Where Do I Begin? Finding My Way Back to Start Keto
If you happened to read my previous blog post here, you know that I stopped keto for a long time. When I was on keto, I weighed around 63-65kg, but I ballooned up to 94kg—an increase of 30kg over 3-4 years. Gaining the weight was easy; losing it, however, feels like it’s taking forever. Although I feel that way, I realize that I didn’t gain 30kg overnight—this is a process I have to go through.
Now, I’m restarting my keto journey. I’ve already lost around 20kg since my heaviest weight, which took about a year and a half. And I still have 13kg more to go. Right now, I weigh around 74-75kg, and I still have work to do before reaching my ideal weight.
Maybe you’re wondering how to start keto, or perhaps, like me, you’re restarting from square one. Or maybe you just want to lose weight. I’ll break it down in the simplest way possible—steps that anyone can follow.
I’m writing this as a reminder to myself to stick to this plan and start keto without feeling like I’m on a restrictive diet. It shouldn’t be overwhelming or miserable. So, keep reading and be warned: valuable insights are coming your way!
Step 1: Understand What Keto Is
Why is this step number one? Because understanding it is fundamental to why you decide to start keto. At least for me, when I started this journey, I wouldn’t want to walk in the dark without knowing what I was doing or what to expect.
In essence, ketosis is a state where our body burns fat for energy instead of glucose. Understanding this helps us see that the goal is to burn not just dietary fat—the fat we eat—but also stored body fat, including visceral fat around our organs. Burning fat in our organs is crucial to improving and achieving a healthier body.
Now that you understand what ketosis means, the next question is: how do we get into the state of ketosis? Is it by eating more fat? This is partly true, but not entirely. The real key to start keto successfully is reducing or eliminating carbs. How did I come to this conclusion, you might ask? I realized this when fasting, especially during prolonged fasts—my ketone levels would rise significantly even without eating any fat. This proves that ketosis is a natural state our body enters simply by restricting food intake, without needing to consume extra fats. I need to clarify this because some people hesitate to try or even learn about the ketogenic diet, thinking they need to eat a huge amount of fat. That’s not the case. The focus should be on cutting carbs first, and fat intake should be adjusted based on individual needs.
After reading the explanation above, you might wonder why ketosis is such a powerful tool. What makes this diet so special? Don’t other diets work the same way? The key difference lies in a hormone called insulin. When you start keto and follow a healthy version of the diet—mainly leafy greens, protein, and healthy fats—you naturally lower the amount of insulin circulating in your body, even while eating. A ketogenic diet helps regulate insulin levels to a stable range, preventing the drastic spikes caused by high-carb diets. In contrast, other diets—especially those high in carbohydrates—cause insulin surges that push the body into fat storage mode, making it nearly impossible to burn fat efficiently, even dietary fat. This is why I chose to embrace the ketogenic lifestyle. By regulating insulin, the most dominant hormone influencing fat storage, we don’t just achieve a leaner physique—we build a healthier body from the inside out.
With the foundation of understanding keto laid out, let me share why I love being on keto and why you might want to start keto too:
- ✅ Rapid Weight Loss – When you start keto, you regulate your fat-storing hormone, insulin, allowing your body to efficiently use fat as its primary energy source. The ability to burn stored fat leads to effective weight loss.
- ✅ Reduced Cravings – As you start keto, your insulin levels stabilize, and cravings for sugary or high-carb foods decrease, allowing you to go longer without snacking.
- ✅ Steady Energy Levels – One of the biggest benefits you’ll notice when you start keto is sustained energy. Since fat provides a more stable energy source compared to carbs, you won’t experience energy crashes, making you feel more consistent throughout the day.
- ✅Mental Clarity and Focus – Once your body adapts after you start keto, you’ll experience fewer energy dips, leading to improved concentration and clearer thinking.
- ✅ Helps Regulate Blood Sugar Levels – One of the biggest benefits people experience when they start keto is better blood sugar control. By reducing carb intake, insulin levels stabilize, helping those with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes improve their overall health.
Step 2: What to Eat & Avoid
With the understanding of keto as laid out in point 1, our goal is to keep the body in a ketogenic state, turning it into a 24/7 fat-burning machine. When we are knocked out of ketosis, it takes some time to get back into ketosis, and during that period, the body shifts into fat-storing mode. We want to avoid this, as it can negatively impact overall health. If you’ve been following along, you know that I deeply believe in Dr. Berg’s philosophy—focus on getting healthy first, and weight loss will follow naturally. This is why, when you start keto, it’s important to stay consistent and make informed choices to keep your body in ketosis.
