How to Start Keto — The Ultimate Guide

I’ll answer all of your questions about keto in this one article. 😁

Are you interested in starting keto, but don’t know how to start?

I personally lost 40 pounds with the ketogenic diet, & I want to help you do the same. I’m here to answer all of your questions about keto, all in this one article.

So, if you want to enjoy the benefits of easy, sustained weight-loss, increased energy, improved focus, & reduced inflammation, read along & I’ll answer each question you have about keto so you can start on the right foot!

What Is Keto? 🤔

Keto is a diet where you consume under 50 grams of carbs a day to induce benefits like weight loss, improved energy, & reduced inflammation. It also helps solve many insulin related health conditions, like acne, exercise induced asthma, & even cancer.

The liver produces ketones on a keto diet to provide energy. A wide variety of nicknames exist for this diet, including low-carb diet and low-carb, high-fat diet.

The existence of ketones in the liver during times of limited food intake is a natural process that helps us survive. During ketosis, fats are broken down into ketones to provide energy for the body. Properly maintained keto diets force your body into this metabolic state.

They do not force your body into this metabolic state through starvation of calories, but through starvation of carbohydrates.

Our bodies are incredibly adaptable to the foods we eat — when we overload on fats and cut back on carbs, we start burning ketones for energy.

That’s why starting a keto diet is a great idea for people who want to lose weight or reduce their inflammation.

What Happens When I Eat Carbs? 🍪

When you eat carbs, your body will produce insulin to convert it into glucose & use it as energy. However, if you don’t immediately use those carbs, they get stored as fat. That’s why some diets, like keto, completely eliminate carbs to lose weight.

Because glucose is being used as the primary energy source on a normal diet, your insulin is constantly high. This means that the fats you eat on a normal diet cannot be used as immediate energy, so they get stored as body fat.

But, if you ate a keto diet, your insulin wouldn’t be constantly elevated.

This would put you into ketosis, so you could then actually use the fats you eat as energy instead of them being stored as fat.

What Are the Requirements of Keto? 🧐

The requirements of keto depend on how quickly you want to enter ketosis. The more restricted you are on carbohydrates (less than 25 grams net carbs per day), the faster you will enter ketosis. However, you can still reach ketosis eating under 50 grams of net carbs per day.

It’s crucial to prepare before starting keto.

Limit your carbohydrate intake to vegetables, nuts, and dairy products, avoiding wheat (bread, pasta, cereals), starch (potatoes, beans, legumes), and fruit in its processed form.

Keto Approved Foods:

Meats 🍗 — Beef, lamb, poultry, eggs, fish, pork, etc.
Cruciferous Vegetables 🥦— Cauliflower, broccoli, etc.
Leafy Greens 🥬 — Lettuce, cabbage, spinach, kale, etc.
Seeds & Nuts 🥜 — Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, macadamias, almonds, cashews, peanuts, walnuts, etc.
Full-Fat Dairy 🥛 — Butter, high-fat milk, high-fat cream, hard cheeses.
Low-Carb Fruits 🍓— tomatoes, avocados, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, etc.
Fats & Oils 🧈 — Fatty salad dressings, olive oil, coconut, oil, & other saturated fats (avoid vegetable oils as they’re inflammatory.)
Sugar-Free Sweeteners 🍬 — Monk fruit, stevia, erythritol, etc.

Not Keto Approved Foods

Grains 🌾— Corn, rice, wheat, cereal, bread, flour, etc.
Sugar 🍭 — Cane sugar, high-fructose-corn-syrup, agave syrup, maple syrup, honey, etc.
Most Fruit 🍎 — Bananas, oranges, apples, grapes, mangoes, etc.
Starchy Vegetables 🥔— Sweet potatoes, potatoes, etc.

Remember that keto is high in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbs. Your nutrient intake should be around 70% fat, 25% protein, and 5% carbs.

To repair your body, you should always aim to eat protein with each meal, with fat filling in the remainder of the calories.

Also, you can’t eat high-sugar fruits on keto.

