My Top 10 keto rules

1. Don’t get discouraged! Keto is a lifestyle not a diet. Yes some will lose weight very fast. What’s really happening though, is keto helps your body burn fat as energy, so even if you dont drop weight right away, you will start to see a difference in your clothing sizes fairly quickly. So take pictures and measurements. Measure your arms, thighs, waist, chest, and neck. You will be amazed!! You can’t ever go back to eating sugar laden food and still be healthy but that doesn't mean you can’t have fun with new recipes and new ideas. With the explosion of keto the options are becoming limitless.

2. Follow what works for you! Low carb takes many forms. From keto, atkins, paleo, to south beach. That’s just the forms of low carb diets, there are at least 5 versions of keto. The reason? Every body is different, so find what works for you. Find your own path! I will give you the information you need to start and any guidance along the way you need. But in the end it’s your path and only you know what works for you. So know what works for you and ignore the keto police. These are the people that want to tell you aren’t doing keto right.... Now I will say the most common keto police objection is added sugars, in things like sauces; ketchup, bbq sauce and many recipes. The reason you should avoid them is you only have a precious few carbs you get to eat each day. Also Sauces and added carbs add up quickly, and have no nutritional value. Finally, cutting out sugars cuts down on the cravings.

3. Set progress goals, don’t worry about the end goal just yet. Set small manageable goals and reward yourself! Just don’t get in the habit of rewarding yourself with non keto food!

4. Have someone maybe a friend or family member, that does keto with you. They can help hold you accountable. But If you do keto alone, have someone that you can turn to with questions, when you need encouragement, or to help you get started. I can offer myself as someone that can help answer questions and offer encouragement. But accountability would be hard to offer.

5. Calculate your macros and if you ever feel stuck make sure that you are following at least the carb macro. Fats are a lever to make you feel full and have extra energy. Proteins need to get close but don’t go over. Carbs are an absolute maximum so try not to go over your carb macro to stay in Ketosis. Figure carbs as net carbs subtract out all fiber from the carb counts.

6. Calculate your bmr it will help you understand your metabolic rate to understand what you should eat. When you are trying to lose weight and not maintain I would suggest you track the calories of everything you eat as well. This will help you understand how much you should eat each day.

7. Balance your beef, pork, chicken fats with monounsaturated fats such as avocados, macadamia nuts, almonds, olive oil, sunflower oil, chia seeds, hemp seeds, coconut oil, walnuts, etc. These are incredibly healthy for your heart some other heart healthy fats whole eggs(whites and yolks both, the only complete food meaning they contain some of everything you need), cheese, dark chocolate, fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, cod, trout, herring, full fat Greek yogurt.

8. Meal Plan, it is important to pre plan and prepare your meals. It is hard to eat keto on fast food or from a box. Fresh foods are the best foods. When I make my meals I make enough to last 2-3 days. It does not have to be expensive like people say, if you meal plan and stick to eating meals without snacking. It can actually be very affordable. My keto aware 90+ has some meal plan ideas.

9. Drink water at least 50oz each day. But for optimum health drink 60% of your body weight in lbs in ounces of water. This is hard to do but your body requires that water even more than it needs food and your organs will function better with water. Not to mention waters importance in keto with the increased fat intake.

9.5? Don’t forget electrolytes, they make everything work and will keep you from getting the keto flu. As well as possible long term and short term health affects. These are Magnesium, Potassium, Chloride, Calcium, and Sodium. I will go into these on my nutrition blog.

10. Have a cheat meal if you need. Remember this, life happens and there are many temptations it will be hard. I recommend you plan your cheat meals in advance, do not just have a cheat day or meal because there are temptations. But when it does happen don’t lose hope just move on. Start back on the next meal or the next day but come back to Keto whatever you do. Not for the weight loss but the many potential health benefits that accompany this lifestyle. There is always a keto option, it just might not be the choice you want to make. But be careful at restaurants somethings that might sound keto friendly, are surprisingly high in carbohydrates..

Last Have fun! Enjoy amazing food! Enjoy the healthiest you! Don’t let others discourage you with negative comments just do what’s right for you.

Not a rule more of a suggestion

Download MyFitnessPal or any meal tracker that has an easily programmable app that will help you track your macros each day. It already has most restaurants menu and nutrients programmed in as well as raw foods. It’s a great tool for restaurants, where even things that sound like they might be keto friendly are loaded with sugars

Keto Aware 90+ is a monthly subscription site packed full of great systems and resources to help you in your own holistic (whole) health journey. Including:

*daily keto recipes

*weekly meal plan ideas

*monthly meal plan ideas

*bi weekly workout plans for beginner and advanced workouts

*15% discount on keto merchandise at the keto aware 90 shop

*Live the best healthiest you 90 day habit coaching

*quarterly contests and giveaways

Click the link below to get started today!

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