There are a number of people in this group and the Low-Carb group who plan on Keto as a way of life and don't plan on going back to burning sugar ever. Me included. I expect to be a little more flexible about my carbs one I get to my goal weight (17 more lbs!) There are a number of posters on here who have been doing zero carbs long term.

I am getting much better at not thinking about this as a "restrictive" diet. When my body reacts to the occasional carb overload I realize I just don't want to eat that stuff anymore.

It seems that prior to the advent of agriculture almost every human was on a predominately low-carb diet. If I look at it that way, with the explosion of health problems in industrial/agricultural societies it would seem that eating a high carb, low fat diet is most likely to cause you to miss out on important nutrients....

I plan to stay some form of low carb for life, as I'm insulin resistant and my body functions best this way.

I do plan to incorporate some things like sweet potatoes back in, but probably not things like grapefruit. You will find that all the things you are supposed to NEED on a carb filled diet are because of the carb filled diet.

So many things like vitamin C are needed because of how the body inefficiently processes carbs. And water retention is worse with carbs than most of things.

Hopefully @FIT_Goat will chime in here, because he's much more knowledgeable about the nutrients side, but if you are on a properly balanced even "zero" carb diet, you get all the nutrients you need from the different meats/proteins.

I think drifting back and forth between 5-50 grams/day and 50-99 grams/day is a good long term strategy.
That way. even a "High" carb day, is still a "Low-carb " day!

Ditto. I am probably a ketofile for life. I have insulin resistance and autoimmune diseases which have benefited from a ketogenic diet.... Lowering carbs seems to be the only thing that has helped. If I did not need to be so low carb I would probably try to incorporate more carbs back into my diet just because of the taste. I now know that carbs beyond veggies and some fruits are of no benefit to health, for anyone, and for about half of all people it is a problem. If you are fine with carbs, then eat them. I would.... Until I gained weight again - carby sweets are trigger foods to over eating for me. Darn it.

I'm going to be pretty much for life starting now, i've been on and off for years, started calorie counting (at 1200) about a week ago on your normal LFHC diet and watched the numbers rise and fall like I was on a rollercoaster, restarted keto and instantly a pound of water weight off my "lowest". This is just where I belong, though I am absolutely carb-addicted which will probably result in cheats now and then until I can put a control on my eating (probably when life improves). My cholesterol is off the roof, and it was normal when I was on keto, so I'm looking forward to it returning to normal again.

AbombAe wrote: »

, I feel incredible. I don't crash, I don't really get the sweets cravings anymore. I never feel bloated after I eat, and I think most importantly I have been emotionally consistent. I used to have pretty decent ups and downs in my moods, and now I don't, I am consistently happier. !

This is EXACTLY how I feel. Nobody tells you (probably "the establishment" hasn't made the connection) that a high-carb/high-sugar diet can cause a lot of issues with mood and emotions. I'm so even-keeled now and also, a nice medium-high level of energy all. Day. Long. No crashes. ❤️ Keto for life!!

Short Version: Its too soon to ask this question, especially during the first few weeks of Keto. I did lose around 70 lbs (in 6 months) and also gained around 20 lbs of Lean Mass in last two years. Keto for me is a life style choice.

Longer version:
Though weight loss (lbs lost) is a good motivator, its also the reason people yo-yo so much. The cycle is Lose weight, gain weight, lose weight, rinse and repeat. People often focus on the numbers with out changing the underlying cause of weight problems, which could be behavioral or medical.

Keto fixed my behavioral problems (Craving, snacking, binging etc) and changed my relationship with food for ever. During the first 4 weeks of keto adaption, I didn't throw away carbs nor I hid them. Yeah, first 4 weeks were night mare going through symptoms of carb addiction withdrawal. But after initial 5-6 weeks, till date I never had to use will power or control when it comes to carbs or over eating. I do indulge in carbs, sweets on family birthdays or some special occasions. When I do eat carbs, I don't feel that great and I see some of those old cravings starting to come back.

Medically Keto helps for people with lower insulin sensitivity and some level of insulin resistance. Don't confuse with the normal or abnormal numbers doctors use to diagnose diabetes, insulin resistance. My doctor told me I had normal blood glucose but could never explain a weight gain averaging 2000 cal/day. I paid for additional testing from my pocket and found out I had average carbohydrate metabolism. What that means is, if I eat carbs or sugar ( paleo compatible or not) my body can only use part of them and other part is stored as fat. I supplement chromium which helps in metabolizing carbs. After being in Keto for last 2 years my body breaks down carbs much better than before.

The reasons why I have been on keto for more than 2 years.
1. I eat once or twice a day when I have time or if I am hungry. I am rarely hungry compared to when I had to eat every 3-4 hours on normal diet. Thats a disaster when you are busy or stressed.
2. I don't count calories nor have to use self control or do detailed meal planning. Even when I am stressed, traveling or busy I can maintain weight.
3. The energy through out the day with out crashing is awesome. I don't drink coffee nor use any stimulants.
4. I have no inflammation, soreness or pain. I can train like a freak and recover easily. Even 20 year old athletes, half my age can't keep up with me.
5. I don't want to go back to eating 1600 cals to maintain weight when I can feast every meal and not get fat.

I can write a book on why I wouldn't get off keto.

Christine_72 wrote: »

Going_The_Distance wrote: »

Short Version: Its too soon to ask this question, especially during the first few weeks of Keto. I did lose around 70 lbs (in 6 months) and also gained around 20 lbs of Lean Mass in last two years. Keto for me is a life style choice.

