The keto diet is actually a long term strategy. It's not something that you try because you have to lose weight for your high school reunion. It's not something that you get on because you just want to lose weight by a certain date.
It is a long term program because it reprograms your taste buds and, ultimately, changes your relationship with food and your attitude towards eating. If you think along these lines, your chances of succeeding with the keto diet increases tremendously.
A lot of Americans go through this process where they go on a diet and they lose weight. They gain the
weight back and they weigh more after a few months. They then go on a diet, then go on another diet and repeat the process again and again.
Once enough time passes, they end up massively overweight. They didn't pack on the extra pounds because they wanted to. But that's where they end up. This is because they don't think long term. They don't think in terms of lifestyle change.
Instead, they look at a weight loss program as simply another diet. Stop it.
Believe that the keto lifestyle works
I can not even begin to tell you how many times I've counseled people regarding weight loss and after nodding their heads for what seemed like hours, they pull me aside and ask me, “Honestly, do you think it's going to work for me?”
This reflects the love/hate relationship too many people have with weight loss programs. At the end of the day, they believe that it's not going to work for them. It is no surprise that with this mindset, people are able to only lose weight initially at best.
Thats's the best they could do because ultimately, their lack of trust and belief in the system eats away at their resolve. Eventually, they believe that the system really doesn't work and they're back to where they began. Sad. Totally unnecessary.
If you're going to adopt the keto diet, you have to believe that this lifestyle works. Period. You have to believe that this works. Look at the testimonials. Look at the people that have lost a tremendous amount of weight using this system. Believe that it works.
Otherwise, your lack of belief and trust is going to erode your efforts at implementing it. Eventually, you're going to slow down and the pounds will come rushing back. The worst part? You did it to yourself.
Believe that YOU can do it
It's one thing to believe that the keto lifestyle works for other people. It's another thing to believe that it works for you. If you want the keto diet to truly deliver its claims, believe that you can do it. Believe that when you get on it, you will benefit from it.
There's really no point in thinking that something works for other people. So what? That's them. We're talking about you. So, make sure that you believe that this can work for you. The good news is if other people can do it, why can't you?
Aren't you any less entitled to losing all that weight? Can't you benefit the same way as other people?
Don't think, for whatever reason, that you're unique and special and can not lose weight through systems that benefit other people. Believe that you can make it work.
The bottom line: If other people can do it, you can do it too. As the old saying goes, the proof is in the pudding. If other people can do it, why can't you? All these keto testimonials as well as the personal
“before and after” pictures that you see all over the internet involving the keto diet, they're absolutely true.
They work for people. Keto was working yesterday, it's working today, it will continue to work in the future. Now the question is are you going to look at what happened to those people and accept that it can also happen to you?
If you have a tough time believing that you can achieve what other people have achieved with the keto diet, they you just have to admit that you're giving yourself excuses not to try. That's the bottom line.
You're coming up with one justification after another and one excuse after another not to try. That's what's really going on.
Get your mind right before you start your keto diet
You need to go through all the steps above and everything must line up. If you don't get into this with the right mindset, chances are you will end up sabotaging yourself. There's a high likelihood that you will eventually stumble, lose motivation and go back to your old eating patterns.
I understand that you're frustrated with your weight. I understand that you want to change. But no change is possible until and unless you change your mindset. In this chapter, I've laid out the mental changes that you need to go through so you can tackle the keto diet with the right attitude.
One of the most common problems I've seen people run into again and again with diets is they use a scorched earth policy. For example, if somebody is loading up on starch, they basically replace all the meat and all the eggs and fatty food they have been eating with just starch.
They have this black and white, either or, all or nothing mindset. Now you may be thinking that this is a good thing. You may be thinking that this indicates commitment and a firm decision to make a change. That might be true.
The problem is when you go through such an abrupt change, your body starts to push back. At first, it's not all that noticeable. But eventually, your mind and your body starts pulling you back to your old eating habits.
You have to understand that we're all creatures of habit. We've grown accustomed to certain things. We adopt certain lifestyles because they meet our needs at a very deep level. Your weight and your eating patterns are reflections of your personal habits.
As you probably already know, changing habits is not very easy. It's definitely not something that you take on lightly. It is no surprise, given this background that a lot of people who just abruptly change their diets end up going back to their old eating patterns.
All that weight that they've lost initially in the early stages of the diet come back. Worse yet, people get heavier. They end up in a worse place. This is due to the fact that they triggered their system for a serious backlash later on.