Avocados, star fruit, berries, & other low-carb fruits are the only exceptions; you can eat them in small amounts because they’re low in net carbs. If you want to find a full list of keto approved fruits, here’s my list of the 10 best low-carb fruits.

I recommend keeping total carbs under 50 and net carbs under 40g (ideally, under 30g.) Net carbs are the total carbs in a food after subtracting the fiber & artificial sweeteners from it.

People usually only care about net carbs on keto because the fiber & artificial sweeteners in total carbs don’t effect insulin.

The best snacks to suppress your appetite if you are ravenous throughout the day are:

Cheese 🧀
Nuts & Seeds🥜
Vegetables 🥒
Nut butters 🌰

Snacking, however, may slow your progress down the line because it spikes insulin & leads you to overeat.

Often, we mistake a desire to eat as a need for a meal, but if you’re trying to lose weight, snacking would be detrimental as it raises your insulin, the fat storing hormone.

So, when you start keto, it’s important to cut out the snacks.

Keto = A Lot of Vegetables 🥦

On keto, you’ll need to eat a lot of vegetables to stay healthy. You should always opt for dark green, leafy vegetables. Your daily meals should consist of protein plus vegetables, with an additional portion of fat. You can have chicken thighs basted in olive oil with broccoli and cheese, or steak topped with a knob of butter and a side of sauteed spinach in olive oil.

Here’s a list of the best vegetables to eat on keto.

It’s possible to go on a ketogenic diet if you’re a vegetarian or vegan, but the dietary restrictions can be tough to follow.

Benefits of Keto ⚡️

Ketogenic eating can provide a multitude of benefits, including weight loss, increased focus, improved mood, decreased inflammation, & even helping stop cancer.

A low-carb, high-fat diet can be eaten safely by almost anyone.

Now, let’s talk about the advantages you can gain from starting a keto diet.

If you want to learn about the benefits more, here’s an article I made going more in depth.

Sustainable, Easy Weight-Loss 😁

There are obvious weight loss benefits to using your body fat as an energy source on the ketogenic diet. Because your insulin levels drop significantly on keto, your body becomes a fat-burning machine. You also lose weight without being that hungry since your body is always “eating” its own fat.

Many people drink MCT oil coffee in the morning to increase ketone production and fat loss, all whilst staying full.

A ketogenic diet has been shown to be more effective than low-fat and high-carb diets, even in the long term. You can read more about keto and weight loss in our article.

Better Concentration 🧘

The ketogenic diet is well-known for boosting mental performance. This is likely because the sustained energy that comes from eating fat means that you’ll have more consistent concentration & focus.

Having lower carb intakes can help you to maintain stable blood sugar levels, which can result in improved focus and concentration. Ketones are a great source of fuel for the brain.

Increased consumption of fatty acids can have positive effects on brain function, according to studies.

Sustained Energy & Less Hunger 🏃

You’ll notice a significant difference in how you feel throughout the day if you provide your body with a better and more reliable energy source, like fat, on keto.

Fat is the most effective molecule to use as fuel, and it is shown to do so.

In addition, fat is naturally more satisfying and leaves us in a satiated (“full”) state for longer.

That’s why when you start keto, you’ll be noticeably more full compared to other low-fat diets.

Helps Improve Your Skin 🧴

Switching to a keto diet can result in improvements to your skin. This is because skin problems, like acne, or a symptom of inflammation, & keto is an anti-inflammatory diet.

In this study, switching to a low-carb diet was shown to result in a significant drop in lesion and skin inflammation scores.

In another study, a strong association was found between high-carbohydrate diets and increased acne severity, suggesting that keto may be beneficial.

Also, fasting, a strict skin cleaning regimen, & a reduction in dairy consumption can help with acne.

Balance Your Blood Sugars 🩸

On keto the types of foods you eat, like fats, proteins, & vegetables, get digested slowly. This naturally balances blood sugar levels because the food’s energy comes in a more sustained way. This would help balance your insulin & blood sugar.

In addition, the ketogenic diet has been shown to be a more efficient method of managing and preventing diabetes than low-calorie diets.

If you’re a pre-diabetic or Type II diabetic, you should consider starting a keto diet seriously.

