands of other keto-ers from around the world posting their experiences and progress, and supporting each other throughout their journey.

Its primary source of energy. In ketosis, your body readily burns fat for energy, and fat reserves are constantly released and consumed. It’s a normal state—whenever you’re low on carbs for a few days, your body will do this naturally.

Most cells in your body use ketones and glucose for fuel. For cells that can only take glucose, like parts of the brain, the glycerol derived from dietary fats is made into glucose by the liver through gluconeogenesis.

The main goal of the keto diet is to keep you in nutritional ketosis all the time. For those just starting the keto diet, to be fully keto-adapted usually takes anywhere from four to eight weeks.

Once you become keto-adapted, glycogen (the glucose stored in your
muscles and liver) decreases, you carry less water weight, your muscle endurance increases, and your overall energy levels are higher than before. Also, if you kick yourself out of ketosis by eating too many carbs, you return to ketosis much sooner than when you were not keto-adapted. Additionally, once you are keto-adapted, you can generally eat up to 50 grams of carbs per day and still maintain ketosis.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE DIABETES

If you have diabetes, a low-carb diet can still work for you. For type 2 diabetes, it can begin to reverse the condition; for type 1 diabetics, it can greatly improve blood sugar control.

Always consult with your doctor before beginning a low-carb diet, especially with type 1 diabetes, because if you take medications, you may have to immediately decrease your doses. Your doctor may recommend doing a trial under their supervision so they can monitor your blood glucose levels and insulin doses.

Additionally, for type 1 diabetes, you should eat over 50 grams of carbohydrates per day to prevent ketoacidosis.

Ketoacidosis is a toxic metabolic state that occurs when the body fails to regulate ketone production. The result is a severe accumulation of keto acids, which causes the PH of the blood to decrease substantially, making the blood more acidic. The most common causes for ketoacidosis are type 1 diabetes, prolonged alcoholism, and extreme starvation, which can result in diabetic ketoacidosis.

The chart below provides the carbohydrate contents of commonly eaten foods for reference (fats, fish, poultry, and meats don’t contain carbs):

(DKA), alcoholic ketoacidosis, and starvation ketoacidosis, respectively. Ketoacidosis rarely occurs for reasons other than type 1 diabetics.

Living in Ratios

Just like the USDA’s Food Pyramid, the keto diet is built on ratios. It’s important to get the right balance of macronutrients so your body has the energy it needs and you’re not missing any essential fat or protein in your diet.

TESTING FOR KETOSIS

When you first start the keto diet, it’s important to know if and when you’re in ketosis when you first start eating low-carb. Not only is it a great confidence booster, but testing also lets you know that you’re doing things right, or wrong, and whether you need to make any changes.

An easy test is to sniff for “keto-breath.” After a few days, you might notice a taste that’s somewhat fruity and a bit sour or even metallic. The reason for this? When your body is in ketosis, it creates the ketone bodies: acetone, acetoacetate, and betahydroxybutyrate. Acetone in particular is excreted through your urine and breath, which causes “keto-breath.” This change in the smell of your breath and the taste in
your mouth usually diminishes after a few weeks.

A more accurate way to tell is by using ketone urine test strips. They’re fairly inexpensive and can instantly check the ketone levels in your urine. You can find them in packs of 100 for under $10 online or at most pharmacies. Try to take the test a few hours after you wake up in the morning, because being dehydrated after a night’s sleep can cause a false positive.

The most accurate test involves a blood ketone meter. This type of test is a bit pricier at around $40 for the meter and up to $5 per test strip. The upside is it’s much more accurate because it tests your blood directly. For nutritional ketosis, your reading should be between 0.5 and 5.0 millimeters.

Long term, it’s not necessary to continuously check on your ketone levels. Within a few weeks, you’ll know if you’re eating right, and it becomes very easy to stay in ketosis.

Macronutrients are what foods are made of. They are fat, protein and carbohydrates. Each type of macronutrient provides a certain amount of energy (calories) per gram consumed.

• Fat provides about 9 calories per gram
• Protein provides about 4 calories per gram
• Carbohydrates provide about 4 calories per gram

On the keto diet, 65 to 75 percent of the calories you consume should come from fat. About 20 to 25 percent should come from protein, and the remaining 5 percent or so from carbohydrates.

Here are the same numbers broken down into an average 2000-calorie daily diet by grams and percentages:

Keep in mind that 2000 calories is just an example—the number of calories you consume daily should be tailored to your body, activity levels, and goals.