Being informed of my stance above, I follow a ketogenic lifestyle to improve and preserve my health. When I decided to start keto, my primary goal was to regulate insulin. The best way to achieve this is by avoiding high-glycemic foods, which cause blood sugar spikes and lead to excessive insulin circulation, promoting fat storage. Trust me, you don’t want to be like the old me—constantly starting over. My restart meant carrying an extra 30kg above my original weight—it’s almost like lugging around a sack of cement!
Therefore, I’m sharing the list below to help you start keto with confidence, make informed food choices, and stay in ketosis effortlessly:
✅ Keto-Friendly Foods (Eat These!):
- Meat, poultry, and seafood (salmon, chicken, beef, etc.): A key part of how you start keto is choosing the right proteins. Opt for fattier cuts of meat to help regulate insulin levels, as lean protein can cause spikes. Natural fats also enhance flavor—like in Indonesia’s popular “bakso” (meatball soup). Personally, I enjoy the fat in the soup more than the meatballs—it adds richness and depth to the dish.
- Eggs (pasture-raised if possible): Starting keto means embracing nutrient-dense foods, and eggs are one of the best options. Many people fear eggs and separate the yolks from the whites, but the whole egg is packed with essential nutrients that support a ketogenic lifestyle. You can create simple yet delicious meals with just eggs—they’re a lifesaver when you’re busy but still want a nutritious keto meal.
- Healthy fats (avocados, butter, lard, coconut oil): One of the biggest mindset shifts when you start keto is learning that fats are your friend, not your enemy. Unlike carbs, fats don’t spike insulin levels, which is why I prefer animal fats, especially when cooking eggs or steaming chicken—a preference that might come from my Chinese-Indonesian background. Pairing healthy fats, like lard, with lean protein such as chicken breast helps maintain stable energy and satiety.
- Low-carb vegetables (spinach, broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower): To start keto the right way, fill at least 70-80% of your plate with these nutrient-dense, low-carb vegetables. Leafy greens help regulate blood sugar levels and differentiate a healthy keto diet from a lazy one, which often lacks greens. Eating vegetables first in a meal can also help moderate blood sugar spikes.
- Dairy (cheese, heavy cream, Greek yogurt): One of the most enjoyable parts of how I start keto is incorporating high-quality dairy. I love cheese! Adding it to meals—like an omelet sprinkled with Italian seasoning—helps satisfy cravings, especially if you’re a pizza lover. Just be sure to choose real cheese rather than processed alternatives that contain unwanted additives.
- Nuts & seeds (almonds, walnuts, chia seeds, flaxseeds): A great way to start keto is by swapping processed snacks for nutrient-dense nuts and seeds. These provide healthy fats, fiber, and crunch without the blood sugar spikes. I personally enjoy almonds and chia seeds. Maybe I should create a section for keto recipes using these—what do you think? Let me know in the comments!
- Berries (in moderation – raspberries, blackberries, strawberries): Not all fruits fit into a ketogenic lifestyle, but if you start keto with the right approach, you’ll find that berries are a great option in moderation. I don’t eat them often because they can be pricey in Indonesia, but their low glycemic index makes them a safe, occasional treat after a meal.
❌ Foods to Avoid:
- Sugar (soda, candy, desserts, fruit juices): Aside from having a high glycemic index, which causes significant spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels, sugar has many harmful effects on the body. It can lead to weight gain, insulin resistance, and increased cravings. If you’re craving something sweet when you start keto, opt for healthier alternatives like monk fruit or stevia. Personally, I use stevia as my go-to sweetener.
- Grains & starches (bread, pasta, rice, oatmeal, cereal): No matter how “healthy” a loaf of bread appears, it’s still a highly processed food. Personally, I’m not a big fan of bread, so my focus is on finding pasta alternatives. When you start keto, consider using shirataki noodles as a substitute, but make sure to cook them in a delicious way, especially when craving a dish like aglio olio.
- High-carb fruits (bananas, grapes, apples, pineapples): While fruits contain fiber, modern farming and genetic modifications have resulted in fruits with significantly higher sugar content than before. This makes it difficult for the fiber to offset the sugar impact. If you start keto, avoiding these high-carb fruits is crucial, as they can easily knock you out of ketosis.
