What Is The Keto Whoosh Effect?

Losing weight is not a simple straightforward process, even on keto. Anyone who has been consistently putting in the effort on their weight loss journey can tell you that the pounds don’t come off in a downward, linear manner and can feel totally unpredictable sometimes. The reality is that even if you are in a deficit and exercising you will likely hit a weight loss plateau during your journey.

While this can be totally frustrating and discouraging, it’s important to remember that there’s likely a good reason your body is in a weight loss stall. Remember that keto is not a quick fix crash diet, but rather a lifestyle change so be patient and stay the course. After a plateau, many people experience a sudden and drastic drop in weight and this occurrence is known as “the whoosh effect”.

GRAB YOUR FREE ULTIMATE KETO PANTRY CHECKLIST BELOW!

Here’s the scenario:

You’ve been stuck at a weight loss plateau with no movement on the scale. It feels like forever since you’ve seen the number move, then suddenly overnight you somehow lost 5lbs! You are super excited and feel like all your dedication and consistency has paid off. But then you start to question - is this even real? Is this safe or healthy to lose that much in a day? Was it just water weight? Is this a trick? Is my scale broken?!?

WHAT IS THE WHOOSH EFFECT?

While further research needs to be conducted, “The Whoosh Effect” is a hypothesis used to explain a sudden change in weight while following a ketogenic diet. It’s a total myth that your fat cells get filled with water then suddenly “collapse”. Your fat cells don’t just magically disappear!

Our fat cells are filled with triglycerides. These are necessary fuel reserves used by the body to function as energy, but when filled in excess they grow larger which results in weight gain.

When you start burning more calories than you consume, your fat cells lose triglycerides. Cutting down on calories while increasing activity levels will burn through stored triglycerides in the body. As your fat cells suddenly have less fat in them, they will temporarily fill with water. 

Our bodies are extremely efficient in maintaining homeostasis. It wants to fill those fat cells in order for them to remain the same size, and will pull water into the cells to achieve that. The water now in your fat cells is just acting as a placeholder, in case you decide you want to excessively add triglycerides again (for survival purposes in our ancestral days). 

It is around this time that you may start to notice a stall or plateau in your weight loss. You may feel a bit squishy or soft in some areas, and may feel frustrated because nothing has really changed in terms of the amount of effort you’re putting into your keto diet. Changes in our diet, exercise and an increased water intake can all contribute to this water retention as your body just tries to figure out what the heck is going on!

Usually our cells will hold onto the water for a few days or a week, then once it realizes the triglycerides are not going to refill the fat cell - it drops all the water at once. You may notice more trips to the washroom as this water is flushed out, and you may suddenly drop multiple pounds overnight!

GRAB YOUR FREE ULTIMATE KETO PANTRY CHECKLIST BELOW!

THE WHOOSH EFFECT ON KETO

It’s important to remember that you do not lose your fat cells, it is simply a loss of water causing the fat cells to shrink in size. People can experience the whoosh effect on any diet, but it may be more pronounced on a ketogenic diet due to the restriction of carbohydrates.

When you decrease the amount of carbs consumed, you also excrete more water (hence the name carbo-HYDRATE). Due to this, your body may be more likely to retain even more water in your fat cells before the big whoosh occurs. You may even feel like you’ve gained a bit of weight even though you’re following your keto diet perfectly. So next time you start to feel discouraged that your weight loss has plateaued, stay the course! Be consistent, and drink lots of water, because you may be on the brink of experiencing the whoosh effect. 

SIGNS OF THE WHOOSH EFFECT

The whoosh effect can occur at any time during your keto journey. Sometimes after a weight loss stall of a few days, sometimes it can occur after a stall for a few weeks. During the time where your body is transitioning from having fat cells filled with triglycerides to having fat cells filled with water you may feel bloated, soft & squishy or puffy. You may feel the need to urinate more frequently, and the scale may even go up a few pounds despite being precise with your keto diet.

However if you keep up with your new healthy keto lifestyle and exercise, your fat cells will suddenly release the water and you may feel leaner or notice a significant change on the scale or in the mirror overnight. Some people experience an increase in sweating, night sweats, or diarrhea before a whoosh as these are all ways for your body to rid itself of excess water.

