Spring to Keto with Ease

Spring is the perfect time for keto.

Have you been hibernating all winter and consuming more carbs? Has it been more dreadful to look at your body? If so, choose to ease into keto! Overall, it does not have to be a fast approach when stepping into a keto diet. You can choose to do it gradually by slowly lowering your net carbs. This article will explain how I slowly decrease my carbs in the springtime.

Why should I spring to keto with ease?

Okay, so I’m going to make this as brief as possible. If you are familiar with the word ” shock,” you will understand. Does the thought of reducing your carbs seem dreadful after eating oatmeal and rice all winter? If so, I understand entirely. Let’s face it; sometimes, those carbs are so comforting on a cold winter day. However, now that spring is approaching, it is safe to reduce those foods.

After eating carbs all winter long, your body does get used to eating them. In other words, it develops a tolerance. So, instead of throwing all of your oatmeal boxes in the trash, start reducing the amount of oatmeal until you can get comfortable with a smoothie. For instance, if you eat 1 cup of oatmeal for breakfast every day, then reduce it to 1/2 cup for a week and then 1/4 of a cup for a week. After weaning down to 1/4 cup for a week or two, try to start adding smoothies in the morning.

If you do it this way, you will find that cutting back on the carbs will be more amenable to your body. Overall, when it comes to your physique, you want first to do “no harm.” After some time, our bodies may get used to these carbs. The good thing is that once the temperatures start warming up, your body naturally starts to crave carbs less.

Our digestion is more robust in the winter.

As spring comes into season, your body will naturally want lighter foods such as fresh vegetables, salad, meat, or more golden grains( for your higher carb days). When winter is in full effect, we tend to tolerate those heavier foods better. Because of this concentration of warmth in the winter, your digestion is strong, enabling you to process the more decadent foods you crave.

This past winter, I must admit that I did increase my carb intake. On my days of higher carbs, I must confess that I did eat oatmeal or rice cereal.  However, now that spring is imminent, I can comfortably ease back into lower carbs and fasting.

How do I ease back into a keto diet?

Well, my friend, this part will take some effort and willpower on your part. Now that you’re ready to spring to keto let’s ease into it. If you have been doing 150 net carbs or more per day, you will want to wean yourself gradually per week. For example, let’s say that you have averaged about 200 net carbs per day in the winter and want to go down to 50 net carbs in the spring. Well, you would just slowly wean yourself down every week.

So how do I wean myself down every week?

You can start by doing 150 net carbs per day the first week; then, the second week, drop it down by 50 to around 100 net carbs per day. Once you get down to 100 net carbs, start checking your ketones at least once a day to see if you are in ketosis. After discovering that you are in ketosis, you could either stay there OR consider dropping your carbs down further to find your sweet spot.

To find your ” sweet spot” with ketosis, you want to either be 0.5 mmol/L via blood level or the color “pink” on a urine stick. If you are still not in ketosis, around 100 net carbs, consider dropping your ketones down to 75 or 50 net carbs. Whatever you decide is entirely up to you.

What should my carb limit be?

The answer to this question all depends on you! Some people do better with a carb threshold of 100 net carbs ( especially if you are an athlete), and some feel better at 50 net carbs. The answer to this question depends on your body type! I tend to function the best at around 60-70 total net carbs. Now, do I have days where I go lower? Yes, I do! For example, whenever I fast, my net carbs typically stay under 5 per day.

Doing minimal carbs on my fasting days and alternating with more carbs helps me a lot. It allows me to look forward to when I can actually eat and enjoy the fasting days. It’s like yin and yang.

Finding your carb threshold

As I mentioned earlier, if you have been doing a lot of carbs this past winter, you would want to start measuring your ketones once you get down to 100 net carbs per day. First, I started my measuring them once a day. If you notice that you aren’t in ketosis at 100 net carbs per day, then decrease to 50 or 75 net carbs per day. If you get into ketosis( 0.5mmol/L or more) around 75 net carbs per day, that is your threshold. Overall, keep dropping your carbs until you get into ketosis.

To get into deep ketosis, you may need to decrease your carbs by a lot. Ultimately, you may want to keep your net carbs 25 or less to do this. If you think this is best for you, then go for it! There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to the keto diet. You need to do what is going to serve your body!

Follow me

If you liked this article, consider subscribing to my email list here at HKG. Also, stay tuned for my new and upcoming shamanic website, called Goddess of Light and Love.

Namaste!