Opinions on the keto diet??

greenetaylor27

I am a mother of two with a very busy schedule! I’ve been logging foods and exercising somewhat regularly for about 2-3 weeks and have lost about 3lbs. I’ve read a lot on how the keto diet can shred you down rather quickly, and “grains and carbs are poison” or what have you.
To me it just seems like a lot of work and also rather confusing. I’m fairly new to this new healthy lifestyle and didn’t know if anyone similar to my situation had bad luck— or thoughts and opinions ?? Thanks!

greenetaylor27

greenetaylor27 wrote: »

I am a mother of two with a very busy schedule! I’ve been logging foods and exercising somewhat regularly for about 2-3 weeks and have lost about 3lbs. I’ve read a lot on how the keto diet can shred you down rather quickly, and “grains and carbs are poison” or what have you.
To me it just seems like a lot of work and also rather confusing. I’m fairly new to this new healthy lifestyle and didn’t know if anyone similar to my situation had bad luck— or thoughts and opinions ?? Thanks!

I meant have good luck not bad luck lol!

DomesticKat

You can eat anything you want to lose weight. You just have to create a calorie deficit. I understand the allure of wanting to lose a bunch of weight immediately, but rarely is that sustainable or good for your health, especially if you don't intend to stick to keto for the rest of your life. It's not a race to lose as much weight as possible as quickly as possible. Eat the food you like in a modest deficit, weigh it with a food scale and measure it consistently, and you'll lose weight.

lightenup2016

I have no personal experience with keto, but I would ask you why you'd consider it, since you're obviously losing weight fine with just logging your food. Why limit yourself to only being able to eat certain foods? If you want to keep the weight off, whatever means you use to lose it needs to be sustainable. Do you think you'd do keto forever?

Just my two cents--others can provide more info from experience. You can also search the forum for info on keto.

Good luck!

mmapags

First, what you have read is marketing hype. Keto has no proven fat loss advantage over any other diet(based on many studies). People lose water weight in the first couple of weeks but fat loss is the same as any other calorie restricted diet.

So, if that is your reason for considering it, don't bother. It is restrictive and hard to comply with long term. if you have other reasons like, preference, difficulty controlling carb intake, insulin resistance or a couple of other health issues for which keto can be beneficial, that could change the perspective.

You have done fine in your first few weeks. Keto won't speed that up or be more effective.

MegaMooseEsq

Meh, low carb diets work for some people, but I agree that keto seems like too much work! Any time you dramatically reduce carbs you are almost guaranteed to lose a few pounds very quickly. This isn't fat, though, and will come back if and when you increase your carbs again. If you want to lose weight as fast as possible, keto could work, although my choice would be meal replacement shakes, as miserable as that sounds. But any diet that leads you to eat less than you burn will lead to weight loss. Compliance is the biggest barrier for most people, so it might be better to pick something you can be happy with.

Personally, I'm less concerned about losing weight as I am about keeping it off when I'm done, and for me, that means taking it slow and using this time to build eating habits that I can keep up once I reach goal weight. If you want to keep weight off, it means you never get to go back to eating as much as you did when you were at a heavier weight (unless you also increase your calories burned, of course). Three pounds in 2-3 weeks is a great start - keep it up and you'll be fine!

fb47

greenetaylor27 wrote: »

I am a mother of two with a very busy schedule! I’ve been logging foods and exercising somewhat regularly for about 2-3 weeks and have lost about 3lbs. I’ve read a lot on how the keto diet can shred you down rather quickly, and “grains and carbs are poison” or what have you.
To me it just seems like a lot of work and also rather confusing. I’m fairly new to this new healthy lifestyle and didn’t know if anyone similar to my situation had bad luck— or thoughts and opinions ?? Thanks!

This is why the keto community gets *kitten* on by everyone else. I feel bad for those who do keto and that understand about CICO (calories in vs calories out) and accept it as facts, but those who vilify carbs give the community a bad name. A diet is only a tool, nothing else. Don't listen to all that nonsense about keto being the best diet out there to lose weight, there is no diet that outperforms another one when it comes to fat loss. In the long run, they are all equal.

