How to Succeed on Keto With These 5 Tips
A ketogenic diet has been proven to improve weight loss and offer protection from a variety of health problems. However, to get these results, it has to be done correctly. Looking for ways on how to succeed on keto? Here are practical strategies to help you stay true to this lifestyle.
1. Recalculate your keto macros each month.
Keto is 60-80% fat, 15-30% protein, and 5-10% carohydrates. Individuals who are just starting keto should know the right amount of macros to consume daily based on their current weight, energy needs (calories), and activity level. To do this, you’ll want to use a keto calculator.
But don’t stop there. As you progress on the keto diet, it’s good practice to recalculate your macros. You can do this every four weeks or when you’re no longer losing weight — in other words, when you’ve reached a weight loss plateau.
Keep in mind that no matter what your protein and fat numbers are, limit your carbs to only 50 grams per day. (50 grams of net carbs if you’re including plants in your keto diet or 50 grams of total carbs if you’re focusing on meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs only).
2. Plan your meals and keep them simple.
Life can get crazy, and when you’re under a lot of stress, you’re likely to opt for high-carb, sugary foods. Study shows that chronic stress leads to greater hunger and a preference for hyperpalatable foods. [1]
With healthy make-ahead keto meals, even the busiest schedules can’t ruin your diet. Start by building a keto menu and shopping for keto ingredients over the weekend. Make simple 5 to 6-ingredient meals ahead of time and freeze them. Yes, forget about complicated recipes! Try these:
- Breakfast: Corned Beef and Cauliflower Hash
- Lunch: Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas
- Snacks: Salted Peanut Butter Fat Bombs
- Dinner: One-Pan Tamari Beef and Vegetables
3. Combine keto and HIIT.
Contrary to what others might tell you, you can perform HIIT workouts even on the keto diet. In fact, research suggests that doing keto and HIIT together is an effective strategy for speeding up the process of getting into ketosis, losing weight while preserving lean muscle, improving your mitochondria, and slowing down aging. [2]
Since HIIT is more tiring than steady-state cardio workouts like walking, running, and biking, keep your sessions short at first. You can start with a 15 to 20-minute HIIT routine, which includes jumping jacks, push-ups, and burpees.
In addition to starting slowly, be sure to fuel your body. For keto dieters, this means consuming your 50 grams of carbs for the day around your workouts and taking a pre-workout supplement, such as creatine.
You’ll see improvements with your strength and stamina over time, especially when you become fully adapted to the keto diet.
4. Try a higher protein approach.
One of the best keto tips to lose weight is to try a high-protein keto diet. It involves getting 35% of your calories from protein instead of the usual 15-30% on standard keto. Carbs are still restricted to 50 grams per day. [3]
Slightly increasing protein intake can be helpful for the following reasons:
- Increase your metabolism and fat-burning potential
- To build muscle mass
- Speed up recovery from an injury (sports injury, surgery)
- Protect your muscle as you age
When it comes to protein-rich foods, it’s best to focus on animal-based sources since they have the highest quality protein. Grass-fed beef, pork, poultry, eggs, and seafood contain all the essential amino acids.
5. Experiment with different intermittent fasting schedules.
For those who are not familiar, intermittent fasting (IF) switches between periods of water fasting and eating. You’ve probably heard about the 16:8 method, which is a popular form of IF where you fast for 16 hours and eat only within an 8-hour window.
Other IF methods include One Meal a Day (OMAD) and alternate-day fasting. Incorporating fasting on keto can decrease your body fat percentage further, boost your gut microbiome, and improve your metabolic markers. [4]
The best form of IF is the one you can commit to. Think about your schedule and how long you can last without food without getting too hungry and sluggish. For instance, OMAD can be great if you’re not hungry all day and want to skip breakfast and work through lunch without distractions. Intermittent fasting and the keto lifestyle are also natural partners since being fat adapted on keto reduces hunger and cravings.
Set Yourself up for Keto Diet Success
Depending on your level of experience and progress, these tips could take your health to the next level. Keep in mind that it’s all about sustainability. Whatever approach on keto you choose—whether that’s switching up your macros, meal prepping, exercise, or fasting—it has to work with, and not against, your lifestyle.
References
Yau, Y. H., & Potenza, M. N. (2013). Stress and eating behaviors. Minerva endocrinologica, 38(3), 255–267.
Cipryan, L., Plews, D. J., Ferretti, A., Maffetone, P. B., & Laursen, P. B. (2018). Effects of a 4-Week Very Low-Carbohydrate Diet on High-Intensity Interval Training Responses. Journal of sports science & medicine, 17(2), 259–268.
Shilpa, J., & Mohan, V. (2018). Ketogenic diets: Boon or bane? The Indian journal of medical research, 148(3), 251–253. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_1666_18
Karakan T. (2019). Intermittent fasting and gut microbiota. The Turkish journal of gastroenterology : the official journal of Turkish Society of Gastroenterology, 30(12), 1008. https://doi.org/10.5152/tjg.2019.101219
