Is keto expensive?

Is keto expensive? It can be, but it doesn’t have to be. Read on…

I’m constantly asked if the ketogenic lifestyle is expensive. Two short answers:

It can be.
and,
No, it doesn’t have to be.

Keto doesn’t have to be expensive.

If my broke ass could do keto successfully, anyone can!

Better food choices =/= more cost

Quality of what you eat is key. However, more quality doesn’t mean more money. If you’re worried about expense, don’t be. Ever since I changed my dietary lifestyle, I’ve found my grocery bill has gone down. And when I refer to quality, I am not saying everything you eat has to be grass-fed, pastured, etc., but simply that the foods you choose are as close to the whole and unprocessed products found in nature as possible. 

You won’t be buying bread and cookies and junk anymore, but instead, you’ll focus on…

•  Meat & fish (as much of and any kinds you like) and eggs (unlimited),

•  Vegetables (if it’s green or not starchy, it’s good), and low-sugar fruit (pretty much anything that ends in ‘berry’ is A-OK).

•  Dairy (butter, any and all cheese including ricotta, cream cheese, heavy cream),

Farmers markets are a cheap source of excellent produce, and since small farms hardly ever use pesticides, it’s usually organic–just remove the dirt if you want. Additionally, local foods are fresher than most of whatever you get at the store, so it lasts longer in your fridge and you won’t waste as much of it/need to replenish it as often.

These foods are the most satiating because they won’t make your blood glucose go up and down all day long and you’ll feel satisfied for hours.

You’ll cook & eat at home more

If you’re like me, most of your meals are prepared at home, so dining out is almost completely eliminated, if you want it to be (I’m preparing another piece on how it’s actually very easy to eat keto when eating food from restaurants).

So by avoiding expensive dining out, you save a lot of money

If you like, you can spend a little more on small quantities of the good stuff, like grass-fed butter, good oils/fats, local/heritage and/or pasture-raised meat and eggs, and the nicest organic produce.

No more being HANGRY

When you’re eating the most satiating and nutrient-rich foods, you’ll find you rarely feel hunger pains. But when you DO feel hunger, you’ll discover it’s not a HANGRY feeling. That’s because the hunger feel on keto is just a small sensation that doesn’t overpower your body to where you’re distracted from wanting to do anything until you stop and eat. It’s actually quite a liberating feeling.

What does hunger feel like on keto?

Once you’ve been following keto for awhile, hunger just kind of sits there in the background. It won’t bug you and should not become great or intensify much. So if you get busy for another few hours whether at school, at work, etc. and don’t have time to stop whatever you’re doing to eat something, your body just starts kicking in to its use of ketones.

This is what’s called becoming “fat-adapted” aka switching your body’s fuel burning mechanics from burning glucose (default), to burning fat (secondary). Both glucose and ketones are the body’s sources of energy/fuel. Once glycogen stores are burned up, the body begins looking for ketones.

Fat-adapting does not happen overnight, it takes a bit of work to get there. Making sure you keep carbs as low as possible ensures it happens sooner.

Once you master the keto lifestyle, it will help you more efficiently lose weight as well as keep your blood glucose in better check than with any other dietary effort.

You’ll eat less often

Once you’re fat-adapted for awhile, you can go half a day or even all day without feeling awful if you don’t eat any meals. If you do feel awful, then you should eat, and also make sure you are also drinking water if you get thirsty. Oh, and while you’re at it, make sure to get enough salt if you’re drinking lots of water and cooking everything from scratch and not out of a box or can.

This practice of not eating unless you’re hungry is basically what is referred to as intermittent fasting (I.F.) and something I do at least a few times a week. Basically, what I started doing was push my first meal back by a couple of hours and see how I felt. I did this as much as I could, then just ate my first meal when I got hungry, and most of the time, it wasn’t until afternoon.

Most of the time now I eat my first meal around noon, usually eggs and bacon or sausage, and keep it very low carb. I’m not usually hungry again until about about 5-6 p.m., so I get some dinner in (usually meat or fish).

Dessert on keto is a rare thing for me

I wasn’t ever really a dessert person, so I don’t eat dessert much on keto, either. But when I do, I’ll often skip the keto baked goods/treats, and have a piece of cheese and a cup of coffee or tea with heavy cream. Then I’m done eating within that 4-6 hour window and usually don’t eat again until the next day.

The body is amazing at self-maintenance. However, consider this…

Ever notice how most people think it’s normal to pretty much eat something not long after waking (breakfast), a meal around noon (lunch), and another in the early evening (dinner)? And maybe even some kind of snack an hour or two before bed? That’s a lot of eating. Could be anywhere from 10-14 hours in a day where you’re eating every few hours, which doesn’t give the body a chance to do much but digest food.

When you cut your eating window down to 5-8 hours a day (or less, if you want), you increase the opportunity for your body to not just burn fat, but also heal and repair itself.

I.F. is a healthy protocol for type II diabetics to follow because it helps control blood sugar very well without medication and it also helps increase insulin sensitivity.

Another benefit of becoming fat-adapted is that it suddenly occurs to you how great you’re sleeping through the night, and the burst of energy you have when you wake up can make you feel like you’re a kid again.

And since your blood glucose won’t be spiking and crashing all day long, you will find you’re not only elevating your energy and mood (no more dozing off at work or in the middle of the day). You will also find yourself able to go for hours and hours without hitting an energy slump and feeling like you need to snack to stay awake.

You’ll also find it hard not to notice how great you feel overall, both mentally and physically.

When you naturally find yourself no longer hungry from eating the right foods and eventually eliminating one or two meals and all snacks from  your day, you’re cooking and eating less, you buy less. 

How keto CAN be expensive:

• If you absolutely must buy only grass-fed, pasture raised, panda-massaged meats(thanks, Ken Berry) and only imported cheeses…

• If you are being swayed by keto products like protein bars, shakes, drink mixes, supplements and other products advertised as keto-friendly…

• If you go out to eat and feel like you MUST buy only the “keto” labeled items on a menu instead of learning which foods are actually low in carbs that you can put together yourself a la carte…

…then yes, keto is going to be expensive for you

In summary, keto saves you money because you’ll…

• have more satisfying & healthy food choices (even if they’re cheap, they’re still better than junk)
• save on eating out and ordering from restaurants
• not only consume less volume of food, but eat less often

It all adds up (or in this case, subtracts)!

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