Once your fat cells have released the water, the cells will shrink and your body prepares to do it all over again with a new set of fat cells. This is part of the reason why weight loss according to the scale is never linear! When placed on a graph it always has a jagged, downward trajectory and will never be a straight, smooth line. 

CAN YOU TRIGGER THE WHOOSH EFFECT?

While there are reports of being able to trigger a whoosh effect, only you can decide for yourself if it's the right choice to try and do so. Some claim that by having a carb heavy meal and re-filling your body with glycogen can cause the body to release the water. This is at the potential expense of knocking yourself out of ketosis, or worse - spiraling into some bad behaviours by triggering more carb or sugar cravings. Other claims include drinking alcohol or limiting water can trigger a whoosh effect for the diuretic nature to flush water out. 

The issue here is that you may not know for sure 100% whether or not it’s water retention or actual fat gain. Maybe it’s hormones, or stress. Is it really worth the risk to trigger some water loss?

GRAB YOUR FREE ULTIMATE KETO PANTRY CHECKLIST BELOW!

HERE’S WHAT TO DO INSTEAD

• Make sure you’re actually in ketosis - stay consistent with your keto diet by remaining under 20-30 net carbs per day (depending on the person)
  
  

• Make sure you’re in a caloric deficit - when you burn more calories than you consume over time, your body will burn stored fat and replace that with water which will eventually be flushed out
  
  

  Be patient - keto weight loss plateaus can last for days or weeks. It can appear at first like you’ve gained weight due to water retention, but all of this excess water will be released. Just be patient, consistent, and give your body time to adjust!

While there is no concrete science behind “the whoosh effect”, many report having experienced it at some point along their keto journey. This whoosh will help with weight loss, but it’s not fat loss. YOU already did the fat loss part by reducing the triglycerides in each cell to fill with water in the first place! So don’t get totally discouraged if your weight loss stalls despite doing everything right, and you suddenly feel a bit puffy. There’s a good chance that you just have some water retention and a whoosh is on the way!

If you’re experiencing a keto weight loss stall that’s longer than a month and want some support to push through it and get you moving towards your goals, click here to learn how 1:1 Keto Success Coaching can help!

KETO WEIGHT LOSS & BODY IMAGE

So you’ve started a ketogenic diet, and are seeing better results than you ever have before. You’re finally losing weight while eating foods you enjoy, and it feels like something you can actually stick to this time. The weight comes off pretty quickly too, which helps keep you motivated to keep going!

Pretty soon you can barely recognize the person in the mirror. You’ve achieved results beyond what you even thought was possible, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by all your family and friends. They’re praising you with compliments for your new smaller frame, and want to know the secret to how you’ve achieved such dramatic results. They assume you MUST be so much happier and healthier since losing the weight.

But there’s a catch. You don’t always see what they see when you look in the mirror. Logically you know that you’ve lost weight, but you still see your former, larger body in the reflection. You’ve put in all the work to lose the weight with keto, but your brain hasn’t quite caught up.

GRAB YOUR FREE 30 DAY JOURNAL PROMPTS FOR EMOTIONAL EATING ON KETO BELOW!

Our body image refers to how we perceive ourselves and our bodies visually. It includes how we talk and think to ourselves (and to others) about our bodies, how we think others view our bodies, and our level of connectedness to our bodies.

No matter what the scale says, adjusting to a new body size can do a number on our self esteem. For some people, body image can become a big preoccupation especially if you view yourself as being outside the “norm” in terms of your body type, weight, or have newly developed stretch marks or loose skin from your weight loss.

There are many factors that can influence your body image including:

• Comments about your appearance (good or bad)

• How often you compare yourself to others

• Exposure to the media (photoshopped or idealized images vs “normal” bodies)

• Experiencing discrimination based on your appearance

• Ideals you develop about your appearance from a young age

Any of these factors or more can have an effect on how you view your body before, during, and after keto weight loss. 

