The Complete Ketogenic Diet Guide For Beginners

The keto diet (also known as ketogenic diet, low carb diet and LCHF diet) is a low carbohydrate, high-fat diet. Maintaining this diet is a great tool for weight loss. More importantly though, according to an increasing number of studies, it helps reduce risk factors for diabetes, heart diseases, stroke, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, and more^1-6.On the keto diet, your body enters a metabolic state called ketosis. While in ketosis your body is using ketone bodies for energy instead of glucose. Ketone bodies are derived from fat and are a much more stable, steady source of energy than glucose, which is derived from carbohydrates.

Entering ketosis usually takes anywhere from 3 days to a week. Once you’re in ketosis, you’ll be using fat for energy, instead of carbs. This includes the fat you eat and stored body fat.

Testing For Ketosis

You can test yourself to see whether you’ve entered ketosis just a few days after you’ve begun the keto diet! Simply use a ketone test strip and it will tell you the level of ketone bodies in your urine. If the concentration is high enough, you’ve successfully entered ketosis! Note: Any change to the strip color indicates that you are in ketosis.

There are other ways of telling you’re in ketosis, though – look for changes in your mood and alertness, as well as a stronger smell in your breath and urine. Many people also report better sleep and decreased appetite when they’re in ketosis.

The Truth About Fat

You may be thinking, “but eating a lot of fat is bad!” The truth is, dozens of studies and meta-studies with over 900,000 subjects have arrived at similar conclusions: eating saturated and monounsaturated fats has no effects on heart disease risks^7,8.

Most fats are good and are essential to our health. Fats (fatty acids) and protein (amino acids) are essential for survival.

Fats are the most efficient form of energy and each gram contains about 9 calories, compared to 4 calories per gram of protein and carbohydrates.

There is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate.

The keto diet promotes eating fresh, whole foods like meat, fish, veggies, and healthy fats and oils as well as greatly reducing processed and chemically treated foods the Standard American Diet (SAD) has so long encouraged.

It’s a diet that you can sustain long-term and enjoy. What’s not to enjoy about bacon and eggs in the morning?

How Calories Work

A calorie is a unit of energy. When something contains 100 calories, it describes how much energy your body could get from consuming it. Calorie consumption dictates weight gain/loss.

If you burn an average of 1,800 calories and eat 2,000 calories per day, you will gain weight.

If you do light exercise that burns an extra 300 calories per day, you’ll burn 2,100 calories per day, putting you at a deficit of 100 calories. Simply by eating at a deficit, you will lose weight because your body will tap into stored resources for the remaining energy it needs.

That being said, it’s important to get the right balance of macronutrients every day so your body has the energy it needs.

What Are Macronutrients?

Macronutrients (macros) are molecules that our bodies use to create energy for themselves – primarily fat, protein and carbs. They are found in all food and are measured in grams (g) on nutrition labels.

• Fat provides 9 calories per gram
• Protein provides 4 calories per gram
• Carbs provide 4 calories per gram

Read our full What Are Macros guide for more information about macronutrients and how they affect your body and health.

Net Carbs

Many low carb recipes will write “net carbs” when displaying their macros. Net carbs are total carbs minus dietary fiber and sugar alcohols. Our bodies can’t break down fiber and sugar alcohol into glucose so they generally don’t raise blood sugar. For this reason, many people on a low carb diet don’t count them toward their total carb count.

Note: Dietary fiber is sometimes listed as soluble or insoluble.

Carbs: What Exactly Are They?

Carbohydrates (carbs) are a macronutrient found in things like starches, grains and foods high in sugar. This includes, but isn’t limited to, bread, flour, rice, pasta, beans, potatoes, sugar, syrup, cereals, fruits, bagels and soda.

Carbs are broken down into glucose (a type of sugar) in our bodies for energy. Eating any kinds of carbs spikes blood sugar levels. The spike may happen faster or slower depending on the type of carb (simple or complex), but the spike will still happen.

Blood sugar spikes cause strong insulin releases to combat the spikes. Constant insulin releases result in fat storage and insulin resistance. After many years, this cycle commonly leads to prediabetes, metabolic syndrome and even type 2 diabetes⁹.

In a world full of sugar, cereal, pasta, burgers, French fries and large sodas, you can see how carbs can easily be overconsumed.