If you want to do keto, that's fine, as long as it's sustainable and you enjoy your diet and it makes it easy for you to stick at a caloric deficit....then go for it. If your doing keto thinking keto on it's own will make you lose weight, that's false. The only certainly for fat loss is being at a caloric deficit (with the exception that you have a health issue that makes weight loss almost impossible which only a doctor can diagnose), diets are only tools for you to help you achieve that goal and you pick a diet that makes you least miserable. I was able to lose weight during my last cut (aka fat loss phase) with carbs and no cardio, just through CICO by using Intermittent Fasting. I don't think Intermittent fasting is anything special, I only did IF, because I preferred eating 2-3 large meals opposed to 5-6 small meals. I still had to make sure that I was eating at a caloric deficit nonetheless. Just because I did IF, it doesn't mean I could eat whatever I want and it's not because you do keto that it means you can eat whatever you want either.

Birder165

I tried keto. I found it too limiting food wise and health wise started having heart palpitations that immediately stopped when I added back carbs from fruit, starchy vegetables and grains. I was always tired and had excruciating hamstring cramps that had me doubled over and would last 5 minutes. Not nice. People will tell you that you need to add salt and magnesium to help with those symptoms. Nope. I just needed to eat some *kitten* fruit, rice and sweet potatoes.

cmriverside

I love my carbs, and no way would I be happy long-term on keto.

The initial 5-10 pounds lost are all water weight and will come back if you go back to a normal nutrition plan. I think unless there is some medically urgent cause to go onto a keto plan, why bother?

Eat less, move more. Simples.

psuLemon

mmapags wrote: »

First, what you have read is marketing hype. Keto has no proven fat loss advantage over any other diet(based on many studies). People lose water weight in the first couple of weeks but fat loss is the same as any other calorie restricted diet.

So, if that is your reason for considering it, don't bother. It is restrictive and hard to comply with long term. if you have other reasons like, preference, difficulty controlling carb intake, insulin resistance or a couple of other health issues for which keto can be beneficial, that could change the perspective.

You have done fine in your first few weeks. Keto won't speed that up or be more effective.

Agreed. And if any diet is superior its high protein diets.

Since fats dont satiate me and i am a volume eater, i cut fats and increase carbs.

Silentpadna

It's one of many perfectly valid ways to lose weight/fat. But it is not magic. You lose fat on it if (and only if) you are in a calorie deficit while doing it.

People who are successful in keto are successful because of compliance. Which also is the reason people are successful in any other diet. As mentioned above, keto gives you a "weight loss" (not fat loss) head start in that you will lose water more quickly at the beginning. That can be a motivator. But later on, the weight loss is basically the same as any other - dependent on caloric deficit. If you get out of ketosis, you will regain water (not fat) initially.

Eliminating (virtually) all carbs only helps you lose weight because of the calories that come with them. If you overcompensate with fats/proteins to the point of eating in a surplus, you may be ketosis, but not actually lose weight. Ultimately, for those who have success with it, it's because the foods they eat keep them satiated (and they're in a deficit).

oreo_cookies_1992

Some people find Keto an easier diet to stick to. Some suggest that eating more fats keep you full. You see, when you eat carbs your body converts it to glucose which is what your body uses to produce energy. When you no longer eat carbs, your body needs to get the energy from somewhere and takes it from your body fat (this is in simple terms there is more science behind it)

I’m not saying that’s the number one concern. On Keto, it is pretty limited choices.. because you can’t snack on anything. And some people actually like that because then they’re not snacking on random *kitten* and eating a bunch of extra calories.

I’m trying a Keto diet to learn some things. I’m only on day 6, and man, the diet forces you to eat quite healthy. But there are perks (like lots of high fats) my boyfriend who never even has looked at a vegetable is eating lots of veggies this past week. He’s gone down 7lbs in six days but yes that is definitely water weight. He’s also been counting calories as well as ultimately it’s the best way to lose weight. Keto so far is just a way to kind of show you what real, whole foods are. It’s an interesting lifetsyle for sure. I’m not sure if I could do it forever but I’m loving it so far even though the Keto Flu is a real thing and it really sucks! After it’s over though, you just feel good.

And for someone who LOVES SWEETS it’s really reduced my cravings. It’s crazy.
This is why I think some people like Keto. It’s just a style that works with them and their self control. I would not knock it or say it’s better than any other type of preferred diet. It’s all about what works for you I’m just sharing my experience on it so far! However 6 days is not a lot to go by but I thought I’d share anyways

mmapags

oreo_cookies_1992 wrote: »

Some people find Keto an easier diet to stick to. Some suggest that eating more fats keep you full. You see, when you eat carbs your body converts it to glucose which is what your body uses to produce energy. When you no longer eat carbs, your body needs to get the energy from somewhere and takes it from your body fat (this is in simple terms there is more science behind it)

It doesn't unless you are in calorie deficit. As you said, keto diet is higher in fat. The primary energy source is dietary fat not body fat.

