| How to Promote a Product Posted: 20 May 2021 01:00 AM PDT Promotion is one of the best ways to turn a solid idea into actual profits. Whatever your role in the business world happens to be, if you're trying to sell a product, you'll want to boost your sales and build brand recognition with an intelligent, well-balanced promotional effort. While a lot of this may sound complicated, keep in mind that it's fairly easy once you've done your market analysis and figured out what kind of promotion you want to run. That's why we've done a good chunk of the research for you, so read on to see which ideas make the most sense for your product! [Edit]Research your market. - Analyze your product and identify your market to choose a promotional plan. Start by asking yourself, "Who would want this product?" The answer will guide your research and promotional ideas. You can use focus groups or hire a marketing research firm to do this research for you. You can also ask people what they think of your product. Often, it's going to be really easy to intuit who wants your product. For example, a selfie-filter app is obviously going to appeal to millennials.[1]
- Use statistics from the Census Bureau and Department of Labor and free consumer reports from companies like Nielsen to figure out who your ideal customer is.[2]
- Looking at your competitors can give you some insight. What does their branding look like? What kind of incentives do they use?
- Understanding your target demographic is going to make it much easier to figure out what kind of promotion you want to pursue—younger consumers are unlikely to listen to radio ads, while older buyers are unlikely to peruse social media accounts, for example.
[Edit]Develop your promotional materials. - Craft advertising materials and graphics to promote your product. You can either design and write the promotional materials yourself, or hire a designer or copywriter to do it for you. Make all of your promotional efforts clear, quick, and informative. Prioritize the most important information about your product, like whatever makes it a better product than its competitors.[3]
- Remember, a short, memorable ad is much more effective than a super-detailed or crowded ad. Just keep it simple!
- Take the totality of your content into account from a consumer's perspective. The colors, typeface, visuals, and branding are all working together to create a feeling. Look at your copy and ask yourself, "Would I buy this?" If you have a good answer, great! If you don't, keep working at it![4]
[Edit]Create flyers or brochures. - Put some informative material together to educate consumers. Design a flyer or brochure together to educate potential clients and consumers on what the benefits of your product are. You can include any studies or testimonials, or break down the benefits in easy-to-understand language. Like ad materials, you can either design these yourself, or hire a professional designer to do it for you. Get your materials professionally printed on quality cardstock to give your business a professional vibe.[5]
- You can also create something called a one-sheet, which is a breakdown of all of the products and services your business offers. If you go this route, highlight the new product you want to promote by giving it top billing on your sheet.
[Edit]Use traditional advertising to promote locally. - Old school advertising is great if you aren't shipping products or selling online. Traditional forms of advertising cost money, so carefully consider who is likely to view or hear your advertisement before paying for advertising space or time. Prioritize visual ad space in the most high-traffic areas to get the most eyes on your product, and schedule TV and radio ads to run during the most popular time slots.[6]
- Newspapers/magazines are great for older consumers. Ads here are solely visual, so focus on attention-grabbing imagery. The price of the ad usually based on its size and location.
- Billboards are good at generating brand awareness. They're solely visual, like newspapers and magazines. Often, drivers can only safely look at the billboard for a second or two, so try to convey your message as quickly as possible.
- Television is a solid platform for younger consumers. These ads incorporate audio and visuals. There are many options here, but short ads are always cheaper, so try to make your ad as "lean" as possible.
- Radio is a phenomenal way to target specific demographics, since different groups of people are attracted to different stations. Ads are solely audio-based, so you may need to be creative to effectively convey your message. Catchy jingles or slogans are a smart bet.
[Edit]Go for online ads to promote across the globe. - Digital advertising is best if you run an online shop or digital service. Unless you know how to code, you'll need to hire a software engineer or digital marketing firm for this. But it can be well worth the investment; online advertisements are especially effective at drawing attention to a product. If you aren't running a local shop, you're willing to ship products, or you're promoting a digital service or app, this is a phenomenal way to go.[7] Some of the opportunities for paid online advertising include:
- Pop-up ads can appear on any website. Notoriously annoying, pop-up ads (and related variants) are just what they sound like—windows that "pop up" as a user views a website and display an ad. They aren't popular, but they can work!
- Banner ads show up on the sides and top of any webpage. Like ads in a magazine, these ads sit adjacent to content on the page. Though not as annoying as pop-up ads, these are still often rendered moot by ad-blocking software.