Developing and fostering a negative body image can affect your mental and physical health and may increase the chances of:

• Developing anxiety or depression

• Having trouble concentrating

• Avoiding social situations

• Avoiding physical activities

• Suffering from eating or exercise disorders

• Making reckless health choices

• Feeling uncomfortable in your skin
  
  

While you may not suffer from any of these specifically, having a poor body image after weight loss can directly influence your mood, confidence and self esteem. Some days it can feel like you’ve put in all this work to feel happier and healthier, but it STILL doesn't work causing you to feel frustrated and defeated.

YOUR REASONS FOR LOSING WEIGHT WILL IMPACT HOW YOU FEEL AFTER

Body image after weight loss can be really challenging. Some people consciously or subconsciously have used their excess body weight as a shield. Maybe it’s kept you from applying for that big job, or speaking up in your relationships, or stopped you from getting back into dating after a bad breakup. Maybe your extra body weight has helped you stay safe, and kept you from putting yourself out there in fear or criticism or rejection. If everything about being overweight was so bad, we wouldn’t stay there as long as we do. It is important to identify, acknowledge, and develop a new thought process for not holding yourself back in your life.

If you set out on your keto weight loss journey with the goal of creating a true lifestyle change - creating healthy habits, improving energy, increasing mobility, being more active, and being healthier you are more likely to achieve body acceptance after your keto weight loss.

However, if you are motivated to lose weight based on external pressures, idealized societal norms, or engrained ideas of beauty from a young age, self image even after weight loss tends to be more negative. 

GRAB YOUR FREE 30 DAY JOURNAL PROMPTS FOR EMOTIONAL EATING ON KETO BELOW!

WEIGHT LOSS CAN LEAD TO IMPROVED BODY IMAGE

First of all, you can ABSOLUTELY have a positive body image no matter what your size, and appreciate your curves and everything that your body does for you regardless of your weight. But it’s also totally possible that your body image will improve after you’ve lost weight.

You may gain more confidence in your new size, and be able to appreciate the hard work and your dedication to achieving your goals. Weight loss can encourage you to continue to take care of your body and your overall health, and create a true keto lifestyle change. When you look in the mirror you will be able to feel better about yourself, and identify parts of your body that you do like more regularly. It can reinforce the healthy changes to your lifestyle, and validate feelings of accomplishment towards your weight loss goals.

EVEN IF YOU FEEL BETTER PHYSICALLY, EMOTIONALLY YOU MAY STILL STRUGGLE

Body image is perceptual, not physical. So even when you have lost weight, how you perceive yourself may not have changed - especially if the weight loss was rapid. Despite the pounds and inches lost, you still may view yourself as “heavier, stockier, shorter, larger” than you really are.

Many people who have lost weight know the struggle of looking good on the outside, but still suffering on the inside emotionally. It’s so common after a lifetime of our inner critic telling us negative stories for it to damage how we perceive ourselves, even if we’ve lost weight. Then hearing praise and compliments from loved ones about our incredible keto weight loss may not actually help as it reinforces that we were a) overweight before, and b) emphasizes our physical body versus who we are inside.

It’s important to realize and acknowledge that weight loss doesn’t automatically equal a positive body image. It can create loose skin, stretch marks, muscle loss and a reduction in your curves. It can also create fear around eating food like carbs, overeating or binge eating tendencies, and anxiety around gaining weight again. 

It takes time to heal your relationship with food, with your body, and with yourself. Weight loss isn’t a guaranteed path to body acceptance. It doesn’t automatically mean you can try on any piece of clothing and feel great. It takes more than just weight loss to change our negative perceptions of ourselves.

You have to believe that you deserve to be happy and content no matter what your size or how your body looks. That’s how you can start to see the value in just being who you are. It takes a shift to a more positive mindset and transitioning away from the negative self-talk. It’s truly an individual process, but it’s best to surround yourself with positive empowering people. A keto health coach can hold that space for you without judgment as you figure it out, and fully support you through this journey.

GRAB YOUR FREE 30 DAY JOURNAL PROMPTS FOR EMOTIONAL EATING ON KETO BELOW!

