Hello, I was wondering what you guys think about the keto diet?
It works for some people for various reasons but for most people it shouldn’t be their first choice diet if they’re trying to lose weight. There are benefits to keto but also drawbacks especially for women. Most people are probably better off eating less, moving more and eating in moderation.
From reading this thread, you’ll see it’s a case by case basis. Depends completely on the person and their relationship with food. If someone feels great on keto and wants to stick to it, then all power to them. If it’s not for you, then it’s not for you. People are getting far too intense about what diets they support.
for my mom, she lost 50lbs and her rheumatoid arthritis went into remission. She also was taken off her cholesterol medication after a year on keto and intermittent fasting. Her metrics for her annual physical show that of a much younger person. She claims she won’t go back. She feels so much better than she did before, the changes in her arthritis are enough to make her want to stick with it. I’ve tried and I can’t comply with the diet. Even the fasting was intolerable for me.
Tell me if I am wrong but my understanding is that the Keto diet is designed to put your body into a constant state of ketosis. If so, that is good and all, though I have a hard time believing that all the people that say they are doing Keto are actually taking the steps to be in ketosis. I think what a lot of people when they say on Keto, what they eat falls more in line with Paleo (again because of there being no ketosis). But I want to hear what people say about that.
I don’t think it’s the healthiest way to eat long-term. In a body that is metabolically healthy, glucose = fuel. But if it helps people reduce their body fat to a level where they can be metabolically healthy, it’s probably a net positive.
I’ve been on a phase of losing body fat for the past 4 months or so. The first 2 I stayed on a strict keto diet. I enjoyed it. My energy levels were stable throughout the day and I felt overall healthy. However, I didn’t lose much body fat. I switched to a CICO diet and just stay in a 500 calorie deficit and my results have been significantly better. For people trying to lose weight, Keto can certainly be an option but it doesn’t guarantee weight loss and can feel overly restrictive.
I’ve been doing keto/meat based diet for about 3 years now. Here’s my take.. inflammation has gone down significantly. No more aches and pains. Headaches disappeared. Lost weight and gained muscle. Blood pressure Improved and brain fog gone. Steady energy all day and no crashing. Skin/complexion cleared up and I also feel that my body heals faster as well. Less daily bowel movements. I’m sure I’m forgetting some things. One thing I make sure of is getting enough electrolytes everyday (sodium, potassium, calcium etc) since no or little carbs = less hydrating.
Nowadays I ingest about 30g of carbs a day consisting of raw and unfiltered honey and some fruit- mainly berries post weight lifting.
There’s also a wrong way to do keto and a right way.
Those who are considering doing keto stay with grass fed/finished meat and natural foods in general. Stay away from Seed oils and artifical sweetners.
For me it is life saver, and when doing it smart it is really really good long term too.
I mainly use nuts for my calories, it has healthy fats and lots of fiber as well, and nuts are really popular in the blue zones.
As well as fish, sardines, good omegas, mostly fatty.
I do like goat cheese, milk kefir, they are the only two milk products that dont give me rashes on my face :)
Also eggs for some protein, I do try to avoid meat as much as possible for ethical reasons.
Apart from this, veggies, veggies, and veggies (with mushrooms ofc) most of my meals consist of a LOT of veggies…
I think it gets a bad rep cuz ppl eat bacon and meat a lot of the time and neglect fiber and stuff like that…
It decreased my brainfog and I wake up fresh and sleep like a baby on it.
I do have cheat days or cheat weeks, like 1-2 weeks every 3 months, and 1 days every 1-2 weeks, but can only do it after a good of 5 months of strict keto :)
Just my experience.
Apart from this, I do very hard cold baths with ice, exercise 2-3 hours few times a week, do sauna sessions, practice intermittent and sometimes prolonged fasting, and am thin…
for my mom, she lost 50lbs and her rheumatoid arthritis went into remission. She also was taken off her cholesterol medication after a year on keto and intermittent fasting. Her metrics for her annual physical show that of a much younger person. She claims she won’t go back. She feels so much better than she did before, the changes in her arthritis are enough to make her want to stick with it. I’ve tried and I can’t comply with the diet. Even the fasting was intolerable for me.