Helps Epileptics 😎

The ketogenic diet has been utilised since the early 1900s to treat epilepsy effectively. It is still one of the most widely utilized therapies for children with uncontrolled epilepsy.

Taking less epilepsy drugs & taking control over your epilepsy can be a life-changing thing you can achieve on keto.

Recent studies have also demonstrated significant results in treating adults with epileptics with keto.

Photo by Hush Naidoo Jade Photography on Unsplash

Lowers Cholesterol & Blood Pressure ❤️

There has been a dramatic increase in HDL (good cholesterol) and a decrease in LDL (bad cholesterol) particle concentration with low-carb, high-fat diets compared to low-fat diets in regards to triglyceride and cholesterol levels.

Ketogenic diets have been shown to provide superior blood pressure reduction than other diets in several studies.

Weight loss resulting from starting a keto diet may help lower blood pressure, which is a big thing if you have high blood pressure or other blood pressure issues.

If you want to learn more about the effects of keto on cholesterol, in this article, I discuss if keto is good for your heart.

Helps Insulin Resistance 💉

A ketogenic diet may help people with insulin resistance reduce their insulin levels to healthy ranges, according to a great deal of research.

Even if you are an athlete, you can still benefit from insulin optimization while on keto by eating foods high in fat.

How to Begin 🫵

Getting started is simple; all you have to do is lower your net carbs to under 50 grams per day!

It’s always a good idea to clean out your kitchen pantry and replace old items with new ones.

How to Calculate Net Carbs 🍩

Net carbs are the total carbs in a food product minus the fiber & artificial sweeteners. People usually count net carbs instead of total carbs on keto since net carbs affect insulin much more than total carbs.

How to Reach Ketosis ⚡️

To reach ketosis, you just limit your net carbs to under 50 grams per day. The process of reaching ketosis is straightforward, but the plethora of information out there can make it seem convoluted and perplexing.

Here is a rundown of the steps you must take, from the most important to the least important:

Note: It is important to always be vigilant and check ingredient labels, as you often find hidden carbs in items that seem keto-friendly.

Eat Less Carbs (<50 grams per day) ❌

There are so many methods, shortcuts, and gimmicks accessible for achieving optimal ketosis.

I would recommend ignoring them all.

Optimal ketosis can be achieved through diet alone (i.e., eating food).

Using a magic pill is unnecessary.

Stay strict, stay alert, and keep track of what you eat (to ensure the right quantities of carbs).

How Do I Tell If I’m In Ketosis? 🙋

It’s not really worth using urine or blood strips to determine if you’re in ketosis.

The urine strips are notoriously inaccurate, and the blood strips are costly (up to $10 per box.)

It is far better to focus on the nutritional aspect, ensuring that you are consuming the correct foods and staying within your macronutrient ranges (read further down.)

Most people end up driving themselves crazy measuring and testing, so though I used to use them, I don’t think they’re needed.

However, if you still want to find out if you’re in ketosis or not, here’s an articlewhere I detail the 9 signs that you’re in ketosis.

What Are Macros? 👇

Macros are your daily amount of “big 3” nutrients: fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.

Want to know how much of a macro you should eat on the keto diet?

Most people recommend to just eat under 50 grams of carbs per day (5%,) eat some protein (20%,) & a lot of fat (75%.)

How Do I Build Muscle on Keto? 💪

You can skip this section if your goal for keto is not to build muscle.

Is it true that carbs are not necessary to build muscle? Of course not.

It’s still possible to refill your glycogen stores while on a ketogenic diet.

However, for the first couple weeks of keto, as your body is getting adjusted to the diet, you’ll athletic performance will decrease. But, don’t worry as it’ll likely go back to normal after a bit if your main goal is medium to long-duration activities like weightlifting.

However, if your main goal is short-duration activities like sprinting or powerlifting, your performance will likely decrease on a ketogenic diet.

More than half of the protein you eat will just turn to glycogen (sugar,) through gluconeogenesis.

Building Muscle on Keto 🏋️

A keto diet is a superb method to build muscle, but you must consume enough protein.

