Hey everyone, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend ringing in 2017 but now that we are done with the parties and celebrations it’s time to get back on track with our diets. On Friday night I hosted my very first ever Facebook LIVE and I was so happy that so many ladies tuned in to chat with me. I am going to be aiming to do a Facebook LIVE every Friday night to share information with everyone and also to interact with my readers and followers on various topics. This past week’s #FitTipFriday Facebook Live was all about ketogenic dieting. I took a bunch of questions ahead of time and then answered a bunch during the time I was live on camera. The full video is below, but make sure to follow my page (www.facebook.com/jerseygirltalk) so that you can be a part of the next one.

There were tons of great questions about keto dieting and as I mentioned I did it for six months starting in the spring of last year and did with great success. While it’s called a “diet” it is more of a lifestyle switch to eating more fats, lower protein and less than 50 grams of carbs per day. The carbs should come from fruit or veggies and absolutely removes grains, wheat, flour, breads, pastas, sugars, etc. I have to say that while doing the ketogenic (low carb) diet I felt so amazing! I had no headaches, slept very well, never felt hungry, always felt full (fats are satiating) and I was never bloated. My experience doing a ketogenic diet was all positive! (honestly).

So what is a keto diet?

It is when you restrict your carbs to no more than 50 grams per day. You consume about 75% of your daily macros from fats, about 20% from protein and 5% from carbs. You remove all starchy carbs like bread, pasta, wheat, potatoes, beans, etc and get your carbs from vegetables and nuts. During the keto diet it took me a bit to get used to not eating a ton of protein. Since I am usually trying to put on lean muscle, lift moderate to heavy, I usually eat a TON of protein so that was an adjustment. I was so used to eating 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of my body weight. While doing the keto diet I had to get used to not eating as much protein. For this reason it took me a while to get into ketosis because I was eating a lot of protein. To monitor my level of ketosis I used keto strips which you pee on and it will produce a color scale to see how many ketones are in your body (the darker the strip color the more ketones in your body).

What does a shopping list consist of for a keto diet?

I did this video in the middle of my last round of keto eating and figured it would be helpful to share. I love Trader Joe’s for my food shopping each week, but I don’t purchase my seafood there because I prefer to get any seafood from Stop & Shop because they have very fresh wild caught salmon and flounder and cod which I like a lot.

Here are the foods I buy over and over again when doing a ketogenic diet. This shopping list is very helpful and soon enough you won’t even need a list anymore.

• chicken sausage
• turkey bacon
• grass fed high fat beef
• salmon (wild not farm raised)
• turkey burgers (higher fat, not lean)
• hard boiled eggs
• brown eggs
• tuna in the can with olive oil
• organic full fat mayo
• olive oil
• coconut oil
• kerigold butter
• half & half for coffee
• stevia
• zucchini
• broccoli
• cauliflower
• spinach
• broccoli rabe
• full fat cottage cheese
• full fat sour cream
• mozzarella cheese
• chicken broth
• bouillon cubes
• goat cheese crumbles
• avocados
• cashews
• almonds
• peanut butter
• pink himalayan sea salt

What are some tips for starting a ketogenic diet?

For starters understand that this is a lifestyle shift. If you do not eat a ton of carbs, this won’t be that difficult for you. I was never a big carb eater, but I did eat the healthy ones pretty often to hit my macros while lifting (sweet potato, brown rice, oatmeal mostly). When I switched to low carb it didn’t really bother me much physically. I was actually feeling great and very full all the time and it was hard for me to even eat all my meals each day. If you happen to eat a lot of carbs and switch to low carb it will likely be harder to adjust. Some people even feel what they call the “keto flu” where you feel a bit sluggish and tired and under the weather. It is just your body adjusting but you will be fine. Soon your body will use your own body fat stores to fuel your body with energy instead of using carbs for energy. Make sure to stick to your new lifestyle and don’t give up. Also I suggest doing it with your spouse, room mates, etc. so that you stock your house with only keto friendly items (no chips, no bread, no cereal, etc). If it isn’t in the house you can’t eat it, right?! I also suggest getting some meal prep containers to allow you to make your food at home and take to work with you so you don’t cheat.

Why do I like doing a ketogenic diet?

First off, we are constantly told that “diet foods” and “low fat foods” are healthy for you, but they are NOT. When fat is removed from foods it also removes flavor, and in return they put sugar into the food to make it taste good. That’s why skim milk has 12 grams of sugar per serving, vs. half and half that has less than 1 gram of sugar. Why? Because when the fat is taken out it tastes like crap and sugar is put in to taste better. Sugar is what is causing so many issues with obesity and healthy problems. That is why you have to eat full fat foods on the keto diet because a keto diet is also a low sugar diet. This is also why so many people feel great and lose weight on this diet. Take a look at your foods that are in your fridge today, I bet a TON are loaded with sugar and you never even noticed. I also like doing the keto diet because I get to eat foods I have always been told are “bad” for you like Caesar dressing vs. low calorie dressings. Caesar has no sugar in it because it is full fat, whereas low calorie dressing is loaded with sugar. I also like being able to order a burger with melted mozzarella, a slice or two of turkey bacon and enjoy that without bread. YUM!

So overall, I hope that my Facebook LIVE chat answered some of your questions about keto dieting, as well as this blog post. If you have any other questions feel free to add them below in the comments. I have started my new diet today and will continue it for a few months. I am very excited because once you start this diet it is something you will enjoy and stick to (I hope).

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