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Keto diet= good or bad

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  • tmpecus78
    tmpecus78 Posts: 1,206 Member
    tmpecus78 wrote: »

    vegan keto sounds miserable.

    I think this is the one thing that the average vegan and the average keto'er can agree on.

    agreed. o:)

  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    tmpecus78 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    The sources you are citing are sources who are widely understood to be not credible on this topic. They are not backed by the actual research. Many of them do not even claim it is somehow better to be as low on carbs as possible, so don't support what you are citing them for.

    I did not "give up" on keto. I tried it out of curiosity as an experiment when I was already at maintenance. I WAS forced to limit my non-starchy veg (I eat a lot), especially if I ate nuts (which I like to eat every day) and/or some greek yogurt/cottage cheese, even though I ate no other sources of carbs (other than the tiny amount in eggs). I also missed healthy staples I used to include in my diet, like beans and lentils and pulses, fruit, not to mention potatoes and sweet potatoes and the variety of starchier veg that I used to eat (other root veg, winter squash, so on) -- those could fit in, but they'd take away a lot of the carbs I'd otherwise use on less starchy veg (brussels sprouts is one veg that can really add to the carbs if you aren't careful, also).

    I am not saying you can't have a healthy diet on keto, but I felt like mine was becoming less healthy by those changes, and I also experienced no benefits to justify the limitations -- I felt fine, my energy dipped for a while but then came back, but I didn't feel better than I had before in any way.

    Re veto keto'ers, I know there are a very few who do it, but I can't see how they get enough protein unless they are relying a lot of certain meat replacements or protein shakes. I personally think they'd also be stuck getting too many calories from sources I think of as low nutrient, like oils or fat-based sauces. For me, the healthiest way to do keto that allowed me to limit veg least and make the carb restriction was:

    Breakfast: vegetable omelet with avocado on the side for breakfast (or maybe some cottage cheese or yogurt) (this is similar to the breakfast I was having before).

    Lunch: big salad with some kind of meat on it plus some nuts or seeds and a full fat dressing (similar to one of my favorite options now, except I often use tofu or chickpeas or beans for the protein and I might use less fat in my homemade vinaigrette, although not always).

    Dinner: meat (could include fish) + vegetables, plus some kind of added fat to boost calories (similar to now except I often do meatless and will include a starchy side and don't worry about added fat beyond whatever I cook with).

    Bigger issue is that there's no evidence that there's some benefit to humans generally to being consistently in ketosis. The evidence that exists seems to be to the contrary (the genetic adaptation), although I think it's likely perfectly fine and better than being overweight or unhappy or stressed (if it's the easiest way of eating for you).

    vegan keto sounds miserable.

    I think this is the one thing that the average vegan and the average keto'er can agree on.

    And most others!
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    savithny wrote: »
    Human beings managed to colonize every ecosystem from the arctic to the rainforest.
    There is no way we could have done that if there was One Perfect Diet. We're enormously adaptable omnivores, and no, we did not spend 500,000 years in ketosis.
    (As evidence: We didn't domesticate grains out of some weird idea that we'd like to start eating grains. We domesticated grains because we were already eating them in amounts big enough that we invented flint-bladed scythes to cut grain stalks before we domesticated the grain itself)

    Along these lines, I thought this piece by Yoni Freedhoff on the recent debate between Stephan Guyenet and Gary Taubes was really good: http://www.weightymatters.ca/


    I don't want anyone to blindly follow what I have done thinking they can replicate my current results. I am still not done yet so all I really know is that I am doing what is right for myself at this moment.

    All weight loss attempts have a ridiculously high failure rate. Some of the very people who think keto is so great in this thread will, unfortunately, fail to sustain their weight loss and in time will either return and try again or move on. I HATE that. I think it is very wrong to defend any weight loss method and try to say it is the best because it might be currently working for you. We should try and get each other to question ourselves and our choices because that is being helpful. I have failed so much that I have stopped caring about being 'right' I just want to see results.

    The number of other people doing keto or whatever you are doing doesn't help you lose weight. It doesn't do anything to reinforce that you have made the right decision either. All the studies out that seem to suggest that one method is better than another are WORTHLESS when it comes to personal weight loss.

    Is keto good or bad? The only people that can answer that it is good are the people that have successfully met ALL of their goals and maintained them for several years and then it only means it was good for them. Everyone else is either hoping it is good or doing something else. The very same thing applies to calorie counting, weight watchers, paleo, etc.



    I agree with this so much. All that we can do is stick with what is working for the time being and if it stops working try something different. I think the key is to keep trying. I run like the "kitten" when I hear people say that their way is the one and only true path.