According to research, if you want to gain muscle mass, you should consume around 1.0–1.2g of protein for every lean pound of body mass.

Even though gaining muscle may be slightly more difficult on a ketogenic diet in the beginning, your total body fat will not rise as much.

Athletic Performance 🏊

It’s incorrect to claim that performance is harmed when you’re on a keto diet. For most medium to long-duration athletes, this is true only in the short-term. You may see some small physical performance declines in the short term as you lose fluids, electrolytes, and adjust to the fat intake, but this will improve as you continue.

There have been many studies on exercise. In one study, cyclists who had been on a ketogenic diet for four weeks were evaluated. It was found that aerobic endurance was not diminished in the slightest, and that their muscle mass was unchanged.

Their bodies became ketosis-adapted, restricting glucose, and using fat as the primary energy source.

A research study on eight expert gymnasts who had the same results was conducted as well. A strict diet of green vegetables, proteins, and high-quality fats was given to both groups. If you are doing a lot of aerobic exercise, a ketogenic diet has been shown time and again to be helpful.

Ketosis can cause performance issues when doing quick exercises, like powerlifting or sprinting. If your main goal is powerlifting or sprinting, I don’t recommend a keto diet as carbs can give a small performance increase in short-duration events.

Is Keto Dangerous? ⚠️

Ketone production in the body can get too high, resulting in ketoacidosis. Is this likely under normal circumstances? Not at all. Ketoacidosis only happens for individuals with type 1 diabetes, not people who eat a keto diet.

Type 1 diabetics get into ketoacidosis because dangerously high ketone levels result in insulin secretion. However, eating a keto diet wouldn’t cause this problem.

There have been numerous studies released over the last three decades demonstrating how high fat and low carbohydrate diets are beneficial. Unfortunately, keto has gotten a bad reputation because of all the misconceptions out there.

Is Keto the Same as High-Carb, High-Fat? 🤨

No, the keto diet is not the same as a high-carb, high fat diet. The ketogenic diet is often confused with high-fat, high-carbohydrate diets, which are detrimental to health. Keto diets are low-carb, high-fat, not high-carb, high-fat.

You would, of course, be in trouble if you ate a lot of fatty food loaded with sugar.

Have you been thinking about going on a ketogenic diet? A ketogenic diet has been shown to be both healthier and more effective than low-fat dieting.

When you consume foods high in carbohydrates and fats, your body naturally produces glucose.

Because carbohydrates are the easiest thing for the body to process, they are the first things the body uses, and excess fats are stored immediately as a result.

Because this way of eating leads to weight gain, a low-carb, keto diet would be a much healthier approach to eating if you want to lose weight or cure diabetes.

It is always a good idea to consult with your physician before starting a keto diet if you have any concerns. You should be especially cautious if you are currently taking medications for a pre-existing condition, as extra monitoring may be required. When breastfeeding, you may need to increase your carb intake.

What Happens to Me During Keto? 👤

Your biggest risk when starting a ketogenic diet is the “keto flu.” The symptoms of the keto flu are similar to a regular influenza infection and usually subside after one to two days. Fortunately, salt can help with water retention and electrolyte replenishment.

If you used to eat a standard diet, your body has an arsenal of enzymes ready to break down carbohydrates and use them for energy, and it has only a few enzymes for dealing with fats, mostly so they can be stored.

That’s why your body must create new enzymes to compensate for the sudden lack of glucose and increase in fats when your body is introduced to a keto diet.

However, remember that your muscles can become depleted of glycogen during keto, resulting in fatigue and lack of vigor for the first week or two.

Many individuals experience headaches, mental fuzziness, dizziness, and irritability during the initial week of ketosis.

During keto, your body urinates more, resulting in electrolyte loss, causing this condition of “Keto Flu.”

Be sure to consume extra sodium each day to avoid this from happening.

What Is the Keto Flu? 🤒

The Keto Flu is a common experience for people new to a ketogenic diet, but it often disappears after just a few days. While transitioning to keto, you may experience some slight discomfort including fatigue, headaches, nausea, cramps, etc. It is possible to eliminate keto flu by adding extra salt to your diet or through salted water.