- Search engine ads. These ads appear at the top (or along the sides) of search engine results when a potential customer searches for key words related to your product. Consider hiring an SEO (search engine optimization) firm if you go this route so that your ads appear higher in search results.
- Content marketing. This refers to articles, videos, and essays that either focus on your product exclusively, or reference it in passing in a positive way.
[Edit]Pay for views on Google Ads. - Set up a Google Ads account to pay for clicks and views. Google Ads is an easy way to promote your business or product online. Sign up for a free account and include the link to your business page alongside a short, punchy description of your service. Set your budget and include the maximum amount you'd like to bid on a given keyword. Google will automatically display your ad if their algorithms determine your bid is successful.[8]
- You have three options when it comes to ways you can bid on your keywords. You can use:[9]
- Cost-per-click (CPC). You will only pay a fee when a user clicks on your link.
- Cost-per-mile (CPM). You will only pay for every 1000 ad appearances.
- Cost-per-engagement (CPE). You only pay when a user does something on your website, like watch a video or sign up for an account.
[Edit]Leverage social media posts. - This is an awesome way to advertise online for free. While pop-ups and banner ads cost money, advertising on Facebook or Twitter is free. Use your company's social media accounts to share fun information about your product with others online. You can even live stream, or comment on other people's posts to draw more attention to your page. Social media is also a great place to showcase other promotions, like discounts and giveaways.[10]
- Remember, most people on social media aren't looking to be sold a product. Instead of directly advertising, try posting interesting, relevant content that will build awareness about your product. Be inviting and playful, not cold and calculated with your posts.[11]
- Interact with the people who comment on your posts and ask you questions about your product. The more engagement you get, the more likely you'll be to see growth!
[Edit]Use paid social media ads. - Social media advertising is a uniquely strong way to push a product. Advertising on social media gives consumers the chance to comment on your ads and interact with other consumers who are interested in your product. You can also tailor your ads to appear to specific demographics of people based on other things they've looked for online. Most social media sites also allow you to track your ROI (return on investment), so that you can see how much benefit you're getting from your ads.[12]
- Instagram, LinkedIn, are Facebook are especially popular venues for social media advertising.
- You can also pay to promote your social media's posts. This is a good way to get more people interacting with your
[Edit]Run a promotional deal. - Give out coupons, special discounts, or deals to attract customers. Most people dislike the idea of "missing out" on a good deal, so they're more likely to buy a product if there's some sort of special bonus that's not normally available. A lot of consumers will buy something they wouldn't have normally purchased just because it's on sale or comes with some kind of extra benefit.[13] Potential incentives include:
- New member discounts. If you offer cheaper prices for people who make an account, sign up for a mailing list, or become a member of your service, you'll build up a larger reoccurring customer base.
- Buy-one-get-one-free deals. Offer the customer a free reward (this can be more of your product or a different product entirely) if they buy a certain amount of your product.
- Holiday deals and sales. Running a promotion for holidays is a great way to generate new business. People tend to buy more goods on certain holidays, and a sale is a great way to attract folks.
- Rebates. By putting the responsibility to claim a discount on the customer after the purchase has been made, you can save money relative to other promotional deals because many will forget or neglect to send in their rebates.
[Edit]Use influencers to push your product. - Ask popular influencers to review your product online. Influencers are well known members of an industry who people trust, such as hairstylists who have a strong social media presence and review hair products. Identify influencers in your industry who might be able to spread the word about your product and make an impact on its reception. Contact 2-3 influencers via email to try out your product and review it.[14]
- You can offer to give them your product for free in exchange for the review. If they're an especially popular influencer, they may ask for some kind of monetary compensation on top of it.
- For example, if you're developing a fitness app, you might ask a popular fitness guru from Instagram to try the app and review it on their platform.
[Edit]Create a rewards program. - Rewards programs are a great way to keep customers loyal. Offering discounts, deals, and special privileges to loyal customers is a great way to keep customers coming back. When you're promoting your new product, offer reward program members a discount or free reward. The same way you want to demonstrate your product's value to your customer, you also want to demonstrate your customer's value to your company.[15]
- This is a great option if you have an established business and you're trying to get a brand new product off the ground. By getting your first round of inventory into your most loyal customers' hands, they'll be able to spread the word on your product's quality.