I do keto - well low carb since I don’t test for ketones. Main reason is it controls my appetite. The more carbs I eat the hungrier I feel. And the hunger is insane in the amount of food I want to consume. On keto/low carb I can comfortably eat in a small calorie deficit.
I did it a number of times and lost a lot of weight really quickly. It was a really interesting experience and I learnt a lot about my body. It gave me a healthier relationship with fats. But, i found it super extreme. Very very uncomfortable (keto fog & cold is real). I would never recommend it to anyone who wanted to lose weight because it’s not in anyway sustainable.
Super interesting personal experiment that resulted in fastest fat loss in an entirely unsustainable way
I tried it for about 3 weeks. I absolutely hated how I felt. Constant stomach ache that though it was dull it was almost always there, the hanger cause I got tired of eating the same things and not having what I usually eat.
However!! I lost almost 10 pounds doing nothing but eating differently and I loved it. It’s definitely worth trying but don’t force yourself to stay on it if it doesn’t work. And ease into it too if you can’t handle the keto flu
I think it’s better than nothing. I think any diet that forces you to exam how/what you are eating is better than nothing.
However, in my opinion, the gold standard is managing your calories/macros, avoiding high fructose corn syrup/highly processed foods, and eating eating as much “natural foods” as possible.
Personally not a fan, but just because I’m not a fan doesn’t mean it’s wrong for everyone. For me, it’s a bit too restrictive and I have to think way too closely about what I eat (and possibly, when?) Also, unlike pretty much any other diet, if you fall off the wagon one day, it’s perfectly fine and you can be back on track. But from what I understand, Ketosis takes a few days to get back into.
It is a bit difficult for me because I enjoy food as an experience. Some eat to live and some live to eat.To see food as fuel seems very restrictive but it’s a valid point, I guess. If some people find it healthier (which I belive it might be) then so be it. I don’t think we need as many carbs on a daily basis as recommended by some organizations and institutions but then again, I dont think we should eliminate them in a drastic way either. Its all about balance isnt it?
I think the keto diet is one of the best. I have been doing it for almost two months and lost about 24kg. At first, it might feel hard to follow, but after a week, you will get used to it. However, to get the best result, you need to be consistent.
YMMV. I’m on keto and starting my third year. I do nutritional keto and not therapeutic keto so I reduce fat and focus on protein. I love it but would only recommend it if you are truly up for it. If you dread the carb reduction and think of keto as temporary then it won’t work and would likely be detrimental for you.
It has worked for me because I’ve embraced it and love the food. I love veggies and meat. I haven’t gotten tired of the food yet and feel like I haven’t scratched the surface of options. I don’t eat the pre packed keto stuff. That’s garbage food and isn’t healthy.
I’ve lost 120 lbs so far and still going. I had an unhealthy relationship with food and ballooned up to 330 lbs a few years ago.
You still have to be in a calorie deficit to make it work but for me keto makes that easier because once you become fat adapted the cravings are gone and your appetite suppresses and stabilizes.
Other benefits for me is better sleep. I sleep less hours than before but they are quality hours and my sleep has stabilized. Mood has stabilized. Basically everything has stabilized for me and I don’t have highs and lows with anything especially energy, no crashes.
My blood work over this time has improved. Triglycerides are super low. All cholesterol indicators are optimal. Hormones are normal and everything has improved.
It’s sustainable for me because I enjoy it and embrace it. It will only work if you have that mindset and also eat healthy. I don’t eat a ton of bacon and bunless burgers. I did at first to help with the transition but now it’s fish, chicken, eggs and vegetables mostly. I sneak some quality cheese in from time to time.
Stay hydrated, watch your electrolytes and ensure you’re getting your vitamins and minerals in along with protein and healthy fat and you’ll do well.
Keto is good for appetite control (and diabetes). Calories are king. You can gain weight while on a keto diet (or at least I did). I still follow a keto diet, but that is to make following a caloric deficit diet easier.