Just because it didn't happen when you switched over to your new diet doesn't mean it's not going to happen. It's like trapping heat in a volcano. It's only a matter of time until that volcano blows its top.
This is exactly what happens to a lot of people switching from one lifestyle to another and one diet to another.
It doesn't matter whether you've adopted the paleo diet, the south beach diet, the atkins diet or any other kind of weight loss program. Eventually, you go back to your old eating habits.
The number 1 reason why people cannot sustain their new diet Why do people end up where they begin? The most common problem with diets is that people choose to replace instead of blending in new ingredients. For example, if you used to eat a lot of rice, mashed potatoes, white bread, pasta and other starchy staples, you probably would want to clean out your pantry once you switch over to a paleo or other high fat low carb diet.
This is a common tendency with a lot of people adopting new diets. They simply just want to turn their back on their old eating patterns because they can see the benefits the new diet brings to the table.
They've seen before and after pictures of people losing a ridiculous amount of weight.
They can see how good people look after shedding all that fat. They can't wait to just stop what they're eating and eat new food. I understand why people are excited. I was excited too. But after seeing myself in worse shape after my diet than when I began, it dawned on me.
I began to realize that the reason why I keep coming back to where I started is because is sought to replace all my food choices. I used a scorched earth policy. I would go from eating fruits and vegetables to eating only eggs, avocados and other fatty foods. After all, I've gone keto.
You can say the same for paleo and other diets out there. The problem is this is not sustainable. I was only able to stay on the keto diet when I started to displace food items. What does this mean? Instead of replacing high carb items on my meal plans, I added high fat items to my diet.
Eventually, I started to lose my taste for high carb foods. They got displaced by more and more high fat items on my meal plans. Add. Do not subtract. Displace. Do not replace.
It's all in your head
Remember, the reason why you are displacing and not replacing and adding instead of cutting out large chunks of your meal plan is because you're trying to work with your psychology. When you start taking out dishes from your meal plan, your mind starts feeling left behind. Deep down inside, you start to feel that you're denying yourself. You feel like you are losing something.
I'm sure I don't need to remind you that one of the most powerful human impulses is the fear of loss or getting left behind. This is the reason why people who live in certain neighborhoods automatically get the urge to buy the same car as their neighbor once their neighbor rolls around in a new set of wheels.
I've seen this happen quite a bit. It only takes one neighbor to buy a new top of the line Mercedes Benz or BMW to get other neighborhoods to want to buy the same kind of car. The same applies to clothes.
The same applies to food and lifestyle.
We don't like to get left behind. We don't like to feel like we are denying ourselves. This is exactly the kind of mindset you trigger when you choose to replace certain food choices from your diet on a wholesale basis. Don't do it!
Instead, keep adding ketogenic meal items to your diet. Eventually, you will reach a point where your
taste buds have switched over to a fat preference. You're no longer craving sweets. You no longer feel like you can't go a day without carbohydrates. That's when these carb items start dropping from your meal plan.
However, it has to take place gradually. You can't force it.
Focus more on ketogenic meals
As you get used to eating keto friendly meals, your taste buds begin to change. At first it may seem like it may be hard going for you. After all, who can eat eggs day after day? If you're like most Americans, you probably don't really have much of a craving for avocado on a daily basis.
Eventually, it becomes routine to you and you start craving more ketogenic items and start forgetting about your old sweet tooth. Still, you have to do this gradually. You can't shock your system. The moment you shock your system, be prepared for the back lash because your body is sure to put up a fight.
It may not do it immediately, but eventually, it will undermine you. Eventually, it will get the upper hand. Before you know it, you're back to eating what you used to eat before you adopted your keto diet.
As I have mentioned in the previous chapter, if you don't have the right mindset coming in, there's a high chance you are going to fail with your keto diet.
To be fair, if you are mentally unprepared for your weight loss journey, you probably will fail with most other diets. Don't think that this is limited to keto.
Your lack of mental preparation may mean that you may have certain emotional vulnerabilities which can translate to you getting off your keto diet sooner rather than later.
Thankfully, there are certain strategies that you can use if you have the right mindset.
Having the right "weight loss mindset" is essential. It is non-negotiable. There is no getting around it.
This is why I suggest that before you go any further, review Chapter 5 thoroughly.
With that said, here are some key strategies that would help you transition to a keto diet and stick with it.