[Edit]Give out free samples. - Offer a free sample to customers to get them to try your product. Nothing shows confidence in your product like letting your customer sample it for free before buying. Additionally, a customer is more likely to buy something if they have just experienced its benefits. You can't do this with every product, but if you can let folks "test drive" your product, they'll be more likely to buy it.[16]
- A sample doesn't just refer to food products. The same principle applies to other products and services. For instance, if you're selling cars, test drives or a free trial subscription to an online service are the rough equivalent of a free sample.
[Edit]Hire a marketing firm. - If all of this sounds like a lot, pay someone else to do it! There are tons of marketing firms out there that specialize in creating promotional materials and getting them out into the world. If you have a lot on your hands or crafting your own materials seems like a tall order, paying someone else to do it for you will make things a lot easier. Contact a reputable marketing firm in your area and sit down to discuss a deal.[17]
- If you only need a little bit of extra help coming up with designs or slogans, hire a consulting firm to help you out.
- There are marketing firms out there that specialize in TV ads, radio, or print media. Check each firm's website to see what kind of marketing they specialize in.
- Having a professional-looking website will help boost sales and promote your products.
- Before you start promoting a product, make sure the product is compliant and legal. You don't want to run into trouble down the line because you didn't dot all of your Is and cross your Ts.[18]
- If you want to start promoting your product in a different geographic location, make sure you research that geographic market first. Just because your product does well in one location doesn't necessarily mean it will do as well somewhere new.[19]
- Carefully time the release of your product. For example, releasing a product before the holidays when everyone is shopping may increase your sales.[20]
[Edit]References [Edit]Quick Summary |
| How to Use Yoga to Stay Healthy Posted: 19 May 2021 05:00 PM PDT Yoga is an ancient practice that can help you relieve stress and keep you energized and focused throughout your day. You don't have to be the most accomplished yogi to use yoga to stay healthy – just grab a mat and commit a few minutes each day to your practice. Over time, you'll notice your muscles are stronger and your body works more smoothly.[1] [Edit]Overcoming Anxiety - Find a comfortable place. Yogic breathing and meditation can help calm your mind and relax your body, especially when you are feeling stressed out. To gain these benefits, find a cool, quiet place with few distractions.[2]
- While it can be relaxing to meditate in a public park, if you are a beginner you may want to be somewhere more private so you can fully relax.
- Start by getting into a comfortable seated position – either cross-legged or in a chair with your feet on the floor.
- Start with deep breathing. Deep yogic breathing will help relax and center you. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose to the depths of your chest, imagining that you are slowly filling your lungs from the bottom to the top.[3]
- When you've inhaled as much as you can, pause for a moment to appreciate the feeling of your lungs being full of air. Then slowly exhale out of your mouth, thinking about releasing the air from your lungs from the top all the way to the bottom.
- Pause again when you've exhaled all the air before beginning an inhale again. Continue this cycle, keeping your mind focused on your breath.
- Progress to breath of fire. Breath of fire is a powerful breathing technique that will give you energy. Use it especially when you find yourself dragging during the day or losing focus.[4]
- Start with long, deep breathing. With breath of fire, rather than pausing and slowly exhaling, you will push the air out of your lungs quickly and forcefully out your mouth. As soon as most of the air in your lungs is gone, immediately inhale as much air as you can forcefully.
- Engage your abdominals to push the air out when you exhale. With every breath cycle, try to inhale and exhale a little faster.
- Ground yourself with alternate nostril breathing. After doing some deep yogic breathing to start, place your right thumb over your right nostril and inhale deeply through your left nostril. When you've inhaled all you can, use your fourth finger to close off your left nostril and lift your thumb so that you can exhale out of your right nostril. Next, inhale through your right nostril, then cover it with your thumb. Lift your fourth finger so you can exhale out of your left nostril.[5]
- Focus your mind on your breath, continuing this cycle for three to five minutes.
- Try a guided meditation. You can take a guided meditation class, or look for free guided meditation recordings online. Recordings also may include relaxing music or other sound effects that will aid in relaxation.[6]
- Close your eyes and focus on the voice, visualizing the images the voice tells you to in your mind. Guided meditations give you something to focus on, which can be useful when you're just starting to meditate and don't have practice clearing your mind.
- Establish a regular practice of meditating for 5 to 10 minutes a day, either in the morning or in the evening before you go to bed. Over time you'll notice a difference in your anxiety levels and your mental focus and clarity.