Don’t start it for weight loss, it will eventually lead you nowhere (I did it for 4 years). However, I find that there are many benefits to doing it. I personally had to for medical reasons (I am now carnivore bc keto wasn’t enough for me), but just the brain fog lifting and the boost of energy makes it wayyyy worth it in my opinion.
I tried it, lost 50lbs in 6 months going 6 weeks of strict keto with a day break in between. Loved the lower inflammation, less aches and pains, no asthma, no heartburn, steady blood sugar level, no after lunch crash, etc. A little of the weight came back because I haven’t been as strict, but I’m 30lbs lighter than I was when I started in 2018. That includes Covid / small business decline stress eating for significant gains in 2020.
I’d recommend it, it is better than being fat.
I did it for a summer during the pandemic and I lost so much weight. I did have a cheat day and it didn’t do any negative effects on me. However, once you change your diet, even the slightest, you gain weight. If you do it then you must commit long term.
It’s a good fat loss program especially when you hit a weight loss plateau. I’ve been keto twice in my life and found it very, very hard to overeat on it. I also however never ate processed keto snacks or anything. Just as much fat and protein as I wanted from whole foods and things like cheese which are processed but minimally.
I will probably go keto again if I need to lose weight. I rarely eat more than 100g carbs per day anyways. But personally I find carbs like fruit and sprouted wheat bread to be very good for my brain and body. They taste good, have lower glycemic index and have vitamin c and folate and magnesium. Personally, I am very cautious of carbs outside of fruit and fermented or sprouted grains. Carbs outside of those categories are probably the reason people respond to keto so well, because if you pay attention to your stomach on high glycemic refined carbs it’s actually in a lot of pain.
My main takeaway about keto was the time I asked a lab full of neuroscientists and a few neurosurgeon collaborators about it and every single one said they’d never eat keto. (Was doing medical anthropology fieldwork in the lab.)
It’s magic. Zero tolerance dietary framework staying in mostly ketosis curbed about 90% of my schizophrenia and aided in over 125 lb weight loss. I completely changed how I was living but this was the biggest change that also showed the widest results
Check out Dr. Rhonda Patrick’s recent episode on ketogenic diets and the effects of cycling keto or keto diets vs fasting/calorie restriction and the crossover effects.
I personally take a plant based low-glycemic approach and have definitely done my fair share of ketogenic eating.
Absolutely love it! Im low carb/med-high fat. It’s given me so much energy! Processed carbs impact hormones and Im much healthier without them. Blood pressure and cholesterol are all holding steady, water weight pressure on my joints has disappeared.
I don’t recommend it, especially for women. There is a direct and strong relationship between carb intake and hormone production/balance.
Current consensus is that effects plateau 12 months after starting keto meals. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7480775/
Compared to standard meals, it definitely helps to change up meals to reduce total carbs and increase quality protein, but forcing long term ketosis isn’t it.
Overhyped, misunderstood, and potentially dangerous depending on how many micro nutrients a person deprives themselves of. Most people see the words “keto” and “diet” together and think that if they stick to the dietary restrictions of no sugar or carbs they’ll lose weight regardless of how many calories they consume.
I absolutely love keto combined with intermittent fasting and a bit of prolonged fasting.
I started my first diet at age 6. I’m 41 now. I’ve been thin, fat, was hardcore vegan for 15 years, had a few years of eating lots of breads and sweets, exercised like crazy (ironically hitting my all-time heaviest when I was exercising between 2 and 8 hours a DAY on a bike tour).
In other words, been there, done that.
I’m doing pretty strict keto, but now am adding in a bit of fruit and beans on Sundays as I’m getting close to my goal weight.
I’ve lost 22.2 lbs since starting on July 4th, gone from size XL to M, my ADHD is pretty much gone, energy is through the roof, I’m sleeping fewer hours but feeling more rested, and eating much more nutritiously. I eat 7-10 cups of vegetables a day, lots of coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, olives, eggs, avocados, and some meat. Compare that to what I was eating before: bread, pasta, rice, Snickers, Diet Coke, Cheetos, ice cream, some vegetables…
I was diagnosed with deficiencies in vitamins B12 and D. I wasn’t eating many animal products, and was too tired to exercise, joints hurt, brain not working.
