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So you’ve made the decision to change your lifestyle and lose weight fast & easy with a keto diet – yay! But where do you start?
A new diet can be stressful. Constantly wondering if you are eating the right things, buying the right things and just doing it right in the first place. Sound familiar? It doesn’t have to!
I’ve created this grocery list guide for Keto beginner’s so you can jump right in and start losing weight!
Macros
Before we get into the list, I want you to know what you should be eating and why.
Generally, macros in a Keto diet ranges from:
60-75% of calories from fat
15-30% of calories from protein
5-10% of calories from carbs.
So if you are eating 1500 calories a day, you should be consuming:
117 grams of fat
92 grams of protein
20-25 grams of net carbs (subtract grams of fiber from grams of carbs consumed)
You can easily adjust these goals in MyFitnessPal (they do all the math for you!).
My Top Tips for Keeping It Simple
— Go for quality, not quantity. You don’t need to buy everything you see to start out on a keto diet. I love Keto because it’s simple, so stick with that mindset! Get a nice cut of meat, a good quality butter & some dark green veggies – you’re done and you won’t feel like you’re dieting!
— Complicated recipes are deceiving. Recipes with 15+ ingredients are fun to make sometimes, but on the daily, it’s unrealistic. Keep the ingredient countdown and you’ll be happy
— Stop with the dupes (at least at first). When I first started the diet, I saw recipes to keto-fy all my favorites like bread, fast food & rice. Again, this is fine once in awhile, but on your daily grind, just stick to the basics to make you sane and your wallet happy.
Keep it Simple, NOT Boring
I don’t want you to think you have to eat eggs and bacon every day for every meal to not lose your mind on this diet. I mean, I love bacon and eggs but I need some variety.
My fave recipe collection that is all about minimalist cooking with maximum flavor is the Keto in Five cookbooks. You’ve definitely seen me mention them before on this blog and for good reason. They have 120 recipes all under 5 net carbs & all 5 ingredients and under! Th have mastered the art of big flavor with a small budget.
They make it really easy to track your macros with nutrition info for each recipe included. What’s also great is that if you eat three meals + a snack or dessert from the books, you’ll be at 20 net carbs or less for the entire day. How easy is that!
You can check out more info from me on the books here or purchase them here!
Looking for even more structure for your meal planning? The same creators of the above ebooks have now created weekly low carb keto meal plans delivered straight to your inbox! Every meal plan has breakfast, lunch, dinner & snacks with all their calories, carbs & macros worked out for you!
You can check out more info from me on the weekly meal plan here or start your 7-day free trial now here!
Avoiding Keto ‘Flu’
The keto ‘flu’ happens when those new to the diet are not eating or drinking enough sodium or electrolytes. It is not an actual virus, like the flu, but just common symptoms when your body is low in both sodium & electrolytes. Your symptoms will likely include:
• Aches
• Headaches
• Cough
• Muscle cramps
• Mild insomnia
• Runny nose/ sneezing
• Sluggishness
• Nausea
This is a totally normal reaction when your body switches from burning carbs (sugar) for energy and switches to burning fat for energy (hello fat loss!). BUT these symptoms can be easily avoided.
How to Avoid or Manage Keto Flu Symptoms
If you are just starting out, definitely take thee steps in your first days of Keto. If you are already experiencing the keto flu, not to worry, these quick fixes will work for you too & you will be feeling great again in no time!
Take a Supplement
I have found that the best way to get electrolytes into your body quickly and easily is a supplement. I have tried a lot. Basically I have tried them all & in my opinion, there are two supplements that get the job done far better than any others.
Hi-Lyte is a great supplement- it has a super high combo of Potassium, Zinc and Magnesium Electrolyte Concentrate. This makes it a perfectly balanced supplement for the keto flu, especially if you are experiencing dehydration and insomnia. This one has ZERO CALORIES & ZERO CARBS!
You can get a bottle here.
Liquid I.V. is perfect for the person who can never seem to get enough water or their daily 8 cups. When you add this electrolyte superpowered powder to 1 glass of water, it becomes equivalent to drinking 3 glasses of water – pretty incredible! It also tastes great & has 3X the electrolytes of traditional sports drinks and contains 11 essential minerals and vitamins & more Vitamin C than an orange, more potassium than a banana. 110% Daily Value of Vitamin C, B3, B5, B6, and B12. This does have calories & carbs so be sure to work into your macros!
Broth It Up
Another great keto flu cure is bone broth! This is also a great healer when you are actually sick with a cold or flu or just want something comforting. Instead of its high carb alternative chicken noodle soup or even worse, store bought chicken broth (which is typically loaded with MSG and other preservative junk), bone broth is a delicious way to alleviate your flu symptoms. Bone broth is a great way to hydrate & it is also packed with electrolytes, god for you sodium and potassium.
If you are not making this at home, the best and only alternative I recommend is from Kettle & Fire. It is delicious & will have you feeling better fast!
You can get your broth here.
Keto Fast Food Guide
Ever find yourself out all day or at work completely starving and not sure where to go & grab something to eat? Well you’re in luck! It might surprise you, but there are many on-the-go or fast food options that are Keto friendly.
I keep this ebook on my phone in case I’m running around with limited food options. It has over 150 keto friendly fast food options with all macros listed out for you!
Grocery List
Now onto the good stuff – the food! You’ll want to focus on whole, fresh foods and make sure you are paying attention to the nutrient info on labels or looking it up online for foods without labels like veggies, fruits etc.
This is of course just an overview of what you can eat, but these are things I’m most likely going to pick up from the grocery store. I also didn’t want to include crazy expensive specialty items like Erythritol for beginners. I think we all get excited about making our favorite junk foods in the style of our diets right away. This is fine…but it can be very expensive, time consuming and exhausting. Stik with the basics, especially when first starting out!
Grocery List (broken down by macros)
PROTEIN
Salmon
Chicken
Turkey
Beef
Tuna
Sardines
Eggs
Bacon
FATS (my fave brands linked)
Avocado
Avocado Oil
Coconut Oil
Nuts
Olive Oil
MCT OIL
Grass-Fed Butter
Heavy Whipping Cream
Full Fat Cheese
CARBS
Butternut Squash
Zucchini
Carrots
Spaghetti Squash
Artichokes
Mushrooms
Endive
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Spinach
BONUS (Snacks!)
Olives
Pepperoni Slices
Hard Cheese Slices
Cheese crisps
Pork Rinds
Flackers
GG Crackers (NOT gluten-free)
Here are also a few free printable planners to keep your daily carb count on track!
DAILY EATING & WORKOUT PLAN
Hey Gorgeous Daily Planner
And for an added bonus, my friends at Kettle & Fire have come up with this awesome Keto friendly food list!
There it is – the Ultimate Start for a Keto Diet! Are you starting the diet or have been on it? Would you like to see this list but steered towards vegetarian or vegans? It’s possible, I swear!
Let me know in the comments below!
Vegetarian & Vegan UPDATE!
After tons & tons of research and toying with creating my own, I have found the best & most extensive vegetarian & vegan ebook, recipes & meal plans! My friend over at Meat Free Keto has created an amazing Intro to Vegan Keto Guide ebook. This ebook contains 69 pages of diet information, a 7 Day Meal Plan, recipes & shopping list.
This ebook is incredible if you are starting out in a vegan keto way of eating if you are interested in learning more about the lifestyle or are simply looking for some delicious meal inspiration.
I’ve made mostly all the recipes now and can honestly say this book makes eating Keto vegan so easy and so yummy.
