Putting Keto on Auto-pilot

The 3 most important behaviors and practices that helped me.

For this post, I want to talk about how I have put keto on auto-pilot. In other words, things I’ve done to make this way of eating become second nature to me.

I was thinking the other day, about how the keto lifestyle can be hard for others to stick to. Mastering it comes down to a few factors. I figure anyone can change these to suit their own needs, and wanted to share them with you.

To easily stay on the ketogenic diet, here are the 3 most important behaviors and practices that helped me. Plus, a bonus 4th tip, for families/people who aren’t single.

The 3 Things That Helped Me Put Keto on Auto-pilot

1) I changed my shopping habits:

I don’t grocery shop the way most people do.

There are the folks who go to the store every day before or after work or school to pick up what they’ll eat that day.

You have the weekly shoppers who follow the sales religiously (like me) to buy what’s in season for the best quality foods, and to save money. 

There are also people who don’t like shopping and avoid it for as long as they can stand. This causes them to make poor choices and also check out with a huge purchase, inadvertently turning shopping into a big ordeal that takes several hours from the time they leave the house to until everything is put away. No thanks!

Years ago, I fell into the latter category. I used to HATE planning meals or figuring out what to or buy at the store SO MUCH, because I was obsessed with food.

As a former “balanced diet” advocate and mostly non-picky eater (there are a few things I can’t stand, like beets, hard-boiled eggs, or canned peas), I loved to eat all the things, and try new foods/products all the time.

Because of that, it seemed nearly impossible to decide each week what to make. I’d just get overwhelmed with the idea of meal planning and shopping, and I’d put it off. And put it off. And put it off some more.  

Putting off shopping meant I’d go less frequently, and once I was there, I’d need to purchase a lot of stuff, since I went so long between trips, that I’d be out of almost everything.

Then I’d buy way more stuff than I could carry to walk or get on the bus with, so I’d have to get a cab or an Uber, which would end up making the whole trip cost even more!

The past few years have made ordering groceries online and having them delivered to your door very common.

Online grocery shopping makes getting the actual shopping done and brought into the house slightly less of a chore. And now that I know what to buy each each week online, it saves time even more.

When shopping in the physical store, I pretty much only shop the perimeter aisles only.

The way my store is laid out, the order is: produce, then meat/fish, deli, then dairy. If I need coffee grounds, mustard, spices, or can of tomatoes, I’ll duck into one or two of those aisles as needed. I don’t pore over nearly every shelf like I used to, in search of things that could be construed as keto-friendly (most aren’t, so it’s easier in most cases, to avoid those aisles altogether).

Once I got into this practice, stores became easier for me to navigate, and shopping’s been a much quicker trip ever since. I also don’t procrastinate with shopping anymore! Why make more work for myself?

My house is entirely free of food items that are non-keto (most of them make me sick or stall my progress).

It’s because I do the shopping this way, that I tolerate going more frequently vs putting it off. I pull up the sales ad once a week before going to the store, and stick to shopping for keto foods in season, which makes it much easier to grab something keto-friendly to eat when I have NOT done any planning. This brings me to the next factor…

2) I’m not tempted to eat non-keto things when with others, or even alone

I’m a type 2 diabetic in remission, so I take care to ensure there are no food items in my house which aren’t keto-friendly or can make me sick, period. I even make my own keto condiments, seasoning blends, dressings, sauces, salsa, and dips.  

Crap. As I type this, there is a large jar of sweet pickles mocking me from the kitchen counter top.

While ordering groceries online the other day, I saw them on sale. The photo of the jar showed them labeled, “Spicy Hot” with a red chili pepper drawing, but the online store didn’t list the nutrition information, and didn’t say “sweet,” so I figured they’d be safe. The second ingredient listed is sugar. For just one spear, it’s 7 grams of carbs, 6 of those grams are from sugar. Oops. I hope my nephew likes them!

OK, so other than that jar of pickles, there’s not a drop or morsel of non-keto foods in my house. Granted, you may think I’m blessed to be able to say this. But in a bit, I’ll get on a soapbox and tell you why you are wrong, in point #4.

3) Everything that’s not on my eating plan is now invisible to me

Nearly literally everything not keto-friendly is off my radar. But it didn’t used to be.