- Practice mindfulness in everyday life. When you focus on your breath while meditating, you are being mindful of your breath. You can expand this mindfulness to other areas of your life. Actually focus on the things that you do throughout the day, rather than going through tasks on auto pilot while your mind is elsewhere.[7]
- When you act consciously and mindfully, you'll see an impact in your health and well-being. For example, if you eat mindfully, you may find that you lose weight and adopt more healthy eating habits.
- Use equal breathing before sleep. Equal breathing is kind of like counting sheep, and allows you to focus on your breath to calm your body and stop your mind from racing at the end of a long and hectic day.[8]
- Start by inhaling deeply as you count to four. Then immediately exhale for a count of four. Continue the cycle, focusing on the inhale and exhale being completely equal.
- With practice, you can lengthen your count to five, six, or even eight.
[Edit]Strengthening Your Body - Use planks and side planks to build a strong core. You may be familiar with plank exercises from other workouts. The same pose exists in yoga, with more focus on maintaining a deep breath to strengthen your abdominal muscles.[9]
- For a full plank pose, support yourself over the floor on your hands and toes so that your body is a straight line more or less parallel with the floor. Make sure your wrists are directly under your shoulders, and cup your palms to place less stress on the joint. If you're struggling to hold yourself up, modify the plank by resting on your forearms instead of your hands.
- For a side plank, start in a full plank position. To do a right side plank, shift your weight to the right and support yourself on your right hand, with your arm still extended toward the floor. Then, move your left leg and foot on top of your right leg and foot. Next, raise your left arm up toward the sky, perpendicular to your body. If you're struggling to hold yourself up, modify the plank so that you're resting on your forearm. To do a left side plank, shift to the left side and stack your right leg and foot on top of your left.
- Try boat and low boat for lower abdominals and hips. Both boat and low boat require every muscle in your core and hips to be engaged. Get into boat pose by sitting on your mat with your knees bent so that your feet are flat on the floor in front of you.[10]
- Extend your arms out in front of you, palms just to the side of either knee. Lean back so that your torso is at about a 45-degree angle from the floor, then lift your feet to straighten your legs. Try to angle your legs upward at the same angle as your torso.
- To progress into low boat, simply lower your torso until your lower back is flat on the floor. Lower your legs at the same angle at the same time, keeping your core engaged. Don't forget to maintain your deep breath.
- Hold these poses for 3 to 5 breath cycles.
- Work your arms and legs with chair pose. Come to a standing position with your arms loosely to your sides to get into chair pose. Slide your feet together so that your big toes are touching, heels slightly apart. Focus on your breath.[11]
- As you inhale, extend your arms straight up toward the ceiling. You can keep them apart with palms facing each other, or bring your palms together above your head.
- On an exhale, bend your knees and lower your hips to the floor. Try to keep your knees from projecting out over your toes. They will move forward a little, but keep your shins as perpendicular to the floor as possible.
- Hold the pose for 5 to 10 breath cycles, breathing deeply. Make sure your shoulders are rolled back and not hunched. Squeeze a yoga block or a book between your knees to further build your thigh muscles.
- Progress through a warrior flow. Moving through the three main warrior poses provides a whole body workout, particularly strengthening your legs, back, and shoulders. From standing, step one foot back into a high lunge position to start.[12]
- The toes of your front foot should be pointed forward, with your knee at a right angle directly over your ankle. Point the toes of your back foot slightly to the side, so that your back foot is at a 45 degree angle. Keep your hips facing forward. Raise your arms straight overhead into Warrior I.
- From Warrior I, drop your arms down to shoulder level and extend them out parallel to the floor. Slide your back foot to the side, so that it's parallel to the back of your mat and perpendicular to your front foot. Twist and open your shoulders into Warrior II with your arms directly over your legs.
- From Warrior II, turn to face forward, bringing both arms out directly in front of you. Raise up onto your front leg, standing firmly on your foot. Slowly lift your back leg up behind you as you hinge forward from your hips. Firm up your standing leg to maintain your balance in Warrior III.
- Make sure to repeat the entire sequence on the other side.