Increasing your water intake and replacing electrolytes should help get rid of most symptoms of Keto Flu.

A typical person starting a ketogenic diet will eat 20–30g of net carbs every day for the first four to five days.

If you are still experiencing keto flu symptoms, even multiple weeks after starting keto, try taking 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt in the morning with some water.

Also, try eating more vegetables as they have water, electrolytes, & minerals that your body urinates out on keto. If you do these two things, your keto flu will end in no time.

If you’re an avid gym-goer, you may have noticed that your strength and endurance diminished when you first started keto.

A temporary decrease in physical performance is typical since your body is still adjusting to using fats. Once your body becomes keto-adapted, your body will be able to rely on fat as its primary source of energy, & your performance for most things will come back to normal.

Common Side Effects of Keto 🫤

The most typical side effects I see when people begin keto are dehydration or deficiencies in micronutrients (vitamins.) Make sure you’re drinking enough water (about one gallon daily) and eating foods rich in micronutrients, like vegetables.

Photo by BATCH by Wisconsin Hemp Scientific on Unsplash

Cramping 🦵

Cramps are common when starting a ketogenic diet, and they usually occur in the morning or at night.

In general, it’s a rather minor issue, but it’s a sign that the body is deficient in minerals, particularly magnesium.

It is important to drink plenty of fluids and eat salt-containing foods to prevent magnesium losses and eliminate problems.

Try taking a magnesium supplement if the problem persists.

Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash

Constipation 🚽

Dehydration is the most common cause of constipation. A simple solution is to increase water intake and try to get as close to a gallon of water a day as possible.

Non-starchy vegetables can provide some fiber, but if that’s not enough, psyllium husk powder or probiotics can be used.

Erratic Heartbeat 🫀

Your heart may beat faster and harder when you first start keto, but don’t worry — it’s normal.

Make sure that you are drinking enough fluids and eating enough salt if the issue persists.

If the issue persists even after that, some of the people I know solved their heart palpitations by adding some more fruits into their diet.

This would kick you out of ketosis, so only do this after you’ve lost the weight you wanted to on keto.

Usually, this is sufficient to solve the problem immediately. However, if the issue persists, taking a daily potassium supplement might be worthwhile.

Reduced Physical Performance 😮‍💨

During the initial stages of a keto diet, around the first month of starting keto, you might notice that your performance is somewhat reduced, but this is only because your body is adjusting to using fats for energy. Once your body shifts to using fat for energy fully, most if not all of your strength and endurance will return to normal.

Uncommon Side Effects on Keto 😔

The following list comprises some of the things people ask me about, but they’re lesser known.

Many of these issues also relate to hydration and micronutrients, so be sure to drink plenty of water and replenish electrolytes.

Nursing a Baby on Keto 🍼

There are no well-researched studies on keto and breastfeeding at the moment. Currently, it is known that ketogenic diets are usually healthy to consume while breastfeeding.

It is recommended to consume 30–50g extra carbs from fruit while breastfeeding to help the body produce milk. You will also have to consume extra calories.

If you’re concerned, contact a medical professional for advice.

Hair Loss on Keto 🧑‍🦳

It’s very rare for people who start keto to lose hair, but you can reduce the chance by making sure you get enough calories and sleep.

However, if you’re going bald within five months of starting a ketogenic diet, it’s likely temporary.

You may take a multivitamin and continue as you normally do, or seek medical help.

Increased Cholesterol on Keto 🧈

Some studies show that cholesterol increases when starting a keto diet. However, it’s actually a good thing! When you lose weight, & mobilize the fat into your blood, the cholesterol that was in your fat is now in your blood, and that’s a good thing since your’re burning fat.

It is common for cholesterol to rise when you are losing weight, since that usually means that your HDL (the beneficial cholesterol) has increased because the cholesterol in the fat you once had is now being mobilized in the blood.

This, therefore actually lowered your risk of heart disease.

You also may see increased triglyceride (fat in the blood) levels. These will decrease as your weight stabilizes.