TIPS FOR BODY ACCEPTANCE AFTER KETO WEIGHT LOSS:

• Write out affirmations that resonate with you and say them daily.

• Appreciate your body and everything it does for you.

• Believe that you have the right to be proud of what you’ve accomplished.

• Practice meditation to feel more in tune with yourself and grounded.

• Shut down the negative inner voice immediately and ask “Is that REALLY true?”

• Take photos of yourself to see your progress.

• Surround yourself with positive people who accept you as you are.

• View yourself as a whole person, not just a person who lost weight.

• Keep a gratitude journal to focus on all the positives in your life.

• Don’t compare yourself to others, everyone is on their own unique journey.

• Dress your new body in clothes that fit well and are comfortable. 

• Share your journey with others.

• Give yourself grace and time to adjust to the physical, emotional, and psychological changes that come with weight loss.

• Don’t avoid the mirror, face your reflection head on and say your positive affirmations to rewire your negative self-talk.

• Hire a coach to help support you to achieve true body acceptance.
  

When it comes to your weight loss journey, you want to be sure that you are happy and healthy throughout the entire process. One step to achieving that is being able to accept your body at any size to truly learn to love the person you are, and appreciate the person you are becoming.

Sometimes when we’ve physically lost weight on keto quickly, our perceptions and emotions haven’t had a chance to process everything. For example, if you’ve spent your entire life being “the bigger girl” in your friend group, and suddenly you’re not - you may feel like you’ve lost part of your identity. It’s also possible to develop a fear around eating and gaining the weight back, especially after receiving so much praise from those around you for losing it. 

This may be a sign that it’s time to put your trust in someone who can help you to truly heal your relationship with food, and your body. It takes strength to recognize we don’t know everything, and might benefit from another person’s perspective and expertise. You can learn more about how Keto Success Coaching will help you work towards your weight loss, positive mindset, and body acceptance goals to truly live your best life!

DO CALORIES MATTER FOR WEIGHT LOSS ON KETO?

If you’ve tried to lose weight before, chances are you have tried cutting calories to achieve your weight loss goals. You’ve probably heard that the key to losing weight is all about the amount of calories you’re consuming in relation to the calories you’re burning that matters. So how does it work on a keto diet, especially when you’re allowed to eat high fat foods? Do calories still matter on a keto diet, or do you just have to limit your carb intake to get drastic weight loss results?

It may not be as simple as an easy yes or no answer. There are many other factors that come into play when it comes to calories, even on a ketogenic diet.

GRAB YOUR FREE DAILY KETO HABIT CHECKLIST BELOW!

WHAT IS A CALORIE?

Calories measure the amount of energy in your food. So when referring to the number of calories in a particular food, you are basically stating the amount of energy your body can get out of that food you’re consuming.

Different macronutrients have different calorie contents:

• 1g protein = 4 calories

• 1g carbohydrate = 4 calories

• 1g fat = 9 calories

Your body is using calories all day to run both voluntary and involuntary functions to keep things running smoothly. These calories are either coming from the food you eat, or the fat already stored on your body.

CALORIES IN vs CALORIES OUT

To simplify, to lose weight you have to eat fewer calories than you use for energy. YES, even on a ketogenic diet. The amount of calories you consume should be lower than the amount of calories you burn throughout the day.

If everyone is different, how are you supposed to know how many calories you need per day? There are tons of keto macro calculators online that can help get you started in determining the adequate amount of fat, protein, carbs, and calories you need per day. This will allow you to track how many calories you’re consuming every day to ensure you’re remaining in a deficit. The best Apps for tracking your macros and calories on keto based on what most keto-ers use regularly are CarbManager, MyFitnessPal, and Cronometer. 

With that being said, not all calories are created equal so while being in a caloric deficit is important, there are other factors that play a role in how efficiently your body burns calories.

THE THERMIC EFFECT OF FOOD

The thermic effect of food (TEF) refers to the amount of energy it takes to consume and break down certain foods within the body. For example, your body requires a lot more energy to break down protein than it does carbohydrates or fats. So that means that your body has to work harder and burn more calories to digest protein, therefore the thermic effect of protein is higher.

