4 Things You Can Do RIGHT NOW To Lose Weight on a Keto Diet in the New Year
/Are you starting (or restarting) a keto diet in the New Year? Here are 4 simple things you can do RIGHT NOW to lose weight in the New Year:
Get your head in the game, or “mindset matters.”
Learn exactly how to eat keto.
Set a super specific 30 day goal that excites and inspires you.
Find a few simple, keto recipes and create your first week's meal plan..
4 Things You Can Do RIGHT NOW To Lose Weight on a Keto Diet in the New Year
“Before you start keto (or if you need a refresher) learn the keto basics. It is soooo important to have a good foundation and understanding of how eating keto works in your body. ”
1 - Get yo' head in the game.
Success with keto is all about mindset. If you're not excited and motivated BEFORE you start (or re-start) keto, when will you be? One of the easiest ways to grab a big carb-free helping of motivation (that you can tap into when you need it) is to write some of the benefits of keto, and the reasons why you are embracing this lifestyle.
Grab a notebook, or use the Notes app on your phone, and write the answers to these questions....
What specific results do you want to see by following a keto diet? Some ideas are weight loss, reduce body fat, heal leaky gut, end emotional eating, fix insulin resistance, reduce symptoms of autoimmune disease, stop food cravings, improve the quality of your diet, etc.
Exactly WHY do you want all of the above things to happen? What motivates you? Dig deep and be specific. There is no right or wrong WHY, but it must be compelling to you.
What potential obstacles might you face on your keto journey? What events, people, or beliefs, might get in the way of your success?
What exactly will you do when facing one of your potential obstacles? Map out a detailed action plan for each of your obstacles.
Example of a action plan for one of your potential obstacles:
When you are tempted to eat at night when you’re not hungry, try:
• Reading through your keto journal for motivation
• Browse an inspirational keto blog, Facebook page, or Instagram account
• Have a mug of bone broth instead
• Have a keto snack that will satisfy you
• Call a friend for support
• Add to your Inspiration Board, etc.
These questions can be found in My Keto Journal which is a 12 week printable workbook I’ve used to record my keto journey, get clear about my goals and motivation, track my progress, simplify my meal planning, and much more. You can take a peek at it here: My Keto Journal
2 - Learn exactly how to eat keto.
If you're new to a keto diet, please don’t make the mistake I did the first time I tried keto. I googled a keto meal plan and tried to follow it. I was eating foods I didn't like, I felt nauseous (and had no clue it was the keto flu), I was discouraged and miserable. I was following someone else’s macros, eating food someone else liked, and didn’t have the first clue how to make keto work for ME.
Big mistake.
Before YOU start keto (or if you need a refresher) learn the keto basics. It is soooo important to have a good foundation and understanding of how eating keto works in your body.
Learn not only what to eat, but WHY. With a good understanding of how keto works you are able to anticipate problems and tweak it to make it work for you.
I took a course called Happy Keto Body. It's a 12 week online course that you can take at your own pace to learn about keto and customize an eating plan that suits your tastes and your health issues. No crazy ass "must do this" rules. No restricting carbs to 20g a day. No jumping into intermittent fasting if you don't want to. It's all about healing your body and eating for good health. Learn more here: Happy Keto Body
You can also find lots of easy-to-understand, comprehensive books about keto around the web or on Amazon. Most have sample meal plans and recipes. Here are a few of my favorites:
The Keto Bundle is an eight week keto program complete with meal plans, recipes, and shopping lists. It's a digital download so you can get started anytime. Check it out: Healthful Pursuit Keto Bundle
Keto Diet: Your 30-Day Plan to Lose Weight, Balance Hormones, Boost Brain Health, and Reverse Disease by Dr. Josh Axe.
Simply Keto: A Practical Approach to Health & Weight Loss, with 100+ Easy Low-Carb Recipes by Suzanne Ryan.
Keto Diet for Dummies by Rami and Vicky Abrams.
3 - Set a super specific 30 day goal that excites and inspires you.
Think of a doable, realistic goal you KNOW you can achieve in your first 30 days. Losing 20 pounds isn't that goal, sadly. But losing 5 pounds might be, or hitting your macros 25 out of 30 days, or trying a new keto recipe every week.
Having a specific goal you are excited to achieve will inspire you and help when the going gets tough.
Think outside of the box when creating your goal and make it meaningful for YOU.
Be sure to WRITE YOUR GOAL DOWN and look at it every single day.
4 - Find a few simple, delicious, keto recipes and create your first week's meal plan and shopping list.
Find easy keto recipes.
Enjoying the food you are eating on a keto diet is super important. And there are tons of delicious recipes out there! Get a head start on your keto diet by getting some tasty recipes lined up NOW.
Where do you find yummy keto-friendly recipes? Google and Pinterest are the top two places. Also, if you are following a particular program, like the Happy Keto Body program I did, or if you have a keto recipe book, those are great places to look for recipes.
Focus on ones that appeal to your inner food, but are also simple to prepare - especially if you are a minimalist in the kitchen like me!
Save the recipes
If you don’t already have a Pinterest board for keto recipes, create one.
If you have physical keto cookbooks, mark your favorite recipes with sticky notes or highlight them in the index.
Or you can use a recipe/meal planning app to save my favorite keto recipes. I use one called Plan to Eat and it’s where I store all the keto recipes I use and it also creates simple meal plans for me.
Make your first week’s meal plan and shopping list.
Make a meal plan and shopping list for your first week or two. Even if you're not a minimalist like I am KEEP IT SIMPLE!!! Especially during the first week or two of keto if you have the carb flu you may not feel like cooking.
I do all my meal planning the Plan to Eat app because it automatically creates a shopping list and I can save my favorite meal plans, but you can use simple pen and paper or a notes app.
Whatever method you do, create a Week 1 meal plan that sounds appealing to you.
Save your meal plans from week to week, so you don’t have to recreate the wheel each time.
Having an amazing start to your keto diet in the New Year is really simple if you do a little preparation NOW. Or, if you reading this at another time of year, use these tips whenever you need to re-start your keto journey or need a tiny bit of motivation.
Wishing you a healthy and happy New Year!
—The Keto Minimalist
Oh, and be sure to PIN this post or SHARE on Facebook so you can find it in the future!
