Like all low carb diets, the keto diet has a lot of benefits that you can get once you do it right. It might seem like there are a lot of rules on the keto diet, but there are just some basic principles that you need to know.
The main principle of the ketogenic diet is this:
- Eat in high fat, moderate protein, and low carb proportions
However, the main rule of the keto diet aside, what are some other tricks of the keto diet that you can use to reach your goals faster and feel great while doing it?
Below, I’ve explored 7 tricks of keto that even celebrities, dieticians, and personal trainers swear by.
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7 Tricks of The Keto Diet
1- Use More Salt
Especially when you first start the keto diet. Using more salt will help to replace the minerals that you may lose in the first few days of the keto diet while your body goes on a carb detox.
Even though the symptoms of the keto flu differs with everyone, it’s safe to say that one of the most common side effects is nausea. If you end up losing more fluids than normal, salts will help to remineralize your body.
The keto flu might turn some people off the keto diet but it only lasts a couple of days (2-7) and you can even check to see when you are in ketosis by using these affordable ketone strips.
2- Top Your Meals with Olive or Avocado oil
One main problem that may cause people on the keto diet to fail is not eating enough fats. An easy way to fix this is by adding a healthy drizzle of olive oil or avocado oil at the end of your meals.
If you struggle with getting enough fats in your keto diet, then this is a quick and easy way to ensure that you get some that are of high quality.
Olive and avocado oils are the most recommended because they are rich in monosaturated (or healthy) fats. While eating saturated fats in dairy and other sources is fine, these healthy oils give you more variety and help to ensure that you’re reaching your fat intake.
Not sure how much fats to eat on the keto diet? Here’s a free keto calculator to help you out.
3- Have a List of Go-To Recipes
One common pitfall of the keto diet, or diets in general, is that you can easily get sucked into preparing the same meals over and over.
As much as it’s fun to revel in the world of cheese, avocados, and eggs on keto, a few months of the same foods aren’t quite so appealing.
Recommendation
I always recommend the Keto in 5 Cookbooks for persons who would like more easy and delicious meals on the keto diet. There are 30 recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert that can all be made in less than 5 minutes.
4- Get a List of Low Carb Veggies That You Like
This is a trick that will make grocery shopping and cooking sooo much easier for you. There are some veggies that you can have in abundance on the ketogenic diet while you can only have a handful of others because of the high carb content.
Because fruits are even higher in sugar, it helps to have an idea of how much you can safely eat without getting kicked out of ketosis. I’ve written posts on both of these if you want to read more:
5- Use Intermittent Fasting to Accelerate Weight Loss
If your goal is to lose weight on the keto diet, then intermittent fasting is one of the best ways to do even faster. One of the benefits of the keto diet is that it suppresses your appetite so you will already want to eat less.
Using this knowledge to time your meals (intermittent) is a great way to see more consistent results. Not sure what intermittent fasting is?
Intermittent fasting means that you eat all your meals in an allotted time frame and don’t eat or drink anything with calories during the rest of the day. You can read about it more here.
A lot of celebrity trainers use IF for their clients- even those who are on the keto diet. In my opinion, being on the keto diet while doing IF makes the whole thing less stressful. Your body already has an advantage so why not give it a try?
6- Cut Your Protein Intake in Half
If you think that carbs are the only thing that you have to cut on the keto diet, then think again.
Many people forget that keto is a high fat, low carb, and moderate protein diet. This means that if you continue to eat the same protein portions are you were before, then you have to make sure that you’re not eating too much.
Some ways to ensure that you are eating the right amount of protein are by:
- Consulting with your nutritionist/doctor
- Using a custom Keto meal plan
- Using a free Keto calculator
7- Listen To Your Body
This is the best tip that you can use for the keto diet because your metabolism is different from everyone else’s.
It’s also great to think about what goals you want to achieve from the keto diet.
Is it weight loss? Healing PCOS? Other health issues?
Then check out The Keto Beginning from Healthful Pursuit to see how you can use to heal your body. The huge bonus is that there are countless testimonials so you can see how beneficial this is.
Thank you for this! I have been “trying” to do Keto for a couple months now. Struggled during family vacations a little. Though I’m keeping my net carbs low, I’m kicking myself out of ketosis….by too much protein?? Thanks for the list of foods! Very handy.
Hey I’m so happy you found it helpful! Yes that’s a common mistake so you can use the calculator or try it by hand and reduce the amount of protein. Good luck!
Thank you!