The TEF amount of protein is 25% which means that your body uses 25% of the calories from that protein source you’re eating JUST to break it down! With carbohydrates the TEF amount is only 8% so the calories leftover are much higher.

Example:

If you eat 100 calories of protein ~ 75% of calories are leftover after digestion.

If you eat 100 calories of carbs ~ 92% of calories are leftover after digestion.

GRAB YOUR FREE DAILY KETO HABIT CHECKLIST BELOW!

OXIDATIVE PRIORITY

Researchers have coined the term Oxidative Priority to refer to the order in which the body chooses which fuel to burn first when there are multiple options found in the bloodstream. Oxidation simply means “fuel burning”. 

The priority in which the body burns fuel is as follows:

#1 ALCOHOL: when alcohol is in your bloodstream, it will be burned first no matter what other macronutrients are available because the body has no way to store alcohol. This means all other macronutrients are put onto a back-burner and stored until the alcohol has been burned through.

#2 PROTEIN: your body has countless ways to use protein from building muscle, creating hormones, protecting cell membranes, etc etc. Therefore your body will find a use for protein fairly quickly since it’s essential in so many different processes in the body and won’t be stored.

#3 CARBOHYDRATES: if your liver and glycogen stores are already full, carbohydrates can easily be stored on the body waiting to be used for fuel.

#4 FATS: technically, our bodies have an unlimited capacity to store fats in our fat cells to wait around indefinitely until they need to be used for fuel. This is an adaptive result from our ancestral hunter-gatherer days when food was more scarce.

This just goes to show that calories from different macronutrient sources have a vastly different metabolic effect on the body.

SATIETY

Satiety refers to how satisfying and full you feel after eating. This is important for two main reasons when it comes to your keto weight loss goals.

First, a diet that has a high level of satiety such as keto, allows you to decrease the number of calories you consume so you can tap into your body fat stores. Second, it helps decrease cravings so that you don’t feel the need to overeat at meals.

Protein is the most satiating macronutrient, even more so than fat! This means that if you eat a meal that is higher in protein, you are less likely to crave sweets or more savory foods afterwards. Aim to consume 0.8g - 1g of protein per pound of body weight, broken up into each meal daily. This will help you feel more full and satisfied which helps burn body fat and lose weight.

QUALITY OF FOOD

Imagine that you have two meals that are exactly identical in Thermic Effect, Oxidative Priority and Satiety, but one of those meals is ALSO full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and enzymes while the other is void of any additional nutritional value. 

When you consume calories made up of whole foods you are getting a wide variety of nutrients that help your metabolic system run most efficiently. This makes a difference with not only how satisfied you’ll feel after your meal, but how well your metabolism will burn calories in general.

CALORIES MATTER ON KETO

If your goal is weight loss on a ketogenic diet, then YES calories do still matter. The benefit of eating a ketogenic diet is that the foods are full of fat and protein so you may notice a natural decrease in appetite. It is extremely helpful in decreasing sugar cravings because your meals themselves are so satisfying.

A keto diet is also very thermogenic in nature. It can help you burn calories more efficiently while you feel more satisfied with less food. This is an important factor to note that it is an incredible tool for weight loss, but you must still be aware of what you eat, and how much you eat. If you still eat more than your body needs, it WILL be stored as fat. Regardless if you’re in ketosis or not. 

GRAB YOUR DAILY KETO HABIT CHECKLIST BELOW!

SHOULD YOU COUNT CALORIES ON KETO?

This decision is entirely up to you, your weight loss goals, and where you’re at in your keto journey. 

Some people prefer to simply focus on eating whole, nutrient dense foods and avoiding all processed keto foods and treats. For some people it is more about the type of calories they’re consuming vs the amount of calories they’re consuming. 

If you’re new to keto, have reached a keto weight loss stall, or have a specific goal weight you’d like to achieve, tracking your macros and counting calories is highly recommended. This is the only way to know for sure that you’re eating the right amount of calories and carbs to move you towards your goals. 

