Pros and Cons of keto?
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It boils down to this:
Pros: some people find it easier
Cons: some people find it harder
All the other claimed benefits are very individual.
When I tried it twice and I found out I was in the second camp and developed unwanted gastro side effects, anxiety, depression, unstable blood sugar, insatiable hunger due to the tiny portions and I did not like most of the food to boot. There is no way you would know which camp you belong to short of trying it, so give it a try for a couple of months and see how you feel.6 -
about 20 years ago or so i worked at a very large gym there were a lot of power lifters bodybuilders and people just working out, i heard of keto back then but the only people that were doing it were the ones getting ready to jump on stage for a show these people were in shape already for men i would say 6 to 10 percent body fat for women 15 to 18 percent body fat, they would do keto 30 days out from a show, a day before the show i seen guys that were around 4% body fat for the women 10 to 12 % body fat from the people i talk to they would only do it for short period of time after a show they would slowly work there way back up to maintenance calories,1
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amusedmonkey wrote: »It boils down to this:
Pros: some people find it easier
Cons: some people find it harder
All the other claimed benefits are very individual.
When I tried it twice and I found out I was in the second camp and developed unwanted gastro side effects, anxiety, depression, unstable blood sugar, insatiable hunger due to the tiny portions and I did not like most of the food to boot. There is no way you would know which camp you belong to short of trying it, so give it a try for a couple of months and see how you feel.
This pretty much in a nut shell. I could never get down to keto. I can't even get below 150g of carbs a day without feeling tired, dizzy and lethagic, even with high amounts of sodium/electrolytes.
So for some, its very plausible. For others, its like death. The question is, how is your body going to respond.
Unfortunately, dieting is highly trail and error. And regardless of diet strategy, you still need a calorie deficit to lose weight.
Edit: many of the aforementioned benefits occur with any diet because typically people concentrate on higher quality, higher nutrient level foods and start exercising.1 -
The only thing that you should ask yourself is this - is it sustainable for YOU? And I'm not talking just for losing weight, but after too...4
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Cons: Social difficulties. Happy birthday! I can't eat even a small slice of cake though, as - unlike normal plain calorie counting - even small cheats break the efficacy of the diet (if you believe in it.)2
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It's very restrictive and you will get the same results just counting your calories that MFP recommends
Source: Lost 100lbs in 12 months following MFP recommendations and didn't cut out any food types...3 -
I think you have to experiment since everyone is different. Personally, the benefit for me is massively decreased appetite/cravings (so much lower calories). The downside is dramatically lower performance in the gym, even on pretty easy workouts. It's been about a month now but maybe that will get better with time. For myself, I see it as a temporary tool for lowering calories to speed up my weight loss, but not as a lifetime way of eating for me. I lost my first 45 lbs through calorie counting with moderate/high carbs so I know that I can eat lots of carbs and still lose weight, it's just slower because I eat more calories in general.
The key to ANY way of eating though is not to give up when results slow down, as they inevitably do, but either stick with it or change your tactic. When I tried keto in the past it failed for me because I'd lose weight super quickly the first few weeks, then suddenly weight loss would halt, I'd get discouraged, and I'd go right back to my old way of eating (3-4k calories/day of junk).1 -
Keto Diet is good for a short period (30-60 days) of time to 'jump start' your weight loss, though some people remain on it for ages too without any adverse effect. It's type of Atkins where you need to keep your carbs intake to 20 grams or less, eat more fats, some proteins & no starchy veggies.
Check this youtube video it get a high-level info what's Keto -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOJxfh0b3o8
Remember... calorie count is best way to reduce weight, just Keto isn't going to decrease your weight. All the best.2 -
I've been mostly Keto since the beginning of February.
Pros:
I like eating this way.
I find that I am not thinking about food all the time. (cravings seem to have subsided)
More alert thinking.
less hunger.
Easily stay within my calorie allotment
Supportive groups here on MFP
Lost 33 pound so far
Cons:
Social eating : sometimes people look at you funny when you only have the entrée on your plate or the birthday cake instance mentioned above
Getting over embarrassment of asking for "low carb style" or just the meat and cheese when eating out.
bad breath, though wife hasn't complained in a while...some say it goes away.
