GET STARTED KETO CHALLENGE

Week two

Well, the first week is done ― great work! That wasn’t so hard, was it? And now here comes the second week. It features more excellent keto food and advice to see you through. Let’s continue! You’ll find this week’s overview with recipes and shopping lists here

Monday – day 8

Eat: Kickstart the week with the tasty menu below. Eat until satisfied.
If you’re still experiencing any side effects: A cup of bouillon is your best friend.

Really! Try it.

Breakfast

Yay! The keto egg muffins are back. What a great way to start the week. You can of course switch to another breakfast option like fried eggs.

Coffee or tea is fine.

Lunch

Here’s to some scrumptious leftovers from yesterday’s dinner. Enjoy the keto carbonara with zoodles again!

Lunch out is not recommended, but if necessary, follow these guidelines.

Dinner

This keto tuna zoodle salad combines hardboiled eggs, canned tuna, sliced tomatoes, and crisp, fresh zucchini zoodles in a mayonnaise sauce. It’s refreshing and satisfying, with plenty of protein and only 6 grams of carbs.

Cook enough so there are leftovers for lunch tomorrow (plan on 2 servings per person).

Bonus inspiration

After turning 50, being overweight, and on his way to full-blown type 2 diabetes, Kenneth realized he had to change if he wanted to make it to his 60s. He had been dieting for years, on and off, but he would lose weight only to quickly regain it. He didn’t need another diet, he needed a proper lifestyle change.

Check out this video for an inspiring and very relatable success story!

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Tuesday – day 9

Eat: Enjoy today’s tasty menu below.
If you still experience any side effects: Drink a cup of bouillon.

Breakfast

Keto egg muffins.

Feel free to switch to another breakfast option. Coffee or tea is fine.

Lunch

Leftovers from yesterday’s dinner.

Lunch out is not recommended, but if necessary, follow these guidelines.

Keto pesto chicken casserole with feta cheese and olives

Dinner

Mediterranean superstars — feta cheese, olives, and pesto — unite in this creamy, easy-to-make keto pesto chicken casserole.

Cook enough so there are leftovers for lunch tomorrow (plan on 2 servings per person).

Wednesday – day 10

Eat: Enjoy another flavorful day.
If you still experience any side effects: Drink a cup of bouillon.

Breakfast

Keto egg muffins.

Feel free to switch to another breakfast option. Coffee or tea is fine.

Lunch

Leftovers from yesterday’s dinner. Perfect as a hearty keto dinner and lunch.

Lunch out is not recommended, but if necessary, follow these guidelines.

Dinner

Keto butter burgers. Butter on a burger? We’re sold! Traditionally, it’s a Midwestern staple but we ditched the bun and made it irresistibly keto.

Cook enough so there are leftovers for lunch tomorrow (plan on 2 servings per person).

Thursday – day 11

Eat: Enjoy today’s tasty menu.
If you still experience any side effects: Drink a cup of bouillon.

Breakfast

Egg muffins.

Feel free to switch to another breakfast option. Coffee or tea is fine.

Lunch

Leftovers from yesterday’s dinner. Still delicious!

Lunch out is not recommended, but if necessary, follow these guidelines.

Asian keto chicken stir-fry with broccoli

Dinner

Need a low-carb meal in a few minutes? This fast and easy Asian keto stir fry has just five ingredients: boneless chicken thighs, broccoli, tamari soy sauce, garlic, and olive oil. And only 5 grams of net carbs.

Cook enough so there are leftovers for lunch tomorrow (plan on 2 servings per person).

Minimizing side effects

Are you still experiencing any side effects? Here are some specific side effects that you may experience during the first weeks, and how to cure them:

Reduced physical performance

Friday – day 12

Eat: Enjoy today’s tasty ketolicious menu.
If you still experience any side effects we say it yet again: Drink a cup of bouillon.

Breakfast

Today is the last day with the keto egg muffins!

Feel free to switch to another breakfast option. Coffee or tea is fine.

Lunch

Leftovers from yesterday’s dinner. Keto at its finest!

Lunch out is not recommended, but if necessary, follow these guidelines.

Dinner

Say bye-bye to beans. This no-bean, or Texas Chili, is a great way to get all of chili’s classic flavor but none of the carbs. This keto version can be simmered on the stove, cooked in a slow cooker, or made in a flash in an instant pot.

Cook enough so there are leftovers for lunch tomorrow (plan on 2 servings per person).

Replenish motivation

For additional motivation and inspiration, check out a new success story of your choice today.

What’s next?

Are you enjoying the Get Started Challenge? A few days are still left, but do you want to keep going even after that, with daily support via email? If so, we’d like to invite you to join one of our two longer-term programs, both just for members.

5 Weeks of Keto with Kristie

First, there is 5 Weeks of Keto with Kristie — we’ll spend a focused five weeks thinking, learning, and eating keto together! Kristie is one of our recipe creators and has her own amazing and inspiring 100-pound weight-loss story on keto. Her warm Southern charm and hands-on support is like a daily friend checking in on you as you continue your keto journey.

The five-week program starts on Monday, right after this challenge ends.

Learn more and sign up

Weight Loss for Good

Introducing our brand-new 10-week program, Weight Loss for Good. This clear, concise, no-nonsense course starts with three weeks of Crash Courses — twenty topics in all. The Crash Course presents information as a simple one-pager for each daily topic and highlights the top three or four actionable tips.

