Tools to Help You Succeed

While you don’t necessarily need to invest in a lot of extras to help you succeed at eating a healthy diet, there are definitely things that can be a great assistance as you navigate this new lifestyle. I thought I’d share a few of the things that have helped me along the way.

Websites

This is what we used when we first started our keto lifestyle:

https://www.ruled.me/

This site has good resources:

https://www.ketogenic-diet-resource.com/carb-counter.html

This site has a meal plan idea:

https://www.guideforketodiet.com/2018/11/a-keto-helper-free-28-day-meal-plan.html?m=1

This is a site I’ve recently discovered that seems to have lots of info:

https://www.healthfulpursuit.com/

Apps

The app I’ve used the most is Carb Manager. It has a paid version and a free version. I’ve used both and really like what both have to offer.

Another app I love to use is my fitness app with my Apple watch. While this isn’t related to food, it does help me keep track of how active I am and lets me know if I’m sitting too much and need to get up and move. Just the simple act of getting up and moving around regularly throughout the day will improve your health.

I also like the Health app for iPhone (not sure if other phones have the equivalent). It shares lots of stats with you about your activity, heart rate (if you have an apple watch connected), and a variety of other things.

Tools

One of the tools that’s been super helpful to me is my blood testing kit. There are a variety of products out there that you can use to test for ketones and to test your glucose levels but after my research I liked the Keto-Mojo test meter best. You can also find urine tests and breath tests but those can be inaccurate - especially after you’ve been living a low-carb lifestyle for awhile so testing your blood is the most accurate method. I don’t use this all the time but it’s helpful if you want to make sure you’re glucose levels and ketone levels are good. I used it a lot more in the beginning and just use it to check myself occasionally now. Some types of food will affect some more than others so this is a great way to find out exactly how your food is working in YOUR body and not just trusting that it’s okay to eat because it’s good for “most” people. Artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols are a good example of this. For some, they don’t cause an insulin spike at all so it’s not going to cause any problems but for some it does. Being able to test for that will help you determine if you should continue eating something or not.

Another tool that’s been helpful to us is our Fitindex scale. This measures much more than just your body weight and it also has an app that you can use to track your progress. It records your entries and keeps a journal of them so you can see a graph of your progress. It’s pretty fun to see that line going down as you drop weight! :) Some people don’t do well watching the scale and if that’s you that’s okay. You don’t have to weigh yourself. It’s more about the health and how you feel anyway. But if you do like to weigh yourself I definitely recommend this scale.

Books

Of course my biggest recommendation is to use books as your biggest tool. There is so much valuable information out there and it’s such a great way to learn how food works in your body and how nutrition affects so much. I’ve compiled a reading list of the books I’ve read and enjoyed that you’re welcome to start with. So much great information can be found there!

Have you found any tools that you’ve used and have been helpful? I would love to hear your suggestions too!