What your opinion on the keto diet?
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GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »I low carbed (not keto, though) for ten years back in the day.
I found it wasn't sustainable over the long term as a life-long dietary pattern I could follow.
Keto most definitely wouldn't work for me for a variety of reasons. I have familial hypercholesterolemia, and it's contraindicated for people with my condition. Not only that, I don't find fat satiating and I find that a high fat diet gives me indigestion and heart burn.
Just not my thing.
For people who are satisfied with the food choices and eat at the upper end of carbohydrate levels to ensure adequate vegetable consumption, I think keto can be a decent enough choice. I think for a lot of them, regular low carbing with a less strict carb level would probably be a more viable and pleasant alternative that would allow for more nutritious foods in the diet (more vegetable choices).
I also have the familial hyperlemia (type 2 from genetic testing) and wondered how keto would affect that. So it did raise your levels? Curious what the doc prescribed for you as I could not tolerate the meds I was given. Thanks!0 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »hopiemama33 wrote: »I've been doing it about three months. After the first two months I had lost 16 pounds, and my A1C went from 9.1 to 6.6. I haven't lost a lot in the past month, but I've read it is common to stall every once in a while. I plan to continue this way of eating long term and see how my health markers improve.
With an n of 1 and no control group, there's no way to know whether the A1C improvement is due to 1) weight loss, 2) keto diet, 3) being in a caloric deficit (subtly different from the weight loss, as you would have to look at results in people who lost a certain amount and then went to maintenance, or (4) other factors you don't mention, such as whether you increased your physical activity over that time.
I'm not a doctor but I do know a little about diabetes and with an A1C of 9.1, she is definitely diabetic. Now, unless she's had it since a young age and her pancreas does not produce insulin at all anymore (or very little), she is most likely a T2 diabetic which can be controlled and/or, even, reversed by following a low carb way of eating. I believe her A1C reading of 6.6 was a direct link to her cutting out the carbs and sugars. Just like you wouldn't give an alcoholic liquor, you don't give a diabetic sugar/carbs. It doesn't necessarily have to be a Keto diet but if it's working for her, more power to her.
Yes, and my point was that there's no way of knowing whether it is the keto diet that's accomplishing it for her. Weight loss and exercise have been linked to a decrease in A1C levels in T2 diabetics. (I'm not a doctor either and I also know a little about diabetes, so I guess my "authority" is as good as yours.)
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HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »If keto is your thing do it.. but I'm tired of hearing and reading the word keto TBH.
Then why would you even go into a post about Keto? Maybe don’t read it if you’re tired of hearing about it. Although I guess technically you did give your opinion about Keto.7 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »I low carbed (not keto, though) for ten years back in the day.
I found it wasn't sustainable over the long term as a life-long dietary pattern I could follow.
Keto most definitely wouldn't work for me for a variety of reasons. I have familial hypercholesterolemia, and it's contraindicated for people with my condition. Not only that, I don't find fat satiating and I find that a high fat diet gives me indigestion and heart burn.
Just not my thing.
For people who are satisfied with the food choices and eat at the upper end of carbohydrate levels to ensure adequate vegetable consumption, I think keto can be a decent enough choice. I think for a lot of them, regular low carbing with a less strict carb level would probably be a more viable and pleasant alternative that would allow for more nutritious foods in the diet (more vegetable choices).
I also have the familial hyperlemia (type 2 from genetic testing) and wondered how keto would affect that. So it did raise your levels? Curious what the doc prescribed for you as I could not tolerate the meds I was given. Thanks!
I didn't do well either, but have had good response with diet and a lot of exercise. I don't tolerate supplemental omega 3's either.
A keto diet would be awful because it's high in saturated fat. That's contraindicated with FH.
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I lost 40 lbs counting calories and was pretty miserable, but I was determined, and it worked. I have been keto for a little over a year and have lost another 65 lbs. I have been happy with the keto diet, and find it easy to follow. Cholesterol has gone down and panels look good. I can believe it is not for everyone, but you figure out what works for you...8
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You want my opinion?