    However, when I read someone refer to themselves as "ketoers" I kind of cringe!
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    If I have eaten keto for a few years, then I can call myself a ketoer? It's a lot faster to type than "someone who follows a ketogenic diet ". ;)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    savithny wrote: »

    ""Warner C(2015) Ancient Human Microbiomes, J Hum Evol 79:125-136" - Having trouble locating this. Can you share the claim that is being made there?

    I've got access through my organization and found it.

    It's a literature review about ways to study and reconstruct historic, ancient, and paleolithic microbial "passengers" and the uses of that data It describes methods for examining ancient feces and dental plaque for the microbes that live in it. It does say that the techniques described COULD be used to discover evidence of ancient diets.

    Interestingly, the examples of previous work on "discovering what ancients ate by studying their poop and teeth" contain many citaitons to studies that found plants, starchy foods, tubers, rhizomes, squashes, and legumes.
    There's zero about ketosis.

    Thank you so much! I always appreciate it when people are willing to look something up for me.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    savithny wrote: »

    ""Warner C(2015) Ancient Human Microbiomes, J Hum Evol 79:125-136" - Having trouble locating this. Can you share the claim that is being made there?

    I've got access through my organization and found it.

    It's a literature review about ways to study and reconstruct historic, ancient, and paleolithic microbial "passengers" and the uses of that data It describes methods for examining ancient feces and dental plaque for the microbes that live in it. It does say that the techniques described COULD be used to discover evidence of ancient diets.

    Interestingly, the examples of previous work on "discovering what ancients ate by studying their poop and teeth" contain many citaitons to studies that found plants, starchy foods, tubers, rhizomes, squashes, and legumes.
    There's zero about ketosis.

    Thank you so much! I always appreciate it when people are willing to look something up for me.

    It may be paywalled for you, but...
    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047248414002620


  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    savithny wrote: »
    savithny wrote: »

    ""Warner C(2015) Ancient Human Microbiomes, J Hum Evol 79:125-136" - Having trouble locating this. Can you share the claim that is being made there?

    I've got access through my organization and found it.

    It's a literature review about ways to study and reconstruct historic, ancient, and paleolithic microbial "passengers" and the uses of that data It describes methods for examining ancient feces and dental plaque for the microbes that live in it. It does say that the techniques described COULD be used to discover evidence of ancient diets.

    Interestingly, the examples of previous work on "discovering what ancients ate by studying their poop and teeth" contain many citaitons to studies that found plants, starchy foods, tubers, rhizomes, squashes, and legumes.
    There's zero about ketosis.

    Thank you so much! I always appreciate it when people are willing to look something up for me.

    It may be paywalled for you, but...
    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047248414002620


    Unfortunately, it is. But thank you!
  • GoodinBadout
    GoodinBadout Posts: 8 Member
    jremy69 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    jremy69 wrote: »
    I am 36. I've lost 85 pounds in 9 months. Every single marker of inflimation is gone. All of my aches and pains are gone. My mind is magnitudes more focused and clear. I have energy all day and jump out of bed with more vigor than when I was a kid. My grocery bill has been cut by 75%. I can smell now, which I could never do for my entire life. And, everything tastes better. My sexy drive is amazing. I haven't been sick since starting, yet everyone around me has been sick mutiple times. All of these wonderful side effect with NO EXERCISE!

    Technically "keto" is any intake in nutrients that puts you in a state of ketosis. Which is pretty hard to do sometimes with carbohydrates. As far as I'm concerned, through my experience and personal research, being in ketosis or even having more metabolic flexibility is probably the most optimal way of being for 90% of humans.

    Other than the smell thing, which is odd, that all sounds normal and common for people who need to and lose 85 lbs.

    If you had a lot to lose or are a big guy, 85 in 9 months isn't that surprising either -- although great job!

    Point is that there are lots of ways people do that besides keto. Keto may have been the easiest way for you, but for many of us it wouldn't be, or we tend to eat healthier diets not doing keto. So once again, keto is neither good nor bad. It's a way of eating that works well for some people, but likely not most people.

    I agree that it may not be for everyone. With that said. There are many factors that come into play when trying to optimize yourself in any way. Emotions, habits, cravings, schedules, social cues, medical problems, etc. If we take the weight lose aspect out of it right, and only focus on what happens to our bodies when we are using minimal glucose, then there isn't any evidence left that we need any sort of carbohydrates for any reason. There are no essential carbohydrates. If a person wants their body ran on the dependency to eat what and when they want for any reason other than optimization, then so be it. But, again. Through the research I've done, fueling the human body on fat and ketones seems to be optimal for the majority of the human population in almost every aspect.

    Can you please reference this research you have done? I would like to read up on it.
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