Hello Keto friends,

Hello and welcome to the forum!  You’ve come to the right place to learn, share, and occasionally lean on others.  It’s a team effort.

initial tips/advice: start with reading everything listed in ‘Learning About Keto’ found at the bottom of the list to the left of your screen.  Next: read, ‘KetoGenius Diet Plan’ also to the left.  It’s a printable .pdf file.  Then work through, ‘Getting Started’ and set up your goals.

Consider what you’re doing this for: some are keto purely for weight loss, while others use it to get their diabetes under control and get off their meds.  Some go for both.  I mention this as (I think) it informs how strict you need to be: a diabetic might have less room for being lax with things while weight loss might give you more wiggle room.

Give yourself time - it’s a lifelong journey and not a short trip.  There will be days that don’t go so well and that’s okay.  Pick yourself up and keto on!

Keto flu: (transition from a ‘sugar burner’ to a ‘fat burner’).  It happens to some but not others, and to varying degrees.  Stay hydrated and give yourself time.  Some advocate supplements - personal choice.  

Water: my readings (and 15 months of keto) tell me that you might require more water than did the ‘old you’.   Water is your friend.

Macros: tracking Total (more strict) or Net (allows some wiggle room).  I found Total Carbs gave me better control and amazing results, but I’m a very determined person.  Use what works best for you.  Carbs should be low and do not exceed them (but don’t berate yourself if you have a bad day and go over.  Again, pick yourself up and keep trying).  Proteins should be set to support and sustain your goal weight (what you want to weigh after you’ve lost what you want to lose).   Fats are your new energy source so eventually you’ll see them as what it takes to keep your motor running.  At first (IF you have ‘excess fat stores’) you don’t need to hit your fat goal every day as any shortage in eaten fats is made up by your body burning your fat stores (that’s a good thing and where the weight loss comes from).

Eat when you’re hungry: you do NOT need to eat three meals (plus snacks) every day.  If you’re not hungry, feel free to not eat.

Fasting: lots of information about fasting (often called ‘intermittent fasting’ or IF).  Some do, others don’t.  Let your body be your guide.  I’d only recommend that you focus on being in ketosis before introducing IF.

Ketosis: lots of angst about ‘am I in or am I not in ketosis’.  There are pee strips that have some value, but the best (easiest/most accurate) is a finger prick blood test.  KetoMojo has a good product.  Remember: any ketone reading at .5mmol or higher is ketosis.  Again, different people will have different levels.  Don’t sweat if your readings aren’t as high as others.

there are LOTs of information sites out there.  Trust those with medical science and stay away from ‘Billy Bob’s Keto Blog’ sorts of places as you don’t know how valid their information is.  Anybody can say anything on the internet.  There are some good medical based books, and some excellent YouTube channels from reputable doctors.

That’s a lot for know, but I hope will get you started.  

Let me know if you have any questions - remember: read the stuff in the left column first.

good luck and ‘Keto On!’

Pat F Hi new here.  How do I read replies to the topics in here?

judyfca To reply, just go to ‘Community’ (found in the column to the left).  Once there, go to ‘Forum’ (found in the list across the top of the screen - 2d from the right).

You can read various posts, and see your replies/comments there.

Hope this helps.