While it’s rare, some people have raised LDL cholesterol levels on keto. These elevated amounts are usually okay because it’s likely a sign that you’re losing fat.

However, even after losing weight, your LDL cholesterol levels are high, you may need to seek medical help.

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

Gallstones on Keto 🪨

Most people either improved or cured gallstone problems after undergoing keto.

However, many reported an increase in discomfort when starting out on keto. If you remain dedicated, you should notice a vast improvement.

“Can I begin keto if I have had my gallbladder removed?”

The reply is yes.

If you are experiencing previous gallbladder pains, adding fat to your diet slowly may be easier for your system, allowing it time to adjust.

Bloating or Indigestion on Keto 🫄

If you’re experiencing bloating or indigestion on keto, add around a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar per day to increase the acid in your stomach. This will help you digest food easier.

Switching to keto typically eliminates indigestion and heartburn.

However, if doing keto caused a problem with digestion, just drink 1 tablespoon of ACV (apple cider vinegar) per day by itself or with water. This will help increase the acid in your stomach & solve your digestion problems.

Skin Rash on Keto 😬

If you have a skin rash on keto, it’s due to your sweat not being able to escape. For whatever reason, starting a keto diet may mess with your sweat glands, meaning you might need to wear a different material of clothing. For example, where cotton instead of nylon.

You should also shower right after an activity that causes you to sweat.

There is no scientific reasoning or explanation behind why some people start to itch when they begin keto.

I am basing my answer on what has happened to me, & what I have read, since there have been only a few experiences written about it.

If you want to find out some of the other side-effects of going keto, here’s an article where I go more in depth on the common problems people get when they go on keto.

How To Start Keto on A Budget 💸

Although a ketogenic diet may be slightly more costly than a standard American diet, clean eating lifestyles are more expensive. There are still numerous ways to save money while preparing keto. The same methods to save money as with any other budgeting apply.

It’s a common mistake to believe that the ketogenic diet is more expensive than other diets. While it may be a bit more expensive than buying grain-stuffed foods, it’s much cheaper than most people think.

Find Coupons 🔖 — If you can find deals or coupons for groceries at the store, you can save a lot of money over time.
Shop in Bulk 🚛 — If you shop in bulk in wholesale stores like Sam’s Club, & the notorious, Costco, then you’ll save a lot of money by cooking it yourself instead of eating out.
Cook in Bulk 🧑‍🍳 — If you make things yourself in bulk, then you’ll save a lot of time & money. The biggest temptation to eating out is really the work & time it takes to cook that you don’t want to do. However, if you cook in bulk, you can take off a lot of that time since the food you make will always be ready to eat.

Photo by Christopher Campbell on Unsplash

How To Start Keto 🏁

A diet rich in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbs may have a large effect on your health, lowering your cholesterol, weight, blood sugar, and energy and mood levels.

The ketogenic diet can be difficult to grasp at first, but it’s not as difficult as it’s said to be.

It also may be difficult to adjust at first, but the clean eating movement’s increasing popularity makes it easier and easier to find low-carb foods.

The best cut and dry advice for someone starting off and wanting to lose weight with keto is this:

Make It Simple 😌 — Keep it strict by cutting out all direct carbs and artificial sweeteners altogether (like sugar-free foods.) If you cut these two out, your cravings for carbs & sweets will decrease dramatically.
Take 1/2 Teaspoon of Sea Salt 🧂 — The biggest issue for people starting keto is that you aren’t drinking enough water or eating enough sodium. If you’re about to start keto, or you’ve been doing keto, drink a lot of water, take a general multivitamin, & salt your foods or take 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt with water daily. If that doesn’t solve the issues of “Keto Flu,” try buying a keto electrolyte powder.
Check Food Labels 🏷 — Make sure to check the food labels for the foods you eat so you know whether it’s keto or not.

As long as you cut out all direct carbs & take 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt mixed with a shot of water daily, you’re well on your way to success with the keto diet.

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John Kaya

Hey, I'm John, and I write health and self-improvement articles at johnkaya.com. When I'm not writing, you might find me working out, reading self-improvement books, or fasting.