I think it needlessly complicates CICO for the vast majority of people.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, some people who've been doing it a short time SAY they can do it for life. Funny how there's just a handful who've done it barely 2 years (see my first point).
/IMHO17 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Lynn's comments are correct, we cannot know if the decrease was due to weight loss, the low carb, a deficit, or other changes. Low carb is not the only thing that helps with T2D.
I don't think anyone was saying she shouldn't continue with the low carbing if it is working for her.
However, to suggest that giving a T2D carbs is like an alcoholic drinking alcohol is, frankly, ridiculous. The vast majority of people even on keto diets consume carbs. To avoid carbs would basically mean a meat/oil only diet (there are a few carbs even in eggs and cheese), and many MFP T2D (many in remission) consume carbs in moderation (combine them with protein and fiber, for example). Some even find that some carbs (in some cases fruit, for example) have no negative effect on their blood glucose. Also, to repeat this point, not eating vegetables is not, IMO, healthy, period.
It's also true that people who merely lose weight will often go into remission from T2D, and that there are people who have do so by other ways of losing weight (such as low fat/plant based diets, ironically enough).
Also, LCHF for T2D is in effect managing the symptoms, not putting the disease in remission. Worth it if you can't address it in other ways, but many (again) find they can through weight loss and exercise (exercise tends to increase insulin sensitivity).
BTW, if you are controlling T2D through keto but continue to have blood glucose issues if you consume, say, some potato or pasta or even fruit, that's not reversing it, that's just controlling the symptoms. Weight loss itself often reverses it (what I'm calling above putting it in remission).
Keto is not about "no carbs". It's about eating healthy slow acting carbs as opposed to quick acting carbs which spike your blood sugars.
I obviously KNOW it's not no carb (not normally, there are "carnivores"). I specifically said that. That was one of the reasons I objected to the "don't give carbs to a T2D" thing.
However, it's ALSO not just eat "healthy slow acting carbs." Keto is about getting in nutritional ketosis and staying there, and that's completely about how many net carbs you eat (as dictated by your maintenance calories and activity, basically). You can eat some quick acting carbs within your 0-50 g net (the trend these days seems to be under 20 g net, although personally I usually ate around 35 g net when I was doing it, since I wanted to get in a certain amount of veg and some nuts and avocado). People often do, too. And you also still have to limit your "healthy slow acting carbs." For example, fruit doesn't fit well, even though many fruits are "healthy and slow acting" (at least for some T2D -- I'm not IR at all, for the record), and -- even more significantly -- it's basically impossible to fit in any amount of beans/lentils (other than black soybeans, which have a keto-friendly net carb amount, or whole grains, even though many find those to be "healthy slow acting carbs." I also think plenty of carbs that might not be considered "slow acting" are extremely healthy, like sweet potatoes, potatoes, some of the fruits that might be faster sources of fuel, etc. So let's not pretend that keto is just about eating healthy or avoiding foods that are somehow bad for you -- it can be healthy (again, as I said above), but the basics of it are just about how many net carbs you consume, and that has nothing particular to do with health.And, I agree, maybe the alcohol/liquor wasn't the best analogy but you wouldn't offer a diabetic a slice of pizza and a piece of cake if they came for dinner.
You know what pizza and cake contain a lot of? Fat. They have as much fat as carbs, normally. So this idea that they are "carbs" is so weird.
And some T2D probably do manage to eat some pizza and cake in moderation, within the context of a healthy diet, while moderating carbs and pairing them with fiber -- easy to do with pizza, actually, as I often make a thin crust pizza with a whole wheat crust and lots of vegetables, just add some lean meat. (I'm not T2D, as I said, and I almost never eat cake, so I also find this idea that not doing keto means eating lots of cake puzzling.)to say there is no proof her following a Keto diet had anything to do with it is not right either. It's working for her so there is no reason to discourage it.