- Processed foods (chips, fast food, packaged snacks): Aside from being ultra-processed, these foods often contain unhealthy additives like maltodextrin and starch, which can spike blood sugar and insulin levels even more than sugar itself. When you start keto, avoid these at all costs! Honestly, I don’t even consider these as real food—they are just chemically engineered products designed to be addictive, offering little to no nutritional value while making you crave more
Quick Tip: When you start keto, finding alternatives for the foods you love is one of the best ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle. After all, I no longer want to sacrifice my health for momentary pleasure. Instead, I make sure my food is both delicious and packed with nutrients to support my body. While not all foods have direct substitutes, I encourage you to stay focused on the main goal—prioritizing your health above all else.
Step 3: Implement Fasting
As you already understand, the goal of a healthy ketogenic lifestyle is to regulate the hormone insulin in our body. If you start keto, you’ll quickly realize that fasting and keto go hand in hand, making it one of the most powerful tools for improving metabolic health.
When we fast, we stop consuming food, which helps condition our body to regulate insulin circulation. Fasting not only stabilizes insulin but also improves insulin sensitivity, meaning our body requires less insulin to absorb nutrients from the food we eat. So what is the best way to further enhance our keto progress? I believe there is nothing more effective than fasting itself.
Fasting can generally be categorized into two main types, both of which complement the ketogenic lifestyle:
- Intermittent fasting is a strategic approach to eating that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. It is not about starving yourself but about allowing your body time to reset and efficiently burn fat for fuel. The most common method is the 16:8 approach, where you fast for 16 hours and eat within an 8-hour window. This helps stabilize insulin levels, reduces hunger cravings, and makes it easier to maintain ketosis. Intermittent fasting is an excellent tool for those on a ketogenic lifestyle, as it enhances fat-burning and optimizes metabolic health.
- Prolonged fasting is an extended period of fasting that goes beyond the typical intermittent fasting window, usually lasting 24 hours or more. This deeper fasting state allows the body to deplete glycogen stores, switch fully to fat-burning mode, and enter autophagy—a process where the body clears out damaged cells and regenerates new ones. Many people use prolonged fasting to accelerate weight loss, improve metabolic health, and reset their digestive system. However, it’s important to prepare properly by eating nutrient-dense meals beforehand and breaking the fast mindfully to avoid digestive discomfort.
Benefits of Fasting with Keto
- Speeds Up Fat Loss: Since your body is already in ketosis after you start keto, fasting accelerates fat burning even further. Remember, it’s about losing fat, not just weight!
- Boosts Mental Clarity: One of the biggest benefits when you start keto is improved brain function, as ketones provide steady energy without crashes. Many people report even sharper focus during fasting periods.
- Balances Hormones: A key benefit when you start keto is improved insulin regulation. Pairing keto with fasting further stabilizes hormones, making weight loss and long-term health more achievable.
- Supports Cellular Repair: When you start keto, your body shifts to a more efficient metabolic state, reducing inflammation and oxidative stress. Fasting further enhances this by triggering autophagy, a natural process where your body removes damaged cells and regenerates new ones, promoting overall health and longevity
Tips for Beginners:
- Start keto with Intermittent Fasting (IF): The easiest way to begin is by skipping breakfast and eating within an 8-hour window (e.g., from 12 PM to 8 PM). This is called the 16:8 method, meaning you fast for 16 hours and eat for 8 hours.
- Stay Hydrated: Drink plenty of water, and don’t forget electrolytes. Adding a pinch of salt to your water can help prevent dehydration and fatigue.
- Listen to Your Body: If you feel dizzy or excessively hungry, it’s okay to ease into fasting gradually. Start with a 12-hour fast and increase the duration over time.
- Combine Keto and Fasting: Since keto already stabilizes blood sugar and reduces cravings, fasting becomes much easier. Your body will naturally transition into fat-burning mode without the usual hunger pangs.
Insight for Beginners:
When I started over at 94kg, I didn’t jump straight into fasting because I simply couldn’t do it. I felt hungry almost immediately after my morning shower. So, what did I do back then? I focused on changing my food first. It was difficult at first, but I gradually transitioned into fasting. After about a month of following the ketogenic diet and feeling satisfied with my meals, I realized I wasn’t battling hunger as much. That’s when I began intermittent fasting, starting with an 8-hour eating window and gradually reducing it. Eventually, I worked my way up to prolonged fasting. My longest fast was four days, breaking my fast in the afternoon of the fourth day.