Everyone wants to argue with you about it
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about 20 years ago or so i worked at a very large gym there were a lot of power lifters bodybuilders and people just working out, i heard of keto back then but the only people that were doing it were the ones getting ready to jump on stage for a show these people were in shape already for men i would say 6 to 10 percent body fat for women 15 to 18 percent body fat, they would do keto 30 days out from a show, a day before the show i seen guys that were around 4% body fat for the women 10 to 12 % body fat from the people i talk to they would only do it for short period of time after a show they would slowly work there way back up to maintenance calories,
yeah, I know a lot of body builders use Keto as a way to decrease BF% and water weight prior to a competition. I think a body building forum would probably be the best place to get that info.1 -
Putting your body in a Ketosis state is pointless unless it is deemed medically necessary. You cant avoid carbs forever, so why starve your body of it now? It will only induce cravings for carbs and make it harder to stay on track. If you want to lose weight just lower your intake. Don't do low/no carbs... That is so hard on your body if not medically necessary. I would just go crazy without mine.1
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RebeccaParmenter wrote: »Putting your body in a Ketosis state is pointless unless it is deemed medically necessary. You cant avoid carbs forever, so why starve your body of it now? It will only induce cravings for carbs and make it harder to stay on track. If you want to lose weight just lower your intake. Don't do low/no carbs... That is so hard on your body if not medically necessary. I would just go crazy without mine.
Low carb actually reduces cravings for me--I'm rarely hungry now, and eat very sensibly (probably 2/3 of my plate is veggies). Being 95 lbs overweight (having lost 27 lbs since September, 14 of which were since April 1 and starting low carb) is harder on my body than eating low carb.
I plan on doing low carb for the foreseeable future, although I'm going to increase from 50g to ~100g once I get closer to maintenance.
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Thank you to all of you who answered! I lost 100 pounds (from 2013 - 2015), but I wasn't keeping track of anything, just working out and eating better. Then from 2015 - 2016, I gained 25 pounds back, and I'm wanting to lose that, plus about 20 more (goal weight: 140, current weight 180). I've been back at for about 2 weeks now and have seen amazing progress already. I think I'm going to give this keto thing a shot for a couple of weeks and see if it benefits me. I've read that the best way to combat the side effects is to drink a lot of water, and I already drink at least a gallon a day. Thank you again for all your input!!
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just curious... why does keto cause bad breath?0
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bmarge10288 wrote: »just curious... why does keto cause bad breath?
Ketones can actually be excreted a bit via your breath. Has a chemical/fruity odor.1 -
I've been keto 8 months and I love it. Of course no one diet is right for every person so my pros may not apply to you but...
Pros: less RA flares, less hunger, no cravings, better skin, better sleep, more energy, reduced anxiety, I'm now able to workout again as where chronic pain kept me from it before, and most of all I love the food.
Cons: having to constantly defend your diet.
I don't consider the socialization part a con but other people might. I'm celiac so even when eating carbs I had to turn down cake at parties and ask for bunless burgers in restaurants. In fact now it's better for me because I have no carb cravings so I don't envy the cake and pizza eaters at parties like I used to.
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Escloflowne wrote: »It's very restrictive and you will get the same results just counting your calories that MFP recommends
Source: Lost 100lbs in 12 months following MFP recommendations and didn't cut out any food types...
You may have, but that doesn't mean it will work that way for everyone--just like keto, or paleo, Weight Watchers, or any other "diet".
Weight loss is very much an individual experience. We don't all have the same metabolic rate, even at the same weight. Also there is more to losing weight than you can quantify by just calories in, calories out.
