Oftentimes, people make mistakes as they get too busy to make their own foods, feel comfortable enough they stop double-checking their foods, or they simply don’t know better.

Now, with our simple guidance, you will.

Here are the Top 8 Keto Mistakes you might not know you’re making, and easy solutions!

Top 8 Keto Mistakes and Easy Solutions

Keto Mistake #1 – The “Ultra-Processed” Keto Diet

Whether you’re following Keto Zone, Paleo, Mediterranean, or even a Vegan diet, you can easily make the mistake of eating ultra-processed foods.

Once a “diet” becomes trendy, food manufacturers from all over will begin to make “products” for this trendy diet, in order to make money.

Some products are great. Most products are not.

Some are slightly processed, and others are ultra-processed. Ultra-processed foods are simply those high in sugars, unhealthy, processed fats, junk “fake” ingredients, and more. They are strongly linked to poor health outcomes (1,2).

Just because a product claims it’s low-carb, doesn’t make it a healthy Keto Zone food.

In fact, with Keto Zone, we urge you to study all the ingredients in any commercial food and look beyond low-carb and high-fat.

For example, the low-carb portion should be naturally low-carb or made with healthy-low carb sweeteners (more below). The high-fat portion should come from healthy fats, and not low-quality, cheap, inflammatory fats, such as soybean oil or hydrogenated oils.

How can you avoid this mistake?

Solution:

• First, cook as many meals as you can from home.
• Use and eat foods that are single-ingredient foods, such as eggs, meats, vegetables, and healthy oils like olive oil.
• When buying commercial food, ignore all marketing on the front of the packaging. Look first at the ingredients, and then at the nutrition label (read guide here).
• Find more tips here

Keto Mistake #2 – Avoiding Fiber

We all need fiber. While we may not actually need quite as much as has been recommended in the past, our guts need fiber-based foods to feed our healthy bacteria (soluble fibers and prebiotics).

You must be proactive to avoid fiber keto mistakes  to ensure you’re getting enough.

When you’ve eliminated many high-carbohydrate foods, such as grains, beans, most fruits, and legumes, you mind yourself low on fiber. However, as you replace low-quality starchy foods such as bread and pasta, with natural Keto Zone foods like inulin, nuts, nut flours, and vegetables, you’ll find your fiber intake increases in quantity and quality ( 3).

Solution:

To get more fiber, eat daily:

• 3 servings of vegetables (6-10 grams of fiber)
• ¼ cup nuts or 2 tablespoons nut meal (4 grams fiber)
• 2 tablespoons of seeds, such as hemp seeds (4 grams fiber)
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds per day (8 grams fiber)

Keto Mistake #3 – Not Researching or Using Supplements

I wish we could get all the nutrients we need with foods alone. I do.

However, the diminishing quality of our soil, processed foods, use of pesticides and antibiotics, and our own digestion ailments can make it tough to consume, digest, and absorb everything we need.

High-quality supplements make up the differences in the nutrients we need, but don’t get in foods.

Solution:

Some important supplements on Keto Zone include:

• Instant Ketones: In supplemental powder form, these ketones provide a readily available source of ketones. They are especially important when getting into ketosis.
• Fat-Zyme: If you have trouble digesting fats, this enzyme and nutrient combination supplement can help you feel better and get into the Keto Zone.
• Magnesium: Magnesium deficiency is common in all adults and can be easily fixed with supplementation.
• Omega-3s: Krill Oil: is a great source of anti-inflammatory fats and antioxidants for brain, cardiovascular, and overall health.
• MCT Oil Powder: When increasing fats, it’s important to choose the healthiest fat quality. MCT Oil Powder is an extremely healthy, easy-to-use fat in drinks and more.
• Thyroid Zone and Hormone Zone: Especially as women age, these supplements can protect bones, help balance estrogens, and fight fatigue.

Keto Mistake #4 – Going Low-Carb and Low-Fat

The Keto Zone Diet is all about minimal carbs, and large amounts of fat. Unfortunately, people make many keto mistakes with fat intake.

Your body needs large amounts of healthy fats to provide the substrates for ketones and to keep your body healthy.

High-quality fats are needed, not optional.

A huge health-wrecking mistake is to minimize carbs and fats.

When you do this, you won’t get the health benefits of healthy fats, you will go too low in calories, which can affect metabolism, and will likely be overly-hungry.

Solution:

• Aim for 75% or more calories from fats in your diet and about 20-30 grams net carbs each day.
• If eating around 1,500 calories per day, then consume just 30 or so grams of carbs (120 calories), 125 grams of fat, and about 64 grams of protein.

As you can see, fats are important.

One way to add fat is to use “fat bombs” as snacks.

