Chapter 3: Going On A Keto Diet Is Easier Than You Think
A lot of people give themselves all sorts of reasons why they should not go on a diet.
Believe me, I understand this process. After all, you've grown accustomed to eating what you like to eat and living the way you want to live.
Change, for most of us human beings, is very hard. It's not like we don't understand why we need to change. Usually, this isn’t the case where we are unclear as to the benefits of changing, but let me be clear, desiring change is one thing, actually going through with it is another matter entirely.
It’s too easy to just stick with what you know. It’s too easy to just continue down the path you're on, but the problem is if you have gone diet after diet and nothing seems to work, and you know that your current meal plans are not doing you any favors, you're going to have to step up.
You're going to have to pull the trigger at some point and go on the keto diet if you’ve been meaning to for all this time.
Transitioning Is Not As Hard As You Think
Here's some good news; believe it or not, there are many food items that you already enjoy that are already keto complaint. In other words, you only need to focus on certain food items that are already on your meal plan and supplement it with other keto compliant foods. That's all you need to do to switch over.
There is no ordeal, there is no black-and-white, do or die type of moment, there's none of that. It really all boils down to building on what you already have. Maybe you like eating pork rinds. Maybe you are partial to butter. Maybe you love cream cheese. Perhaps you have a particular liking for avocado.
All of these are keto compliant ingredients, you just need to build up on them. A lot of people are unclear about this, and this is why they think that the keto diet is some sort of magical door; dark, forbidding, distant, and they feel that they have to step onto it carefully, and then it’s a big momentous life decision to go through.
It's actually easier than you think, because you are already keto compliant at some level or another. For some people, they are more keto compliant than others.
For example, maybe you just like a few eggs, and then everything else is carb-rich or sugary. On the other hand, maybe have a buddy who is already eating a lot of greasy, fatty foods, and really isn't all that interested in rice, bread, or potatoes.
That person will have an easier time transitioning, but you already have the “seeds” of the keto diet in your current meal plan.
It's All About Supplementing What You Already Have
One of the most common mistakes people make when they go on a diet, is that they feel that they have to turn their back completely on their old way of eating. They feel that they have to completely forget all the things that they used to eat so they can discover and adopt a whole new laundry list of dishes.
This is completely wrong, because if you play the game this way, you are going to fail again, and again, and again. Don't say I didn't warn you. The truth is, you have to work with what you. Add to your meal plan instead of taking stuff off.
When you focus on the things that you're adding, your taste buds slowly begin to change. Stuff that used to be high priority for you, fall off your priority list. Sooner or later, you transition to a completely keto-compliant diet.
It all boils down to focus. Don't give yourself any excuses to fail by cutting out foods entirely. Instead, supplement your meal plan and focus on the new keto items. This way, you train your taste buds on a gradual basis so you can eventually transition completely to the keto diet.
Now for some people, this can happen in a very short period of time; congratulations to them. But even if you are the type of person that can take a while to change your taste profile, that's fine too. Don't put yourself on some sort of timeline. Don't think that this is some sort of race.
You're not trying to impress other people. You’re not trying to put on a show for others. You're doing this for yourself. If your timeline is a little bit longer, then that's fine. If you can speed things up, that's even better.
What's important is you don't put any unnecessary pressure on yourself. It's hard enough changing, don't adopt some sort of air of desperation; don't add that to the mix.
If you're able to do to focus on what you have and build on the keto foods that you are already eating and enjoying, then you will have an easier ride.
Mindsets That Ensure Keto Diet Success
I don't know many diets you’ve been through, but let me tell you, if you don't have the right mindset, chances are you're not going to succeed.
In fact, if you're like most people, your experience will fit a very familiar pattern. First, you’re all excited about the diet and sure enough, you follow the directions very closely.
Thanks to your careful dietary guidelines, and your eager compliance, you start losing a lot of pounds. So far so good, right?
This keeps up for maybe a few more days or even a few more weeks. But sooner or later, the pounds start coming back.
Next, things go from bad to worse. You start gaining more weight than when you began your diet. Isn’t the whole point of going on a diet to lose weight?
Sadly, most diets are gateways, believe it or not, to additional weight; talk about a frustrating situation. The reason why people go through this all too familiar tragic pattern is because they don't have the right mindset.
