What your opinion on the keto diet?

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  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,395 MFP Moderator
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    Jigglypuff00 wrote: »
    My A1c was pretty perfect too. I never worried about how much carbohydrates I was consuming. Until I became diabetic. Other than potatoes, pasta & bread, my main source of carbs was fruit. I ate a lot of fruit! I love apples, bananas and oranges. Grapefruits were my favorite. I wasn't a big cake/pie/candy eater. Those were treats I reserved for special occasions. Fruits and veggies were a mainstay though. I don't think it was the veggies that pushed me over the edge into diabetes. It could've been the pasta/bread/potatoes maybe. But even those weren't consumed on a daily basis. I had fruit every day because it's healthy. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

    Well, all that sugar made me crave more sugar. Putting limits on certain foods is ok. It really is.

    I suspect you were also overweight and/or inactive? Do you have a family history or diabetes.

  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
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    I already stated my reasons for not liking the idea of keto (as I've never done, only lo-carb, Atkins derived). I'm glad that some people have had success in treating their diabetes by adhering to a keto or lo carb diet. If it works for them and they can sustain it, more power to them. I sustained the lo carb for 6 years then I had a situation in which I had to eat more carbs and I didn't know how to deal with it so I fell off the wagon. I wasn't calorie counting then. The positive thing with calorie counting, no matter what diet you are following, you can control your portions and intake.

    That said, I don't agree with the idea that FRUIT is a big cause of the diabetes epidemic. It definitely makes sense to limit fruit if you are pre-diabetic, diabetic and/or think it is a gateway food for you when it comes to sugar. I personally don't feel that fruit is that for me. I now enjoy an apple as much as I used to enjoy a piece of cake, and don't have cravings for cake anymore. Eating well for my meals--foods that are nutritious AND that I enjoy, has greatly diminished my sweet tooth.

    I agree with others that the obesity epidemic (which is not caused by eating too much fruit I don't think) is driving the diabetes. I would agree if you said fruit JUICES contribute to obesity, especially in the case of children, since I think there have been studies that link overconsumption of sugary drinks (including juices) to a rise in obesity.
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
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    I am Keto and have been solid in this way of eating for only 3 months. Before that I was was on and off and on again a lot over about a 3 year span. I fell into keto while researching migraine treatments. Meds do not work at all for me and while reading I found info on Keto and epilepsy. My doc had wanted to put me on an anti epileptic(the one drug I have refused to try), claiming that migraine and epilepsy were closely related.

    A few great reactions my body has had:
    1. My migraines are MIA completely when I eat 30gm of carb or less. 2. General daily head pain(not migraine) that has plagued me since I was a child is also gone. 3. Blood levels say I am free of the threat of type 2 diabetes. I was told I was prediabetic about 6 years ago. 4. When I limit calories I lose easily. 5. My extreme sugar cravings and subsequent huge intake of baked goods with seemingly no control are amazingly well controlled on Keto. It puts me in a great headspace when I don’t feel driven by sweet things and wake up in the night and wonder if I can sneak to the kitchen and grab a cookie(or 5) without anyone hearing me.

    I fell into and out of this way of eating a lot in the first few years. It is hard to maintain when I am not in my own kitchen. Eating out is no problem, but spending time at inlaws, and my own families homes for weekends is where I find difficulty. Also, I love to bake and cook. Once I found recipes that worked for me and taste good, things like bread substitutes, and the occasional sweet treat, I was able to maintain my food choices fairly easily. This will be more difficult for someone who can’t or won’t experiment with things like this.

    I plan on staying Keto as much as possible throughout my life. I have set up some guidelines for myself to make it so I don’t feel deprived. I get a weekend a month where I can have up to 100gm of carb/day. This allows for birthdays, seasonal fruit and veg, and PMS recovery days. I also get one day each on thanksgiving, Christmas, and my birthday for higher carb, and when I go on holiday during the winter so I can sample all the local foodstuffs. I still follow a hard no! Rule when it comes to gluten. But the higher carb days add variety and interest to life and to tracking my symptoms and body reactions. For me this is not feeling unsustainable. It might if I was just using it for weight loss, but to have so many days of my life back that migraine was taking away is amazing!

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