Before you start
Understand the
Plan
On this Meal Prep plan, you’ll be following a Ketogenic way of eating without the calculations.
Keeping your body in a fat burning state (called Ketosis) requires you to eat 20 net carbs per day or less, eat moderate protein and no sugar- even natural kinds such as the kind in fruit.
To do this, you’ll have access to one meal plan, grocery guide, homework assignment and meal prep video guide. You will be able to accomplish the meal prep in an hour- choosing whenever works for you. The rest of the week you’ll just grab food that you’ve already made and go.
You will need to pick a day and time that will work for you most of the time, and try to stick with it.
My Week, For example:
I use Instacart or go shopping for my grocery list on Saturday, and do my homework Saturday night. (Homework typically means throwing meat in a crock pot, so I like to do it over night or very first thing in the morning so it’s ready to go when I can start meal prep.) On Sunday at 1:30 (nap time!) I meal prep. For the rest of the week, I have all my food ready to go.
Do It.
Setting yourself up for the week has so many advantages. You house will be cleaner. Your dishes don’t pile up. Your meals are already made… And it doesn’t take long nor is it hard. It just sounds like it is. You’re not cooking Thanksgiving dinner every week- I promise. I know you could just subscribe to a meal service and eat TV dinner style “diet” meals until the weight is gone- but what do they expect you to do? Eat only TV dinners… forever? If you don’t know what to eat… then… what do you eat when you stop their service? Plus it’s about 5 times the cost of doing it yourself.
People say Keto is “not sustainable” because you’ll eat one piece of bread and all your weight will come back. I want you to know how untrue that is. Your way of eating will absolutely change, but you will be able to eat your favorite foods again- in moderation, of course.
I could sing the praises of Keto all night- but I will stop here and let you learn for yourself. You are about to feel better, think more clearly, sleep better and have energy you thought you’d never get back.
Welcome! I can’t wait to watch you fall in love with this lifestyle.
HELPFUL THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MEAL PLANS:
These Meal Plans are set up to feed dinner to a family of 3 hungry adults or 2 adults and 2 kids, or 2 adults with leftovers. Breakfast and lunches however, are only designed for one.
Grocery lists will cost between $75 - $125 depending on brands, sales, and amount of things you need to buy vs. what you already have on hand. This amount will lessen over time as we will use the same things over and over in different ways meaning you won’t need to buy a new BBQ sauce every time you see BBQ sauce on the menu- you’ll just finish the one from two weeks ago. Your meal plans are designed to reuse things you might not finish as best as possible without being redundant and boring.
Pantry
There are some things you will want to keep on hand that are never mentioned in the grocery lists or meal plans such as salt and pepper. Other items include spices, oils, and bullion. I’ve included my essential pantry items in this list:
Spices: Curry, Cumin, Paprika, Garlic Salt, Italian Seasoning, Lemon Pepper, Red Cayenne Pepper, Stevia Liquid, Seafood Seasoning, Red Pepper Flakes Cajun Seasoning, (Not pictured) Salt, Pepper, Garam Masala, Onion and Garlic powder. Spices can always be adjusted to your tastes and preferences.
Chicken and Tomato Bouillon, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Garlic Salt and Butter are all things I recommend you have on hand for meal prep. These, like the spices above, may not always be listed on your grocery lists, but are always good to keep on hand.
KETO FLU:
There will be a few hours / days in the beginning of your Keto journey were you will feel like you’ve gotten sick with something reminiscent of the flu. Great, just what we need this year… I know. But it’s completely normal and you can help it go away with hydration and dill pickle juice (no sugar!) The good news about Keto Flu is it means you’re doing the program correctly. As your body switches from burning carbs to burning fat as your fuel source, its a physical change in your body and you feel it. This is what it feels like as your body withdraws from sugar. Don’t worry, it’s worth it. You will likely have a headache and you might feel achy and cold. You’re not actually sick, and it goes away very quickly. A shot of dill pickle juice is my go to every time I feel this- it will happen any time you throw yourself out of Ketosis (cheat) and then get back to your sugar free, low carb (Keto) lifestyle again.
Keto Treats:
You will notice your meal plans do not include “Keto Treats” such as products on the grocery shelves that are labeled Keto friendly, Keto bars, Sugar free candy, or low carb bread or tortillas. There are several reasons why and I’ll explain that below, however I want you to know there is a time and a place for them. Keto treats are great when your stress levels make you want to throw your hands in the air and give up on anything beyond basic survival. A feeling I think we can all agree we have had a lot of in 2020. Keto treats are a better choice than giving up on your goals all together. Use these things when you have to, and avoid them when you can.
Reasons Why I Avoid Keto Treats:
First, they are priced solely for convince and with the “diet market” in mind- in other words meaning they are pricey. One box of Atkins bars might have 6 peanut butter cups and cost $6.99.
The second reason is routine. Whatever you give your body, your body will crave. If you get in the habit of replacing your old sugar routine with fake sugar substitutes, you’re still going to want sugar. Instead, while you are already making this huge leap of faith and ready to start this life, I recommend you feel the feelings of wishing you had the sugar, and finding ways to keep your mind busy while the feeling passes. It will take almost no time at all for you to switch your cravings to other things.
Most importantly however, I don’t include these things because of our health. Dirty Keto, or Lazy Keto is absolutely still Keto- however there is a balance you have to toe during weight loss mode and avoiding Lazy/Dirty Keto as much as possible is the better choice. You will be eating butter and cheese and bacon… However you’ll never see me tell you to make an entire meal from bacon, butter and cheese.
Can you have Keto treats? Absolutely. Will they stall or slow your weight loss? Possibly. Is it better to have a Quest Pizza for dinner instead of ordering Papa Johns? Heck yes. There is a reason I have these things on hand and can take a photo of them- they are life savors… but I warn you, do not rely on them. They are not good for you, and if you find yourself buying them regularly and getting upset at your weight loss numbers, cut them OUT.
Also keep in mind, eating any of these along with your current meal plan will put you over your Keto Macro Limits. Instead, REPLACE a snack with a Keto treat, or if you’re eating a full treat meal such as the Pizza or Chicken pictured above, do not also eat the dinner in the Meal Plan. Not losing as quickly as you want to? Go back and follow the meal plan without additions.
Reasons I use Keto Treats:
-Travel. Car trips aren’t great times to eat soup in a jar… peanuts, quest chips, quest cookies, pork rinds and P2 Packs can all be found at gas stations and while these are not whole food, healthy options, but they will give you needed calories and will not kick you out if ketosis.
-Emergencies and poor planning. You can’t expect and / or plan everything! Pop in a Keto pizza if you’re not meal prepped and ready to go. It’s okay.
-Life. Sometimes you just need chocolate. Eat it. Just skip something else on the plan.
