Keto Koaching Week 2
How Do You Know Keto Is Working?
By now you should have eliminated sugar and carbohydrates from your diet and your pantry, and you’re likely discovering foods and recipes you never thought you’d be eating again. As you reintroduce fat and start eating more nutrient dense foods, you’ll likely notice two things: genuine excitement about new flavors, and full satisfaction on far less food than you’re used to.
That was the hardest part for me in the first few weeks. I didn’t have a real sugar addiction, chocolate never had a pull on me even though I ate plenty of it, but I struggled mentally with the idea that I’d actually eaten enough. I wasn’t fighting cravings. I was fighting the excitement of finally being allowed to eat foods I thought were off-limits, which meant chocolate simply stopped being interesting
Here’s the science behind why you feel full faster: fat contains more than double the calories of carbs or protein, 9 calories per gram versus 4, so it satisfies you on a smaller volume. Fat also triggers leptin and other satiety hormones in a way carbohydrates don’t. Even when my body was genuinely satisfied, my mind kept insisting I hadn’t eaten enough, purely based on how little food I saw on the plate. I made a deal with myself: wait an hour, and if I was still honestly hungry, I could eat more. I only needed to once, an ounce of biltong and two ounces of macadamia nuts. My body needed that energy, so I listened to it. That’s the part of this lifestyle that changes everything: you reach a healthy weight without ever going hungry.
If you skipped exogenous ketones, you’ve probably felt your energy dip toward the end of last week, commonly known as the keto flu. Feeling weak is normal. Feeling lightheaded or dizzy is not, and usually means you’re not getting enough salt. Aim for 6 to 10 grams of salt a day, whether through bone broth or another source. If dizziness continues, see a low carb friendly doctor. If you’re active, consider backing off exercise until your strength returns, and when it does, it comes back stronger than before.
Keto flu typically lasts 7 to 14 days, though some people report it lingering up to a month.
Are Artificial Sweeteners OK on Keto?
Artificial sweeteners are generally considered safe for a low carb or ketogenic diet, and the concerns most people have about them tend to be based on outdated fears rather than current science. While researching this topic, the best summary I found came from Dr. Jeffrey Sterling, whose view lines up closely with mine. His response to concerns about sugar substitutes is straightforward: “Whatever your concerns are, the sugar substitute is going to be safer than using the sugar you’ve been using.”
Many people still remember that saccharin was linked to bladder cancer in lab rats back in the 1970s, and some have been wary of artificial sweeteners ever since. That fear doesn’t hold up. According to the National Cancer Institute and other health agencies, there’s no compelling scientific evidence that any artificial sweetener approved for use in the US causes cancer or other serious health problems. Saccharin doesn’t even carry a warning label anymore, and numerous studies confirm artificial sweeteners are generally safe in moderate amounts, even for pregnant women. As Dr. Sterling puts it: “There are a million articles from less renowned sources that speak to ominous effects of sugar substitutes. Remember that virtually every substance known to man has adverse effects if used excessively. Based on the current medical literature, both on a relative and absolute scale, you should feel no concern with replacing your table sugar with sugar substitutes.”
Which Sweeteners Work Best on Keto?
Personally, I lean toward natural substitutes like Stevia when possible. At home, we cook and bake with Stevia or the erythritol-based Swerve. We recently discovered a monk fruit sweetener by Lakanto, which has a zero glycemic index and genuinely tastes great. One thing worth knowing: even though the box says “zero calories,” the label also lists “Carbs < 1g” per serving, which isn’t technically zero. I track it as 1g of carbs per sachet. It’s still far less than a teaspoon of sugar, but it should be tracked, and a “sugar-free” label never guarantees a food is free of carbs or calories.
One of our favorite treats is Sugar Free Jello Instant Pudding. Despite being labeled sugar-free, it still has 6g of carbs per serving. It’s also fat-free on its own, but we mix it with Trader Joe’s Half and Half, which has zero carbs. One box makes four servings using two cups of Half and Half, and each serving comes out to roughly 6g carbs, 4g protein, and 12g fat. We trace a cross on top of the pudding, split it into quarters, and each eat one at a time over two days.
What If You Have a Real Sugar Addiction?
Everything above assumes you don’t have a genuine sugar addiction, and that changes the calculation. Prof. Tim Noakes, a low carb purist, battled a severe sugar addiction himself and needed a long time to wean off it. He believes anyone in that position should retrain their palate off sweet tastes entirely, since even diet soda can keep the craving for sweetness alive, to the point that a regular Coke becomes hard to turn down when it’s the only option available.
Only you know whether this applies to you. If sweet tastes are a genuine trigger, complete abstinence may be the right call. If they’re not, the occasional low carb or zero carb treat is a reasonable way to keep this lifestyle enjoyable long term.
Do Sweeteners Trigger an Insulin Response?
One other claim worth addressing: some argue that the sweet taste of artificial sweeteners triggers an insulin response even without glucose present, essentially a mental rather than physiological reaction. I haven’t seen credible research supporting that claim. The n=1 anecdotes I’ve come across don’t account for what else the person ate or had going on at the time. If you test this on yourself and genuinely see an insulin response tied to sweeteners, stop using them. For everyone else, the occasional treat is nothing to worry about.
Can You Drink Alcohol on Keto?
Not every time, but very often when I start discussing the vast benefits of adopting this lifestyle with someone, the first question they ask is: “Will I still be able to drink alcohol?” The answer, once again is: “it depends on the individual. On their personal goals and response to alcohol.” First of all, you have to consider what type of alcohol you are drinking.