- Strengthen your spine with downward facing dog. Downward facing dog is a classic yoga pose that also provides strengthening benefits for your entire body. To get into downward facing dog, start on your hands and knees on the floor. Make sure your knees are directly under your hips, your wrists directly under your shoulders.[13]
- On an exhale, straighten your legs, lifting your hips up towards the ceiling. Roll over your feet onto your toes, stretching your heels down towards the floor. Your arms should be extended straight towards the floor. Roll your shoulders back so that your shoulder blades run along the sides of your spine.
- Stay in downward dog for 5 to 10 deep breaths, pulling down through your heels and up through your shoulders to maintain weight balance and distribution. Relax your neck and allow your head to lower.
- Relax in child's pose. Child's pose is a common way to end any yoga routine, because it allows your body to relax and allows you to return your focus to your breath. Child's pose also provides strengthening and lengthening for your spine and back muscles.[14]
- Lower onto all fours from downward dog, then continue to drive your hips back until you are resting on your heels. You can draw your knees together or keep them spread.
- Hinge forward from the hips as you slide your hands forward, folding over your legs to the floor. Rest your forehead on the floor if it's comfortable. If you don't want to rest your head on the floor, layer your forearms in front of you, then rest your head on your arms. As another alternative, you can rest your head on a yoga block.
- Make sure you don't let your head dangle, as this can cause neck injury.
[Edit]Improving Organ Function - Warm up with the cat/cow stretch. Moving between the cat and cow poses is a good way to loosen up your spine and warm up your entire body as you start a yoga routine. It also stimulates your internal organs and increases circulation to your torso.[15]
- Start on all fours with your knees directly under your hips and your wrists in line with your shoulders.
- On an inhale, arch your back, pressing your tailbone into the air. Drop your shoulders down your back and cast your gaze forward. This is the cow pose.
- As you exhale, round your back, curling your shoulders downward. Drop your gaze down to the floor. This is the cat pose.
- Continue going back and forth between cat and cow, with a breath between each movement, for 10 to 20 deep breath cycles.
- Relieve congestion with a forearm wheel. The forearm wheel helps open your chest to help clear your lungs, and also helps activate your metabolism. Prep for the forearm roll by laying on your back on the floor.[16]
- Bend your knees so your feet are flat on the floor, and slowly press your hips up into a backbend. Keep lifting until you can place the crown of your head gently on the floor, then place your forearms flat on the floor on either side of your head.
- Hold the position for 5 to 10 breath cycles, breathing deeply, then slowly lower your hips to the floor and return to a reclined position.
- Stimulate your liver and kidneys with a seated forward fold. The seated forward fold stimulates your lower internal organs to improve digestion as well as providing some relief for high blood pressure, sinusitis, and sexual disfunction.[17]
- Come to a comfortable seat on the floor. You may want to support yourself with a folded blanket so that you are sitting with correct posture. Extend your legs out in front of you, flexing your feet and pressing through your heels actively.
- As you inhale, hinge forward from your hips, keeping your back long, and fold over the tops of your legs. Grab the sides of your feet with your hands. If you can't fold that far, you can grab your legs instead, or use a yoga strap to maintain the correct position.
- Hold the pose for 10 to 10 deep breath cycles. With each inhale, think about lifting and lengthening your spine. With each exhale, try to sink a little deeper into the fold.
- Use the wind-relieving pose to improve digestion. The wind-relieving pose, as the name implies, can help relieve gas, bloating, and indigestion. You may want to make sure you have some privacy before you do this pose.[18]
- Prepare for this pose by lying on your back on the floor. Keep your feet together and rest your arms by your side. As you exhale, grasp your right knee with your hand and press it toward your chest. Hold the pose as you take several deep breaths. Then release and repeat with the other leg.
- You also can do this pose raising both legs at the same time. Press them to your chest. You can rock up and down or roll around to stimulate your spine and increase relaxation.
- Boost your metabolism with raised legs pose. The raised leg pose can stimulate your abdominal organs, particularly if you remember to engage the muscles in your core while holding this pose.
- Lie on your back on the floor with your legs extended out and pressed together. You can rest your arms at your sides, or place them under your buttocks, palms down, to help support your lower back.
- On an inhale, slowly raise your feet until your legs are at a 90-degree angle from your body. Lower your legs to the floor as you exhale, but don't let them fall all the way to the ground. Remember to engage your core.
- Repeat the cycle for 5 to 10 breath cycles.