Yes, preparation for fasting is necessary, and it starts with eating healthy keto meals. But one of the most important aspects of fasting is how we break it. Sometimes, I made the mistake of breaking my fast with unhealthy foods, seeing it as a reward after days of fasting. However, I’ve learned that fasting is only beneficial if I maintain a healthy keto diet afterward. Currently, I do prolonged fasting for about a day and a half (36 hours), then eat. While I could go longer since I don’t feel much hunger, I’ve realized my desire for a “reward” after fasting can be counterproductive. So, I limit my prolonged fasting to a day and a half to maintain a sustainable, healthy keto lifestyle.
The key takeaway here is that my ability to fast longer is a direct reflection of how efficiently my body runs on the ketogenic diet. Imagine owning a high-performance car like a Lamborghini or Bugatti, but having to refuel every few miles—clearly not an efficient system. Wouldn’t you prefer a high-end car like a Ferrari that runs efficiently, allowing you to travel thousands of miles without constantly needing to refuel? The good news is, our bodies are even more advanced than those high-end machines. But the key lies in the type of fuel we choose. Just like a car runs best on premium fuel, our bodies function best when we fuel them correctly. If we get it right, we don’t just run—we run smoothly and efficiently. That’s why I see fasting as more than just a tool for regulating insulin. It’s a direct measure of how well my body utilizes energy without relying on constant food intake. The healthier we become, the more efficient our bodies get at sustaining energy and thriving.
If you’re just starting out and carrying a lot of extra weight, focus on building healthy eating habits first. Ensure you are truly satisfied with your meals. Eat as much as you need, and over time, you’ll notice your cravings reduce, and your body will become more efficient. Once you reach this stage, you can begin fasting—starting with a larger eating window and gradually reducing it over time.
When done correctly, you will notice that fasting is not about starving yourself—it’s about giving your body a break from constant digestion and allowing it to reset. Many people fear fasting, thinking they will feel weak or sluggish. However, once your body adapts, you’ll experience higher energy levels, mental clarity, and reduced hunger.
Step 4: How to Get Started (Actionable Tips)
Now that you have a solid understanding of keto, know what to eat, and recognize the benefits of fasting, the next step is putting it all into action. When you start keto, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. The key is to take it step by step and make sustainable changes that fit into your daily routine.
1. Start with Small Changes
Drastic changes often lead to failure. When you start keto, it’s better to begin with small adjustments instead of going all-in overnight:
- ✅ Reduce carb intake gradually – Start by cutting out sugary drinks, processed snacks, and high-carb foods like rice, bread, and pasta.
- ✅ Increase healthy fats – Incorporate foods like avocados, eggs, butter, and olive oil to help with satiety.
- ✅ Prioritize whole foods – Focus on nutrient-dense meals instead of relying on keto-friendly processed products.
2. Plan Your Meals & Grocery List
Planning ahead will set you up for success when you start keto:
- ✅ Meal prep in advance – Cook keto-friendly meals in batches to save time and avoid reaching for non-keto options.
- ✅ Stock up on keto staples – Keep your pantry filled with healthy fats, proteins, and low-carb veggies.
- ✅ Always have a backup plan – Carry keto-friendly snacks like nuts, cheese, or boiled eggs to prevent making poor food choices when hungry.
3. Ease Into Fasting
Fasting isn’t mandatory when starting keto, but it can significantly enhance your results. Make sure you feel ready before incorporating it into your routine:
- ✅ Start with intermittent fasting (16:8) – Fast for 16 hours and eat within an 8-hour window.
- ✅ Extend fasting gradually – Once you feel comfortable, try fasting for 18-24 hours, then extend it longer as needed.
- ✅ Replenishing electrolytes – Add salt, magnesium, and potassium to your diet to support energy levels and muscle function.
- ✅ Listening to your body – If you feel fatigued or lightheaded, increase your intake of mineral-rich foods or supplements.
- ✅ Break your fast wisely – Eat a nutrient-dense meal to avoid blood sugar spikes and digestive discomfort.
4. Track Your Progress & Adjust Accordingly
Your keto progress is a personal journey, and everyone’s body responds differently. When you start keto, take my case, for instance:
- ✅ Measure results beyond the scale – Focus on non-scale victories like better sleep, improved mental clarity, and higher energy levels.
- ✅ Keep a food journal – Track what you eat to identify patterns and make adjustments if necessary.
- ✅ Be patient – Keto isn’t a quick fix, but a long-term lifestyle change. Celebrate small wins and stay consistent.
Now It’s Your Turn: How Will You Start?
To start keto, keep it simple—it doesn’t have to be complicated. Focus on eating the right foods, staying hydrated, and listening to your body. Take things one step at a time, and before you know it, keto will become second nature.
Are you ready to take the first step? Let me know in the comments how you plan to start your keto journey!
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