The Best Lifestyle Change You’ll Ever Make
When we first started our low carb diet, everybody looked at us like we were crazy. Not only were we cutting carbs but we were adding tons of fat! We never thought we’d be able to keep it up it with all the overly tempting sugar-filled foods out there. Eating out? It was almost impossible. Hidden sugar was lurking everywhere we looked.
Everybody who starts eating low carb goes through this. Here are 5 tips to help change or improve your perspective and make your low carb diet into a way of life!
1. Don’t Limit Yourself
Diet foods don’t have to taste bad.
4-Week Keto Meal Plan
- 4 Weeks of Delicious Keto Recipes!
- Leftovers and Bulk Preps Included
- Maximize Your Keto Diet's Success
This is one of the most common misconceptions with diets – people think that diet foods have to taste bad. It’s simply not true! We’ve been low carb for over 2 years so far and we’re eating more deliciously than we ever have before. Our hundreds of blog recipes are a testament to that. Creating low carb recipes has challenged us creatively and expanded our tastes beyond the standard American diet.
Explore your options and discover all the delicious foods you can make a daily part of your life (bacon, anyone?).
2. Don’t Starve Yourself
Another major misconception is that you have to starve yourself to see results. This is simply not true and actually damaging to your long-term health.
Use our keto calculator (low carb macro calculator) to calculate how much you should be eating based on your body, daily activity levels and goals. It will help you determine how many calories, fat, protein and carbs you should be consuming daily.
You can use MyFitnessPal to track what you eat every day or simply keep track yourself. It takes a few moments and will help you achieve your goals faster while reaching your healthiest state.
3. Track Progress The Right Way
Most people step on a scale every morning and hope to see a difference. Our bodies don’t exactly work like that. Don’t rely on numbers alone!
We recommend using a tape measure to track progress using the same points on your body week by week. For example, take the measurement of your waist once a week and track your progress in that way. Our preferred method is simply taking pictures. Over time, you’ll see a huge difference. Focus on the long term and remember, progress is slow and steady.
Tracking progress is critical because it acts as an anchor and shows you just how well you’re doing. It’ll motivate you to succeed too!
4. Think of This as a Lifestyle, Not a Diet
Most diets are not successful because they stay just that – diets. Short term solutions for long term problems. Low carb is a lifestyle change which has been proven by indisputable evidence to be the healthiest way to live. Make a commitment to this way of life and try to make your biggest and most common meals fast, simple and delicious. If you’ve got a game plan, you’ll more likely stay on track.
We created Dinner in Five and Breakfast in Five, our series of ecookbooks with 30 low carb dinners and breakfasts, to show that you can eat delicious and nutritious meals with only 5 ingredients and 5 carbs or less!
Check out our full list of low carb friendly foods to make new staple items in your life. Make sure you’ve got low carb snacks covered too!
5. Lead by Example
You may have people around you who will try to tear you down. Not everyone is very receptive to this diet. After all, following the low fat, high carb diet their wholes lives has understandably clouded their judgement. We found the best way to stop that behavior is to lead by example.
Focus on yourself and your progress. Once they see your health improving and weight falling off your body, they’ll get curious.
Try some recipes out of our collection, AllDayIDreamAboutFood, KetoDietApp, LowCarbMaven or other great low carb blogs. Once they see what you’re eating every day, they’ll be blown away and maybe even try eating low carb too.
If you’re fairly new to the low carb lifestyle, what issues have you been running into? If you’re a seasoned low carber, what tips do you have to newcomers? Make sure to leave a comment below
NUTRITIONAL DISCLAIMER
The content on this website should not be taken as medical advice and you should ALWAYS consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. We provide nutritional data for our recipes as a courtesy to our readers. We use Total Keto Diet app software to calculate the nutrition and we remove fiber and sugar alcohols, like erythritol, from the total carbohydrate count to get to the net carb count, as they do not affect your blood glucose levels. You should independently calculate nutritional information on your own and not rely on our data. The website or content herein is not intended to cure, prevent, diagnose or treat any disease. This website shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on the Website or actions you take as a result. Any action you take is strictly at your own risk.
You’ll Love Our Keto in Five Cookbooks!
We believe that the key to success is simplicity and satisfaction with your diet. That’s why we created our Keto in Five ecookbook series which includes Breakfast in Five, Lunch in Five, Dinner in Five & Dessert in Five.
