Chances are, you’ve heard of the ketogenic diet and its wide-reaching health and wellness benefits. While difficult, following the keto diet can potentially help you lose weight, manage your cholesterol, reduce blood sugar levels, and keep your blood pressure under control. Namely, the keto diet pushes your body to the state of ketosis; when your body has no carbs to produce energy, it starts burning fat for energy instead.
Many people prefer the keto diet over other weight loss plans because it allows you to continue eating a lot of typical foods. On the keto diet, you can eat vegetables, milk, meat, seeds and nuts, and some fruits. It even allows you to eat snacks and sweets, such as the keto strawberry shake.
As with all diets, following the keto diet takes self-control and self-discipline. If you find yourself struggling to stay on track and follow the diet’s requirements, try out the following hacks to make the process more manageable.
Choose the Right Type of Keto Diet
There are several keto diet variations, such as the vegan keto diet, vegetarian keto diet, or lazy keto diet. Depending on your personal eating habits and lifestyle, you may find one variation over the others. To help yourself adjust to keto eating, try starting with the least restrictive option based on how the foods you typically eat. Then, once you get used to the diet, you can try out another variation.
Make a Plan to Follow
The best way to ensure you follow through with a diet is to create clear plans of action. For example, creating a detailed grocery list before you go shopping will help you fight the temptation of buying off-limits foods. If you thrive on organization and planning, you can even list out what you’ll eat for each meal every day of the week.
You’ll also want to have a plan for what to do in social situations that revolve around food. This may mean bringing your own food to informal get-togethers or calling a restaurant ahead of time to ask about their keto options.
Have a List of the Products You Can and Can’t Eat
Creating a clear list of “do and don’ts” is a great way to make your diet easier. Having a list of the products you can and can’t eat is a simple and effective way to start and stick to your diet. Plus, you don’t have to worry about ingredients or counting calories and carbs if you already know what you can and can’t have.
Try Intermittent Fasting First
Trying intermittent fasting first will prepare your body for the coming changes. It’s a good pre-dieting choice because of the calorie restrictions last only 14 to 16 hours a day (including sleeping time). Plus, your body will break down the extra fats stored and use it as energy during the fasting. If you can manage intermittent fasting, it’s a good sign that you can handle the keto diet.
Drink Bulletproof Coffee
For coffee drinkers, it comes as a relief that the keto diet allows you to drink coffee, so long as you don’t add carbs. You can still enjoy your morning pick-me-up on a diet, and you can even use it as a boost to hit ketosis.
You can try bulletproof coffee to promote ketosis first thing in the morning. The drink combines black coffee, butter, and MCT oil, making it low-carb but high in healthy fats that the body can convert for energy. To add sweetness and flavor, try drinking it with stevia and Ceylon cinnamon.
Replace Regular Products with Their Healthier Versions
Sometimes you don’t need to give up your favorite foods, but just replace them with their healthier alternatives. For example, instead of rice, you can use cauliflower rice, and instead of pasta, you can use veggie pasta. You can also make pizza, snacks, and desserts by replacing the regular flour with coconut or almond flour and using keto-friendly ingredients.
Prepare Your Own Meals
Everyone who’s tried any type of diet knows that temptation is everywhere—it’s at home, the grocery store, work, friends’ houses, and restaurants.
To avoid the temptation of eating non-keto foods, you should prepare your meals at home and take them with you wherever you go. If you want to make that easier, you can try meal prepping, which entails making all of your meals at the beginning of the week so you don’t stray from your diet as the days go on.
Improving Your Overall Health
All of these hacks will make your keto diet easier to follow and sustain. Of course, you’ll still need to be disciplined, determined, and motivated. So, focus on your goals and their health benefits instead of the diet itself. Moreover, try to balance your life by being active, have enough sleep, rest, and being positive. That way, the keto diet will help you achieve overall wellness.