Meelisv

Carbs are life
Keto (or just low carb) just like paleo and other such approaches are highly individual. There are a lot of people who have found success with them and find them a good choice.
For me personally, low carb approach is not worth the pain and loss of mental abilities. But it is very individual.

That being said, for opinions, try reading/searching the forum. There are thousands of threads here with exactly the same topic. People have somehow learned to write without learning to read, i find it fascinating

greenetaylor27

cmriverside wrote: »

I love my carbs, and no way would I be happy long-term on keto.

The initial 5-10 pounds lost are all water weight and will come back if you go back to a normal nutrition plan. I think unless there is some medically urgent cause to go onto a keto plan, why bother?

Eat less, move more. Simples.

Yes this! Keto for me personally sounds worse than being waterboarded solely because of the absence of carbs!! Thank you all for the insight and opinions/info! I’m just going to stick with what I’ve been doing!!

SCoil123

I have some friends who have done great eating keto. For me it was too restrictive. I like to keep my carbs at a low/moderate level because carbs make me bloat and fats & proteins keep me full more but that is personal preference. I can’t eliminate any foods other than the ones I’m allergic to because it sets me up to binge.

I know if I ate the same amount low fat high carb I’d still lose weight but I’d be hungry the whole time

wordvalkyrie97

From everything I've read about it (and I've done some research, because I'd like to try it), the true point of the Keto diet is to kick your metabolism up, in a way. What you eat impacts how your body burns its fuel. The Keto diet is high-fat (healthy fats, mind you), high-fiber, low-carb, with middling amounts of protein (usually however much you need to keep from being hangry all the time). When you eat lots of healthy fats and fiber with less carbs, your body is supposed to start burning your stored fat and ketones (hence the name, "Keto diet"). This means that instead of immediately using the food you eat for fuel (and leaving your current fat stores alone), your body will use the food you eat only as immediate fuel and will use your stored fat and ketones as fuel for the rest of the time.

This, combined with living in a calorie deficit, can cause some seriously impressive weight loss and metabolic rate gain; but not for everyone. My body really likes plant-based proteins and fibers, so I believe the Keto diet would be beneficial for me (not to mention pretty easy to follow). However, my sister's body relies more on animal-based proteins, so she feels like heck when she tries to eat like me. Everyone is different. The trick is to listen to your body and see what makes you feel best.

And, of course, like any other diet, the Keto diet only works if you're in it for the long-haul. If you quit after only a month or two, any results you saw are likely to disappear once you're back on a regular diet, even if you stay on a calorie deficit.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

oreo_cookies_1992 wrote: »

Some people find Keto an easier diet to stick to. Some suggest that eating more fats keep you full. You see, when you eat carbs your body converts it to glucose which is what your body uses to produce energy. When you no longer eat carbs, your body needs to get the energy from somewhere and takes it from your body fat (this is in simple terms there is more science behind it)

I’m not saying that’s the number one concern. On Keto, it is pretty limited choices.. because you can’t snack on anything. And some people actually like that because then they’re not snacking on random *kitten* and eating a bunch of extra calories.

I’m trying a Keto diet to learn some things. I’m only on day 6, and man, the diet forces you to eat quite healthy. But there are perks (like lots of high fats) my boyfriend who never even has looked at a vegetable is eating lots of veggies this past week. He’s gone down 7lbs in six days but yes that is definitely water weight. He’s also been counting calories as well as ultimately it’s the best way to lose weight. Keto so far is just a way to kind of show you what real, whole foods are. It’s an interesting lifetsyle for sure. I’m not sure if I could do it forever but I’m loving it so far even though the Keto Flu is a real thing and it really sucks! After it’s over though, you just feel good.

And for someone who LOVES SWEETS it’s really reduced my cravings. It’s crazy.
This is why I think some people like Keto. It’s just a style that works with them and their self control. I would not knock it or say it’s better than any other type of preferred diet. It’s all about what works for you I’m just sharing my experience on it so far! However 6 days is not a lot to go by but I thought I’d share anyways

body fat is lost in a deficit no matter how you eat so

dmcnur

For me keto works, but have been doing it under medical supervision for a little over 4 months due to insulin resistance. I used to love carbs but now don't crave them at all. As an added bonus, I used to drink a lot of alcohol but now find that I don't crave that either.

