The ketogenic diet is a very low-carb, high-fat diet to help you lose weight fast. To reduce your total carb intake, we chose five unique carb substitutes to share with you. Remember, the best way to track your progress is by using ketone strips and a ketones test. 

What are Ketones?

Ketones are made by your body when it burns fat for energy. When you decrease the amount of insulin produced in your body, glucose levels increase in the blood. The trick is that your body can't break down glucose for energy, so it goes after those unwanted fat stores.

Five Substitutes for Carbs

Make some changes in your food prep to ease the transition to a keto diet and remember to take a ketones test regularly to help keep you on track.

1. Substitute cauliflower for regular rice.

Rice is one of those foods that seems irreplaceable. If your meals seem incomplete without it, try to substitute cauliflower rice as your new favorite side dish. Need some motivation for this odd switch? A cup of rice has 45 grams of carbs, compared to cauliflower rice with 5 grams per cup. 

2. Replace tortillas with lettuce wraps.

Tortillas are delicious, no doubt about it. However, there are 98 grams of carbs in each crunchy serving. That is not going to get you a great ketones test score anytime soon. Use lettuce leaves to hold your yummy burrito ingredients. It's a fresh alternative for about 1 gram of carbs. You can use this to enjoy chicken salad and other delicious alternatives.

3. Moo-ve over whole milk, almond milk has fewer carbs.

If you grew up with whole cow's milk, it can be a real sacrifice to give it up. However, one serving has 11 grams of carbs. That may not seem like a lot, but it takes away from the carbs you can have in your meals. Try almond milk instead. With two grams of carbs per cup, it's a great way to save your carbs for your meal plan.

4. You can substitute regular flour for almond flour in pizza crust.

Pizza makes most people's mouth water and is a real American favorite. However, it's not part of any keto diet plan. That is, unless you substitute the traditional crust made of regular flour with almond flour. Try it before you knock it. It's delicious. A cup of wheat flour has 73g of carbs compared to 10g in a cup of almond flour.

5. Use stevia instead of sugar.

Sugar is something most people struggle with giving up on a keto diet. Stevia is very sweet and helps you ween yourself off your sugar addiction. It is a great sweetener that many people prefer due to the lack of carbs and calories.

Eating fewer carbs helps your body process fat for energy and is part of an overall weight loss strategy. Take a ketones test as recommended on your keto plan to measure where you are in the process to a more beautiful, healthier you.

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