Ketogenic Diet

How to Start a Ketogenic Diet Weight Loss Plan

If you want to know how to start a ketogenic diet weight loss plan the right way, you can burn fat quicker without dieting or exercise! Thermo Burn contains a bunch of fat busting ingredients including Forskolin, Garginia Cambogia, Vitamin B12, L-Carnitine and Ginseng!

Success in any diet boils down to planning, execution and supplementation. You have to be clinical in your approach and leave nothing to chance.

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How to Start a Ketogenic Diet Weight Loss Plan the Right Way

There are generic phases in every diet that are in an endless feedback loop, and the ketogenic diet is no different. Planning, Preparation, Execution, Assessment, Repeat.

Planning

The planning phase is probably the most fun in the process. This is the phase where all your hopes and dreams for the diet exist. You will be excited and eager to start the diet, sometimes throwing caution to the wind, and going full steam ahead without a seconds thought.

How to Start a Ketogenic Diet Weight Loss Plan

Photo by Estée Janssens

Before you begin, ensure you complete the following steps.

  • Calculate you total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) –

Your TDEE is an estimation of how many calories you burn per day when exercise is taken into account.

It uses your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) value multiplied by an activity multiplier.

Your BMR represents how many calories your body burns at rest, so your activity multiplier represents how active you are.

The range is from sedentary (office desk work, minimum fitness) to very active (manual labour, athlete, fitness is life).

A few good calculators out there while we work on building our own: https://tdeecalculator.net/ and bodybuilding.com

Your TDEE will guide your daily calorie intake. It will inform the amount of calories to reduce and track what is working towards losing weight.

  • Figure out your Macros –

To be keto, you need to eat higher fats, lower carbs and moderate protein. If you do not know why this is, read our article on nutritional ketosis.

Knowledge of the macros that make up your TDEE is an extremely powerful tool in learning how to start a ketogenic diet weight loss plan the right way.

It will help you decide the best way to build your diet meal plan. You can select food items or recipes that hit your macros.

Check out our articles on Ketogenic Diet Recipes for Weight LossKetogenic Diet Food List For Weight Loss

  • Acquire your essential kitchen utensils and appliances –

    • A good set of non-stick pans and pots
    • Spiralizers to make every vegetable into faux pasta
    • Weighing scale to help track the portion sizes and hence track calories.
    • Food processor to make nut butters, dips, mashes and much more
    • Nutri Ninja for your keto smoothies
  • Choose your form of exercise –

It does not really matter what form of exercise you chose, you just have to chose the one you enjoy, or the one you hate the least.  Exercising on the keto diet will make it a lot easier to burn the fat when you are in ketosis.  The alternative would be to cut your TDEE calories by half or more to see any significant fat loss without exercise (THIS IS NOT ADVISABLE!)

Preparation

The process starts to get more real when you begin this phase. This phase is all about building your meal plan, choosing your sources of each macro, building a list of ingredients to buy, finding a good fitness and nutrition tracker to help you on your journey.

How to Start a Ketogenic Diet Weight Loss Plan

Photo by Alex Munsell 

  • Building your meal plan –

This is one of the key secrets to how to start a ketogenic diet weight loss plan the right way. You need a meal plan that is dynamic and exciting, but also very easy to stick with.

Every meal should contribute to your overall macro breakdown and not be within your deficit of the TDEE to burn fat.

The drastic increase of fatty foods can have an impact of on your digestive system, so we recommend you include plenty of fibrous and wholesome carbs.

  • Meal prep –

We believe there are categories of people when it comes to meal planning and preparation. Those who love to cook fresh meals everyday, those who like to cook in bulk and reheat, those who do not cook at all.

The type of cook you are will determine how convenient the diet will be for you.

We have found that bulk meal prep works the best for this diet. You can prepare your proteins in advance, and then your vegetables on the go.

Execution

This phase of how to start a ketogenic diet weight loss plan the right way is where it starts to get real! You wake up on Day 1 full of zeal, everything is planned and prepared, all you need to do is follow through! Easy Right?

  • Day 1 to 2 –

These are usually the best days. Like many you had your fill of carbs the day before to celebrate the last day before your diet. So you have tons of glycogen stored in your muscles and liver which will carry through the days tasks and exercise, and make the diet feel like “its not so bad after all”.

  • Day 3 to 7 –

If your carb intake has been low enough, you may begin to experience some dizziness, fatigue, nausea, digestive issues and more. This is perfectly normal as your body adjusts to the diet, before you start producing ketones.

