Keto or Mediterranean
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SONKISSED1
Posts: 48 Member
Help! I need to make a wise and healthy decision between the two. I spoke with my doctor who did not say anything bad about Keto, but just that she leaned towards Mediterranean. I have to lose weight in order to keep Type 2 Diabetes under control. Thanks.
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Replies
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Losing weight and increasing exercise will help your diabetes, regardless of the specific diet. Which type of eating do you see yourself doing for the rest of your life? I lost weight on low carb, but couldn't sustain it. Some people have no problem living without fruit and grains and ice cream - I'm not one of them. The Mediterranean diet is a good one if you like fish and aren't much of a red meat eater and it is a healthy all around way of eating. It really depends on what you like and dislike eating.
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Why are you considering Keto?
Why are you considering Mediterranean?
I mean there's nothing inherently special or magic about them and they're no better than the dozens of other approaches so what made you decided on these two? They're quite different approaches to eating and would have very different reasons for adopting them so the first step in deciding is to work why.18 -
what was said above. But personally, I"d go mediterranean because I can't low carb. Plus, I think you get a lot of good stuff from carbs like fruit and grains - micronutrients and deliciousness and I don't see the point of cutting them out unless for a medical reason.6
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Try a month of one, then a month of the other. If they’re both appropriate for your needs, there’s no reason not to test them out.
I’m on keto because while I love carbs, I don’t miss them when they’re (almost) gone. I’m not great at moderation and don’t get especially excited about a lot of the staple foods in the Mediterranean diet, so while I’ve tried to move my eating that way in the past, it never really took off. Keto sounded like a nightmare to me, but I tried it on a lark/dare for a month, and it was exactly what I needed.
It’s stricter than my mom’s pre-Type-2 management diet, but I need strict. It allows me to control my overeating and make good choices and, paradoxically, obsess less about food. I never would’ve predicted any of that before I tried, so...try. 🙂10 -
Main thing for you is to get your weight into healthy range and try to keep your carbs in the 100-150 grams per day range. This is solidly out of keto, but still low carb. You should be able to set MFP up to easily meet those goals. I recommend going to the getting started stickies, reading those and getting started.
Exercise will also make you more insulin sensitive. You don't need to do any thing extreme but you should get started in a modality you enjoy. Maybe walking, spin, yoga, etc.
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I'm type 2, and have been eating way closer to Mediterranean than Keto, just found out today that my A1C dropped form 7 to 6.2. Good luck with whatever you choose.8
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Whichever one you think you can stick to for the foreseeable future. The key is finding a way of eating that makes it as easy as possible to stick to your calorie goal. You don't actually have to "follow" any diet at all, or you can take strategies from a bunch of different diets. The key is what kind of food you like and what foods you find filling.
I don't find fat filling, so keto wouldn't help me. If I was going to follow a diet, the Mediterranean is what I aspire to, but I haven't really bothered. When I was losing weighr, I just tried to get more protein and fiber, plenty of veggies, and less mindless eating.
Whatever way you go, good luck!7 -
I'd you enjoy some moderate carbs, Mediterranean, if you don't, keto. Why not try Mediterranean flexible.2
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Calorie deficit diet11
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You could also try both.
Mediterranean diets have more to do with the types of foods you eat whereas keto is about certain macros. You could eat Mediterranean but heavy on the fish, olives, avocado and veggies. You could limit or skip the noodles and bread.2 -
Are you newly diagnosed? Did your doctor suggest a referral to a registered dietician? Someone to help you craft a plan that suits your needs and tastes might be a better way than just randomly trying different plans.5
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I am keto and enjoy the keto WOE but some find it restrictive. I think the Mediterranean is a little less restrictive on carbs. I would guess (key word guess) that keto may be a bit faster way to reach your goal but there is nothing wrong with either.18
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I am keto and enjoy the keto WOE but some find it restrictive. I think the Mediterranean is a little less restrictive on carbs. I would guess (key word guess) that keto may be a bit faster way to reach your goal but there is nothing wrong with either.
