In this guide you will get everything you need to know to get started with KETO.

KETO is different from other dietary changes in that it goes in and changes your body’s primary fuel from carbohydrate to fat. It takes a little understanding to succeed with it in an effective and safe way.

At the same time, it’s easy to get confused by all the conflicting information that exists, and I understand that well, but at the same time it’s a shame with that confusion, because these are perhaps the simplest food rules you can ever find.

So here comes everything you need to know to get off to a successful start with Keto.

Maybe start reading: What is KETO?

Why do this? Fat burning

• The goal of keto is first and foremost to get the body to switch to fat drive.

Fat drive means that your body uses fat (and ketone bodies) as primary energy. To get the body to do that, it requires a continuous period where you eat very few carbohydrates. So you can not do it half and expect full result.

Besides feeling nice and avoiding fluctuating blood sugar when your body burns fat, it helps regulate your appetite. Many describe it as feeling much less hungry. Others experience that the appetite disappears completely.

The reduced hunger allows you to walk for several hours without eating. You do not need to replenish new energy as your body now has access to energy stored on your body in the form of fat. You can thereby succeed in being in calorie deficit and lose weight without starving.

But before you get there, you just have to go through the first few weeks of conversion. It takes 2-6 weeks, depending on how metabolically flexible you are when you start.

Eat few carbohydrates

• Max 20-30 g a day is a good place to start.
• If you are an elite athlete, ultra runner or similar. or do you have a very physically demanding job, I would like to stretch to 50 g a day.
• Everyone else should stick to 20-30 g in the beginning and if in doubt, lie down at the low end.

This is the most important and inescapable rule. Everything else is details. If you can only focus on one thing, let it be this.

In principle, it does not matter what you spend your 20-30 g of carbohydrates on, but with the aim of making your keto diet as healthy and nutritious as possible, I recommend that you choose to get the majority of them from vegetables.

You get the most vegetables by choosing green salad vegetables and cabbage compared to eg root vegetables and sweet potatoes, but in principle you decide for yourself.

However, I recommend that you spread your carbohydrates throughout the day and not consume them all in one meal. And in that way, it lends itself.

Ally yourself with an online calorie counter such as

• www.MyFitnessPal.com
• www.fitwatch.com
• www.mynetdiary.com

or similar. if you are in doubt about where the carbohydrates are hiding.

Eat animal protein with every meal

Since you want to lose fat but want to maintain your muscle mass, it is necessary that you eat to possibly with protein.

I therefore recommend animal protein (eg meat, fish, poultry or eggs) for all meals, as it contains the least carbohydrates compared to plant protein from eg beans, lentils, etc., and as it is at the same time a complete protein that contains all amino acids, your body must use.

If you are in a calorie deficit due to the desire for weight loss, this need for protein is greater. The same applies if you are not quite young anymore (eg +40 like me). With age, we lose muscle mass every year and we want to avoid that. If you do a lot of strength training, you also need extra protein.

So what is enough protein? I usually recommend 1-1.5 g of protein per. kilos of body weight. It’s not bent in neon, but it’s a fine guideline.

• Remember in this connection that meat only contains approx. 20 g protein pr. 100 g.
• You do not eat high protein on keto. You eat enough possible protein.

Eat fat until you are full

Few carbohydrates + sufficient amount of protein provide very few calories. Therefore, you need to add fat to your diet to get enough energy and to feel full and comfortable.

You do this by choosing fatty cuts of meat, chicken with skins, fatty fish such as salmon and mackerel and choosing the fatty dairy products such as cheese, cream and fatty sour cream instead of the lean ones.

You probably need to add a little extra fat in addition, and here butter, olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil are good choices.

You eat fat until you are full. Not stuffy or so stuffy, so you have to roll off the table, but fit enough.

Since the amount of carbohydrate and protein you eat is fairly constant, fat is the only handle you have to screw up in terms of calories.

If you want to lose weight, you therefore add a little less fat. If you want to keep the weight off, you add a little more.

At first you may need more fat to feel full, but after the first time, you will notice your appetite normalizes and you feel less hungry and you can now adjust down a bit in the amount.

Meat, vegetables and fats

In other words, you eat meat, vegetables and fat.

If there is a food you are in doubt about, do not eat it. Or you look up the carbohydrate content and make it fit into your daily ration.

You do not bake almond flour bread or eat brownies made with dark chocolate and butter, because there is no room for that in your 20-30 g carbohydrate account. You eat real food. Meat, vegetables and fats.

I know that there are several recipes on the internet for keto cookies and keto dit and dat. If weight loss is your focus, then drop it and go for meat-vegetable-fat. You should not sabotage your efforts with that kind of thing.

Do not make it harder than it is. Keep it simple.

Remember salt and liquid

You need extra salt and fluids when you eat Keto. Initially, your glycogen stores (“carbohydrate depots”) are depleted and as each gram of glycogen stores 3-4 g of fluid, this will lead to fluid loss. The low insulin level causes your kidneys to get rid of sodium (salt).

It is therefore important that you replace what is lost. You do this by drinking enough fluids and by salting your food extra and preferably by drinking a few glasses of broth every day.

You can also stir salt into your drinking water, take a few salt shots or sprinkle it on a few slices of cucumber and eat them.

I recommend that you aim to supplement with 1-2 teaspoons of salt a day – in addition to salting your food well – and I recommend that you see this as mandatory, at least for the first few weeks.

I know you’re already thinking that you’re skipping it, because it can not fit that it is necessary and if it is, it probably does not apply to you. But you are wrong. And that applies to you too.

This is especially important for you who experience menopausal symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, lack of energy, etc. Salt and fluids are the answer to 99% of all menopausal symptoms.

Also read: Salt and Keto

Questions?