Our tip is to drink plenty of water, eat small meals frequently. So instead of eating your 40g of carbs at breakfast, spread it out over the day over 4 meals. The 10g every 2-3 hours could make all the difference to your ability to power through.

  • Day 8 and beyond –

If you have not given up on the diet or had any cheat meals by now, then you should be in full ketosis. Things will start to turn around for you. Higher energy levels, better focus, weight loss and so on.

Assessment

This phase of how to start a ketogenic diet weight loss plan the right way is critical to your ability to continue on the diet with renewed energy!

You need to assess your progress, identify what is working and what is not. You can use a traditional weighing scale to track your progress, but we do not recommend this as the only form of tracking.

  • Focus of fat loss

  • Dig out your old clothes

  • Look out for complements

Repeat

Treat each new week as if it was the begining of the diet. Follow the steps from preparation to planning, to execution and assess again at the end of the week.

This we believe is how to start a ketogenic diet weight loss plan the right way.

Ketogenic Diet

Nutritional Ketosis – How to burn body fat rapidly

What is Nutritional Ketosis?

Nutritional ketosis is a metabolic state where the body is efficiently burning fat as its primary source of energy.

According to research by Cox et al, nutritional ketosis is a metabolic response to an energy crisis, and a mechanism to sustain life by altering oxidative fuel selection.

How does the nutritional ketosis occur?

Glycogen is stored in the liver, skeletal muscle and muscle tissue.

When the body’s glycogen stores become depleted, the breakdown of body fat (mainly triglycerides) results in increased availability of fatty acids.

Most cells in the body can use fatty acids for energy production except the brain!

Fatty acids travel to the liver where it is converted into ketones, mainly through oxidation, and are exported to peripheral tissues for use as an energy source.

Ketone bodies can pass the blood-brain barrier, hence when there are insufficient glucose levels, the brain will begin to rely on the ketone bodies produced by the liver.

Once your body starts producing ketones, you need to remain on the ketogenic diet for a sustained period to reduce body fat significantly.

The infographic below shows the key process that occur for the body to enter nutritional ketosis.

What is Nutritional Ketosis

 How long does nutritional ketosis take?

According to research, it can take anywhere from 2 – 7 days, depending on your body type, activity levels, the quality of nutrients you are eating, and your overall calorie deficit

To ensure you enter ketosis as quickly as possible, we have written articles about:

  1. How to Start a Ketogenic Diet Weight Loss Plan the Right Way
  2. Fastest way to get into ketosis

What are the signs that you are in nutritional ketosis? 

Stage 1 – Cold Turkey

Low Energy –  You may struggle to perform your daily tasks with the same vigour as before you started the ketogenic diet.

Brain Fog – A feeling of light headedness, lack of focus, and mental confusion are some of the symptoms.

Fatigue – You may start feeling weak and tired, because of the lower glucose levels.

Stage 2 – Body Readjustment

Bad Breath – According to research “Breath acetone is as good a predictor of ketosis.”

Appetite Suppression – Fatty foods are not only more calorie dense, but can also slow down digestion.

Stage 3 – Fat Burning

Increased ketones in the blood or urine – you will need an accurate way to test for ketones.

Intensified Focus – Your brain starts utilising ketones and as a result will be able to function at a better capacity.

Exponential Energy – Due to the fact that your fat stores are abundant, you will now have a great source of energy for your body.

Weight Loss – In conclusion, as your body uses body fat, you should consequently see a drop in overall weight.

Ketogenic Diet

Fastest Way To Get Into Ketosis

The fastest way to get into ketosis in our opinion is to follow these simple strategies, to maximise fat burning.

Use fat burning ketone supplements

A powerful fat burning ketone, Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) has been modified to produce a instant fat burning solution the natural way.  BHB is the first substrate that kicks the metabolic state of ketosis into action.

Epic KETO is a supplement that allows the body to begin converting into a state of nutritional ketosis. Featuring a special blend of ingredients, Epic KETO is a safe and simple way to achieve ketosis without the negative side effects of a typical ketogenic diet.

Epic KETO is extremely easy to use and experience fast weight loss results with.

  1. Take 2 Epic KETO capsules daily with water
  2. Eat keto-friendly meals and snacks throughout the day
  3. Enjoy improved energy and focus while our body uses fat for energy!

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Beta-hydroxybutyrate floats around in your blood, and importantly, can cross different important barriers to be able to be turned into energy at all times. One of the most important areas where this happens is in the brain. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is usually a very tightly regulated interface, but since BHB is such a rock star and so hydrophilic, your brain knows to let it in so it can bring energy to the party at any time. This is one of the main reasons why increased BHB levels lead to heightened mental acuity.*

Ideal for both men and women, Epic KETO is a dynamic and powerful ketosis dietary supplement that will assist weight loss, promote abdominal fat burn, and support better digestion and sleep.