The number of calories you should eat depends on a few factors, including:

• Current lean body weight (total body weight minus body fat)

• Daily activity levels (do you work in an office, wait tables, compete
as a professional athlete?)

• Workout regimen? If so:

• The types of workouts (weight lifting, cardio, or both)

• Hours per week of each type

• Goal:

• Lose weight

• Maintain weight

• Gain muscle

There are many ketogenic-based macro calculators available online, such as tasteaholics.com/keto-calculator and ketogains.com/ketogains-calculator. You can also find plenty of others through a quick Google search for “keto calculator.”

You’ll be able to easily and quickly plug in your numbers and get an immediate estimation of your body’s caloric needs.

One of the great things about the keto diet is that it’s not necessary to track each and every number to hit your goals. Yet if you want to track, it’s a great way to speed up your progress, and tracking will give you a visual reminder to stay on course every day.

Necessary Nutrients

It’s crucial to drink plenty of water when beginning the keto diet. You may even notice that you’re visiting the bathroom more often, and that’s normal!

This happens because you’re cutting out a lot of processed foods and have started eating more whole, natural foods instead. Processed foods have a lot of added sodium, and the sudden change in diet causes a sudden drop in sodium intake.

Additionally, the reduction in carbs reduces insulin levels, which in turn tells your kidneys to release excess stored sodium. Between the reduction in sodium intake and flushing of excess stored sodium, the body begins to excrete much more water than usual, and you end up low on sodium and other electrolytes.

When this happens, you may experience symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, coughing, sniffles, irritability, and/or nausea.

This state is generally known as the “keto flu.” It’s very important to know that this is not the actual influenza virus. It’s called the keto flu only due to the similarity in symptoms, but it’s neither contagious nor a real virus.

Many who experience these symptoms believe the keto diet made them sick and immediately go back to eating carbs. But the keto flu phase actually means your body is withdrawing from sugar, high carbs, and processed foods, and is readjusting so it can use fat as its fuel. The keto flu usually lasts just a few days while the body readjusts. You can abate its symptoms by adding more sodium and electrolytes to your diet.

Getting Ready to Go Keto

Now that you understand the benefits and science behind the ketogenic diet, you’re ready to get started. In the following chapters, you’ll get all the information you need to succeed with your keto diet, including what to buy and what to avoid, meal plans and full recipes, and how to exercise to maximize your health.

THE “KETO FLU”

The keto flu is avoidable and its duration can be reduced simply by adding more sodium to your diet. Here are some of the easiest ways to do it:

• Add more salt to your meals.
• Drink soup broths like beef and chicken.
• Eat saltier foods like pickled vegetables and bacon.

To replace other electrolytes, try to eat more of the foods listed below:

ELECTROLYTE FOODS CONTAINING ELECTROLYTE

POTASSIUM	Avocados, nuts, dark leafy greens such as spinach and kale, salmon, plain yogurt, mushrooms
MAGNESIUM	Nuts, dark chocolate, artichokes, spinach, fish
CALCIUM	Cheeses, leafy greens, broccoli, seafood, almonds
PHOSPHORUS	Meats, cheeses, nuts, seeds, dark chocolate
CHLORIDE	Most vegetables, olives, salt, seaweed

Remember that if you don’t feel better right away, it will pass within a couple of days and you’ll emerge a fat-burning machine!

Go Keto in Five Steps

YOU NOW KNOW THE SCIENCE behind the keto diet and why it works. In this chapter, you’ll learn how to get started and maximize success. Here’s a quick and easy step-by-step guide to use as you begin, and to refer to any time throughout your journey, for support and guidance.

Step 1: Clean Out Your Pantry

Out with the old, in with the new. Having tempting, unhealthy foods in your home is one of the biggest contributors to failure when starting any diet. To succeed, you need to minimize any triggers to maximize your chances. Unless you have the iron will of Arnold Schwarzenegger, you should not keep addictive foods like bread, desserts, and other non–keto friendly snacks around.

If you don’t live alone, be sure to discuss and warn your housemates, whether they’re significant others, family, or roommates. If some items must be kept (if they’re simply not yours to throw out), try to agree on a special location to keep them out of sight. This will also help anyone you share your living space with understand that you are serious about starting your diet, and will lead to a better experience for you at home overall (people love to tempt anyone on a diet at first but it will get old and they’ll tire quickly).

