My top tips on how to equip yourself to stay in ketosis
The keto diet is everywhere. It’s a diet that has garnered much publicity – good and bad. I’m no doctor, but I’ve studied the nuances of ketosis quite closely, and found that it can help me for my medical concerns with PCOS, a sluggish metabolism and moreover, just help me clean up my plate. When you start socialising in the name of work (trust me, it’s inevitable) and you’re drinking champagne on a Monday evening, and every other evening, you find yourself just about hanging on to the clean-eating bandwagon.
Essentially, this is a high fat, moderate protein and extremely low carb diet. The Indian diet being largely influenced by the Standard American Diet, is heavy on carbs and thus makes going on the keto diet rather challenging. But, there are always a few hacks that help. Here are some of my favourite ones that I feel helped me stick within the boundaries of ketosis.
Build a low-carb pantry
You can’t always decide when you’re going to be hungry or always have time for meal preps. A big snacker, I like to keep some low-carb snacks handy like nuts and cheese. If nothing, this combination always hits the spot and keeps me going for hours.
You’d also want to sift through your pantry, check ingredient labels of sauces and ingredients that are high in carbs and stash them away. Stock up on healthy oils like coconut, olive and avocado and things that can liven up your plate in minutes, like an olive tapenade or a fiery chilli oil.
Meal preps
I like to eat as much fresh food as possible, and least amounts from a packet. So whenever I find a window of free time, I’m prepping for meals in the kitchen. I make big batch of homemade full-fat cottage cheese and full-fat strained yogurt and store it in the refrigerator to use later. I also love roasting nuts and seasoning them with some olive oil, fresh rosemary and sea salt. You can make a batch of your favourite base sauces to use during the week, like an almond milk creamy sauce to be tossed with steamed broccoli or grilled veggies.
Get a buddy
Often undermined, social support can really help you stay on a diet. When you have someone to share your struggles and accomplishments with, it will be much easier for you to stay on the diet and get the results you want. I also find that I don’t cheat when I’m out with a friend who has the same diet goals as me.
Boost your ketosis
Since you’re anyway making lifestyle changes, you might as well make a couple more! I like combining ketosis with intermittent fasting. It’s easier to fast without having carbs as part of your diet and most importantly you end up eating at least one less meal in the day which means less meal prep! Win-win!
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