Do not go cold turkey on carbs

The food industry provides us with a constant supply of high carbohydrate foods.  So we’re always looking for our next fix.

From cereals and toast in the mornings, to sandwiches at lunch, to pasta for dinner.  And not to mention the frappuccinos, sodas, and cookies in between!

You know that this is a low carb high fat diet. Going from full carb diet to a low carb diet in one day can wreak havoc on your bodies immune system, you mind and your will power.

Fastest way to get into ketosis

Indeed if you can ride the wave of discomfort then your keto fat burn can begin even as quickly as the first 7 days. But if you understand what it means to be ondawagon, then you are probably like us, weak of will when it comes to sticking to a diet that makes us uncomfortable.

Our advice is to ease into the Ketogenic lifestyle. Start Day 1-2 by cutting your carbs by 25%, see how your body handles this change. Then reduce by a further 25% while increasing your healthy fat intake to replace the lost calories from the carb reduction. Make sure to checkout our article on Ketogenic Diet Food List For Weight Loss for the healthy fats to make your keto journey successful.

Calculate your macros

Weight management 101 – Total calories expended must be greater than total calories consumed. Remember that one gram of fat has nine calories (1g fat = 9 calories), hence you need to make sure you track every single gram of fat you will be adding to your diet.

There are tons of fitness calculators floating around the internets, so while we are working on building our own, here is a link to a very good one on bodybuilding.com.

However you decide to put together your diet plans, ensure that your overall calories do not exceed your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE)

Build muscle

The fastest way to get into ketosis is to exercise. More importantly is to choose an exercise that will build more lean muscle mass while taxing your muscle glycogen.

Resistance training is really the best way to achieve this, but if weight lifting is not your thing, there are so many ways to achieve the same effect.

Fastest way to get into ketosis

You can go dancing, walk everywhere, climb a mountain, swimming, running, the only rule is that you do something that pushes your heart rate and muscles everyday.

Combine this point with a calorie deficit, and lower carbohydrate intake, and you have the recipe for fast fat burning!

Choose clean carb sources

This is the simplest way to cut carbohydrates while maintaining volume on your portion sizes.

You also need the extra fibre to help your digestive system cope with the increase in fat intake.

Fastest way to get into ketosis

Take broccoli for example, the macros are superb. 100 grams of broccoli has 34 calories and 7 grams of carbs, whilst 100g of potatoes contain 77 calories and 17g of carbs.

Our post on Ketogenic Diet Recipes For Weight Loss will provide you with some resources to get tasty recipes that utilise clean carb sources, healthy fats and protein.

Drink tons of water

Water is life.  We may have to write an article on the benefits of drinking water for those who are not yet in the know.

But in the meantime, all we will say on the matter is that water is your friend on the keto diet.

Summary of the fastest way to get into ketosis article

In summary, the fastest way to get into ketosis is to trust your body, plan ahead, stick to your macros, drink tons of water, and diet clean and smart.

If you are looking for more in-depth tips on the fastest way to get into ketosis, this great resource from KetoSummit shows you how to compel your body to burn fat in less than 5 days.

Ketogenic Diet

Ketogenic Diet Food List For Weight Loss

Our Ketogenic Diet Food List For Weight Loss is based on numerous high quality online articles, and scientific research.

If you are reading this, it means you probably already know what nutritional ketosis is, and how to it works.

The below image is a good representation of the kinds of foods you should be including in your shopping basket.

Ketogenic Diet Food List For Weight Loss by Ondawagon

To enter ketosis your diet needs to include high quantities of healthy fats, low carbohydrate and moderate protein.

We highly recommend you read our article on how to start a ketogenic diet weight loss plan the right way before you start shopping with our comprehensive list.

Quick Recap on how a Ketogenic Diet Works

Depleting your glycogen stores by reducing carbohydrate intake, forces the breakdown of body fat (mainly triglycerides) into Fatty acids which travel to the liver where it is converted into ketones.

Fatty acids can be used by most cells in the body for energy except the brain, while ketones can be used by the body and the brain

Keep the below points in mind to ensure a successful diet.