I lost 80 lbs on Weight Watchers in 2007-08. I kept a lot of that weight off for a few years, but due to some bad habits and choices I got back up to my pre WW weight in the last year. When I was on WW, I really ate poorly. This was the original (I think) points system, and I was like Oprah...maybe not with "eating bread every day", but I ate anything I wanted. The problem with doing that is that I didn't learn any good habits for eating. I opted for the convenience of frozen meals pretty often because cooking for one person and figuring out all the points values was a lot of work. I pretty much lived on processed foods, fruit, cheese sticks, and 100 calorie packs of anything.
I'm doing keto right now and have experienced great benefits in a little under 2 months. I DON'T count calories, although I am likely under my caloric goal many days. I've lost 20+ lbs in 8 weeks.
Pros:
I get to eat many foods I like, especially cheese
Better sleep
Not getting hangry and being able to go longer without eating
Working out in a fasted state
Losing weight (obviously)
Haven't found the need to count calories meticulously yet
Greater understanding of how insulin/blood glucose/ketones work
Gets my mind right because I'm not thinking about how much of a cheat I can get away with
Cons:
Can be difficult to get what you want when eating out - I eat out every day for lunch when I'm at work, and don't have too hard of a time finding something that I can eat. It's just hard for places to get it right sometimes.
Some people find it confusing or don't read up enough about it
It's not for cheaters
Muscle cramping, if you aren't getting the right supplements and electrolytes
Feeling slightly more judgmental about people consuming sugary stuff2 -
Thank you to all of you who answered! I lost 100 pounds (from 2013 - 2015), but I wasn't keeping track of anything, just working out and eating better. Then from 2015 - 2016, I gained 25 pounds back, and I'm wanting to lose that, plus about 20 more (goal weight: 140, current weight 180). I've been back at for about 2 weeks now and have seen amazing progress already. I think I'm going to give this keto thing a shot for a couple of weeks and see if it benefits me. I've read that the best way to combat the side effects is to drink a lot of water, and I already drink at least a gallon a day. Thank you again for all your input!!
And keep your electrolytes up: salt and magnesium especially. The more water you drink, the more electrolytes are watered down in the body creating an imbalance if you don't watch it. Check out the electrolyte post stickie at the top of the LC group page.
ETA: Keto flu is mostly electrolyte imbalance. Ketosis causes the kidneys to excrete extra sodium. Top it up with salty broth or homemade electrolyte drinks.1 -
about 20 years ago or so i worked at a very large gym there were a lot of power lifters bodybuilders and people just working out, i heard of keto back then but the only people that were doing it were the ones getting ready to jump on stage for a show these people were in shape already for men i would say 6 to 10 percent body fat for women 15 to 18 percent body fat, they would do keto 30 days out from a show, a day before the show i seen guys that were around 4% body fat for the women 10 to 12 % body fat from the people i talk to they would only do it for short period of time after a show they would slowly work there way back up to maintenance calories,
yeah, I know a lot of body builders use Keto as a way to decrease BF% and water weight prior to a competition. I think a body building forum would probably be the best place to get that info.
This is a FITNESS FORUM not a weightloss forum. Its in the name..lol..
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Michael190lbs wrote: »about 20 years ago or so i worked at a very large gym there were a lot of power lifters bodybuilders and people just working out, i heard of keto back then but the only people that were doing it were the ones getting ready to jump on stage for a show these people were in shape already for men i would say 6 to 10 percent body fat for women 15 to 18 percent body fat, they would do keto 30 days out from a show, a day before the show i seen guys that were around 4% body fat for the women 10 to 12 % body fat from the people i talk to they would only do it for short period of time after a show they would slowly work there way back up to maintenance calories,
yeah, I know a lot of body builders use Keto as a way to decrease BF% and water weight prior to a competition. I think a body building forum would probably be the best place to get that info.
This is a FITNESS FORUM not a weightloss forum. Its in the name..lol..
Easy there, buddy. I'm not saying his post isn't welcome here or anything like that. He may be able to find great advice on here as well. I was just saying that body building forums would probably be a better source because they will be in general more familiar with the exact problem he is trying to solve. Another option might be body building groups here on MFP. In either case, in order to find advice on the best application of keto for body building purposes, he would be best served to seek out people who use keto for body building purposes..lol..1
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