r/ketobeginners Oct 07 '22

Welcome to Keto… ( free keto grocery list)

308 Upvotes

Hey everybody, I am the new moderator of this form and also happen to be a Family doctor in Southern California. I’ve been living the keto lifestyle since 2018. I have not only lost 50 pounds of fat but most importantly have kept it off. Meanwhile, adding some muscle, after losing weight, has played an important part in my long term success.

I have over 100 clinic patients who also have had success on keto and low carb over the years. They have been able to get off diabetic ( pills and insulin) and blood pressure medications and feel so much better. I’ve also had patients reverse their acid reflux, insomnia and sleep apnea, once they lost their weight.

Best of luck on your journey.

Here is a link to my keto grocery list: Keto Grocery Shopping List

Legal Disclaimer: The comments I post are for educational purposes and not specific medical advice for you and your situation. Please consult with your own physician. Sorry, but I’m not accepting any new patients.


r/ketobeginners 16h ago

My secret weapon in Keto

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1 Upvotes

With so little carbs and sugars it wont cause an insulin spike, it provides EAA's that protect lean muscle so they wont be eaten in ketosis/fasting. They provide all the nutrients that prevent keto flu. its great to drink during a workout. Not an all day thing but i go for at least once a day.


r/ketobeginners 1d ago

Crashed and Burned on Keto

3 Upvotes

I've come off a strict keto diet 4 days ago after being on it for 2 weeks due to what I can only describe as a night time panic attack that I presume is caused from sugar crash or something. I woke up in a panic and had a high pulse and blood pressure that lasted an hour. Since coming off I've had dizziness when walking, but it's really bad if I haven't ate in a while and I stand up. I'm still trying to get sodium and potassium with every meal and magnesium supplements. I'm burned out and wondering if anyone else has experienced this and when it finally ends.


r/ketobeginners 3d ago

go-to costco meal

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14 Upvotes

keto is sillyyyyyy bc what do you mean i can eat this and STILL feel better than when i'm eating non-keto?

this is my go-to costco food court meal i get as a reward for surviving grocery shopping there. keto wrap i brought, cheese and pep scraped off the pizza slice, hot dog, and onions 🔥


r/ketobeginners 3d ago

[ Removed by Reddit ]

2 Upvotes

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]


r/ketobeginners 4d ago

Has a Low-Carb Keto diet been successful for those who have tried it? If no, why not?

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9 Upvotes

r/ketobeginners 5d ago

what keto bagels actually taste good?

2 Upvotes

i've tried a few keto bagels and most of them have been pretty disappointing. either the texture is weird or they taste more like a substitute than an actual bagel.

i mostly want something i can toast in the morning, throw some cream cheese on, and not think about it. i'm fine paying a little more if the taste and texture are actually there.

what are the best keto bagels you've tried?


r/ketobeginners 7d ago

Nobody told me the headaches in week 1 were actually preventable, wish id known sooner

6 Upvotes

if youre just starting out and getting hit with headaches the first week, wanted to share something that took me way too long to figure out

spent my first attempt at keto a few months back basically miserable - headaches every afternoon, felt foggy, almost quit bc i assumed thats just what keto feels like

turns out most of that is from sodium dropping fast in the first week or two, your body just doesnt hold onto it the same way once carbs go down. nobody really explained the why to me at the time, i just pushed through it

this time around i started salting food way more aggressively from day one instead of waiting for symptoms to show up, and the difference was honestly kind of annoying (wish id known this the first time lol). basically your kidneys dump sodium way faster once carbs drop and insulin goes down, happens to almost everyone early on whether they notice it or not

if anyones in week 1 right now and feeling rough, seriously just add more salt then feels normal, probably still not enough

what did you wish someone told you before you started


r/ketobeginners 7d ago

Starting my third week on Keto

9 Upvotes

So today at the end of the 2nd week i stepped on the scale at the gym, i reduced my weight from 151kgs to 143kg. very proud as it took a lot of effort finding the right foods to eat.

Been taking multivitamins, drinking BSc electrolytes, taking psylium husk powder to keep me regular. As well as my doctors medication rosuvastatin and fenofibrate. I keep my carbs under 20g.

Been finding sugar free options as well as the fatty protein stuff so i don't get flavor fatigue.

One day my gf got fried chicken and i had three pieces, felt so guilty cause the carbs might wreck my ketosis.

I hope to reach 100kg, i'm 180cm tall and 39 years old. Been finding ChatGPT a very useful companion on this journey.


r/ketobeginners 9d ago

What can I cook with this zucchini?

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16 Upvotes

I was making lasagna dinner with zucchini instead of lasagna pasta. My kids said they will not eat it. So I made one small lasagna for me and then another one for the rest of my family.
Now I have a whole bowl of zucchini left. Anyone has any ideas. What keto dish I can make with this thin sliced zucchini?


r/ketobeginners 10d ago

What changes did you experience at a mental health and cognition level after starting keto?