The keto diet is absolutely marvelous.
For the first time in my life my hunger is under control. Food no longer stresses me out.
CICO is a myth. Eat less move more is a lie. A calorie is a calorie is something that companies like Coca Cola push on us to continue selling us poison. We were all given HORRIBLE nutrition information as kids if we grew up in the U.S. It’s enraging.
Keto is the way.
A constant state of ketosis is incredibly dangerous and unsustainable for the body. Overall a net negative for long term health.
The ketogenic diet really should be limited to where it’s best effective - children/people suffering epilepsy, and temporarily for people who need to quickly lose weight for surgery etc. it should not be adopted permanently.
What makes keto such a powerful diet, at least for me, is that it eliminates all cravings for sugar/carbs. When I’m not on keto I’m constantly snacking throughout the day, even though I eat very clean, home cooked meals. I also have a sweet tooth. When I say your cravings are gone I mean gone. You could be at a party with the best carbs the world has to offer and you don’t even think about it.
I’ve talked to many doctors trying to dissuade from doing keto, but when I ask why, they never point to anything reliable. There hasn’t been many strong studies on the effect of keto.
A warning though, if you do decide to try keto, it takes about a month of doing it right to fully realize the benefits. You will feel like absolute crap for a week maybe two (called the keto flu). Sea salt, water and lemon will help.
If you do I would make sure to watch your fiber intake, these diets often lack fiber which is great for gut health and intestinal tract health.
Source: most of my older family members have colostomy bags
Wow it seems like some people here are really uneducated about this topic.
No keto is not unhealthy or bad for you.
For some people who have epileptic seizures e.g. it can be a lifesaver. It has many good side effects for your health. Some people claim that it can also help you sleep better and reduce brain fog.
For me keto helped me lose 30kg in 1,5 years.
Now I have so much energy. I can do stuff that I was not able to to prior.
There is also no problem with long-term ketosis.
I am now roughly two years in ketosis and can’t report any negative effects.
A good way for some to lose weight. Not to be done long term, especially women.
Kind of situational though.
Are you overweight and a sugar addict? Might be good for you to do for a while.
Are you just looking to lose a few pounds? Probably over kill.
Are you looking to build muscle? Not optimal.
Bollocks.
All similar elimination and restrictive style diets are bollocks.
Health and wellness aren’t about optimizing or perfecting macronutrients, or even micronutrients.
Health and wellness is about balance, moderation, value, satisfaction, and happiness.
And genetics and microbiomes vary widely from person to person, so even if you find the ideal menu for one person, it will not be the ideal menu for the next person.
Be reasonable. Don’t eat poison, don’t overindulge, don’t eat out of stress or anxiety, and keep community at the center of food. Eat with loved ones, cook with loved ones, and clean with loved ones. Make good choices with what you have available to you, what meets your needs, and what brings you happiness and satisfaction.
Oh and, be active. Not a couple times a week ad the gym, every day, throughout your day. Walk, ride bikes, stretch, dance, have sex, lift and move heavy things, compete, and sweat. Daily.
You’ll almost invariably be healthy, happy, and enjoy longevity.
As always, context matters. It’s a great diet if you’re epileptic or a fighter looking to cut weight really quick.
Obviously there’s a few more contexts where it makes sense, but for the majority of people that actually do it, they probably aren’t the ideal context. Carbs are an important macronutrient, provided you’re eating the right kind. Added sugar and refined carbs are the real enemy, not carbs as a whole. Carbs don’t make you fat.
Eliminating an entire macronutrient is a little extreme as a long-term practice. Biology never operates in extremes. Never. The answer to most things in life is somewhere in the middle. Not too much sun, not too little. Not too much carbs, not too little. Not too much water, not too little. This is just how biology works.
