Transitioning to keto is actually easy. Seriously.
When you're beginning any kind of diet, you would be pumped up. You would be excited about getting started because you know that it benefits a lot of people. You have seen the results other people got so you can't wait to try it yourself.
Getting started is not the problem. Getting pumped up, getting excited, and getting ready are all awesome. The problem is sticking to it.
This is why you need the right mindset and the right meal plan strategies. Please focus on the following.
Focus on Fatty Food that Fits Your Taste
One of the most commonly recommended high-fat foods for people starting out on keto is avocado.
Well, it's easy to see why avocado is a "usual suspect." It is high in fiber and it's loaded with fat. What's not to love?
The problem is, if you don't have a particular taste for avocado, it might seem like you are nibbling on a piece of wax. It takes some getting used to.
Most people usually mix avocado with something else. Either they turn it into guacamole and enjoy it with Mexican dishes, or they turn it into some sort of ice cream.
Now, you know that on a keto diet, you cannot enjoy regular ice cream. This snack is loaded with sugar and milk, which has lactose. So, you're stuck with a plain avocado.
There is a workaround to this. Focus on fatty foods that already have the taste profile you already prefer. In other words, stick with what you know.
If you already prefer certain foods like pork rinds or other oily, salty snacks, then load up on them. This is no time to acquire new tastes.
Remember, as I have mentioned in Chapter 5, the secret to transitioning to keto and sticking with it successfully over a sustained period of time is displacement, not replacement.
When you are trying to discover a new taste or trying to readjust your taste buds to accommodate new tastes, you are replacing.
Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are displacing your old meal plan. No. You are replacing.
Bad strategy.
Sooner or later, something will get knocked loose and you will go back to your old eating habits. The better approach is to focus on fatty food that already fits your taste.
The good news is, we already have these. A lot of people who are not on a keto diet think that these are guilty pleasures. They think that they only should eat these dishes or snacks from time to time.
Well, when you switch over to a keto diet, your wish is fulfilled: you can eat those items pretty much every day. Isn't that good news?
Focus on fatty foods that already have the taste profile you desire.
Shoot to Feel Fuller for a Longer Period of Time
When you eat anything throughout the day, eat strategically. Say to yourself, "When I load up on this type of food, is it going to fill me up for a longer period of time?"
If you don't know what I'm getting at, think about the times when you used to eat apples as snacks.
Sure, apples are light snacks, they're loaded with vitamins, but sooner rather than later, you're going to get hungry again. This is due to the fact that apples have sugar.
Now, if you replace apples with chocolate bars or candy bars or cookies, the same thing applies, but on a worse scale. You find yourself snacking throughout the day because of your blood sugar's roller coaster ride.
Once you switch over to a keto system, be strategic about what you eat. When you displace that apple with, let's say, a teaspoon of cream cheese, you feel fuller longer because the oil in your system is processed by your body differently. Your body sends different hunger signals to your brain and vice versa when you're eating fatty foods.
This is why it's crucial that you be as strategic as possible in your snacks. Instead of just grabbing anything to snack on, eat macadamia nuts. Those things are loaded with oil and your body can definitely tell. You feel fuller for a longer period of time.