STARCHES AND GRAINS

Get rid of all cereal, pasta, rice, potatoes, corn, oats, quinoa, flour, bread, bagels, wraps, rolls, and croissants.

SUGARY FOODS AND DRINKS

Get rid of all refined sugar, fountain drinks, fruit juices, milk, desserts, pastries, milk chocolate, candy bars, etc.

LEGUMES

Get rid of beans, peas, and lentils. They are dense with carbs. A 1-cup serving of beans alone contains more than three times the amount of carbs you want to consume in a day.

PROCESSED POLYUNSATURATED FATS AND OILS

Get rid of all vegetable oils and most seed oils, including sunflower, safflower, canola, soybean, grapeseed, and corn oil. Also eliminate trans fats like shortening and margarine — anything that says “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated.”

Olive oil, extra-virgin olive oil, avocado oil, and coconut oil are the keto-friendly oils you want on hand.

FINDING SUPPORT

Sticking to your diet in the beginning can prove difficult when close friends and family aren’t eating the same as you. Even worse, they are eating all the things you’re trying not to eat. Every person is different, and you likely know who will support you and who will not. For those who support you, explain that you’re avoiding carbs (and which foods include carbs) and request politely that they not offer you anything when you’re eating together.

Telling the naysayers that you’ve quit eating grains and sugar will usually suffice. The terms keto and low-carb will usually spark a debate or argument with certain people because they’ve been told their whole lives to eat carbs and low-fat products. Try to avoid using those terms when explaining your diet goals. Avoid direct debates by recommending they read about the benefits of being in ketosis and the health benefits of
eating a low-carb diet.

FRUITS

Get rid of fruits that are high in carbs, including bananas, dates, grapes, mangos, and apples. Be sure to get rid of any dried fruits like raisins as well. Dried fruit contains as much sugar as regular fruit but more concentrated, making it easy to eat a lot of sugar in a small serving. For comparison, a cup of raisins has over 100 grams of carbs while a cup of grapes has only 15 grams of carbs

Yes, you’re “getting rid” of unwanted foods in your pantry, but these foods can feed many others. Please, don’t throw them away! Find a local food bank or homeless youth shelter to donate them to.

Your pantry will seem empty after the clean out. That’s because products meant for longer-term storage are usually high in carbs and full of unhealthy additives and preservatives. You’ll fill your refrigerator shortly (Step 2) with healthy, natural foods.

It’s time to restock your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer with delicious, keto friendly foods that will help you lose weight, become healthy, and feel great!

THE BASICS

With these basics on hand, you’ll always be ready to prepare healthy, delicious and keto-friendly meals and snacks.

• Water, coffee, and tea
• All spices and herbs
• Sweeteners, including stevia and erythritol
• Lemon or lime juice
• Low-carb condiments like mayonnaise, mustard, pesto, and sriracha
• Broths (chicken, beef, bone)
• Pickled and fermented foods like pickles, kimchi, and sauerkraut
• Nuts and seeds, including macadamia nuts, pecans, almonds, walnuts,
hazelnuts, pine nuts, flaxseed, chia seeds, and pumpkin seeds.

MEATS

Any type of meat is fine for the keto diet, including chicken, beef, lamb, pork, turkey, game, etc. It’s preferable to use grass-fed and/or organic meats if they’re available and possible for your budget. You can and should eat the fat on the meat and skin on the chicken.

All wild-caught fish and seafood slide into the keto diet nicely. Try to avoid farmed fish.

Go crazy with the eggs! Use organic eggs from free-range chickens, if possible.

VEGGIES

You can eat all nonstarchy veggies, including broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, cucumbers, lettuce, onions, peppers, tomatoes, garlic (in small quantities — each clove contains about 1 gram of carbs), Brussels sprouts, zucchini, eggplant, olives, zucchini, yellow squash, and cauliflower.

Avoid all types of potatoes, yams and sweet potatoes, corn, and legumes like beans, lentils, and peas.

ABOUT THOSE SWEETENERS . . .

The sweeteners may sound strange if you haven’t heard of them before. They both come from natural sources and are safe to use in any quantity.

Stevia is extracted from the leaves of a plant called Stevia rebaudiana. Stevia has zero calories and contains some beneficial micronutrients like magnesium, potassium, and zinc. It’s readily available in liquid or powder form online and in most supermarkets. It’s much sweeter than sugar, so containers are usually very small — you won’t need nearly as much.