This is further corroborated by the overarching theme of a lot of scientific research I’ve read. A lot of the conclusions always seems to allude towards the idea that moderation is best.
Science proves it, biology proves it, and you intuitively know it, and yet you want to partake in an extreme practice why?
Homeostasis is the preferred environment, and in the absence of carbohydrates, the body now is trying to compensate and adapt. Certain areas of the body suffer in order to support others. It robs Steven to pay John. This explains why some people experience adverse reactions on the diet like losing their periods and thyroid issues.
For me, I had non-electrolyte related heart palpitations and trouble sleeping.
None of this even takes into consideration the sustainability of it. Most people aren’t going to last on a diet so restrictive like that. Sustainability is a huge constituent of a good diet.
Look, I’m not trying to bag on it. I’ve done it. I know that it works for people, and context does matter, but it’s definitely not optimal, and I’m in the business of optimal. A diet that can raise your LDL is not an optimal diet. Period.
Guys, every single metabolic marker that is improved on keto can also be improved with carbs. I promise you. I have an 80 fasting glucose and a 65 triglyceride and I eat like 150g a day. Oh, and my inflammatory markers are fine too.
Carbs aren’t the issue, folks, and it’s amateurishly ignorant to vilify a literal macronutrient. Sure, let’s vilify Ben and Jerry’s and wonderbread. I’m with you 100%, but let’s not disparage sweet potatoes as if it’s the same thing lmao.
Horrible diet. It causes electrolyte problems, increases cortisol, lowers thyroid function, crashes hormones like testosterone, causes brain fog, it’s bad for exercise performance, causes you to gain less muscle because your body has to use dietary protein for gluconeogenesis to fuel your organs, and causes horrible constipation due to the diet being low in fiber.
What is the goal with the diet? Keto as in high fat, low carbs, moderate protein. Fats are calorie dense, so eating a tbsp of olive oil vs a pound of green carbs (fiber is a carbohydrate), there’s negligible calorie deficit weight loss. Also you don’t feel full on a tbsp of olive oil, so you eat til you are. That means you end up eating way more calories than intended. A well balanced diet is better than a keto diet.
I eat a reduced meat diet, I may go several weeks between meat meals. I quit adding processed protein crap to my diet.
I believe the added protein/ amino acids get trapped in the cilia of the gut causing them to swell and cause a myriad of other complications, that coupled with a low fiber diet exacerbates ibs Crohn’s, “gluten allergies” gluten is a protein furthering my point on the intestinal swelling caused by a high protein low fiber diet. I believe insoluble fiber “flosses” the excess protein away from the cilia. The soluble fiber is needed to feed your microbiome, which is being studied. I believe there is correlation between a low fiber diet and the mental health crisis. I have digressed too much, simply put, don’t try and fit in a diet, eat more vegetables.
The keto diet is not a great option if you want to lose weight over time, this type of diet don’t promote a healthy eating habits and most people think that is a magical solution for lose weight but it really works only if you maintain a caloric deficit as any other type of diet, so my recommendation would be that you learn how to develop and maintain healthy eating habits.
Keto makes absolutely 0 sense medically. You simply do not get the right micronutrients. Regardless what benefit being in ketegenesis might be, it doesn’t outweigh the harm that’s probably caused by eating a single type of food and not a variety.
Edit: Downvotes and no rebuttal, interesting
I tried keto, and I really enjoyed eating all the fat, alll the time. You can’t deny that cheese and meat taste really freaking good. Did I feel healthy? Absolutely not. Felt like shit for 3 months and quit. Now I just eat a balanced diet
I think being overweight is a mental disorder so the people who hop from diet fad to diet fad are looking for a magic pill that’s unlikely to work. You’re literally choosing short term pleasure and sacrificing your health when you overeat— killing your self slowly. Caloric deficits should be done by burning calories through exercise and eating moderately. People will try very hard to avoid having to actually move.
A) We have no longterm studies showing keto is beneficial as a longterm diet. And unless you’re an Epidemiology denier, then well you know, saturated fat and all that.