Longer version:
Though weight loss (lbs lost) is a good motivator, its also the reason people yo-yo so much. The cycle is Lose weight, gain weight, lose weight, rinse and repeat. People often focus on the numbers with out changing the underlying cause of weight problems, which could be behavioral or medical.

Keto fixed my behavioral problems (Craving, snacking, binging etc) and changed my relationship with food for ever. During the first 4 weeks of keto adaption, I didn't throw away carbs nor I hid them. Yeah, first 4 weeks were night mare going through symptoms of carb addiction withdrawal. But after initial 5-6 weeks, till date I never had to use will power or control when it comes to carbs or over eating. I do indulge in carbs, sweets on family birthdays or some special occasions. When I do eat carbs, I don't feel that great and I see some of those old cravings starting to come back.

Medically Keto helps for people with lower insulin sensitivity and some level of insulin resistance. Don't confuse with the normal or abnormal numbers doctors use to diagnose diabetes, insulin resistance. My doctor told me I had normal blood glucose but could never explain a weight gain averaging 2000 cal/day. I paid for additional testing from my pocket and found out I had average carbohydrate metabolism. What that means is, if I eat carbs or sugar ( paleo compatible or not) my body can only use part of them and other part is stored as fat. I supplement chromium which helps in metabolizing carbs. After being in Keto for last 2 years my body breaks down carbs much better than before.

The reasons why I have been on keto for more than 2 years.
1. I eat once or twice a day when I have time or if I am hungry. I am rarely hungry compared to when I had to eat every 3-4 hours on normal diet. Thats a disaster when you are busy or stressed.
2. I don't count calories nor have to use self control or do detailed meal planning. Even when I am stressed, traveling or busy I can maintain weight.
3. The energy through out the day with out crashing is awesome. I don't drink coffee nor use any stimulants.
4. I have no inflammation, soreness or pain. I can train like a freak and recover easily. Even 20 year old athletes, half my age can't keep up with me.
5. I don't want to go back to eating 1600 cals to maintain weight when I can feast every meal and not get fat.

I can write a book on why I wouldn't get off keto.

Your number 5 point.. Are you saying you can eat more on keto and maintain your weight than on a regular diet?

Yes. Absolutely. For me its around 700 cals difference as measured by metabolic tests. I don't count calories though, I just eat to satiety. I eat more if I am more hungry and I don't stuff when I am not hungry. Every one is focussed on first law of thermo dynamics for calorie in and calorie out theory but ignore the second law of thermodynamics which asks the question is calorie a calorie? Its important because body uses different pathways to breakdown carbs, fat and protein.

Here is a good summary and starting point. Go through multiple studies referenced in this paper.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2129158/

If you analyze the raw data in some of those studies, few subjects who ate low carb ketogenic diet accounted for a difference of up to 300 cals/day compared to standard diet.

Its a simple math, lets say I eat 2000 cals per day.

on Keto:

100 g protein=400 cals
25 g carbs= 100 cals
167 g fat = 1500 cals.

The body doesn't have to worry about managing glycogen or sugar because the carbs are low. The body uses different pathway to breakdown fats.

On standard diet MFP recommends for 2000 cal.
250g Carbs = 1000 cals.
100 g protein = 400 cals
67g fat = 600 cals.

Now, the body has to break down 250g of carbs and if its especially high in sugar and some one with average or poor carbohydrate metabolism. The excess glycogen/glucose can be stored as fat. How much depends on individual basis, which is why some don't gain and some gain weight easily.

I just love fruits and there's the tomatoes that I can't live without for the rest of my life. This is the only reason I can't see myself keto forever. Fruits! Cherries! Peaches!

I'm hoping that once I get to maintenance phase I can incorporate more fruits. Right now though, I'm putting them on hold.

Astharteea wrote: »

KnitOrMiss wrote: »

Astharteea wrote: »

I just love fruits and there's the tomatoes that I can't live without for the rest of my life. This is the only reason I can't see myself keto forever. Fruits! Cherries! Peaches!

All of the things you list here, @Astharteea, are allowed on keto, just having to pay attention to quantities and pairings...

True, but sometimes I can't have just a peach a day. I guess I can just buy 1 peach at the time. I see your point.

@Astharteea Or buy frozen ones. Add one or two slices to a low carb smoothie/shake. Or dice it up and eat it with heavy cream. Or get some sugarless greek yogurt. Make a cream cheese dip...(barely sweetened enough to take the edge off). Or use peach extract (unsweetened - can be found on amazon, etc.) to make tea that tastes like peaches...or homemade yogurt...or ice cream. There are many many many ways to add those foods in.

Peaches are a stone fruit - meaning it has a stone in the middle of the fruit, meaning that in limited quantity, it is a lower carb fruit. Other good choices are strawberries, other berries, etc. And if you're like me, getting A peach used to mean eating 2-3 at a time. As you go on and get more calories from your fats, you'll be able to enjoy smaller portions and relish the flavor, all of the aspects... It's...life changing!

EDITED TO ADD: Remember, that ongoing keto carb range can be 20-50 grams of carbs, depending on how your body reacts to them. You could lose better at 50 grams than someone else does at 20 grams. It's all personalizing your choices and making it work for you instead of the other way around!

Keto forever. That said, I'm having difficulty finding the sweet spot of going from strict keto for weight loss to varied food choices and maintenence level macros. Still trying out various plans but so far haven't hit my stride in that area.
One thing for sure is that my sweet tooth is poised and ready to pounce full force, so that is something I need to accept and wrassle with. Too bad since sugar is my fav food group. But the choice is overweight and unhealthy or fit and fabulous.