- Rest in corpse pose. The corpse pose is the ultimate yoga pose for healing and relaxation. This pose helps increase your blood flow to all your organs. To get into corpse pose, simply recline on your back and extend your arms to your sides, palms up.[19]
- Breathe deeply, relaxing all your muscles. It can help to think about your body sinking or melting into the floor. Press your lower back firmly to the floor and focus on your breath. You can stay in corpse pose as long as you feel comfortable.
[Edit]References
[Edit]Quick Summary |
| How to Count Fat on Keto Posted: 19 May 2021 09:00 AM PDT Of all the low-carb diets out there, the ketogenic, or "keto," diet is unique because of its high fat intake. It might seem contradictory to think that you could lose fat on a high-fat diet, but keto has a strong success rate in the short term (less than a year). If you're interested in this diet, you likely have questions about how you count fat on keto and what types of fat you should be eating. Here, we've compiled answers to some of your most common questions about consuming fat on keto so you can decide if this is the way for you to jumpstart your weight loss journey.[1] [Edit]How much fat can I have on the keto diet? - Generally, at least 70% of your calories should come from fats. The specific amount of fat that you need for the keto diet depends on the total number of calories you're consuming in a day. However, even if you're not specifically counting calories, you can still stick to the keto diet by keeping all of your meals within the set proportion of about 70-80% fat, 5-10% carbs, and 10-20% protein.[2]
- For example, if you were eating 2,000 calories a day, you'd need to eat roughly 165 grams of fat. For reference, 6 large eggs have about 30 grams of fat.[3]
[Edit]What types of fat are best to eat? - Most keto diets encourage large amounts of saturated fats. Sources of these fats to eat include eggs, coconut oil, fatty fish, olive oil, butter from grass-fed cows, and fatty cuts of red meat (such as porterhouse and t-bone steaks). While you can also eat foods with unsaturated fats, such as nuts, avocados, and tofu, they aren't really the focus of most keto diet plans.[4]
- This is the primary way that keto differs from other diets and from health advice generally, which cautions you to limit saturated fats. If you stay on the keto diet for more than a few months, you could end up with high levels of LDL cholesterol, which is linked to heart disease.
[Edit]Is it even necessary to count grams of fat on keto? - Pay more attention to carbs and protein. The carbs and protein you eat are seriously limited on a keto diet, but fat isn't. Fat simply makes up the rest of your daily calories—as long as you're tracking your carbs and protein, your fat should fall right into place.[5]
- On a typical keto diet, 5-10% of your daily calories come from carbs and 10-20% come from protein. The remainder comes from fat. Set the amount of carbs and protein you need to eat and don't eat any more than that. If you eat more fat, that's simply lowering the percentage of carbs and protein in your diet.
[Edit]Do I count total fat or saturated fat? - All fat counts for the purposes of your fat macro. The keto diet focuses on 3 macros: fat, carbs, and protein. If you're trying to track the amount of fat you eat in a day, include all the fat you eat. You'll still want to break it down into types of fat, though, to make sure the bulk of your fat is coming from saturated and monounsaturated fats.[6]
- Generally, consume natural fats, such as those that come from butter from grass-fed cows, olive oil, and coconut oil. Limit "yellow oils," such as vegetable and seed oils. These tend to be highly processed and also contain high levels of polyunsaturated fat, which is the type you should be limiting on a keto diet.
[Edit]How do I determine my fat goal? - Figure out your carbs and protein first, then fill out the rest with fat. Generally, the specific amount of fat you want to consume on a keto diet depends on the number of calories you're aiming to consume in a day. Since carbs and protein are limited on keto, you want to find those numbers first. The remaining calories in your diet should come from fat.[7]
- For example, assume you're planning on eating 2,000 calories a day. If you want 10% of those calories to come from carbs and 20% to come from protein, you would need to eat 200 calories worth of carbs and 400 calories worth of protein. That leaves you with 1,400 calories worth of fat.
- To figure out food portions, remember 4-4-9: 4 calories in a gram of carbohydrate, 4 calories in a gram of protein, and 9 calories in a gram of fat.[8] So 1,400 calories ends up being roughly 156 grams of fat.
- While this doesn't necessarily mean you have to constantly count calories on keto, you'll need a ballpark idea of the number of calories you want to consume each day. Use that number to figure out generally how much fat you need to be eating, then go from there.
