Q. When should I start Keto?

A. Yesterday! Don't wait another minute to start saving your own life. Simply walk to your fridge the next time you get hungry and select keto friendly foods and don't touch the junk! You wont regret it. 

 

Q. What are keto friendly foods?

A. Meat, Cheese, Eggs, Green Veggies, Healthy Oils and Real Butter. For everything else, look at the label and remember you want to eat less than 20 grams of Carbohydrates in a day or less. (See my complete keto food list here)

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Q. What should be avoided? 

A. Junk, sweets, breads, grains, oatmeal, most fruit, starchy veggies like potatoes and carrots and always avoid Corn. Syrups, sugar, many artificial sweeteners, vegetable oils, most canned and boxed foods, 

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Q. What is ketosis?

A. When your body has run out of sugars and carbs for fuel, you will start to burn fat and ketones at this point your body goes into a state of ketosis. 

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Q. How long does it take to get into ketosis?

A. The 1st time could take 1 to 3 weeks. But once your body is use to being in ketosis then it depends on how much sugar and carbohydrates you consumed. After a minor cheat meal you could come back into ketosis in less than 24 hours. After a cheat day it could take 2 to 3 days. 

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Q. How do you know if you are in ketosis?

A. There are products you can use to test for ketones in your blood, urine, and your breath. But there are also free and simple ways to know if you are in ketosis. Do you feel pretty good? Less pain? Is the scale moving? Are your clothes fitting differently? Breath a little different with maybe a mild acetone taste? Do you just feel smarter and more creative, better ideas? Then you are most likely in ketosis. 

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Q. What are Macro's?

A. Macro's or macro-nutrients are the 3 basic things your foods and your daily calorie intake are made up of, which are; Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrates. It is generally accepted that Keto is 75% Fat, 20% Protein, and 5% (or 20 grams) Carbohydrates. 

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Q. How do I know how many macro's I should eat?

A. There are many keto Macro calculators on the net. 

I have used the KetoDiet Buddy Calculator my entire journey and it has never lead me astray. 

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Q How do I know how many macro's are in my food?

A. Every food has a label. Fat, Carbohydrate, and Protein is listed in grams. 

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Q. What would a perfect keto food label look like?

A. Fat 18 grams

Total Carbohydrate 0 - 2 gram

Protein 9 grams

But most foods will not be the perfect keto food and you may need to add fat or protein in other ways. (coming soon)

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Q. Is Keto Sustainable?

A. Yes. People have been doing it for many years. The food is good, solid, very filling, and affordable. It's real food that our ancestors ate every time they got the chance. Meat, fats, and animal products where their main source of food. Veggies when they would grow or could be found for the bulk of Spring, summer, and fall. Sugar as a very rare treat that only grew in the form of fruit a month or so out of the year in most places. 

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Q. While on keto, have you ever bottomed out from low blood sugar?

A. No your sugar levels just right themselves. You don't get low blood sugar unless you stop eating. The body will turn protein into insulin to suit it's needs.

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Q. Is Keto expensive? 

A. If you make it expensive it can be. Many people starting keto will think they need special things like Stevia, almond flour, coconut milk, all organic, grass feed, cage free foods. These are just suggestions, but if that is too expensive for you, do what you can afford. I buy normal ground beef, I do personally like cage free eggs and Kerry gold butter, but regular eggs and any Real butter will do fine. The flours and special ingredients are only necessary if you bake and want to modify normal foods into keto friendly foods. Take it slow on your buying in the beginning, you'll discover what you need and like as you go.  

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Q. As I lose, will I need less fat?

A. The % of fat you need to eat will not change, but the grams of fat you can eat will go down. As you lose weight, every 10-20 pounds you lose, re-enter your new info into the Keto Calculator. It will give you new grams in both fat and Protein, carbs should always be 20 or less.

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Q. Are calories important?

A. Not really. BUT

#1 Keep your carbs below 20 grams. Those should primarily come from green veggies.

#2. Find out how much protein your body needs by Multiplying your body weight by 0.7 *Example 200 pounds x 0.7 grams = 140 grams of protein per day. (protein should be kept moderate because too much protein can turn into glucose). 

#3 How much fat should you eat? Pretty much, all you want. Your body will give you very clear signals when you are full from eating fat. Calories do not count on keto.  

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Q. What is Intermittent Fasting?

A. I.F. means to fast or not eat between meals. No snacking. 

With I.F. you are not starving yourself. Every time you eat you spike insulin. 

*Chose or rotate between: 

1. Eat 3 meals a day, *example* 2pm, 6pm, & 10pm, Fast until at least 2 pm the following day. (Staying within an 8 hour window if you can)

2. Eat 2 meals a day, either 2 pm and 4pm or 2pm and 8pm. No snacking. Fast until 2 pm the next day.

3. 1 meal a day (OMAD) Eat 1 large meal and fast for the next 24 hours. 

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Q. Why do we intermittent fast?

