Keto has its share of benefits, such as weight loss. However, whenever you switch to a keto diet, it comes with the hassle of shopping for new food items, and possibly adding on to your food prep and cooking times.
So, if you’re looking to change to a keto diet and have plenty on your plate in life already, you may find it nearly impossible. However, you may successfully convert to a low-carb, high-fat-and-protein diet, even if you have very little time to spare most days. Here’s how
Know Exactly What the Diet Is
While you may have a general idea of the elements of this diet, you should expand your knowledge of it all you can. Know what foods you should or shouldn’t eat.
Have a firm understanding of how the diet can facilitate your healthy living goals and any possible complications. If there are any health implications, determine the ideal solution to prevent them from occurring.
Fortunately, this may be as simple as spending a night researching rather than watching TV.
Search for Recipes
If you’re unsure of how to cook on a keto diet, look up recipes. There isn’t any shame in using other people’s creativity and turning it into your own. It’ll save you a great deal of time and aggravation as you cook each day.
For instance, check out this list of keto brunch ideas. Even if you don’t find any up your alley, you may find some inspiration and tweak them how you and your family would like.
Fortunately, you can even find quick and easy meal recipes that’ll work perfectly for your busy schedule. You can pull them off between getting off work and taking little Timmy to soccer in the evening.
Ideally, you may want to print a number of recipes to have handy.
Plan Ahead
Planning ahead for meals for the week is beneficial to everyone, whether you follow a specific diet or not. You’ll save yourself time and frustration, and you won’t find times when you’re struggling to find what you want to make for meals each day.
Try planning for a week to two weeks at a time, depending on how frequently you grocery shop. Write down a list of meals you want to make. Check what you already have in stock and make a list of what you’ll need. It may help to choose a day you would like to shop each week.
Besides just planning ahead, you may even want to prepare ahead. You could make the meals on the days you have time for the days when you won’t.
Try a Meal Subscription Plan
With these, you place an order for a certain number of meals. You often need to buy two dishes for each. You’ll either receive everything you need to prepare the meals or the meals ready to cook. You can find options for keto meals.
If you don’t like it, you can cancel your subscription with most companies. Just make sure the program you choose has that option before subscribing.
Utilize Time-Saving Cooking Appliances
If your schedule allows little wiggle room for cooking, you probably don’t want to stand over the stove every day and night preparing meals. Ease some of that burden by purchasing time-saving kitchen appliances or at least ones that require little fuss, such as an air fryer or crock pot.
Make Sleep a Priority
Sleep plays a vital role in your food choices, believe it or not. Studies indicate that you’re more likely to make unhealthy eating choices out of convenience and eat more than necessary when you’re sleep deprived. People also tend to eat high-calorie foods more often when they don’t get enough sleep.
Therefore, make sure you prioritize getting an adequate amount of sleep each night, at least seven to nine hours. You’ll have more energy to cook each day and will be more likely to stick to your keto diet rather than binge-eating unnutrition foods.
Leave Room for Error
Don’t get discouraged if you can’t adhere fully to a keto diet at first. Aim for as many keto meals as possible. And know there may be times when you just can’t or don’t feel like making a keto meal.
It helps to research restaurants in the area that offer meals that adhere to this diet so you have a backup whenever you have way too much going on for the day.
Have Keto Snacks on Hand
Sometimes, you may not have time to prepare a keto lunch for the day. Or, there might come a time when you go from one meeting to the next with little time in between.
Then, there are those days when you have to work late and can’t get home for dinner in time before those hunger pangs start.
This is when having keto-friendly snacks on hand, whether in your car, purse, briefcase, etc., comes in handy.
Make Certain Items in Bulk
Sometimes, it can help to make things in bulk that you can use for future meals. For instance, when you make soup, cook enough for three or four meals.
As another example, if you make cauliflower rice, make enough for several helpings. Use a cupcake pan, fill each slot, and freeze them.
Fry bacon in large quantities and freeze it. You’ll just have to pull out what you need.
Make and freeze for an easy morning when you have no time for cooking and need to get out of the house in a hurry.
Add a Twist of CBD
In addition to coconut oil and butter, you could also use CBD oil and reap the reward of its health benefits, such as better sleep and less anxiety. Always consult with your physician first, though.
A lack of time doesn’t mean you can’t participate in a keto diet. All it means is you need to plan and prepare, utilize your time wisely, and take steps to reduce how long it takes to prepare and cook a meal to meet your busy life.
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