Hey, everybody. Tonya here with Critical Bench. I am a Holistic Health Practitioner and nutrition expert and today I want to talk share with you some information about the ketogenic diet and specifically ketogenic diet for beginners. So if you’ve given it some serious thought, you’ve done some research and you want to get started, I want to talk a little bit about some of the things you might want to think about, some more questions you might have, just to make sure we’re giving you some good information to get you going.
Now, if you’ve already been looking into the ketogenic diet and you’ve made the decision that it’s something you want to start doing, you’re probably already aware that it’s broken up primarily and generally, the percentages and numbers are going to be specific to you as an individual and it’s going to be different from one individual to another, but we’re looking at about 75% of your intake being fats, 20% from proteins and 5% from carbs. So that’s a really, really low number of carbs.
Now, if this is your first attempt or you’re a beginner at taking on the ketogenic diet, getting started with it, the first thing I want to say is be very realistic. Be very realistic and be kind to yourself. It’s not an easy diet for most people, but it’s not impossible. You have to be very committed to it and following the guidelines and really being aware of your body, really being aware of how you’re feeling, what things you’re liking, what things you’re not liking, what’s working, what’s not working. And at the end of the day, is it working for you?
It’s not a diet that you just want to jump into and try it for one or two weeks. This is something, in my opinion, and I strongly recommend, is you give yourself a certain amount of time, whether that’s three months or six months, to actually follow it as close to the letter as you possibly can to get honest, true feedback.
If you’re going to jump in and out of a ketogenic diet you’re actually not going to get any valid, measureable results that you can talk about and say, well, it worked or it didn’t work. It is a lifestyle choice for most people. Now, if it’s something that’s been recommended to you for a medical condition, that’s different. You’re going to have a lot different motivation to stick with it. But if it’s purely for benefits as far as lifestyle, health, feeling better or fat loss, you really need to know what you’re getting into and you need to give yourself a realistic timeframe to see if this is a diet that works for you and something you can actually live by.
Another thing I want to mention if you’re a beginner with the ketogenic diet, I’ve already mentioned what those guidelines are, being kind to yourself, giving yourself a timeline. Find some support. There are some very great online groups. There may even be somebody in your community or somebody in your family that’s doing this or thinking about doing this. It always helps to do something that’s going to challenge you a bit and something that may have peaks and valleys when you have support, when you have somebody who either understands what it might be feeling like or understands how important it is to you to succeed to get you through those low moments when you think I can’t do this; it’s too hard. Why did I take this on? So find somebody who’s on your team, who’s in your corner, who’s going to back you up and support you.
When taking on something like this or wanting to do something like this, please check in with your doctor. If you have any sort of preexisting medical condition, respiratory, cardio, anything. If your health is compromised in any way or maybe you haven’t been feeling well for a while and this is part of the reason why you’re prompted to do something with your nutrition and diet to improve your health, please go check with your doctor. Okay? The minute we start making really big changes in our lifestyle, whether that’s through nutrition or exercise, you do want to make sure you’re not just jumping in blind. It’s absolutely amazing and wonderful to have very good intentions and to have that motivation and that commitment to something, but just get all your basics. Make sure everything is good to go. Check with your doctor and listen to his advice as well.
The last thing I want to mention is surround yourself with good information and resources. There is a lot of information out there. A lot of it is very good. Some of it maybe not as good. I’m not selling you on the ketogenic diet. I’m not saying it’s something you should do or you have to do, but it is something that has worked for a lot of people. I don’t know anybody that has started it and stuck to it for a consistent amount of time that I would say it’s become their lifestyle.
My experience is working with clients who have taken on and used this diet for a period of time for their own reasons, largely medical. It is challenging and people do tend to crave their carbs and that seems to be the biggest thing. But as a beginner, going into this, get some really good information. There’s great websites out there and ask around. As around. There’s Facebook, there are groups on Facebook that will absolutely welcome you and can provide a large amount of resources and engagement in terms of discussions and one of the best things you can do as a newbie to the ketogenic diet is to talk to other people that have done it. Hear their stories, listen to what they have to say, hear what they found to be the most difficult and why they continued with it, why it did work. Just ask a lot of questions. The greatest information and feedback you’re going to get is by asking a lot of questions and arm yourself with information, resources and people. That’s about the best thing you can do.
Well, there you have it. Again, very basic, very quickly. A few things to think about if you are considering doing a ketogenic diet and you’ve never done it before, be very realistic, be very kind, find out as much as you can, surround yourself with support, great information and resources and check in with your doctor, absolutely.