My blood markers have all improved. I continue to lose weight (21kg so far) but do maintain a calorie deficit as I am well aware that to lose weight input has to be less that output. I am yet to reach maintenance weight but have already started researching so that I can maintain ketosis once I reach it. For me it is now not a diet but a chosen way of eating that suits me.

Even though I am on very limited carbs at <20g a day, I find that there is plenty of choice for a varied diet, but personally prefer to keep it simple while I am in the weight loss phase. I find I rarely need to snack between meals, but there are options that fit into a keto meal plan.

Keto flu was not pleasant but I found increasing my salt and water intake did help. I have suffered no loss of mental acuity, have far more energy, no longer suffer from reflux or hypertension and feel great.

I do agree that keto is not for everyone, but for those who can tolerate it and/or have certain medical conditions, it can have benefits.

For anyone considering keto, do your homework thoroughly before you make the decision to try it.

kimny72

wordvalkyrie97 wrote: »

From everything I've read about it (and I've done some research, because I'd like to try it), the true point of the Keto diet is to kick your metabolism up, in a way. What you eat impacts how your body burns its fuel. The Keto diet is high-fat (healthy fats, mind you), high-fiber, low-carb, with middling amounts of protein (usually however much you need to keep from being hangry all the time). When you eat lots of healthy fats and fiber with less carbs, your body is supposed to start burning your stored fat and ketones (hence the name, "Keto diet"). This means that instead of immediately using the food you eat for fuel (and leaving your current fat stores alone), your body will use the food you eat only as immediate fuel and will use your stored fat and ketones as fuel for the rest of the time.

This, combined with living in a calorie deficit, can cause some seriously impressive weight loss and metabolic rate gain; but not for everyone. My body really likes plant-based proteins and fibers, so I believe the Keto diet would be beneficial for me (not to mention pretty easy to follow). However, my sister's body relies more on animal-based proteins, so she feels like heck when she tries to eat like me. Everyone is different. The trick is to listen to your body and see what makes you feel best.

And, of course, like any other diet, the Keto diet only works if you're in it for the long-haul. If you quit after only a month or two, any results you saw are likely to disappear once you're back on a regular diet, even if you stay on a calorie deficit.

The problem is that what you've read is myth. Yes, keto causes your body to burn fat for energy rather than carbs. But you only end up with less fat stored if you eat at a deficit. Same as with any other diet. And from what I understand, long term weight loss studies show that over the long term, folks lose weight at the same expected rate based on how many calories they eat, regardless of macro distribution. As others have already said, the initial rapid weight loss is water weight. That's the "results" that will disappear if you go back on a "regular diet", not fat loss.

Calories for weight loss/gain. Macros for satiety, compliance, and some health issues.

fb47

wordvalkyrie97 wrote: »

From everything I've read about it (and I've done some research, because I'd like to try it), the true point of the Keto diet is to kick your metabolism up, in a way. What you eat impacts how your body burns its fuel. The Keto diet is high-fat (healthy fats, mind you), high-fiber, low-carb, with middling amounts of protein (usually however much you need to keep from being hangry all the time). When you eat lots of healthy fats and fiber with less carbs, your body is supposed to start burning your stored fat and ketones (hence the name, "Keto diet"). This means that instead of immediately using the food you eat for fuel (and leaving your current fat stores alone), your body will use the food you eat only as immediate fuel and will use your stored fat and ketones as fuel for the rest of the time.

This, combined with living in a calorie deficit, can cause some seriously impressive weight loss and metabolic rate gain; but not for everyone. My body really likes plant-based proteins and fibers, so I believe the Keto diet would be beneficial for me (not to mention pretty easy to follow). However, my sister's body relies more on animal-based proteins, so she feels like heck when she tries to eat like me. Everyone is different. The trick is to listen to your body and see what makes you feel best.

And, of course, like any other diet, the Keto diet only works if you're in it for the long-haul. If you quit after only a month or two, any results you saw are likely to disappear once you're back on a regular diet, even if you stay on a calorie deficit.

...and then there's that one keto follower who had to say this non sense....there's always one, here is that example I said earlier about a few keto followers who spew non sense and give the keto community a bad rep. Seriously stop reading the propaganda websites from some phd doctor who happens to sell a keto book. Keto is nothing special, Intermittent fasting is nothing special, Paleo diet is nothing special, the mediterrenean diet is nothing special...none of these diets do anything magical. Going gaga over a diet is like having a car and glorifying to everyone that your car has 4 tires.