Where did I discourage it? For that matter, I don't think anyone discouraged it.
And again, Lynn was right, there is nothing to say that it was the keto diet vs. other causes, whatever you may believe. That said (as I said before), if she's liking the keto diet and doing well with it and losing weight, seems good to me.6 -
JeromeBarry1 wrote: »Keto is great for thee, not for me.
Every time I pass a police officer on the road who has someone stopped/pulled over, I always think to myself "Better thee than me".
You want my opinion?
It seems Keto's a cult around here.
I think it needlessly complicates CICO for the vast majority of people.
Amen.
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Waiting....4 -
I haven’t tried it and don’t really plan to ever try it.1
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I haven't tried it and it sounds horrible to me. I did a lo carb diet in the past and actually kept the weight off for about 6 years. Eating more carbs in a food situation in which I had no control over for 2 weeks, ended that since it was eat carbs or nothing.
About 30 years ago a young med student told me about ketosis. It was something extreme according to him that had to be done under doctor's supervision and it was TEMPORARY. it turns me off completely to think of doing it in the first place on my own and second ly that I know I couldn't stick to it. I've lost 30 lbs. So far by counting calories and don't have to eliminate any foods for weight loss. Keto just sounds terrible to me.3 -
You want my opinion?
I think it needlessly complicates CICO for the vast majority of people.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, some people who've been doing it a short time SAY they can do it for life. Funny how there's just a handful who've done it barely 2 years (see my first point).
/IMHO
This could be. I have only been doing it for about 14 months. I am not only doing it for weight loss. I am a T2D, and it keeps my glucose levels low. I brought my A1C down to 5.5, and my doctor reduced my metformin dose. Lipid panels improved and I am off my statin. BP is teetering on the edge of my doctor taking me off my BP med. Liver enzymes are at the low end of the normal range after 20 years of being too high. It has worked well for me. So far it has looked pretty sustainable, and the results have encouraged me to stick with it. Maybe all that will change, but I don't think so.
Most of the long term keto/LC folks on MFP are in the low carb forum.7 -
Unnecessary for most people. Not sustainable for most people. The latest fad diet.10
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Cutting out foods I love is a recipe for disaster. Personally, I have lost and kept off 50lbs for 5 years by concentrating on higher levels of protein (~150 to 175g) and eating higher fiber (30 to 40g). And since my biggest focus is on exercise, you can't beat carbs.5
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I'd recommend low carbs. I like fruit too much to go full keto. Grains are unnecessary for everyday foods. Fruits, veggies, grass fed meat, eggs, cheese, fish, seafood, nuts, seeds, seaweeds, and mushrooms are most of the foods I eat. Exercise is very important as well, like walking and weightlifting.3
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TheDevastator wrote: »I'd recommend low carbs. I like fruit too much to go full keto. Grains are unnecessary for everyday foods. Fruits, veggies, grass fed meat, eggs, cheese, fish, seafood, nuts, seeds, seaweeds, and mushrooms are most of the foods I eat. Exercise is very important as well, like walking and weightlifting.
Just to point out, no specific food is necessary for everyday foods.4 -
I'm on a keto diet, I like it, it's working for me. But I can't stand people on keto that are trying to make this diet look like it's some kind of a miracle.10
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TheDevastator wrote: »I'd recommend low carbs. I like fruit too much to go full keto. Grains are unnecessary for everyday foods. Fruits, veggies, grass fed meat, eggs, cheese, fish, seafood, nuts, seeds, seaweeds, and mushrooms are most of the foods I eat. Exercise is very important as well, like walking and weightlifting.
Just to point out, no specific food is necessary for everyday foods.
I guess that's true. I'm pretty much against grains most of the time but I do eat them when traveling.1 -
I found it easier to stick to the strictness of Keto than I do just trying to calorie control. I lost a stone in 3 weeks but then completely stalled and couldn’t lose any more (even over 3 months). Iv come off it now and gone back to eating a normal diet but trying to stick to calories with exercise.0
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