  1. Keep carbohydrate consumption low. This amount depends on your level of physical activity, age, lifestyle, gender and so on.
  2. Keep fat consumption high. It is therefore highly crucial that you keep these fats healthy as they will represent over 50% of your daily caloric intake.
  3. Keep protein moderate. To prevent loss of muscle mass during the diet.
keto food list
Image from Low Carb Yum

Ketogenic Diet Food List For Weight Loss

Healthy Fats and Oils

  • Butter or ghee
  • Avocados
  • Macadamia nuts
  • Coconut butter
  • Cocoa butter
  • Egg yolks
  • Coconut oil, olive oil, or avocado oil
  • Nuts and seeds or nut butter
  • Fatty fish

Protein

  • Beef, like steak, veal, roast, ground beef, and stews.
  • Poultry, darker, fattier versions.
  • Pork
  • Fish
  • Shellfish
  • Egg whites
  • Lamb
  • Goat
  • Protein powders. checkout MyProtein

Carbohydrates

  • Kale
  • Spinach
  • Swiss chard
  • Bok choy
  • Lettuce
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Broccoli
  • Onions
  • Bell peppers
  • Asparagus
  • Celery
  • Cucumber
  • Zucchini
  • Cauliflower

Very Small Quantities

  • Strawberries
  • Blueberries
  • Raspberries
  • Cherries
  • Cranberries
  • Mulberries

Vegan – Ketogenic Diet Food List For Weight Loss

Healthy Fats and Oils

  • Butter or ghee
  • Avocados
  • Macadamia nuts
  • Coconut butter
  • Cocoa butter
  • Coconut oil, olive oil, or avocado oil
  • Almonds
  • Cashews
  • Chia Seeds
  • Coconut Flakes (non-sweetened)
  • Hazelnuts
  • Macadamias
  • Pecans
  • Pumpkin Seeds
  • Sesame Seeds
  • Sunflower Seeds
  • Walnuts

Protein

  • Tofu
  • Hemp
  • Non-Dairy Milk
  • Quinoa
  • Tempeh
  • Vegan Protein powders. checkout MyProtein

Carbohydrates

  • Artichokes
  • Asparagus
  • Bok Choy
  • Broccoli
  • Brussel Sprouts
  • Cabbage
  • Cauliflower
  • Celery
  • Cucumber
  • Edamame/Green Soy
  • Beans
  • Eggplant (Aubergine)
  • Fennel
  • Garlic
  • Green Beans
  • Kale
  • Lettuce
  • Mushrooms
  • Parsley
  • Peppers
  • Radish
  • Spaghetti Squash
  • Butternut Squash
  • Spinach
  • Zucchini (Courgette)
Ketogenic Diet

Ketogenic Diet Recipes For Weight Loss

There are literally thousands of ketogenic diet recipes for weight loss floating around the internet, and thousands of keto based apps that can help with your search.  So this page will present to you our top resources to help on your keto journey.

Other related articles: What is Nutritional Ketosis, How to Enter Ketosis Rapidly, How to Start a Ketogenic Diet the Right Way, Ketogenic Diet Food List For Weight Loss

Please note some of the links below are affiliate based.

Websites with Ketogenic Diet Recipes For Weight Loss

Ruled.me

This is simply one of the most comprehensive websites regarding ketogenic diet recipes for weight loss. They layout information in a very useful way and we highly recommend you add them to your arsenal.

Ketogenic Diet Recipes For Weight Loss

Each meal has a dedicated page, with directions, nutritional information, recommended cooking utensils and much more.

Perfect Keto

This website also does a great job at laying out the ketogenic diet recipes for weight loss in a user friendly and intuitive manner.

Ketogenic Diet Recipes For Weight Loss

They also give you a free keto recipe book, with 19 healthy ketogenic diet recipes for weight loss.

Healthful Pursuit

This website has a tons of free recipes that you can use.

It has a search functionality that allows you to select your eating style, preparation time, meal type and key ingredients which consequently help you quickly narrow down a recipe.

They also cater to different variations of the Ketogenic diet like vegan, and vegetarian.

Ketogenic diet recipes for weight loss

 

Books with Ketogenic Diet Recipes For Weight Loss

The KetoDiet Cookbook

From the lady who brought you the KetoDiet App, this highly rated book is perfect for those who prefer to have thier recipes in in their e-readers or in a book.

Ketogenic Diet Recipes For Weight Loss

The book is full of full of interesting ideas, with great recipes that are very easy to follow. It is very descriptive, and therefore perfect for a complete beginner. You can read more about this book on amazon.co.uk

Keto Essentials

Keto Essentials is a complete guide to Ketogenic diet recipes for weight loss. The book breaks down the science behind the keto diet, with delicious easy to make recipes.

The recipes reflect a global influence, bursting with flavours, and nutrient dense  which will help prevent micronutrient deficiency.

Check out what other readers are saying about the book.

Ketogenic Diet Recipes For Weight Loss