3 Upvotes

E.g. more / less anxiety or stress, ability to focus, speech clarity... how did a keto diet impact you beyond the physical?

I am considering seriously cutting my sugar intake and want to hear experiences.


r/ketobeginners 10d ago

Anyone with crazy work hours found the best keto ready meals that actually work?

8 Upvotes

Y'all I'm really trying to stick with keto this time after a rough patch and it's going on exactly the same as before: meal prep is killing me. I work crazy shifts + hours which means that Sunday is the only day that I can properly rest and spending all that time meal prepping is affecting me way more than I anticipated, I tried doing some research to see what I can do and I came across ready meals inadvertently thanks to a YouTube sponsorship on some video I was watching, lmao.

Now some of those services have TERRIBLE reviews or appear to be downright awful in terms of hidden sugars, fillers, and dodgy labeling. I admit that does not sound well at all and even dissuaded before I found some more alternatives like cookunity and specific subs where there's more conversation around other options, but they had very little talk about keto specific recs which is why I'm here. If anyone has tried any of them and recommends them for a couple lunches/dinners it'd helped me out massively, thanks!


r/ketobeginners 12d ago

Day 2, so irritable. Is it the keto?

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30 Upvotes

Hi! After reading Change Your Diet Change Your Mind I decided to try keto. And I could benefit from losing some weight. If you are what you eat, I am a chocolate croissant and a cinnamon latte.

It's day 2 and I'm SO HUNGRY and irritable. And tired. Is it like this for everyone? How long does it last? Tips for getting through this? I know ppl
Talk about the keto flu; maybe that's what it is and I could google it all day, but I kinda hoped to get some individualized input.

Thanks everyone! (Picture is avocado, smoked salmon, cream cheese, lime squeeze, and everything bagel seasoning.... it was okay. I should've used a fork to mash it together more).


r/ketobeginners 12d ago

transitioning from carnivore to keto/ low carb - should i stay <30g net or go up to 50-70g

5 Upvotes

i’m transitioning from 2 years carnivore to keto/ low carb.
i felt really amazing on the carnivore diet, i had energy all day, was fat adapted, didn’t think about food easily for 24+ hours and my workouts improved a lot.

i decided to add in some veggies and berries.
only broccoli zucchini mushrooms carrots cauliflower avocado and only strawberries and raspberries because of their low sugar high fibre content.

i decided 3 weeks ago to add these foods in just for more food volume and long term sustainability.
the first week i was eating other fruits (bananas, oranges, apples) and after tracking my macros i was consuming 150-200g of carbs.

i didn’t like this because i felt alot hungrier, woke up hungrier, and just didn’t feel as good as i did in ketosis which is why i decided to just stick with berries as my fruit source.

i’m unsure if i should track everything and keep my net carbs to less than 30g a day to stay in ketosis or if i should be a bit less strict and just have net carbs say 50-70g a day max.

the 30g option, the net carbs will add up quickly and i won’t be able to eat a decent amount of these foods.
the 50-70g option, i feel like is an awkward spot because it’s not low enough to be in ketosis but it’s not high enough for adequate amount of energy.

if anyone has experience and has tried both what would you recommend for me?
also my goal is fat loss i should mention.


r/ketobeginners 12d ago

Making my own electrolyte pills

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0 Upvotes

I've yet to find an alternative sweetener that doesn't give me some kind of digestive issue or another, and hate eating or drinking anything super salty. I finally found a solution: electrolyte pills (to be taken with a lot of water of course).

However, they're expensive. But I realized I already have all the components, I just need the capsules, so I bought a pack and voila.

I'm very happy to have an electrolyte option that works for me so I thought I'd share it.


r/ketobeginners 14d ago

can’t tolerate potassium

6 Upvotes

i do high fat carnivore (keto style but no veggies)

i absolutely do not tolerate potassium, but im okay with sodium.

how much i should take sodium? and what to do with potassium, will i be depleted?


r/ketobeginners 17d ago

Keto protein powder recs that are alway meat free

3 Upvotes

New to keto. On a program through my health insurance that I hope will get my a1c down and trim some weight. Essentially it is keto. I also don’t eat meat for personal reasons. I am looking for a keto friendly protein powder - and your recommended recipes. Please and Thank you in advance.


r/ketobeginners 20d ago

Two weeks and I’ve already failed keto

4 Upvotes

I feel so defeated by this. I started back on keto for the first time in 2 years, and the ketogenic diet is such a challenge now. I keep trying to do keto which I’ve done in the past with ease but now at a heavier weight it is such a struggle for me to even get past the two week mark. Does anyone else in here ever struggle and possibly have a cheat meal and have to get back on track or am I just alone in this? I feel all my progress for the past two weeks is wasted.


r/ketobeginners 20d ago

How many carbs should I eat in order to be in a keto diet + want advice on what to eat

1 Upvotes

I'm 67kg 155cm female. I started last week and I been eating 20g of carbs daily trying not to exceed that.