If you’ve been living a ketogenic lifestyle for quite some time, you may not feel the need to count calories and just stick to keto foods. But if you find yourself overeating or consuming too many processed keto foods or treats, you can always rely back on using macro tracking and calorie counting as a tool to remind yourself of carb counts, calories, and appropriate portion sizes.

Keto is an incredible way to lose weight while eating foods that are totally satisfying. Whether you count calories or not, they definitely play a role in achieving your weight loss goals even when you’re in ketosis. If you’re feeling overwhelmed about starting a keto diet, or want help tweaking your current eating habits to reach your ideal weight click here to learn more about how coaching can help get you in a body you’re comfortable and confident in. You can also join the free Keto Weight Loss for Women facebook group for additional information and support.

10 TIPS TO GET INTO KETOSIS FAST

The ketogenic diet is a highly popular low carb diet that has helped countless people lose weight, and improve chronic health conditions. Ketosis is a natural state of the metabolic process. It is achieved by converting your body from running on glucose (sugar from carbohydrates) for fuel, to using ketones (compounds from breaking down fat) instead.

For some people, achieving a state of ketosis is as simple as decreasing their carbohydrate intake for a few days and they’ve arrived. For others, it may be a bit more challenging and not as straightforward. Maybe you’re new to keto and just want to know that you’re doing everything right to achieve a state of ketosis, start losing weight, and start reaping the numerous health benefits. Or maybe you’re a keto veteran who gave yourself a break, and enjoyed some higher carb foods, and want to get back to your usual routine and start feeling your best again. 

GRAB YOUR FREE STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO KETO MEAL PLANNING ON A BUDGET BELOW!

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO ENTER KETOSIS?

In general, if you’re consuming around 20-25g net carbs a day it is likely that you will achieve ketosis in 2-4 days. However, some people notice it can take up to a week if not longer to get into ketosis.

The time it takes varies person to person. Some factors that may affect how long it takes for you to enter ketosis include your carb intake, daily fat and protein intake, stress levels, sleep quality, exercise, age, and metabolism. It’s also important to consider how you’ve been eating up until you started a ketogenic diet. If you’ve been consuming high carb and high sugar foods for a while, it may take you longer to achieve ketosis. This is because your body needs to deplete all of those glycogen stores before it can convert to using ketones for fuel.

For more information on how to know when ketosis starts check out this blog! It includes 12 different signs and symptoms to know when you’ve entered ketosis and are on your way to achieving your health goals!

10 TIPS TO GET INTO KETOSIS FAST

If you’re struggling to get into ketosis, here are a few tips that may help you achieve ketosis quickly:

REDUCE YOUR CARB INTAKE

This may seem like a no-brainer given that a ketogenic diet is an extremely low carb diet, but you may still be consuming too many carbs to actually achieve ketosis. Limiting your carbohydrate intake to 20g net carbs per day or less will get you moving to ketosis faster. 

This is not an exact set number, some people can consume less and others can consume more and still achieve ketosis. But it’s a general guideline that will ensure you get into ketosis in a week.

TRACK YOUR MACROS

It may be a little daunting, overwhelming or even tedious to track everything you eat, but it is also the only way to know for certain that you are staying under 20 net carbs, and eating the appropriate amount for your body. There are multiple track apps that make it much easier, and you don’t have to track forever if you don’t want to. But it’s a great way to stay accountable and know for sure that you aren’t underestimating your carb intake and keeping yourself out of ketosis.

INCREASE EXERCISE

Physical activity depletes the glycogen stores in your body, and can help you achieve ketosis faster. The more energy a person uses in a day, the more their body needs fuel. If you deplete your glycogen stores, and don’t replenish it with more carbs, you will start producing ketones to fuel your body instead and enter ketosis. You may feel slightly fatigued during your workouts while making this transition, but it’s a surefire way to burn off glycogen more efficiently.

GRAB YOUR FREE STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO KETO MEAL PLANNING ON A BUDGET BELOW!

AVOID EATING OUT

There are countless incredible keto friendly options at restaurants for you to enjoy! But if your main concern and goal at the moment is to get into ketosis in the first place, you may want to hold off on dining out, or ordering in. This way you have better control over what is going into your food, and makes it easier to track your macros to ensure you’re achieving ketosis, and not underestimating your carb, fat, and protein intake.

