The most important factor in achieving ketosis is reducing your carbohydrate consumption. You have to deprive your body of glucose in order to shift your metabolism and begin utilizing fat as a source of energy. The general rule is to cut down on sugar and starches, such as bread, pasta, potatoes and rice, while increasing healthy fats like avocados, coconut oil, MCT oil, eggs, lard and tallow.
To see a full list of what to eat on keto and what to avoid, refer to our food guide. Another simple way to get into ketosis is to cut your carbohydrate intake gradually. For example, you can set a goal for yourself and decrease the amount of consumed carbohydrates by 10g per day. In no time, you will find yourself closer to achieving the desired 20-30g of net carbs per day guideline recommended on the ketogenic diet.
Alongside implementing the rules of the ketogenic diet, the easiest way to get into ketosis is to take a supplement in the form of exogenous ketones. Exogenous ketones help your body to increase ketone production, achieve the state of ketosis faster and diminish the effects of the keto flu. You can also enter a state of ketosis by fasting. If your glycogen stores are filled to their capacity, it may take about 2-4 days to reach ketosis.
While during this time you may feel the onset of keto flu symptoms, the only accurate way to check if you are in the state of ketosis is to measure the level of ketone bodies in your blood or urine. You can do this by using urine test strips.