Then, in the remaining seven weeks, we dig a little deeper into each of the twenty topics. All ten weeks have custom meal plans and shopping lists. You’ll emerge with an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of how to achieve and maintain a healthy weight — for good!

Learn more and sign up

Saturday – day 13

Eat: This weekend looks tasty, enjoy today’s menu below.
If you still experience any side effects: Drink a cup of bouillon.

Breakfast

One of the all-time best keto breakfasts ever! Step up your bacon and eggs game with this mouth-watering version. Gauge your hunger meter and enjoy as many eggs as you need to feel satisfied. Feel free to switch to another breakfast option.

Coffee or tea is fine.

Lunch

Leftovers from yesterday’s amazing dinner.

Lunch out is not recommended, but if necessary, follow these guidelines.

Dinner

Grilled salmon with avocado topping – a nutritious and satisfying simple meal that you will return to many times.

Cook enough so there are leftovers for lunch tomorrow (plan on 2 servings per person).

Sunday – day 14

Wow, you’ve almost done the full challenge – congratulations! Now hasn’t this all been rather simple?

Eat: Enjoy the last day’s tasty menu.
Consider continuing: You can enjoy our low-carb and keto meal plans for as long as you want (membership is needed).
Weigh in: Not obligatory, only if you are curious.

Weigh in and what to expect

The weigh-in is optional, but perhaps you want to see what has happened in these two weeks? Check your weight and waist circumference again.

Most people lose 2-8 pounds (1-3 kilos) in the first two weeks of a strict low-carb diet. However, everyone’s body works differently depending on a number of factors such as age, gender, physical activity, genes etc. So don’t blame yourself or the diet if you haven’t lost weight yet. Most likely you will if you keep on eating a keto or low-carb diet for a longer period, giving your body more time to adjust to its new fuel and heal from various longer-term health issues.

Besides losing weight we hope that you have experienced other health benefits. Is your stomach calmer? Do you have more energy? Fewer headaches? Take some time to reflect over the last two weeks to see if you feel or see any other improvements.

Breakfast

Let’s end the week with these fantastic breakfast keto chaffles.

Feel free to switch to another breakfast option like only the fried eggs. Coffee or tea is fine.

Grilled salmon with avocado topping<br />

Lunch

Leftovers from yesterday’s dinner, bring these irresistible flavors to your lunch table.

Lunch out is still not recommended, but if necessary, follow these guidelines.

Dinner

Enjoy a lovely Sunday dinner with keto ribeye steak with oven-roasted vegetables. A gorgeously seasoned ribeye steak with garlic butter.

Share your success!

Did you enjoy this challenge? Were you successful? Do you want to let your friends know about this free resource? Consider sharing your success on Facebook by clicking this button and adding a line about how you did:

If you have an Instagram account and want to inspire others in their health journey, feel free to document your everyday life during the challenge.

Tag @diet_doctor in your photos and/or use the official hashtag: #gskc2021. We will keep an eye on the tagged posts and share some of the best ones for inspiration.

Consider continuing

Congratulations on finishing the 2-week keto challenge! Did you enjoy it? Do you want to keep going for longer-term success?

If so, we have just the thing for you. Sign up for simple but delicious keto and low-carb meal plans and shopping lists every week

Bonus insight

Are you not happy with your weight yet? Staying on a low-carb diet is very helpful and often effective, but there are more things you could do to speed up the process.

5 Weeks of Keto with Kristie

Sign up for 5 Weeks of Keto with Kristie. The course features daily, chatty emails with our warm and engaging recipe creator, Kristie Sullivan. This course is ideal for those who want support from someone who feels like a trusted friend. Kristie is there to hold your hand and talk to you about common emotional, social, and practical issues. Kristie knows what it is like from personal experience and she can help you through any struggles to achieve success.

Weight Loss for Good

Or try our new, intensive 10-week program, Weight Loss for Good. It’s ideal for those who want their information straight up and concise. The first three weeks feature twenty Crash Course pieces on weight-loss topics. Each day, you’ll not only get an email and a daily meal plan, but you’ll learn the top three or four evidence-based tips on each daily topic. Clear and straight. No beating around the bush.

Then, in the remaining seven weeks, we’ll go even deeper so that you gain full understanding of the most up-to-date science in a simple, digestible form. By the end, you’ll be well on the road to a full understanding of complex issues like insulin resistance, hunger signals and more. And you’ll be well on your way to weight loss for good.

In this members-exclusive video course you get the top five tips for weight loss:

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Brief survey

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Q&A

Do you have questions about this challenge? Check the questions and answers page.

If you have more questions, feel free to email us at challenge@dietdoctor.com and we’ll do our best to respond as soon as we can.

By , , medical review by

Get started keto challenge 2021 – Week 2 - the evidence

This guide is written by Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt, MD, Jill Wallentin, Dr. Bret Scher, MD and was last updated on June 17, 2022.

All our evidence-based health guides are written or reviewed by medical doctors who are experts on the topic. To stay unbiased we show no ads, sell no physical products, and take no money from the industry. We're fully funded by the people, via an optional membership. Most information at Diet Doctor is free forever.

Read more about our policies and work with evidence-based guides, nutritional controversies, our editorial team, and our medical review board.

Should you find any inaccuracy in this guide, please email andreas@dietdoctor.com.