Erythritol is a sugar alcohol that is low in calories, about 70 percent as sweet as sugar, and can be found naturally in some fruits and vegetables. Sugar alcohols are indigestible by the human body, so erythritol cannot raise your blood sugar or insulin levels. Several studies have proven it to be safe. Sugar alcohols can sometimes cause temporary digestive discomfort, but out of the few available sugar alcohols like xylitol, maltitol, and sorbitol, erythritol is considered to be the most forgiving and best for everyday use.

FRUITS

You can eat a small amount of berries every day, such as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. Lemon and lime juices are great for adding flavor to your meals. Avocados are also low in carbs and full of healthy fat.

Avoid other fruits, as they’re loaded with sugar. A single banana can contain around 25 grams of net carbs.

DAIRY

Eat full-fat dairy like butter, sour cream, heavy (whipping) cream, cheese, cream cheese, and unsweetened yogurt. Although not technically dairy, unsweetened almond and coconut milks are great as well.

Avoid milk and skim milk, as well as sweetened yogurt, as it contains a lot of sugar. Avoid any flavored, low-fat, or fat-free dairy products.

FATS AND OILS

Avocado oil, olive oil, butter, lard, and bacon fat are great for cooking and consuming. Avocado oil has a high smoke point (it does not burn or smoke until it reaches 520°F), which is ideal for searing meats and frying in a wok. Make sure to avoid oils labeled “blend”; they commonly contain small amounts of the healthy oil and large amounts of unhealthy oils.

Preparing delicious recipes is one of the best parts of the keto diet, and it’s quite easy if you have the right tools. The following tools will make cooking simpler and faster. Each one is worth investing in, especially for the busy cook.

FOOD SCALE

When you’re trying to hit your caloric and macronutrient goals, a kitchen food scale is a necessary appliance. You can measure any solid or liquid food and get the perfect amount every time. Used in combination with an app like My Fitness Pal, you’ll have all the data you need to hit your goals sooner. Food scales can be found online for $10 to $20.

FOOD PROCESSOR

Food processors are critical to your arsenal. They are ideal for blending certain foods or processing foods together into sauces and shakes. Blenders don’t cut it, powerwise, for many foods, especially tough vegetables like cauliflower. One great food processor/blender is NutriBullet. The containers you blend in come with lids or drink spouts so you can take them to go or use them as storage. They’re also easy to clean, making the whole system extremely convenient. They typically sell for about $80 online.

SPIRALIZER

Spiralizers make vegetables into noodles or ribbons within seconds. They make cooking a lot faster and easier—noodles have much more surface area and take a fraction of the time to cook. For example, a spiralizer turns a zucchini into zoodles and with some Alfredo or marinara sauce, you can’t tell you aren’t eating noodles. Spiralizers cost around $30 and can be found in large retail stores and online.

ELECTRIC HAND MIXER

If you’ve ever had to beat an egg white by hand until you get stiff peaks, then you know just how difficult it is. Electric hand mixers save your arm muscles and massive amounts of time, especially when mixing heavy ingredients. You can find a decent one online for $10 to $20.

CAST IRON PANS

They’ve been used for centuries and were one of the first modern cooking devices. Cast iron skillets don’t wear out and are healthier to use (no chemical treatment of any kind), retain heat very well, and can be moved between the stove and oven. They are simple to clean up—just wash them out with a scrub sponge without soap, dry them off, and then rub them with cooking oil. This prevents rust and encourages the buildup of “seasoning,” a natural nonstick surface. Many cast iron
pans come preseasoned, and this method preserves the coating. You can find them in many retail stores and online for $10 to $80, depending on the brand and size; Lodge is a popular brand, still made in the United States.

NICE-TO-HAVE EQUIPMENT

The kitchen section of any store can be a wonderland. There are so many intriguing gadgets. It’s also nice (although not necessary) to have these other tools on hand if you can’t resist the lure:

INSTANT COOKING THERMOMETER

Cooking steak and chicken is much easier when
you can easily prod the meat and find out whether it’s at the level of doneness that you’re shooting for. These can usually be found for $10 to $20 in most retail stores or online.

MEASURING SPOON SET

Get the right amount of an ingredient quickly. These sets can go from $5 to $10 in any supermarket, store, or online. TONGS Tongs reduce splatter when working quickly (compared to using a fork or spatula to flip something in a hot pan). It’s best to get tongs with nylon heads so you
don’t scratch any of your pots or pans. You can get a pair online or in retail stores for $10 to $15.