In my keto newbie days, I thought everything could be keto if it fit into my macros. Well, I learned the hard way, it’s really not. While shopping or meal planning online, I’d check each and every label of things I hoped I could eat, rationalizing that canned cream of chicken soup shouldn’t contain much more than cream and chicken, right?

Riiiight. I’d look at the label on the can and pretend not to see “flour, soybean oil, dextrose (and other crapola I couldn’t pronounce)” and justify that 15 net carbs per serving is FINE.  “I’ll just make sure to watch my net carbs the rest of the day, whee!”

That never happened—instead, I became overwhelmed with the idea of justifying every “normal” food as keto with this mindset.

Clearly, one serving (half a can) of that soup is a sad meal, and with those 15 grams, I could instead load up on a meal comprised of more nutrient-dense, whole food ingredients with less carbs and be more satisfied. Besides, who wants soup with flour, dextrose, and seed oil? Gross. Regularly eating that kind of stuff is how many of us unknowingly got fat in the first place. 

When we eat processed packaged food products, not only are we wasting our macros on junk that’s not nutritious, we’re also continuing the cycle of consuming things that keep us hungry all the time. When you stick to basic whole foods, that doesn’t happen. In fact, most people who are keto for some time report almost no hunger for most of the day, or even longer.

It was clear after awhile that I wasn’t doing it right. I looked at more keto blogs, recipes, and forums, to see what others were eating, and it helped a lot. I knew from what they would list what kinds of things I’d like/dislike, and get ideas to use when shopping. Then I started only shopping keto groceries on sale by season.

So believe it or not…I don’t even see the other “foods” anymore, because I steer clear, knowing it will make me sick, and fat.

If you live with other people who aren’t on board with how you eat, you may view my ability to avoid non-keto food items as “lucky” or disagree strongly with me that it’s easy to stay keto.

Living alone isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. There are many benefits to living with others, I’m just not a person who does it very well. So of course, living alone does make it much easier to keep keto and not stray from it since I don’t have others to feed, who likely may not be into what I’m into when it comes to food…uh-oh, watch out… there’s that soapbox I warned you about!

marches up to soapbox, megaphone in hand… 

#4 GET EVERYONE IN YOUR HOUSE ON KETO!

You may know there is a point of contention with keto-ers online whenever they see or hear someone else tell them to “just get your kids and/or spouse to eat the same as you do,” and it probably makes you angry. But I want you to know that if this is a major area which is causing you to struggle to stick with the ketogenic lifestyle, it can be done.

Removing sugars, starches, grains, and seed oils from your household may be a challenge if anyone in your family is already addicted to these food-like substances.

I’m not surprised at any parents out there who may be reading this and wondering why on earth I would advise taking certain food items away from the people you love. Especially if those people are relatively healthy to start with.  

But if you want them to STAY healthy, there’s something I’d like to point out: YOU already know why following the ketogenic diet/way of eating has been healthier for YOU, so why deprive your loved ones of the same gift?  

Yes, I said “addicted,” and “food-like” substances. They aren’t the same as real foods (which humans thrived on for nearly tens of thousands of years before mass agriculture introduced them to us). But there are things you can do to help get your family OFF these products, to avoid future weight issues, diabetes, etc.   

If you’re struggling with getting family members at home to eat better…

I got you! I’ve published a separate piece that outlines a few things you can try that may work effectively to get your family on the keto train with you.

In summary…

Since I’ve gotten keto on auto-pilot, I’ve become a much more relaxed and contented person.

I enjoy shopping now (most of the time). I’m not tempted by non-keto eating at all (not even one tiny bit), and I’m in complete control.

It’s sort of a circle, really. Keeping on track with organization and accountability helps us stay on keto, and eating whole foods that are nutritious literally makes us physically happier, and mentally, in the long run.  

I do believe keto has really helped boost my overall state of mind and mood.

Additionally, I’m no longer overwhelmed with what I can/can’t eat, because it’s straightforward. I also combine keto with several hours of fasting per day. The combination of these two things have made managing day-to-day life much easier for me, with the added benefit of time I’ve saved just not eating because I’m not hungry.

So tell me, have you gotten keto on auto-pilot yet? Would like to hear your experiences or tips on how you make keto easier for yourself. Comment below!