An average 16 oz beer has around 17g of Carbs while a 12 oz bottle as around 13g. So, even just one beer is going to exceed the 10g – 15g of Carb restriction you are trying to adhere to for a single particular meal. Chances are, you are going to be kicked out of ketosis if you have one or two beers.
Now you have to decide if that is a big deal for you or not. For me, I seem to be able to deal with 2 beers in an evening and still find I am in ketosis in the morning. More than that, and I am not. That also assumes I am careful to consume very few Carbs in the food that I eat. I have found that this is where the exogenous ketone supplement comes into it’s own. I take a caffeine free serving before I go to bed and my regular caffeinated one in the morning and I seem to ease back into ketosis over the next day or two with very little drama.
Dry Farm Wines
Wine is generally a much better option on a Low Carb Diet. The average glass of wine has about 3.8g of carbs so, from a carbohydrate point of view, you can have a few glasses in an evening without jeopardising your ketotic state. Every wine is different, obviously, but dry whites and reds are generally a bit lower in carbs than the others. We have partnered with an outstanding wine merchant called Dry Farm Wines who sources and distributes Keto-Friendly Wines. They are awesome!! All dry farmed, so no irrigation, they only select wines that are Sugar Free, Carb Free, with no additives or preservatives and a little lower in alcohol. So the result is that you can drink reasonable amounts of this wine without being kicked out of ketosis. Also, because of the old fashioned methods of fermenting it combined with the lower alcohol levels and the lack of added rubbish, there are no side effects or hangover the next day. I know, I didn’t believe it either, but then I tried it and all the claims were true! For more, Read the Blog Post about it.
Although I have always been a beer guy, since I have been following this lifestyle I have developed a taste for spiced rum and Coke Zero. It has no carbs and does not seem to affect my state of Ketosis in any way, especially if I make sure I get some Exogenous Ketones in before I go to bed. Generally, all the distilled spirits do not contain carbs so they are the best option in terms of alcohol choices if you are engaged in this lifestyle. But we still have not discussed the effect of the alcohol itself. The first thing to consider is that if you have any kind of dependency issues with drugs or alcohol then you need to abstain totally. There are no ‘ifs’, ‘ands’ or ‘buts’ about it. If you do not, however, you still need to remember that there are calories associated with alcohol and and that is important to keep that in mind if weight loss is your primary focus. It is also clear that in the oxidative priority sequence alcohol is first and so processing of any fat reserves is blocked until all the alcohol has been processed out of your blood stream.
Up to this point I have not seen any real scientific study into the effects of alcohol on the state of Ketosis or weight loss implications for people on a Low Carb or Ketogenic Diet. From everything I have seen, and read, and heard about on this subject, I am not sure there will be anything in the near future. The reason I say this is that everyone responds so very differently to alcohol and I think it would be extremely difficult to draw any kind of valid general conclusions from any kind of study; other than to say that everyone responds differently and you have to work out how it affects you personally.
How Much Fat Should You Eat on Keto?
For most people, this is the hardest part to wrap their head around at the start. It goes against everything we’ve been taught growing up, and it takes real effort to reverse that instinct to recoil at the sight, or even the mention, of fat. Eventually, that flips entirely: you’ll find yourself reaching for fat and instead recoiling at the rows of cereal and carb-heavy products that fill most supermarket aisles. Beyond the mental shift, the more practical struggle is simply knowing what to eat to get enough fat in.
Where to Find Fat in Whole Foods
Start by choosing the fattiest cuts of meat available. Look for the roast with a thick edge of fat still attached, those cuts are often cheaper too, which is a nice bonus. If pork is on the table, eat plenty of bacon, and if you’re used to it crispy, try cooking it less crisp so more of the fat stays in rather than rendering out. The instinct to cook it crispy usually comes from the same fear of fat we’re trying to unlearn. Fatty fish like salmon are excellent sources of fat, along with pork and lamb chops, again, choosing the fattiest options you can find.
Oils, Dairy, and Other High-Fat Staples
Olive, macadamia, and avocado oils are staples, along with homemade mayonnaise, which is made almost entirely from these oils. Avocados and all forms of coconut, flesh, oil, cream, and butter, are also excellent choices with countless uses. Cream cheese, butter, and heavy cream round things out well. For nuts, macadamia, walnut, and pecan are the strongest choices; most other nuts are fine too, with peanuts and cashews being the exceptions. Most of these are listed on the Keto Essentials page in Pam’s Pantry.
What Are Fat Bombs?
Fat bombs are a well-known keto snack, typically made from a combination like butter, coconut oil, nuts, and seeds. They were originally created for people following a ketogenic diet, and they’re high in fat and very low in carbs by design, macadamia nuts are essentially a fat bomb on their own. A quick version we make often: chop up pimiento-stuffed olives, mix them into about 12 oz of cream cheese, and keep it in a bowl in the fridge. The plan is usually to spoon some onto a plate, but more often than not, it never makes it that far, we just eat it straight off the spoon. There are plenty of other fat bomb recipes out there, including savory versions to pair with meals and sweet versions made with Stevia or other sweeteners that work well as dessert.
Can You Eat Too Much Fat?
Yes. Fat has more than double the calories of carbs per gram, and while we don’t push calorie counting on this lifestyle, consistently eating more calories than your body uses will still lead to weight gain over time.
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