KNIFE SHARPENING STONE

Most of prep time is spent on cutting. You’ll see your cutting speed skyrocket with a sharp knife set. It’s also a pleasure to use sharp knives. Aim to sharpen your knives every week or so to keep them in good shape (professional chefs sharpen their knives before every use). Sharpening stones cost under $10 and can be ordered online.

Using meal plans in the beginning of your diet greatly increases your chances of success. The meal plans in part 2 of this book include meals for every part of the day, premade shopping lists, and macronutrient and calorie counts for each meal. They even account for leftovers. This will make starting out much easier and more enjoyable!

Meal plans work well because they give you goals and direction. If you know what you need to make next without thinking about it, you’re less likely to give up, change your mind, and order food from your favorite takeout spot. Also, since you know what’s coming next, you can look forward to it throughout the day and week.

After using the meal plans for a few weeks, you set your body up to have the right expectations for how much food you’ll provide it and what type of food it will get (high in fat and protein and low in carbs). Even if you don’t continue to use meal plans, you’ll be familiar enough with the diet to know what you should be eating and how much.

Pay attention to the ingredients listed on the packaged products you buy. The best products have just a few ingredients with recognizable names, meaning they’re made with fewer additives and preservatives.

CUSTOMIZING YOUR MEAL PLANS

Part 2 includes two weekly meal plans, which you can extend and reuse as many times as you like. You can also use the recipes from part 3 to make your own meal plans or swap out recipes in the meal plans provided.

The daily caloric goal in the meal plans is about 1700 calories, give or take 100 calories. If your caloric needs are higher or lower (don’t forget to use an online keto calculator before you start), adjust accordingly with some of the ingredients in the meals by simply taking out a little or adding a bit more. Additionally, you can always use an extra tablespoon of olive oil or butter when cooking to get an extra 100 calories or so.

SHOPPING

Initially, you should look at the nutritional information provided for almost every packaged product to see if the product is low in carbs or not. Many companies love to add sugar, so be on the lookout. Over your first few weeks, you’ll get to know which products are good and which are not as you look at nutritional labels.

Both of the meal plans in part 2 include shopping lists. You’ll notice the quantities are not based on the quantities stores sell them in. Look for what would be closest to those amounts when buying the items. As you get more comfortable with your new diet and know the quantities you need, you’ll rely less on shopping lists.

As you start your diet and the pounds fall off, think about how to lose more weight or get healthier to feel even better. This is a great time to become more active through exercise.

Increase the amount you exercise relative to what you do now. If you don’t exercise at all, start taking short walks or slow jogs, or a combination of both, for 15 minutes every other day. If you already go to the gym or lift weights, add an extra exercise or start doing cardio. It doesn’t matter what level you’re at, try to do a little more than you’re doing now. That’s all it takes to become healthier. Exercise is incremental, and every increment is a boost to
weight loss and feeling better.

KETO QUOTIENT GOOD	Up to 69 percent of the calories in the recipe come from fat
70 to 79 percent of the calories in the recipe come from fat	GREAT
80 percent or more of the calories in the recipe come from fat	EXCELLENT

If you have the time, try taking a class or doing an activity that involves moving, like a step class or dancing, or start playing a sport like basketball. It doesn’t have to be competitive, nor do you need to be
good or have any previous experience. Such activities are an easy way to get on your feet, and you can learn a new skill in the process.

Staying fit through regular physical activity has been proven to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels as well as reduce risk for various heart diseases and type 2 diabetes. In combination with the keto diet, your health will improve dramatically, and so will your energy levels.

Any exercise, even if it’s 15 minutes a week, is better than no exercise. Don’t worry about how much you do in the beginning. Just start doing something and you’ll build from there naturally.

EASY EXERCISE SEQUENCES

Here are a few easy exercise sequences if you’re just starting out. Once every other day is enough in the beginning. If possible, try doing these with a friend or significant other for support and accountability. If you can’t do some of them, that’s absolutely all right! Simply focus on the ones you can do.

CARDIOVASCULAR ACTIVITY

Any aerobic activity, like walking, running or bicycling for 15 to 30 minutes, twice a week or more.

STRENGTH CONDITIONING

One set of exercises (for at least 10 repetitions, or it’s too easy) targeting each of the major muscle groups: chest, shoulders, back, abs and legs.

• Push-ups or assisted push-ups
• Pull-ups or chin-ups
• Crunches
• Squats