Each ebook contains 30 recipes. Every recipe is made with just 5 ingredients and has up to 5 grams of net carbs. That means you can have seconds of any meal and you’ll still be within your daily carb limit!
Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD is an aesthetic medicine specialist whose work focuses on patients who are treated for obesity, metabolic syndrome, and other weight-related issues through nutritional analysis, keto diet programs, and supporting medications.
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Are nutrition counts for raw meats or cooked?
Always measure and weigh your meat raw. Cooking time will vary the amount of water lost and may give you inaccurate macros.
I did quite a bit of reading before deciding to try the keto lifestyle. I was a little worried about keto flu symptoms, so I started to cut down gradually each week on my carbs for about 2 months before I went “full keto” and I didn’t find I had many cravings for carbs at all once I was, and really haven’t suffered at all. I was a major pasta lover before but making zucchini string pasta really helped me get over that hurdle as it’s delicious. Especially since you can make sauces with full fat ingredients! I’m having steady gradual weight loss, usually about two pounds a week, and I’m very happy with how it’s going. Love your cook books!
That’s so great to hear! We really appreciate the feedback <3
I love the Keto Diet concept and have been eating low carbs for about 6 weeks now…but I have a lot of trouble with the idea of eating more fats…..it goes against everything I have been doing over the years. What fats do you suggest as being the simplest to add to the keto diet….I don’t really want to start making low carb snacks and desserts as I strive to not over-eat which I think has been my problem in the past. I have lost weight since starting the keto diet, but would like to “refine” what I’m doing to ensure continued weight loss….I really like the way I feel on this way of eating. I am not eating a lot of meat…very conscious of keeping protein down, and I have a real problem with having to count carbs, protein, and fats. I try to negate having to “count” macros by keeping my portion sizes way down…for eg: dinner on a bread and butter plate. Thanks for all your helpful information on your website.
I lost 10 lbs in the very beginning but the past 10 days no loss – no gain either so that’s a positive. I haven’t been able to get my fat intake up to the 85% mark since I started. I am usually around 60+. How do I increase fat without increasing carbs??
Butter is your friend! Add it to all your meals for an easy fat boost.
Coconut oil, sausages and cheese have very little to no carbs
I have lost 17 pounds and feel wonderful following the keto but after months of checking I have never had a keto stick register more than “trace”. I do take man different supplements and minerals but don’t thnk that would matter?? Why am I not showing Ketosis?
Anything on the keto strip means you’re in ketosis. It shows your excess ketones, not total. You are in ketosis, just not excreting much of them. Some people always show dark purple, others may not even register at all, even if they’re in ketosis.
The pee sticks are not as reliable as the blood test kits.
When calculating net carbs, do you subtract the sugar alcohols if it shows the amount?
Yes, much like fiber, we can’t digest sugar alcohols.
What about Atkins snacks? Are they allowed?
We recommend against them. They very high in maltitol (the worst sugar alcohol) and have quite a lot of ingredients you don’t want to be eating. If they help get you through the day in the beginning of your keto journey, then they’re fine in moderation. Ideally, you’d move on to more wholesome, nutritious snacks 🙂
When I am looking at nutrition labels and checking to see if the item is considered “low carb”, what am I looking for? What number of carbs on the nutrition label is considered low carb?
It’s not so much about the number as it is about the percentage. Something could be only 5 grams of carbs (like a teaspoon of sugar) but it is 100% carbs! So make sure to look at the serving size as well as the carb count. Also, keep in mind, fiber can often be subtracted from the total carbs to get “net carbs”. This way, many vegetables are considered low carb since the fiber they contain is not digested by the human body, and thus doesn’t affect blood sugar.
Refer to this list of low carb friendly foods, as well as this low carb vegetable look-up. Hope that helps!
I recently told my holistic chiropractor that I was following a ketogenic diet and he commented that its VERY difficult for most people to actually achieve a ketogenic state. What are your thoughts on his comment?
It takes approximately 3 days to achieve ketosis if eating under 30g carbs per day because our body can’t store too many carbs (glycogen) and uses up all reserves in the liver and muscles in that time frame. It’s even faster if you work out because your body burns the glycogen. You can do a quick Google search and find plenty of supporting information about the 3 day period to hit ketosis when eating low carb. From there, it’s a matter of maintaining it by continuing to eat low carb and reaping the full benefits over the coming weeks and months.
