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Easy Beginner's Guide to the Ketogenic Diet

By Sylvia | Mommy Over Work · This post may contain affiliate links, marked with *

Beginning the ketogenic diet and want to know what the craze is all about?

You’re in luck because I've put together the quickest ultimate beginner's guide to the ketogenic diet for weight loss you’ll come across.

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collage of keto beginner infographics.
via Authority Nutrition at Healthline  | Ditch the Carbs

Disclosure: Opinions expressed are our own. If you buy something through any of our affiliate links on this page, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting our site.

Jump to:
  • Recommended resources
  • Keto diet definition
  • Detailed keto diet for beginners
  • Health benefits
  • What is ketosis
  • Macros calculator conversion
  • Low carb vegetables
  • Low carb hacks
  • Fat bombs
  • Keto flu
  • Ketogenic diet on a budget
  • Conclusion

Recommended resources

  • Ketone strips* to test if you're in ketosis
  • 100 sweet and savory fat bombs recipes book*
  • Healthy electrolytes to combat keto flu

Keto diet definition

Let's start things off by stating what the keto diet even is. It's a low-carb and high-fat diet that helps you shed the pounds by transitioning your body from its typical carb-burning process to a fat-burning process called ketosis.

Yeah, if that went over your head like it did when I first looked into the keto diet for beginners, don’t worry. I've got 10 quick guides that'll make you feel like a keto diet expert by the time you're through.

Detailed keto diet for beginners

This one is good to start off with. Here’s what you’ll get out of this infographic:

  • What is a ketogenic diet definition
  • Types of ketogenic diets
  • Health benefits of a ketogenic diet
  • General ketogenic diet foods to avoid and eat
  • Sample week 1 ketogenic diet meal plan menu

(via Authority Nutrition at Healthline)

Health benefits

I think one of the main things that people want to know as a beginner of the keto diet, are what health benefits it can offer. Here's a simple yet informative list that outlines a few more benefits that weren’t mentioned in the first chart:

  • heart health
  • appetite and weight loss
  • cognitive and emotional health benefits
  • increased energy levels

(via My Keto Kitchen)

What is ketosis

If the health benefits intrigued you, then you’ll want to know how the diet actually works. With the ketogenic diet, the success of rapid weight loss rides on switching your body to a naturally occurring fat-burning process called ketosis.

It’ll help to understand what’s going on with your body physiologically if you’re planning to go through with the ketogenic diet. This chart covers:

  • Glucose, carbohydrates and how your body’s metabolism works
  • Fat-burning basics of ketones, ketosis, and ketogenesis
  • Conversion of protein into energy and muscle loss (you definitely want to avoid this)

(via Ruled Me)

Pro tip: These popular ketone strips* can help you figure out if you’re in ketosis.

Macros calculator conversion

The chart above will lead you to wonder, what is the proper proportion of carbs, proteins, and fats that you should be eating on the keto diet? Here’s an easy infographic that breaks it down.

When you look more into the keto diet, you’ll learn about calculating your macronutrients. To me, the best macro calculator is one that uses the least amount of math. You should keep this simple keto diet calculator for reference. (via Pin source)

Low carb vegetables

The list above can be intimidating, but a very basic concept to remember is that you want low carb intake. Carbs are hard to completely cut out, so instead, go for healthier good carbs, which tend to be vegetables. Regardless of if you’re a vegetarian on the keto diet or not, you’ll want to incorporate more of this top 20 good carbs list of veggies. (via Nutrition Advance)

Low carb hacks

Knowing what you can use to substitute for unhealthy, empty carbs will also help you succeed at the ketogenic diet. You can consider the left side a bad carbs list, or hidden carbs you’d rather avoid or not eat as much of, and the right side are healthier alternatives and carb substitutes to try to use more of instead in your cooking and eating. (via Ditch the Carbs)

Fat bombs

One of the perks of the ketogenic diet is the emphasis on fats, meaning yummy keto-friendly snacks and desserts. Here’s an overview that explains:

  • Why eating fat bombs helps in the keto diet
  • What are fat bombs and features and composition of fat bombs
  • How to make fat bombs

(via Slick Weight Loss)

Pro tip: Check out this book of over 100 recipes for sweet and savory fat bombs*.

Keto flu

As awesome as eating fat bombs all day sounds, you should also prepare yourself for some adverse symptoms your body may undergo as a result of adjusting to metabolic changes.

Some beginning the keto diet are fortunate to not experience any sickness at all, but for some keto diet beginners, you may experience carb flu or keto flu, which may include fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and other fun stuff.

Know what to expect and should do if it strikes with this chart that tells you:

  • What is the keto flu and causes
  • Keto flu symptoms
  • Electrolytes, vitamins, and minerals your body needs + food sources

Just know that there’s light at the end of the bowel tunnel. (via Health in a Second)

Pro tip: It’s important to replenish the electrolytes that you’re losing. Here’s a hugely popular one.*

Ketogenic diet on a budget

As with groceries and food in general, there are ways to afford healthy groceries without spending an arm and a leg. Use these shopping, cooking, and eating tips to shave costs from your food budget. (via Slick Weight Loss)

Pro tip: Use the Ibotta money-saving app* to get rebates for your groceries. Get a welcome bonus for first-time customers.

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Conclusion

Now you know so much more about the ketogenic dieting lifestyle. This beginner's guide to the ketogenic diet for weight loss gives you a comprehensive overview of what the ketogenic diet is, what kinds of foods you can eat, what changes to expect to see in your body, and other great tips to help you decide if the keto diet is something you think worth giving a try.


Continue Reading: Food & Diet posts →

  • Best Keto Diet Hacks for Beginners
  • Easy Meal Planning Tips

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kelly Adams says

    January 14, 2019 at 5:54 am

    Thanks Sylvia for including our infographic and adding a link to our website (slickweightloss). If I may point one thing, the 10th poster is also from our website, it would be great of you add an link to that infographic also.

    Reply
    • Sylvia Wu says

      January 14, 2019 at 10:00 pm

      Thanks for notifying me of that, Kelly. I went ahead and updated it.

      Reply
  2. Valrey says

    July 04, 2018 at 7:20 pm

    Love your keto posters you shared. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Sylvia Wu says

      July 04, 2018 at 7:39 pm

      Thanks so much for taking the time to read through the post and write this comment, Valrey!

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Sylvia (with my son Q). Life is tough, but doesn't mean that you can't have fun along the way! I created Mommy Over Work to share ideas, tips, life hacks, and inspiration to make life easier, organized and more adventurous.

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