Where We Are Today

According to the 2014 report by the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. (86 million people) have prediabetes, a condition in which blood glucose is always high and commonly leads to type 2 diabetes and many other medical problems¹⁰.

Today, almost 1 in 10 people in the U.S. have type 2 diabetes compared to almost 1 in 40 in 1980. Fat has been blamed as the bad guy and companies have been creating low-fat and fat-free, chemically-laden alternatives of nearly every type of food in existence, yet obesity, diabetes and heart disease rates are still increasing.

Nearly 1 in 10 adults in the U.S. has type 2 diabetes, almost 4 times more than 30 years ago.

Fat is Making a Comeback

We’re starting to understand that carbs in large quantities are much more harmful than previously thought, while most fats are healthy and essential.

The nutritional landscape is changing. Ketogenic diet and low carb diet groups, as well as similar dietary groups like paleo, are growing and a nutritional revolution is beginning. We are starting to realize the detrimental effects of our relationship with excess sugar and carbs.

Long-Term Benefits

Studies consistently show that those who eat a low carb, high fat diet rather than a high carb, low fat diet:

• Lose more weight and body fat^11-17
• Have better levels of good cholesterol (HDL and large LDL)^18,19
• Have reduced blood sugar and insulin resistance (commonly reversing prediabetes and type 2 diabetes)^20,21
• Experience a decrease in appetite²²
• Have reduced triglyceride levels (fat molecules in the blood that cause heart disease)^19,23
• Have significant reductions in blood pressure, leading to a reduction in heart disease and stroke²⁴

Eating a keto/low carb diet helps you lose more weight than eating low fat.

Day-to-Day Benefits

The keto diet doesn’t only provide long-term benefits! When you’re on keto, you can expect to:

• Lose body fat
• Have consistent energy levels during the day
• Stay satiated after meals longer, with less snacking and overeating

Longer satiation and consistent energy levels are due to the majority of calories coming from fat, which is slower to digest and calorically denser.

Being on a low carb diet also eliminates blood glucose spikes and crashes. You won’t have sudden blood sugar drops leaving you feeling weak and disoriented.

Entering Ketosis

The keto diet’s main goal is to keep you in nutritional ketosis all the time. If you’re just getting started with your keto diet, you should eat up to 25 grams of carbs per day.

Once you’re in ketosis for long enough (about 4 to 8 weeks), you become keto-adapted, or fat-adapted. This is when your glycogen decreases (the glucose stored in muscles and liver), you carry less water weight, muscle endurance increases and your overall energy levels are higher.

Another benefit of being keto-adapted is that you can eat ~50 grams of net carbs a day to maintain ketosis.

Type 1 Diabetes & Ketoacidosis

If you have type 1 diabetes, consult with your doctor before starting a keto diet. Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a dangerous condition that can occur if you have type 1 diabetes due to a shortage of insulin.

What is the Keto Flu?

The keto flu happens commonly to keto dieters due to low levels of sodium and electrolytes and has flu-like symptoms including:

• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Cough
• Sniffles
• Irritability
• Nausea

It’s important to note that this isn’t the real flu! It’s called keto flu due to similar symptoms but it is not at all contagious and doesn’t actually involve a virus.

Why Does It Happen?

The main cause for keto flu is your body lacking electrolytes, especially sodium. When starting keto, you cut out lots of processed foods and eat more whole, natural foods. Although this is great, it causes a sudden drop in sodium intake.

In addition, reducing carbs reduces insulin levels, which reduces sodium stored by kidneys²⁵.

Between your reduced sodium intake and stored sodium flushed by your kidneys, you end up being low on sodium and other electrolytes.

The keto flu can be avoided by consuming enough electrolytes, especially sodium.

Ending the Keto Flu

The best way to avoid (or end) the keto flu is to add more sodium and electrolytes to your diet. Here are the most effective (and tasty) ways to get more sodium:

• Adding more salt to your food
• Drinking soup broth
• Eating plenty of salty foods like bacon and pickled vegetables

Try to eat more sodium as you start the keto diet to prevent the keto flu entirely. If you do catch it, just remember that it’ll go away quickly and you’ll emerge a fat-burning machine!

Read our Full Guide to the Keto Flu for more information on how to prevent it when starting your keto diet or feel better immediately if you already have it.

