There’s a saying that goes, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Nothing could be more fitting for those going on a Keto diet. Of course, it is possible to fly by the seat of your pants and make decisions at each meal, but in the very beginning, that might be hard to do.

Beginner Keto dieters need a little structure, and it helps to know the ins and outs of tracking carbs and macros as well as cooking methods and food choices that will help you lose weight fast.

The first thing you want to do is educate yourself on what you can and can’t have carb-wise and try to eliminate or replace those items in your kitchen. For example, you may not want to give up your coffee, but you’ll need to replace sugar with a sweetener that isn’t loaded with carbs.

You’ll want to plan for snacks on the go that work well with your keto plan, rather than relying on fast food stops or convenience stores that are packed with processed foods. You can have bags of pecans or string cheese to take with you.

Get set up with a carb tracking tool such as MyFitnessPal, where you can track the exact carbs and use a tool like TamperMonkey to track the net carbs in your meals, which is the true number of carbs you’ll be using as your guideline.

You’ll want to prepare for the beginning of your journey – the mental cravings and old habits can be hard to overcome if you’re not ready. You may even need to get sometimes to tide you over from keto flu if you suffer from that.

This is basically just a feeling of bring under the weather when your body is first going into ketosis, and the best fix for it is a simple chicken broth that you sip to get the electrolytes back in your system.

You definitely want to plan for some variety, too. Don’t get stuck eating scrambled eggs seven days a week, for every meal. You’ll burn out. Plan on some creative ways to make meals low in carbs – and learn which foods taste best to you, such as a chocolate mousse fat bomb as a special treat.

Don’t worry that the diet is complex, because it’s not. This is one of the easiest diet plans you’ll find. But you’re just not used to eating plenty of quality fats and protein – you’re probably used to eating low calorie, low fat, so planning is necessary to retrain your brain for your future weight loss success!