TRY INTERMITTENT FASTING

If you’re new to intermittent fasting (IF), it can be a helpful tool where you refrain from eating during a certain window of time during the day, and eat all of your food in the remaining window. The most common IF eating window is 16:8. This is where you do not consume any foods for 16 hours of the day (this includes while you’re sleeping), and consume all of your meals within an 8 hour window. This can help shift your body from using carbs for fuel to using fat instead, while maintaining your energy levels.

It is important to note that ANY type of fasting should never be used as punishment or a compensatory behaviour after consuming carbs. If you’ve eaten something off your keto diet, and knocked yourself out of ketosis, just go back to your regular routine and you’ll be back in ketosis within a few days.

FAT FASTING

Fat Fasting is a process where you only consume extremely high fat, low carb foods for a span of 2-3 days to enter ketosis quickly. Some of these fat fasts include ONLY eating eggs for days, or beef & butter to achieve ketosis. This removes any chance of carbohydrate consumption and ensures that you’ll be in ketosis in days. They are, however, not the most balanced approach to achieving ketosis, fairly extreme, and are not necessary. 

BE AWARE OF HIDDEN CARBS

Sometimes it can be easy to overlook hidden carb sources in our foods. Certain condiments and sauces are often filled with carbs or sugar. Or even just over-doing it with some higher carb foods like nuts or berries may be preventing you from entering ketosis.

INCREASE HIGH QUALITY FAT INTAKE

As you’re reducing your carbohydrate intake on a ketogenic diet, it is essential that you replace those calories with high quality fats. Your fat intake on a keto diet should be about 70% of all calories consumed. Healthy fats such as coconut oil, avocados, avocado oil, nuts, seeds, salmon, eggs, and fattier cuts of meat are all great ways to increase your healthy fat intake and help you enter ketosis without ever feeling like you’re starving and ready to quit keto.

TRY AN MCT OIL SUPPLEMENT

MCT oils are highly absorbable by the body, and convert easily into ketones. If you’re struggling to consume enough fat on your keto diet, you may want to consider including MCT oil as part of your routine. Remember that calories still count, even on keto! So if you’re adding MCT Oil into your coffee or meals be sure to track it so you’re not overdoing it.

GRAB YOUR FREE STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO KETO MEAL PLANNING ON A BUDGET BELOW!

TEST YOUR KETONES

While it isn’t totally necessary to test your ketone levels while on a ketogenic diet, it is the only way to know 100% for sure that you’re in ketosis. Once you’ve reduced your carb intake to around 20g net carbs a day for an extended period of time, your body will naturally be in ketosis. But if you’re curious and want to know for certain, there are 3 measures for testing your ketones - urine, breath, and blood testing.

The most inexpensive and least accurate measures are urine strips. They will show you that you’re excreting ketones through your urine, but are only beneficial at the very start of your keto journey. They also can’t accurately measure the amount of ketones IN your body, as they’re measuring the ketones that you’re eliminating out of your body. Once you’ve achieved ketosis, these strips will not be able to give you any further information as you continue on your journey.

Keto breath meters test the acetone present in your breath. Studies have shown that acetone breath levels are a reliable way to monitor ketosis.

The most effective and accurate way to test ketones is by using a blood meter. These are fairly expensive, somewhat invasive, and will require you to continuously buy strips to test the ketones in your blood if you want to ensure you’re remaining in ketosis. 

If you want to get into ketosis quickly, you can try any or all of these tips above. The main component to entering ketosis is to burn off your glycogen stores first. Remember that everyone’s body is different, and will get into ketosis at different rates due to previous dietary patterns, sleep, stress, age, metabolism, etc.

Trust the process that if you remain under 20g net carbs per day, you will enter ketosis and start moving towards your health and weight loss goals! If you need any additional help on getting started, or staying consistent with your keto lifestyle click here to learn how Keto Success Coaching can get you some serious keto weight loss results that LAST! Or you can join the free Keto Weight Loss for Women Facebook community filled with supportive keto women from around the world!