You’re starting the keto diet to be healthier. But, just like any diet, starting and maintaining the keto diet takes a bit of work. 

I know this very well myself, considering I’ve had a long history of trying every diet under the sun. From the infamous Dukan Diet and Atkins to an entirely Raw diet of nothing but fruit, you name a crazy fad diet and I’ve probably tried it. Recently, I’ve been looking into the Keto Diet…yes, I know what you’re thinking…Vegan Keto? Is that even possible? Well, I’m here to tell you that it is indeed possible, as long as you do a little research and are willing to put in some time and effort into finding the right foods for your Vegan Keto journey. 

The blunt truth is, if you’re not motivated or simply don’t have the time to put in the effort, you won’t get the most out of your keto diet. The Keto Diet is quite a strict one which limits Carbohydrate intake to around 25-50 grams a day. It follows a general macronutrient profile of:

• Fat 55–60%
• Protein: 30–35%
• Carbohydrates: 5–10%

Considering this ratio of macronutrients is such a stark difference to the standard American diet, it is important that anyone looking to switch to a Ketogenic lifestyle do their research, look into various foods and source tips and tricks on Keto Forums, Facebook groups and so on. Thankfully, there are quite a few cheats that you can use if you want to be successful and improve your health while eating keto.

Here are five of my top top cheats for making the keto diet easy to stick to, regardless of what scope of diet and lifestyle you may fall into:

1. Starting Slowly

In order to increase the chances of sticking to a diet, you need to start slowly. Jumping into ice water straight away never did anyone any good. You can’t expect to completely change your diet come Monday morning and keep at it for more than a week. This is especially the case if you are currently struggling to maintain a healthy diet. Think of it as more of a marathon, rather than a sprint. You can’t “unlearn” life-long habits in one weekend.

If most of your current diet includes a copious amount of carbohydrates, your body and mind will be in for quite a shock when you suddenly stop eating them throughout the day. Therefore, the best idea is to take baby steps. You can start off by replacing some ingredients and small dishes with Keto options first. As you begin to get used to them, start swapping in more and more Keto options until it becomes a natural part of your daily diet.

Eventually, you’ll be in the full swing of things and be more likely to continue with the diet. Here are a list of common Vegan Keto foods that will help you make your transition into a fully Ketogenic lifestyle:

• Tofu / Tempeh
• Soy Milk
• Sugar Free Coconut Yogurt
• Nuts and Nut Butters
• Coconut Creams and Milks 
• Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil and other Nut Oils
• Seeds
• Coconut Flesh
• Avocados
• Small quantities of Berries
• Non-starchy Veggies (Spinach, Broccoli, Mushrooms, Peppers, Zucchini etc)
• Stevia
• Coffee/Tea 
• Vegan Butter 

2. Using a Pressure Cooker

One of the major issues that come along with the keto diet is making recipes that fit into the keto diet. They’re usually very time consuming and require a lot of effort and patience to make. If you simply don’t have the time to make keto-friendly foods, you’ll fall off the wagon and return to a diet that’s much easier to maintain. Thankfully, by using options such as a Pressure Cooker, you can greatly reduce the amount of time it takes to prepare certain ingredients and recipes. 

Pressure cookers can make the keto diet much simpler! Rather than spending hours in the kitchen each day preparing your Keto meals, you can use a pressure cooker to speed up the process. They’re great if you don’t like cooking, as they minimize the cooking time by up to 90%.

The less time you spend making the food, the more time you have to exercise and improve your life in other areas.

3. Finding Keto Recipes

If you’ve never jumped on the Keto diet bandwagon before, the guidelines for the diet may prove to be a bit confusing. Making your own recipes with the foods and ingredients you can eat will take a ton of time and may even prove to be frustrating.

Well, that’s what’s great about the internet. You have access to basically everything.

The internet is loaded with cooking and baking websites that will give you the play-by-play for hundreds of different keto meals. These websites are usually very easy to use and quite clearly display the ingredients you’ll need for each dish. They’ll also walk you through the cooking process and the nutritional information of each recipe. Youtube is also a fantastic resource when it comes to sourcing Keto recipes, and you’ll be amazed at how you can create Pizzas, Cinnamon Rolls and even Waffles using Keto friendly ingredients. (PS: Google “CHAFFLES”, you’ll thank me later).

All you need to do now is pick up the required ingredients from the grocery store and set aside some time to actually make it.

4. Knowing What You Can and Can’t Eat

Your previous diet was likely filled with fats, carbs, sugar, and salt. As you begin your keto diet, you’re probably realizing that you can’t eat a majority of what you were eating before.

The good news is, there are guidelines for what you can and can’t eat while on the keto diet. Once you eventually figure out why you should be avoiding certain foods and intentionally eating others, it’ll be easier for you to determine which foods fit into your keto diet. By knowing exactly which foods you should eat and which foods you should avoid, the transition to the keto diet will be much simpler and much less frustrating.

Doing some research into alternatives of your favourite foods that you can enjoy will also make the transition into a Keto lifestyle that much easier. Looking into sweeteners such as Erythritol, Stevia and Monk Fruit will allow you to create some tasty Keto cakes, pancakes, breads and other desserts so that you don’t feel like you’re missing out entirely on all the good things in life.

5. Keeping a Food Diary

In reality, everybody can benefit from keeping a food diary. I actually can’t stress enough on how much a food journal or log helps you stay accountable on any diet/lifestyle. There are tons of apps available on your smartphone that you can use to record what you’re eating each day. Most of these applications now come with various settings, including a “Keto Diet” option. These apps will take note of several things that are important in the keto diet, including carbohydrates, sugars, and calories. 

The apps will also record each of the major nutrients that you’re taking in each day. Once you have this data, you can compare it to the recommendations for the keto diet to see if you’re good to go or just missing the mark.

By using these apps, you can select better food options and stay within the recommended guidelines for your new keto diet. This will make it much easier for you to visualize your food intake on a daily basis. My current app of choice is Lifesum, as I find it easier to navigate than My Fitness Pal and generally better designed than the latter. 

Final Thoughts

Changing your diet can be difficult, but it’s much easier when you know what you’re doing and how to do it more efficiently. As long as you’re staying focused on the diet and taking the necessary steps to maintain it, the keto diet should be pretty easy to stick to, Vegan or not. I hope this article has helped you in one way or another. Leave me a comment if you have any questions or have any tips/tricks that I haven’t mentioned above!