[Edit]Do I need to hit my fat goal every day? - Focus more on meeting your carb and protein goals. As long as your carb and protein macros are still good, it's fine if you're not hitting your fat goal. Falling short of your fat goal throws off the total number of calories you're consuming, though, which can bump up your carb and protein percentages.[9]
- In the keto diet, fat's function is to help you feel full. If you feel hungry, you need to eat more fat. If you're restricting your fat intake, you're probably not going to lose as much weight as you could be.
- When you're just starting out on keto, you'll probably find that you need to eat more fat to feel full. This is because your body's still adjusting to the diet. Once you've been on the diet for a week or so, you might start to feel full with less fat—which might mean you need to adjust your macros accordingly.
[Edit]What happens if I don't eat enough fat on keto? - If you don't eat enough fat, you might not go into ketosis. Generally, the amount of fat you eat on a keto diet isn't that big of a deal, as long as you're not replacing that fat with carbs or proteins. Eat too much protein and not enough fat, though, and your body won't go into ketosis—which sort of negates the point of the diet.[10]
- Even if you are in ketosis, if you eat less fat, you'll probably notice that you lose less weight. But as long as you keep your carbs and proteins in check, you'll be fine.
[Edit]What are fat bombs? - Fat bombs are snacks that help you fill you up without adding carbs and protein. If you're on the keto diet, too many carbs and proteins are the big no-nos. Fat bombs, on the other hand, are close to 100% fat. So if you start to feel hungry, drop a fat bomb![11]
- You can buy commercial fat bombs online or in the diet section of most grocery stores—or you can make your own. Search online for fat bomb recipes and experiment with ingredients until you find the combinations you like the best.
- Most fat bombs are made of a creamy base, such as cream cheese or peanut butter, with other keto-friendly ingredients, such as dark chocolate chips or bacon, added in. You just roll them into balls and freeze them for a couple of hours—no baking required![12]
[Edit]Is it possible to eat too much fat on keto? - Not really, but you want to make sure you're consuming the right types of fat. Fat has gotten a bad rap, and that makes a lot of dieters wary about eating too much of it. But there's a difference between body fat (which you want to lose) and dietary fat (the stuff you eat). As long as the bulk of the dietary fat you're consuming is natural fat, you shouldn't have any problems.[13]
- Fat from highly processed oils, as well as trans fats, might have other negative health consequences, so it's best to avoid those. But keep in mind that would be true whether you were on keto or not.
- Only eat as much fat as you need to feel full. If you're just mindlessly eating more fat than you need to satisfy hunger, you'll slow down or even stop weight loss. Your body isn't going to burn stored fat when it can burn the fat you have coming in.[14]
[Edit]What's the most important macro to track? - If you're only going to track one macro, make it carbs. Keto is a low-carb diet, so your carb macro is an absolute limit. Maybe you can consume fewer carbs and be fine, but if you consume more carbs than your limit, your body won't go into ketosis.[15]
- Your total carbs may vary depending on the specific plan you're following and the number of calories you consume in a day, but all keto diets restrict carbs to 50g or less per day. To put this into perspective, a single medium plain bagel has more carbs than that.
- Protein is second in importance to carbs. If you don't consume enough protein, your body will start burning muscle fiber for energy instead of the fat you want it to burn. On the other hand, if you eat too much protein, your body won't go into ketosis, so keep that in mind as well.
[Edit]Why is there so much conflicting advice on keto? - Advice on keto can be contradictory because there's no single standard keto diet. While all keto diets significantly reduce carbs and protein, they also all vary in terms of how you measure and track what you're eating. Some advocate certain foods while others tell you to avoid them.[16] All the contradictions can lead to confusion—that coupled with the heavily restrictive nature of the diet is what makes it so difficult to follow for very long.[17]
- If you're just getting started with keto, choose a plan that you think will work for you and that includes lots of foods you enjoy. If you're eating things you like, you're less likely to think about all the things that you're missing.
- Make sure you're eating a variety of foods on keto and not just focusing on high-fat foods. Meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds are all important to ensure you get enough of the nutrients your body needs.[18]
[Edit]Warnings - Talk to your doctor before you start the keto diet so they can monitor your health. Your doctor or a nutritionist can also suggest meal plans that take your current health condition into account.[19]
- The ketogenic diet is not meant to be followed long-term (more than a year). There might be health complications, including an increased risk of kidney stones, osteoporosis, and gout.[20]
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