A. Every time we eat we spike our insulin levels. What we eat decides how high those levels rise. Sugar and carbohydrates will spike insulin very high, while fat spikes those levels very little and sometimes not at all. The fewer times you spike your insulin the better your body burns fat. (Also better for getting rid of Diabetes) 

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Q. Do I need anything special to start keto?

A. No! Not a single thing! Just Knowledge! 

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Q. What do you think about keto shakes and powders to help you get into ketosis faster?

A. They may make you feel like you are in ketosis, they may put ketones in your system, and your body may be able to use those ketones as long as the effects last, But you will not be in a real or full state of ketosis until you have used up all the excess sugar in your cells and your body comes into ketosis on it's own. 

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Q. Can I have diet soda? 

A. I can. But not all diet drinks are made the same and some will slow or stall your weight loss by causing spikes in glucose and/or insulin. Drink them if you want, but if you aren't having success with Keto, try either not drinking them or read this for possible options: Sweeteners and Sugar

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Q. If I decide to drink diet soda how much should I limit myself?

A. Limiting yourself or not is up to you. In my experience I avoid Diet Pepsi and diet Coke or anything that has Acesulfame Potassium and Sucralose in them as both will spike blood sugar and insulin levels. So far the only diet soda's I have found that don't spike either for me are Diet Dr Pepper, Diet cherry dr pepper, Diet Dr. Thunder, and Diet Mug Root beer. I only drink soda sweetened with aspartame, because it doesn't effect me, however aspartame does come with a list of possible dangers. I don't limit myself, but I do know the risks and you should to before deciding what is best for you

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Q. What is bullet proof coffee and do I need it?

A. I hope not since I have never had any, but some people swear by putting fats like MCT Oil, coconut oil, and/or Butter in their coffee. Best advice. If you like coffee, try it. If you like it and find it works for you, go for it. 

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Q. Do I have to keep track of the food I am eating?

A. I find that people who track their food tend to lose at a more steady pace. There are exceptions to this rule, known as lazy keto. Again, if you don't like to track, try doing keto without tracking. If it isn't working like you want it to, try tracking. I personally track every meal. 

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Q. How do you track your Macro's and food? 

A. There are many apps and sites that will allow you to keep track of your food intake, daily food diary, Macro's, and even micro-nutrients. I personally prefer My Fitness Pal, but again there are many apps/sites to chose from or you could go old school and keep a paper journal. Simply Write down Calories (don't forget serving size/grams), How much Fat, Protein, and Carbs grams were in your food. (1 grams of Fat is 9 calories. Protein and Carbs are 4 calories for each 1 gram.) At the end of the day you see if you are within your personal macro's. You can also pre-track: Adding up everything you intend to eat that day so you know if you will be within your macro's and tweak your food where you need to. 

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Q. How do I add more fat to my day?

A. Healthy oils, Butter, fattier meats, fish,

More ways to add Fat  

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Q, How do I get more protein without a lot more fat today?

A. Chicken Wings and Breast, Hame

More ways to add protein

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Q. Do I need to weigh my food?

A. I would recommend it for anyone new just to get a basic feel and knowledge of portion size. But some folks can keto just fine without ever weighing any foods. If you don't weigh your food and you aren't losing like you think you should, pick up a cheap food scale and give it a try.

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Q. How much weight can I expect to lose?

A. In the beginning if you are a very large person you can expect to lose a good bit, some can lose 40 pounds in 2 months. Larger bodies tend to hold a lot of fluids and water weight. The initial rush of weight loss is flushing of excessive fluid build up which is very good for you and needs to happen. Keto is very anti-inflammatory! Once you have flushed that burst of water weight, or if you are a smaller person starting keto you can expect to lose 1-5 pounds a week and every week will vary from a little to a lot! Why does it vary so wildly? (More Details) Details coming soon

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Q. I'm doing everything right, but I'm not losing weight! Why?

A. Knowing how long your weight has not moved would be more telling but some possible causes; *Less than a month: Water weight from cheating or accidentally kicking yourself, PMS, being sick or injured, needing certain medications, working out or just being more active than usual, Lack of sleep, stress. *Several Months: building muscle, rebuilding bone mass, body composition changing. (Read in detail) Details coming soon

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Q. Are there side effects to starting keto?

A. Yes, but they are almost always temporary and not sever; they wont put you out of work, they are just noticeable and slightly annoying. Such as the "keto Flu", Keto breath, body odors, keto rash... These things generally only last a short period of time and clear up once you are well fat adapted.

For Keto flu try Ketorade, For rash try hydrocortisone cream. *Remember you are removing years of toxins from your body. Not everyone will experience these. I did not get the keto flu, body odor, or rash. I did have keto breath for a few weeks.*  

 

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Q. Is keto about calorie restriction?

A. Nope.

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Find something you think I am wrong about? Send me an email. I am not perfect and sometimes more research is needed! DiamondBBW@gmail.com

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