I’m writing this article, Keto for beginners, to illustrate how I became successful with Keto and had very little knowledge. I want to simplify Keto and make it easy to understand for everyone. I’ve gone back through my beginning pictures, with how I looked, and my beginning meals, up to where I had lost 50 lbs. I had very little knowledge on how to cook or how to meal prep, so success wasn’t assured.
I reached out to my sister and her husband who had been doing Keto for around five years or more. They had great success with it and had actually tried to get me to do it several times. It wasn’t until I was diagnosed with Diabetes that I decided to jump onboard. My goal here is to get people onboard with nutrition and food as a preventative health measure. I want to help get anyone I can to change their life around.
Time To Change
I went for my annual physical in October of 2020, the year to beat all years. Quarantines, lock-downs, Corona, and binge watching television were all the rage. I wasn’t in great shape to start the year and this time period didn’t help to change that. What is it with being in front of a television makes me want to shove junk food in my mouth? As it turns out, it was a number of factors and not just the television. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-symptoms/art-20050987, this article explains what I think most of us were feeling at the time and why I had so much wrong with me physically and mentally.
What I needed was a wake-up call, and that wake-up call came the day my diagnosis happened. I had seen my mother struggle for years with diabetes. It runs in my family and I knew I was susceptible but I just didn’t have the will-power to do anything about it. It’s amazing what that diagnosis did for me. I don’t want anyone to be in trouble like I was before doing something about their health.
The Basics of Keto
I began my Keto journey with the basics. Who knew that eggs, bacon, sausage and cheese were all healthy for me, and already knowing how to make eggs and bacon helped me get off to a good start. I am not a medical professional or nutritionist that has spent countless hours studying the effects of nutrition, so I really don’t want to spend time on that. https://www.firelands.com/blog/keto-diet-does-it-really-work#:~:text=The%20keto%20diet%20works%20because,to%20use%20for%20energy%20instead. This is a good article on why it works.
Keeping It Simple
Keto for beginners is about keeping it simple by making meals that I knew how and with the help of my partner it was very easy to begin. Never being comfortable in the kitchen made me nervous but I was on a mission and nothing was going to stand in my way. I learned how to fry pork-chops, grill steak, grill fish and many other basic meals. I eventually graduated to making meals where I would have to use alternative ingredients like pork rinds instead of bread crumbs and almond flower instead of regular flower.
I was beginning to notice changes taking place with my weight as well as my tastes. I changed over to drinking water or coffee only, and I had already given up sodas over 10 years ago. My energy increased and I started feeling better about myself. These changes didn’t take long to happen because the carbs were being pushed out and the fat was being burned for energy. I was no longer dependent on sugar rushes to help me get a burst of energy and I knew I had to keep going.
Healthy snacks and intermittent fasting, which there are many articles on the pro’s and con’s of this practice, if done correctly can be very beneficial. I suggest talking to a nutritionist or your PCP and see what’s best for you.
Taking The Next Step
After a month or so of rotating meals that I found easy to make plus getting more comfortable in the kitchen, I knew it was time to take the next step and expand upon my menu. I felt at this point I was no longer a Keto beginner. I found a wealth of knowledge from YouTube with channels such as Low Carb Love https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=low+carb+love, Papa G https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=papa+g and Keto Focus https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ketofocus. There are so many channels on YouTube so finding the right one for you is easy. Once I started watching their videos, taking them step-by-step, and being successful, I knew I was on the right path. I became a graduate of the kitchen and started feeling like I belonged there, making my journey my own. This is all obtainable for anyone and I hope that you’ll start your Keto journey and continue with success.
Keto for beginners should be unintimidating, easy and fun. For more information Please visit my channel on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRqCwxd-onnYC6xYoMhChig for funny, exciting videos and my website at www.theketotraveler94.com for articles and reports on my travels, I Made It After All and Sacramento California are two of my favorites. You can do this and I hope you do. I look forward to hearing about your success. Let this article on Keto for Beginners get you motivated and excited about changing your health. You won’t regret it.
Jason, The Keto Traveler 94.