It doesn't matter whether you are trying to adopt the keto diet, the paleo diet, the Atkins diet, the Ornish, or any other loss program, without the right mindset, you are playing the game to lose.
At the very least, you should adopt three basic mindsets that will ensure keto diet success.
Mindset #1: Assume That You Can Do It
It’s very easy to get excited about the testimonials included in many diet books. You look at the before-and-after pictures and you and you get all pumped up.
Please understand that a lot of those pictures are exaggerated. In fact, a lot of books that are very shady even use photoshopped pictures.
I know it’s shocking. I know that it's hard to believe that people would actually do that, but they do. So, a little bit of skepticism goes a long way. Still, don't just focus on the fact that the diet can work for other people. Instead, wrap your mind around the possibility that the diet can actually work for you.
That's right, you personally, individually. If you can't understand that, and if you can’t accept the likelihood of a certain weight-loss program waiting for you, then you’re making things much harder on yourself.
It's like trying to play basketball and trying to put the ball through the hoop.
If in the back of your head you're saying to yourself, “Other people can shoot really well, but not me," what do you think will happen? You're shooting accuracy will go down. You’re sabotaging yourself. You're making things unnecessarily harder on yourself.
This is why it's really important to assume that you can achieve success with the keto diet. Not the case study pictures, not the people giving testimonials, we are talking about you. If you can't make this assumption, then it's going to be a rough road ahead for you.
Mindset #2: Begin With What You Have
One common reason why people fail with diets is because they think that they have to transform into a completely different person.
Alternatively, they believe that their circumstances or their situations need to change so dramatically so as to ensure success.
When people think along these lines, they’re basically just giving themselves excuses for either not trying, or for expecting bad results. Believe me, I can understand why people do this. If you have been let down by diet after diet, it's very easy to become jaded.
In fact, in many cases, it's very easy to expect failure. After all, you've gone through the familiar process of initially losing weight, and then getting it all back. It becomes an old story, and it's only a matter of time until your heart gets broken again.
This is why you think that you should change everything that you can possibly change, to lay the groundwork for ultimate success. Again, you're making things unnecessarily harder on yourself. It doesn't have to be like this. You don't have to move heaven and earth to create optimal conditions.
You know why? Conditions are never perfect. There will never be a time when your circumstances will be just right for you to ensure success. You're going to have to take that risk. You're going to have to begin with what you have.
It doesn't matter what discipline level you have. It doesn’t matter what else is going on in your life. It doesn't matter whether you feel good about yourself. All that matters are that you are ready, willing and able to begin with what you have and assume that this will work for you.
Mindset #3: Enjoy Your Food According To Rules You Choose
Another key “pillar” for keto diet success involves the issue of control. A lot of people fail with diets because they think that they are putting some sort of dietary straitjacket on themselves.
For instance, they don't normally like a certain taste, but since they’re switching over to a new diet, they force themselves to like a certain range of flavors.
Let me tell you, it's only a matter of time until your old self rears its ugly head. It's only a matter time until you go back to how you normally eat. This is a very frustrating situation.
It’s as if you are doing really well, and you're making all these changes, and all of a sudden, your old self pulls you back. You end up where you began.
This is why it's really important to focus on enjoying your food. This is not an ordeal. This is not some sort of punishment. This is not some sort of situation where you feel that you are denying yourself.
Instead, the keto diet should be a celebration of taste. It all really boils down to enjoying your food according to keto rules.
You have to first choose the keto rules. You have to first choose to go on the diet, and then you select based on your existing tastes. There's no need to become somebody else.
There's no need to change your taste buds. There's no need to go through any of that. Instead, allow yourself to enjoy the flavor range that you are already enjoying.
Now here's the thing, even if you have a sweet tooth, you're going to have to minimize that. That’s the only change, but for everything else, whether you like sour foods, salty foods, or definitely fatty foods, you should be fine. But as long as you manage your sweet tooth, you should be okay.
Keep atop the mindsets above if you want to be successful with the keto diet. I'm not going to lie you and say that you can adopt these mindsets overnight.
After all, the way you see things, and the way you expect things to play out, have been with you for a long time. You've grown accustomed to thinking about food a certain way.
But if you change your mindset according to the 3 key pillars above, adopting the keto diet will become easier, and it is more likely to stick.