Chapter 2: Making the Keto Transition

Once you have gone ahead and made the decision to transition to a keto lifestyle, if you are like most people, the first hurdle you will have to overcome is the keto flu. Luckily, preparing yourself mentally for the challenge will make it far more likely you’ll come out the other side successfully. This means actively planning ahead to ensure that you have as little going on during the transition week as possible. While this won’t make the transition less painful per say, it will certainly make it easier to remain on track. This is not to say that you are going to want to sit around doing nothing but thinking about how hungry you are, as this is a recipe for disaster as well. Make sure you have plenty of distractions around to help you through the worse of the transition phase.

In order to get off carbs once and for all, some people will need a little more help than others. If you find that your acetone levels refuse to move beyond the .5 mark, then you may want to look at the amount of protein you are eating on a daily basis as well. If you are eating too much then the excess will turn to glucose, leaving you with the same problems as if you were still eating carbs, as glucose is what messes with your insulin levels in the first place.

If you can’t find a way to cut out any more protein from your diet, then you will instead want to add in extra fat to further balance things out. You can start by adding an extra tablespoon of coconut oil as well as a tablespoon of melted butter to any coffee you drink, as this can add an extra 10 grams or so right off the bat. This strategy will also help you to feel fuller in the morning, so you don’t head right for the breakfast carbs.

Finally, if you simply can’t seem to make the transition to the keto diet cold turkey, then there is no reason that you couldn’t take a more measured approach to the entire process instead. Specifically, this means slowly cutting back on your carbs over a period of weeks or months, so that when you do leave them behind entirely, you can transition to ketosis as smoothly as possible. While you won’t see any of the related benefits while you are in the transition phase, it will make the keto lifestyle more likely to stick once you finally do make the transition.

Stay hydrated: In order to make the transition phase as manageable as possible, one easy thing to do is ensure you remain as hydrated as possible at all times. Remaining in a ketogenic state is naturally dehydrating, as is practicing intermittent fasting which means you will want to try and drink a gallon of water per day, just to catch up. This will also make it more manageable when it comes to fighting hunger pains, as hunger is often a signal that you are thirsty as well. What’s more, simply having all that extra liquid in your belly will help you feel fuller longer.

Avoid grazing: One surefire way to accidentally find yourself knocked out of ketosis is to constantly be snacking. During the transition week, you are likely to feel hungrier almost constantly, but this is really just your body calling out for extra carbs. If you tough it out, you will find that it goes away as your acetone level increases. If you find that you are still hungrier than before, even after you have entered ketosis, then the odds are good that you have yet to find the right combination of macronutrients that suits your body’s needs.

Until you manage to find this balance successfully, you are going to want to focus exclusively on eating full meals and avoiding all snacking, just to ensure you don’t consume more calories than you should, by accident. This is especially easy to do when you are new to the keto diet and are unfamiliar with the average number of carbs in common items. While the occasional fat bomb, found in a later chapter, won’t throw a wrench in the works, even they can add up quickly so willpower is key to your successful transition.

Eat whole foods: If you hope to ever transition to the keto diet successfully, then you are going to want to go through your home and remove any foods that don’t meet your new standards before you get started. While this is sure to make for an extra expensive trip to the grocery store, it is a vastly superior choice when compared to leaving all those extra temptations lying around. Likewise, if you live with those who aren’t sticking to the keto diet, then you will want to ask them to keep their non-keto foods on the down-low for 30 days until you can build new habits that focus on healthier alternatives.

When you are going through and restocking your kitchen, it is important to go the extra mile and replace them with all-natural alternatives. Not only will this help to ensure everything you eat is as healthy as possible, it will also cut down on the number of carbs consumed as, generally speaking, the more processed a food is, the more carbs it is likely to contain. It is also important to keep in mind these days that the phrase “low-carb” is as much of a marketing gimmick as it is a declaration of content, as such you are always going to want to look at the nutrition facts yourself before making any purchasing decisions.

The simple truth is that those items that are actually healthy don’t need to go out of their way to advertise how healthy they are. For example, if you pick up an avocado, then you can be confident of its fat to carb ratio, as this isn’t something that has been manipulated by a bunch of folks in lab coats. If you take the time to avoid the products with the most hype surrounding them, then you should end up with natural, organic options. When in doubt, read the labels and ensure that everything is as healthy as it appears at first glance.

Stick with it: Once your body settles into a state of ketosis, you will likely notice a visible uptick in your overall weight loss, possibly even exceeding one pound per week. However, once you start getting closer to your weight loss goal, it is common for weight loss to drop to the pound a week mark. In fact, if you are looking to lose weight in the long-term, then about a pound per week is considered the healthy maximum. Eventually, your weight loss will slow even more, but this is only a sign that you are getting closer to your ideal weight.

Finally, it is important to be aware of the fact that everyone hits weight loss plateaus from time to time and the only way to get through them is to stay the course. When you find yourself on a plateau, the worst thing you can do is try and switch up your entire weight loss routine, as this will just confuse your body even more and make it even more difficult for you to get your weight loss back in gear.

Exercise more

When you are working your way through the keto flu, odds are the absolute last thing you are going to want to do is exercise, much less participate in anything strenuous. Nevertheless, studies show that this is one of the best things you can do in order to use up the remaining carbs hiding in your system. High-intensity cardio workouts will allow your body to burn through stored glucose as quickly as possible. Even better, when it realizes it is out of fuel it will start prepping for the transition to ketosis immediately.

What follows are a number of exercises specifically chosen to force your body into a state of ketosis as quickly as possible. Your goal should be to look to the most advanced exercises you can successfully complete, while at the same time not pushing yourself so hard that you feel light-headed, you are running on less fuel than normal, after all.

10-minute workout

Ideally, you will complete this circuit three times. If you cannot make it through three repetitions of each exercise, then simply do the best you can. Strive to keep each circuit at less than 190 seconds.

Squats: You will want to begin with your feet firmly planted at a little more than hip-width apart while ensuring that your toes are pointed outward at a 45-degree angle. You will then want to place all of your weight on the heels of your feet while keeping your chest upright and your back straight. From there, you will want to lower yourself towards the ground so that your thighs are horizontal. Taking advantage of your glutes and your quads, you will then want to push yourself back into the starting position.

Jumping Jacks: This is an excellent exercise when it comes to improving coordination and increasing blood flow. You will want to start with your feet together and your arms at your sides before spreading your arms and jumping into the air high enough to spread your legs. Land and repeat the process before returning to the starting position. You can make this exercise even more strenuous by adding a torso twist to the mix while you jump.

Jab, cross front kick: To start this exercise stand with one foot in front of the other with your hips facing the same direction as the foot that is in the front. Raise your arms into a boxer stance before jabbing with your forward most arm while the other is held out in front of you. From there, you will want to move into a throwing cross by punching with your left arm and then rotating your body. This should allow you to place all of your weight on your front foot. End the sequence by kicking forward with your back foot before repeating with your other foot forward.

20-minute workout

Aim to make it through this circuit three times with a 15-second rest between each...