B)It could be useful as a short term weight loss though other diets may be better as to lose it more sustainably.
C) Imo, most benefits of keto are from eliminating processed high calorie nutrient void foods and lots of sugar. If you were just to remove that you’d probably already feel much better, without the need to eliminate potatoes
I’m currently on keto and have a chef that does meal delivery. The meals consist of well made meats with a variety of vegetables (lots of broccoli, green leafy stuff), and plenty of butter and oils.
I am a fairly healthy person prior to this but I wanted to test my discipline on a diet and keto so far has been great - energy and social extroversion has increased, inflammation I didn’t even know I had has decreased, appetite has decreased. I supplement it with green powder (like an athletic greens) and drink plenty of water throughout the day. I workout every day (walking and occasional body weight) and I’ve lost about 8-10lb in close to 3 weeks. I have cheated a few times (I have to go out to dinners and/or travel) but I seem to be able to get back into ketosis fairly quickly.
I definitely crave carbs and will look to find a more balanced diet in the next month or so, however, I am very pleased with the results so far.
That’s kind of like asking about “the vegan diet.” You can do keto eating nothing but bacon, or you could be having salads with grilled salmon and dark berries….The former is pretty horrendous, but the latter is quite sustainable.
From my research, it does not appear that carbohydrates are necessary “building blocks” as one other commenter claimed. That would be protein/amino acids.
Gut health DOES seem to require fibers of various types and sources, so that’s another reason a veggie-full, variety-driven keto diet would be best.
Keto, or even very low carb diets, are fabulous for those with insulin resistance, which is a surprisingly widespread issue. It has also worked very well for many women with hormonal disorders such as PCOS, another concerningly common disorder that affects fertility, weight, and metabolism.
Hormones have a very, very real effect on fat loss rates. . If I recall, one study showed a weight loss rate of 1.3 to 10 when comparing insulin resistant people to regular folks on the same diet, so, yes, a caloric deficit is foundational for weight loss, but many people with hormonal/insulin issues will still not lose weight as expected or necessary even with the right CICO numbers.
Keto is a pretty unsustainable way to lose weight. There is some science behind it but as a woman (mens bodies are different) we need carbs to ovulate so many times I’ll see women lose their cycle after going keto.
Additionally, biologically we tend to overeat when we feel too restricted. Which, keto is a very restrictive diet and may not allow you to go out and enjoy life! It depends why you are wanting to go keto. If it is for weight loss-there are much more enjoyable ways to get to that goal! Check out my blog www.youngandwyld.com for some tips and tricks!
It’s just another fad diet that ultimately arrives at the same weight loss “secret” as all the others. Simply put, if you’re only eating meats and fats and no carbs or sugars, you’re still reducing your caloric intake by some amount, which brings your total to less than it was when you were eating those things. The real and ONLY way to lose weight is to EAT LESS and COUNT CALORIES.
Just use this https://tdeecalculator.net/
I feel it’s works for quick weight loss and you’ll initially feel amazing, but ultimately unsustainable (and kind of expensive) if you want to eat like everyone else in your household. I lost 90 lbs super fast, but I gained it all back at the start of COVID when I started working from home. Ultimately I dropped off it entirely because it made my mouth very dry (which sucks on CPAP therapy despite max humidity) and I completely stopped losing weight entirely for months. Keto Youtube “experts” had me thinking that Keto was some kind of special ancestral eating that would clear up my health and that it wasn’t ultimately about CICO. I feel that CICO is the more healthy sustainable approach (though much slower if you are focusing on losing it in a healthy manner following 1 to 2 lbs per week recommendation).
It’s proven to be effective in managing epilepsy and it is effective in weight loss. It just depends on your own circumstances and how you do it.
Eating sticks of butter and entire packs of bacon followed up by drinking the bacon grease is VASTLY different from eating non-starchy vegetables, nuts & seeds, fatty produce like avocados and olives, fatty fish, etc.
However, it’s not yet known definitively if it’s safe to stay on keto long-term. Any extreme diet like this should always be done under the careful supervision of a registered dietitian.