Now that you’ve cleaned out everything you don’t need, it’s time to restock your pantry and fridge with delicious and wholesome, keto-friendly foods that will help you lose weight, become healthier, and feel amazing!

General Products to Have

With these basics in your home, you’ll always be ready to make healthy, keto-friendly meals.

Meat, Fish & Eggs

Just about every type of fresh meat and fish is good for a ketogenic diet including beef, chicken, lamb, pork, salmon, tuna, etc. Eat grass-fed and/or organic meat and wild-caught fish whenever possible.

Eat as many eggs as you like, preferably organic from free-range chickens.

Vegetables

Eat plenty of non-starchy veggies including asparagus, mushrooms, broccoli, cucumber, lettuce, onions, peppers, cauliflower, tomatoes, garlic, Brussels sprouts and zucchini.

Dairy

You can eat full-fat dairy like sour cream, heavy (whipping) cream, butter, cheeses and unsweetened yogurt.

Although not dairy, unsweetened almond milk and coconut milk are both good milk substitutes.

Stay away from regular milk, skim milk and sweetened yogurts because they contain a lot of sugar. Avoid all fat-free and low-fat dairy products.

Oils and Fats

Olive oil, avocado oil, butter and bacon fat are great for cooking and consuming. Avocado oil is best for searing due to its very high smoke point (520°F). Coconut oil is also widely used in keto recipes and works particularly well in keto-friendly desserts.

Fruits

Berries like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc. are allowed in small amounts. Avocados are great because they’re low carb and very high in fat!

Sweeteners

Stevia and erythritol are our great choices for low-carb friendly sweeteners. Learn more in our full guide to erythritol.

Miscellaneous

• Lots of water, coffee, and unsweetened tea
• Condiments like mayonnaise, mustard, pesto, and sriracha
• Broths (beef, chicken, bone)
• Pickles and other fermented foods
• Seeds and nuts (chia seeds, flaxseeds, pecans, almonds, walnuts, macadamias, etc.)

28 Delicious Days!

To get you started with your diet, we’ve created a 4-Week Keto Meal Plan with delicious recipes for you to enjoy every single day!

Using a meal plan when you start the keto diet can greatly help you succeed. If you know what’s coming up next, you’re much less likely to give up and order food from your favorite takeout restaurant.

We’ve also included macronutrient and calorie counts as well as leftovers to take the guesswork out and make the start of your keto diet a breeze!

Subscribe for a FREE copy of our
4-Week Keto Meal Plan

• 4 Weeks of Delicious Keto Recipes!
• Leftovers and Bulk Preps Included
• Maximize Your Keto Diet’s Success

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Customizing Your Meal Plan

The daily caloric goal in the meal plan is about 1600 calories, +/- 100 calories.

If you need to eat more or fewer calories per day, you can adjust accordingly by simply taking out or adding a bit more of the ingredients already included in a recipe. For example, adding/removing a tablespoon of olive oil or butter will add/remove about 100 calories. If you like or dislike certain recipes, feel free to shift things around. Make sure to keep an eye on the calories so you’re still falling within an acceptable range of your daily goal.

Although the meal plan is for two weeks, you can easily extend and reuse it as many times as you like. Staple recipes are critical for success in your low carb diet!

Our hopes are that you like a few recipes so much they become staples in your keto diet. Staples are critical for success because they’re something you can get really excited about multiple times a week!

You should continue to try new recipes every week. You’ll get more familiar with ingredients, your own taste buds and will be surprised by just how good some things are! Soon enough, you’ll be trying to convince your friends and family to try what you’re eating because they’re missing out on how delicious your lifestyle has become!

Our top-rated Total Keto Diet app has over 2 MILLION  downloads and we just released our CUSTOM keto meal plans feature – allowing you to fully customize your calories, macros, allergens, and courses. Get dynamic shopping lists that update with each change. Best of all, if you don’t like a recipe, replace it instantly! Our handy export to PDF function allows you to print your meal plan for easy reference.

Track your custom recipes, meals and weight loss all in one app.

The keto diet has never been easier – and you can try custom meal plans totally FREE for 7 days.
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Get 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, and Dessert in Five.

Each book 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!

Learn More About The Keto Diet

Discover even more about the keto diet through our in-depth, science-backed articles. You’ll be surprised how many benefits you get from living a low carb lifestyle. Be sure to read our low carb food list for a complete list of foods you should eat and which you should avoid.