Any tips to increase fats & decrease protein?
You can check out our healthy fats guide for which fats are good to eat and examples of foods that contain them:
https://www.tasteaholics.com/keto-diet/what-are-good-fats-on-a-low-carb-diet/
In your 14 day meal planyou call for low carb tortillas. Are these store bought or homemade? The low card tortillas I saw in the market are too high for a keto diet. Thanks!!
They are store bought! We use Mission Carb Balance Wraps, but you can also use Trader Joe’s brand tortillas or any low carb wraps you find.
Mission Carb Balance Whole Grain tortillas are really, really good and only have 3 Net Carbs per tortilla for the small ones.
So how would I know if I’m eating enough fat? For example, if I eat a ribeye that is marbled, how do i caculate the fat from that steak? The Keto Calculator states I should eat a total of 1970cal to lose weight with 166g fat, 95g protein, and 25g carbs. I’m not sure how to calculate I’m eating within and or getting enough of each category. Please assist.
You can never really know exactly how much you’re eating. Even packages’ nutrition labels are based on a sample. These numbers will vary based on what brand of ingredients you use, how well you weigh your food and how you prepare it. Take these numbers as guidelines and use well known and reputable apps like MyFitnessPal to calculate your macros as well as you possibly can. Being as close to accurate is better than simply guessing. Hope that helps!
I’m having a tough time losing weight. I did your Keto diet without success.
I stick to 20 carbs a day & still no weight loss. I am hungry.
Do you eat enough fat? If you are hungry, eat more! Make sure your meals satisfy you and are low in carbs. Have a fat bomb every now and then to keep your fats up. Make sure your enjoying butter with your veggies.
Also, make sure you are really low carb. Are you tracking everything you eat? There are hidden carbs everywhere. Do you have a food scale? It’s important to weigh your food. You may be under estimating serving sizes and eating more carbs than you think.
Let me know if this helped! Good luck!
How do I get 7 vegetable servings in per day & not go over 20 carbs.
We don’t count our vegetable servings, nor is that what low carb’s about. If you’re trying to eat more vegetables, I would recommend choosing the lowest carb vegetables (try searching or sorting through these Low Carb Vegetables) and counting net carbs instead of total. Net carbs = total carbs – fiber. A lot of vegetables are high in fiber and since fiber cannot be digested by the human body, it’s isn’t considered a carb by many.
Hope that helps!
I am on the keto diet for 6 week now and at firts I lost weight , but nothig for the last 4 weeks. I do admit I eat a leat of meat becaause to get fool, I simply dont know what is consiederd as fat in this diet. It talks abouth good fat and bad fat, but it is tiereing even reading about it, beacuse Englisch is not my first language. I would nees a list like you can eat this and this and this… in that amounth per day, but I can not find something like this.
On the other hand I have an extreamly low ammount on Iron in my blood and I have a thyrode Problem (I take a pill A day , because the doctores destroyed my thyrode with radioactive Iodine. I hope I wrote it OK. Can this be a reason why I ama not loosing any weight?
Hi Vesna, I understand it can be frustrating even if English is your first language. Many people struggle in the beginning. Look through this list of foods that are appropriate for the ketogenic diet 🙂
When I try to start the keto diet, after 4 days I crave simple carbs. As a recovered alcoholic and addict with many years of sobriety, I find the feelings to be exactly like the obsession and compulsion I experienced as an active addict. Although I have no compulsion to use substances, I find the compulsion to use to use simple carbs the same. A feeling I find disturbing and don’t understand. Can you advise?
Hey John,
Carbs work similarly to alcohol in terms of activating dopamine and receptors for pleasure and addiction. There is an actual physical withdrawal which manifests as a keto flu after stopping carbs within the first few days. This all goes away after a week or two so it’s important to remember you goals and focus on the reasons you decided to make this lifestyle change. In addition, getting rid of any tempting items from your home when starting keto can help prevent a weak moment from hurting your chances of success.
Please remember, if you fail you can immediately start again and keep trying until you succeed!
Thanks Rami, appreciate the information and your support. I’ll keep at it.
Great advice, Rami. Thanks for including Low Carb Maven as a source. You guys rock!