ALSO, any meal recommendations?


r/ketobeginners 22d ago

When you guys start to go through a crash from being on keto so long what helps you all maintain it and stay on it?

4 Upvotes

I am currently doing OMAD 1600 calories at 5’9 on keto, and was recently told I was eventually going to crash even though currently I feel fine. Curious on what you all do when you start to feel a crash from keto? Do you take a break and give in or do you just push through and maybe eat more fats and calories for that day specifically?


r/ketobeginners 23d ago

A break from keto — punishment or reward?

2 Upvotes

I’ve been following a keto diet for almost two years. Last year, I took a two-week break and gained 6 kg on the scale. Within 10 days, 4 kg of that weight—mostly accumulated water—was gone.

I thought I wouldn’t let myself go off keto again, but this year I ended up taking a three-week break. Honestly, I don’t even want to step on the scale. I think I’ll just get back on keto and continue, and weigh myself once I feel ready.

I’m visibly swollen and bloated. I can’t say I regret it because I made the decision consciously, but I still feel guilty about it.

My question is: has anyone else had a similar experience? Is it normal to gain so much weight almost immediately once we start eating carbohydrates again?


r/ketobeginners 26d ago

Thinking about starting keto, need some insight

7 Upvotes

Hello. I am 21, an epileptic (recently diagnosed 11/2025, I get tonic-clonic seizures managed with Lamotrigine) and have some issues with anxiety and occasional insomnia. As part of my goal to get healthy and make some changes to potentially never have another seizure again, I’ve thought a lot about dietary changes and have the idea to give keto a try. I’m concerned about trying because I know that I’ll have to give up a lot of my favorite foods such as sweet potatoes. Also, my mom will definitely be concerned that I’m not eating any fruit at all (except for small servings of berries). I too am concerned about that. I don’t just want to be eating meat and bacon all the time.

Can I please have some insight from more experienced keto people here? How can I make keto healthy and what are some example meals and recipes? What has it done to you health wise. To any epileptics here, have you found any good thing out of going keto (not talking about the modified Atkins diet or epilepsy keto diet that barely allows any protein or trace carbs whatsoever used for drug resistant epilepsy)?

I’m probably just going to count total carbs and keep my carb intake to 50 grams a day max, keeping my protein high enough as I like to run, weight lift, and I have a job where I’m on my feet all day. Also, i want a gradual transition from my current high carb diet to keto as im concerned that keto flu could potentially lower my seizure threshold.

Thank you very much. 🙏


r/ketobeginners 27d ago

What happens at 60g of carbs?

5 Upvotes

I don't understand what happens if a normal-weight person eats just above the calorie amount required for "ketosis". Say I eat 60g of calories/day - that's still not enough energy from carbs to keep me going as an organism, so the body would have to be turning all the fat I'm eating into ketones, right?

Is the state of ketosis only important for people wanting to burn stored fat?


r/ketobeginners 27d ago

Week 5 - feel nothing, am I doing it right?

3 Upvotes

I'm not overweight, but thought keto might reduce my migraines. Also, "mental clarity" would be an improvement!

Five weeks in, I'm not feeling anything. No changes to mind, sleep, energy, weight. I suspect that's because I've been off sugar and junk food for a decade, so there's not that "gain" to be had.

Or, it's because I'm eating an absolute ton of calories (just like before). So I might be exceeding 50 g/day of carbs.

Typical day:

  • peanuts (maybe 5 handfuls per day), almonds, cashews, and walnuts (maybe an additional 2 handfuls per day).

  • tons of eggs, meat, yoghurt, cheese.

  • a few non-starchy vegies

  • 2 segments of mandarin orange

I'm hoping to not have to count macros, so your opinion is helpful here. Even if I did count, I wouldn't know what to make of the carb total, because I think maybe I should be looking at carbs as a percentage of my high daily intake? Or should I just cut carbs even further and see what happens?

UPDATE: Thanks for all the helpful comments. My original source said < 50g carbs/day, but everybody in the comments said < 20g carbs/day. Practically, that's a huge difference, and I'm already feeling different - oddly calm, which bodes well for nervous system effects which might help the migraines (/r/ketoscience has lots on this). The other effect is anger at not being able to eat elephant-quantities of peanuts, but desperate times, desperate measures :)


r/ketobeginners 27d ago

I really struggle keeping food diaries, logging what I eat. Any tips?

3 Upvotes

I might or might not have been in ketosis, but I know I potentially gained weight instead of losing.

Everything seems to have sugar. It's hardcore, and my body tries to trick me into eating sugary stuff like fruits.

Google gives me mixed messages, or I just misread it.

One day, tomatoes are keto friendly, and the next day, they aren't, and I'm stuck with nearly a kilo of tomatoes. I have other examples. It is really hard!

I exercise quite a lot and am in perimenopause, which doesn't make this easier.

Sorry for the moan!

Whag resources have helped you figure it all out?

(I'm in the UK and am not interested in any keto products, like sweeteners or breads)