How to Start Keto the Easy Way: Taper Down Instead of Going Strict on Day One
In this video
Seven minutes on tapering into keto. I recommended it even though I said in the video that I didn't do it myself.
- [0:00] Getting into ketosis means drawing down blood glucose and the glycogen in your liver and muscles. Your body needs several weeks to build up the enzymes to run well on the products of ketosis.
- [0:39] So if you go strict from minute one, you're "basically guaranteed to crash" (from the video). Hence tapering, which I didn't do.
- [1:19] Low-carb diets have a lot of keto's benefits in the literature. Step one is dropping the obvious grains and starches: noodles, rice, bread.
- [2:01] Then carrots and corn. On the usual meat-starch-vegetable plate, drop the starch and skip the rolls. That's a third to two-thirds of your carbs gone.
- [2:47] That may be enough for weeks one and two. Go in steps: normal, then low carb, then keto, then extra restrictions only if you need them.
- [3:29] Something like dairy comes last. Check the drinks: creamer, milk in coffee and tea, juice.
- [4:08] Then the sauces, the teriyaki-type ones. But keep the salads, because fibre matters.
- [4:51] Spinach and arugula for vitamins and minerals. Add chicken, cheese, egg and a high-fat dressing, and leave the carrots off.
- [5:32] For a partner or family who won't go full keto, just cutting the starchy sides moves them a long way.
Watching this in 2026
This is one of the more honest videos I made. In the same breath that I tell you to taper, I say I didn't (video qfy0IBkPF4A). In a July 2017 video I'd said I didn't taper, so I couldn't tell anyone how (video DoSUgIr2rNo). A month later I'd laid out an order of operations anyway.
What I like about the plan is that every step is something you can see on a plate. "Drop the starch side" needs no app, no macro calculator and no food scale. That's the de-complicating I kept coming back to: the more complicated it gets, the less likely you are to stay with it (video UygKGoP_BtA).
The line about family holds up too. You don't have to put the people you live with on a diet. Not serving everything on rice and noodles changes their plate without a conversation.
The claim worth unpacking: is low carb enough?
At [1:19] I said low-carb diets carry a lot of keto's benefit. People in keto groups still argue that "it's not keto, it's low carb." Here's what the trials on the ketosis evidence page show.
- DIETFITS (Gardner et al., 2018) followed 609 adults for 12 months. Healthy low-carb lost 6.0 kg and healthy low-fat lost 5.3 kg, not a significant difference. The low-carb arm was moderate, not ketogenic.
- Across 13 trials of a year or more, very-low-carb ketogenic diets came out 0.91 kg ahead of low-fat (95% CI −1.65 to −0.17) (Bueno et al., 2013).
- Diabetes UK says low-carbohydrate diets can work short-term for weight and blood sugar, and that there's no single ideal macronutrient ratio (Diabetes UK, 2018).
So the gap between moderate low-carb and full keto, on weight over a year, is small. That supports the 2017 point. Low carb is a legitimate stopping place, and keto is one further step, not a different universe. If low carb is where you're comfortable, that's a choice, not a failure. The comparison is laid out in keto vs low carb.
The line to check: "guaranteed to crash"
I don't have a trial comparing a taper with a cold start, and the evidence pages don't list one. What they do have is a content analysis of online posts. Reported keto flu symptoms clustered in the first weeks and were mostly described as passing (Bostock et al., 2020).
So "guaranteed" was too strong. Plenty of people go strict and feel fine. Tapering is a reasonable way to soften those first weeks, not a proven requirement. Electrolytes and greens matter whichever route you take. See is keto flu real?.
Who should taper with their doctor
If you take medication for diabetes, tell your doctor before you start cutting carbs, even gradually. Cutting total carbohydrate is the approach with the most evidence for improving blood sugar (American Diabetes Association, Evert et al., 2019). Your doses were set for the way you ate before.
Then vs now
The stepwise idea stayed. The number at the bottom of the steps moved. In July 2017 it was "work your way down to 20" (video DoSUgIr2rNo). In the 2018 basics video it was 50, which I called an unpopular answer (video UygKGoP_BtA). Tapering fits the later number better: get to a level you can live with, and only go lower if you need to.
Key points
- Start by dropping the starch side of the plate (bread, rice, noodles, potatoes, corn, carrots). That cuts a third to two-thirds of your carbs.
- Next check drinks (creamers, milk, juice), then sweet sauces. Add restrictions like dairy only if you're stuck.
- Keep salads and leafy greens throughout, for fibre, vitamins and minerals.
- Moderate low-carb and keto land close together on weight over a year (DIETFITS, Bueno 2013).
- Early "keto flu" symptoms are usually reported as passing. Tapering may soften them, but it isn't proven to be required.
- On diabetes medication: involve your doctor before and during the taper.
Related
- Guide: starting keto · tapering · month one · hidden carbs · how many carbs · keto vs low-fat · medications
- Blog: keto vs low carb · your first week · vegetables on keto · DIETFITS explained · how long keto flu lasts
- Videos: simple keto and MyFitnessPal · keto basics for beginners · it's not keto flu · fibre is key