The Mediterranean diet isn't carbohydrate-restricted at all. It encourages the consumption of fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains (along with moderate amounts of fish, dairy, and wine).8 -
Check out https://nutritionfacts.org/2018/09/20/how-to-reverse-type-2-diabetes/
Dr. Greger is a strong advocate of going vegan. For myself, I am a flexitarian - I follow a vegetarian diet about 80% but when I feel like eating meat socially or otherwise I do, and I regularly have dairy. Regardless, there is a lot of really good information on this site - lots of 3-minute videos that take you through the literature. In particular to Type 2 diabetes there is some compelling diet-related information such as the link I provided that indicate a vegetarian-oriented diet is the way to go. If your journey was strictly about weight loss there are certainly lots of people who have had success with keto but if the underlying issue relates to T2 Diabetes then a Mediterranean diet with a lot of vegetables is preferable.14 -
You'll have quite a bit more variety with Mediterranean, particularly where fruit, veg, legumes, etc are concerned...you'll be pretty limited with that kind of stuff on keto.
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I like the (is it Michael Pollan?) "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." That's my way of eating. Of course he and I don't always agree on the details but it's a pretty good overall strategy.
Other than that I just watch protein and fat to make sure I'm getting enough. I exercise for an hour five days per week.
Easy peasy.
No labels.
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janejellyroll wrote: »I am keto and enjoy the keto WOE but some find it restrictive. I think the Mediterranean is a little less restrictive on carbs. I would guess (key word guess) that keto may be a bit faster way to reach your goal but there is nothing wrong with either.
The Mediterranean diet isn't carbohydrate-restricted at all. It encourages the consumption of fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains (along with moderate amounts of fish, dairy, and wine).
I know nothing about Mediterranean diet but would it be safe to say it is not a high carb diet?1 -
janejellyroll wrote: »I am keto and enjoy the keto WOE but some find it restrictive. I think the Mediterranean is a little less restrictive on carbs. I would guess (key word guess) that keto may be a bit faster way to reach your goal but there is nothing wrong with either.
The Mediterranean diet isn't carbohydrate-restricted at all. It encourages the consumption of fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains (along with moderate amounts of fish, dairy, and wine).
I know nothing about Mediterranean diet but would it be safe to say it is not a high carb diet?
It would be considered moderate to high carbohydrate, with estimates of 55-60% calories coming from carbohydrates. It's not at all accurate to say it's a "little less restrictive on carbs" than keto. The base of the food pyramid would be fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans (along with olive oil and nuts/seeds). It's hard to imagine a definition of "carbohydrate restricted" that would apply to this way of eating.8 -
janejellyroll wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »I am keto and enjoy the keto WOE but some find it restrictive. I think the Mediterranean is a little less restrictive on carbs. I would guess (key word guess) that keto may be a bit faster way to reach your goal but there is nothing wrong with either.
The Mediterranean diet isn't carbohydrate-restricted at all. It encourages the consumption of fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains (along with moderate amounts of fish, dairy, and wine).
I know nothing about Mediterranean diet but would it be safe to say it is not a high carb diet?
It would be considered moderate to high carbohydrate, with estimates of 55-60% calories coming from carbohydrates. It's not at all accurate to say it's a "little less restrictive on carbs" than keto. The base of the food pyramid would be fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans (along with olive oil and nuts/seeds). It's hard to imagine a definition of "carbohydrate restricted" that would apply to this way of eating.
Agreed. Mediterranean is awfully close to, and could be easily done as, a vegetarian diet. I don't think it would be possible to do it in a way that would be considered low carb.
Here's an article on it from Mayo Clinic if anyone is interested:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/mediterranean-diet/art-20047801
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You can do both. I bought the book The Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet by Robert Santos-Prowse
https://www.amazon.com/Ketogenic-Mediterranean-Diet-Fresh-Delicious/dp/1612436412/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1539965489&sr=8-2&keywords=ketogenic+mediterranean+diet4
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