4 Ways To Sustain A Keto Lifestyle
More people are becoming more aware of what they eat. With that, many diet fads are surfacing, and different studies with regards to their effectiveness are being conducted. One of the most popular diet regimens today is the ketogenic diet. If you’ve heard about this diet and plan to implement it, you should learn how to make this lifestyle sustainable.
Read more below to know about the keto diet, as well as some tips to help you maintain a keto lifestyle.
What Is A Ketogenic Diet?
The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet with the goal of drastically reducing your carbohydrate intake, replacing it with high amounts of healthy fats. When you take in fewer carbs and more fats, the body is forced to go into a metabolic state: ketosis. When there’s a limited supply of sugar, the body is forced to use fats as its primary energy source. When you undergo ketosis, your body will get rid of those extra fat deposits, thus helping you lose weight in the process.
When you’re doing a ketogenic diet, all types of carbs are limited, even the ones found in fruits. Your carbohydrates consumption per day is limited to 20 to 50 grams only. Your food should only include nuts, eggs, fish, and meat. It should also have a wide range of green and leafy vegetables. Anything with starch isn’t allowed, too. So, you aren’t allowed to eat bread, potatoes, and fruits, like bananas and apples.
How Can You Sustain A Ketogenic Lifestyle?
Eliminating carbohydrates in your diet can be challenging. Some people take in a kind of superior nutrient or supplement to help their body go into ketosis and to burn more fats in the process. If you’re planning to make this diet part of a long-term lifestyle, here are some things you can do to make it sustainable:
- Plan Your Meals
One of the things you can do to help maintain a keto lifestyle is to learn proper meal planning. When it comes to a successful ketogenic diet, it’s important to note the food you’re allowed to it. You should be able to get a list of the food you can eat and plan meals accordingly.
To sustain a keto lifestyle, here are some food options you’re allowed to eat:
- Seafood – fish, clams, shrimp, oysters, and mussels.
- Non-starchy vegetables – cauliflower, zucchini, squash, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, kale, eggplant, cabbage
- Cheese – blue cheese, goat cheese, mozzarella, and provolone
- Eggs
- Meat and poultry
- Avocado
- Nuts and seeds
- Dark chocolate
- Black coffee
One of the reasons many people can’t sustain this lifestyle is that they think that doing this diet can be boring as they only eat the same thing every day. However, this isn’t the case. You can create many recipes without carbs or sugar.
- Don’t Make It All About Weight Loss.
Weight loss is one of the significant benefits of the ketogenic diet. However, the truth is, weight loss shouldn’t only be your goal when you convert to this lifestyle. There will come the point that the weighing scale will stop moving, but that doesn’t mean that the diet isn’t working anymore.
A ketogenic diet has other significant benefits that you may also enjoy. For example, high levels of cholesterol in the body increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Since your body is processing fats, you may expect that it’ll positively affect your heart health.
- Track Your Progress
It would be best if you track your progress when you’re doing a new diet. This ensures that you’re on the right track and you’re doing things right. One of the things you should track is your weight. If you’re going through ketosis, you can expect to lose some weight after a month as your body starts to use fats as fuel instead of sugars. If you see that you’re gaining weight, there might be something wrong with your meal planning.
Aside from your weight, it would be best if you also track other important health indicators. As mentioned before, if you want to sustain a ketogenic lifestyle, it should be more than just your weight. You can have your cholesterol levels and blood sugar checked before starting the diet. If you see a decline in these numbers, then it’s an indication that you’re on the right track.
- Find Substitutes To Your Favorite Comfort Foods
If you’re new to the diet, there will be times that you might find yourself missing the taste of the foods you used to eat. You couldn’t eat pasta or get a slice of that decadent chocolate cake. The good news is, there are many foods and recipes today that have a ketogenic version. This means you get to enjoy your comfort foods with the use of keto-approved ingredients.
For example, instead of using regular flour, you can use almond flour for your baked goods. You can also use some alternative sources of sugar, which have lower calories and glucose content.
Final Thoughts
There are many people drawn to doing keto to lose weight and experience its other health benefits. Cutting off carbs in your diet can be a challenge. That’s why it’s essential to follow these helpful tips to ensure that you sustain the keto diet until it easily becomes part of your lifestyle.