Keto Mistake #5 – Choosing Inflammatory Fats

Not all fats are created equal. Some are highly inflammatory, while some are healthy. Choose the latter.

Sure, you can eat a high-fat diet loaded with processed fats, trans-fats, and inflammatory fats. But, what good would this be?

Use the fats in your diet to promote health in addition to entering the Keto Zone.

Solution:

Avoid:

• High omega-6 fats in processed foods such as soybean oil, corn oil, and vegetable oil.
• Trans-fats from hydrogenated fat sources

Eat:

• Omega-3 fats from fish, krill, and other seafood
• Healthy omega-9 fats from nuts, avocados, and olive oil
• MCT oils from MCT Oil Powder and coconut oil
• Fats from high-quality animal sources such as eggs, free-range livestock, and wild sources

Keto Mistake #6 – Eating Foods Loaded with Saccharin, Aspartame, and Sucralose

When eating low-carb, you’ll find all sorts of foods and recipes with aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose. These are not the best ingredients for your health.

Why?

For one, they disrupt the healthy bacteria in the gut (4). Healthy gut bacteria is a cornerstone of overall health, and disruptions can induce hormone imbalances, digestive issues, inflammation, food intolerances, and more.

Additionally, aspartame and saccharin have had a sketchy history with cancer risk, and should be avoided.

Solution:

Find foods that use higher-quality, natural sugar substitutes. These include stevia, xylitol, and erythritol.

Keto Mistake #7 – Over-Fasting

Intermittent fasting is a great, health-promoting tool on Keto Zone.

However, some people make the mistake of fasting too much; usually by combining different fasting styles.

If you use the 5:2 method, fast for 2 days per week, and then also use the 16:8 method, fasting 16 hours per day, and then add in 2 days that are restricted to 500 calories each (total), you’re likely going to be hungry.

Hunger itself is not always a problem, but too much can lead to binges, disrupted sleep, and more.

Solution:

• When intermittent fasting, choose just one method and do it well.

If you find yourself so hungry that you’re having a hard time falling asleep or staying asleep, make sure you’re not combining fasting styles, and that you’re eating enough during your eating window (add more fats if needed).

Keto Mistake #8 – Thinking Keto Zone is a Quick Fix

If you find that the Internet is overflowing with “diet success stories” that seem too good to be true, remember that they probably are.

Now, Keto Zone usually delivers quicker and better results than any other diet.

However, it’s still a marathon, not a sprint.

Getting into and staying in ketosis, requires study, work, and commitment. While it’s simple, it’s not necessarily easy day in and day out.

Solution:

• Look at the Keto Zone as a lifestyle, for the rest of your life.
• Focus on gaining health, energy, awareness, and overall wellness rather than just weight loss.

As long as you’re making progress, keep going! Everyone’s different, and everyone’s weight loss story is their own. Don’t compare, and stay positive.

Bottom Line

Keto Zone is extremely effective and healthy. However, if it’s not followed as directed, mistakes can be made. Make sure to these Top 8 Keto Mistakes.

The post Top 8 Keto Mistakes To Avoid appeared first on Keto Zone® | Dr. Don Colbert, MD.

We’ve decided to stick with the basics for our 4th of July celebration – Introducing our classic Keto Zone Bacon Burgers! 

Enjoy the freedom of savoring our high-fat, low-carb version of our nation’s favorite cookout essential.

And if you’re wanting the full all-American burger experience, but are concerned about your carbohydrate count from the buns – we’ve got you covered!  There’s no need to wrap your burgers in lettuce anymore, you can make your own buns with our Keto Zone Cloud Bread.

Ingredients

• 8 bacon slices
• 1 ½ pounds of ground beef
• ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
• ½ cup chopped red onion
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder or onion powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Wooden picks

Instructions

1. Preheat the grill to 350° to 400°
2. Place full pieces of bacon aside for each burger, and chop remaining bacon into bits.
3. In a large bowl, mix together ground beef, chopped bacon, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped red onion, garlic/onion powder, salt, and ground pepper.
4. Shape mixture into 4-inch patties with hands.
5. Wrap bacon slices around each patty, then pin bacon in place with a wooden pick.
6. Brush olive oil over the patties, then stick them on the grill.
7. Grill each burger between 6-8 minutes on both sides or until center is no longer pink in the middle.
8. Serve with lettuce, onion, pickles, tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, and our Keto Zone Homemade Mayonnaise.

Nutrition Facts

Yields: 4 servings

Serving Size: 1 burger patty

Per Serving: 

Calories: 410 kcalories

Total Fat: 25 grams

Carbohydrates: 3 grams

Fiber: 0.5 grams

Net Carbs: 2.5 grams

Protein: 40 grams

The post Keto Zone Bacon Burgers appeared first on Keto Zone® | Dr. Don Colbert, MD.