Should I Keto?

Do you really like carbs? (That includes a lot of fruit and veg as well as bread and pasta.) Can you see yourself lasting very long on a diet that cuts them out? If you can't then no, you shouldn't do keto.

There are a ton of threads on the subject, and probably several groups, so if you want more information then I'm sure there are others who could help. But don't follow a diet craze that won't suit your preferences just because "everyone" seems to be doing it and it's currently all over the magazines.

Eat food you like, in appropriate portions for your goals, and maybe move a bit more for your health and well being. That's all you need to do.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

HelenGerdes wrote: »

@SueSueDio thank you! Great post! I def crave my Italian food and my naan for my Indian cuisine! I will try to stop consuming carbs when I have the right mindset and test the waters to see if this diet works for me. Thanks again friend!

I lost 80 lb and have kept it off 3 years eating 50% carbs.

Clickbait articles make money from fear and love telling people "carbs are evil".

Science disagrees.

Well done for querying keto. All the best!

HelenGerdes wrote: »

@SueSueDio thank you! Great post! I def crave my Italian food and my naan for my Indian cuisine! I will try to stop consuming carbs when I have the right mindset and test the waters to see if this diet works for me. Thanks again friend!

Best of luck! For me, simply decreasing portions of foods like pasta, rice, and naan and increasing protein and non starchy veggies (as well as exercise) was a better fit, but we all can benefit by finding the WOE that fits us best.

HelenGerdes wrote: »

SueSueDio thank you! Great post! I def crave my Italian food and my naan for my Indian cuisine! I will try to stop consuming carbs when I have the right mindset and test the waters to see if this diet works for me. Thanks again friend!

I think you misunderstood what Sue was saying. You can still have pasta and naan and lose weight. Carbs and weight loss are not mutually exclusive, despite what popular media today would have you believe.

Panini911 wrote: »

keto is just a way of eating. People maintain and even gain weight eating this way. some peoeple enjoy it as it keeps them full and they enjoy the foods that work well wtih keto.

Remember carbs are not only in bread and rice. they are in fruit and veggies and many other foods. and Keto is VERY low carb (you can alternatively eat just "lower carb" without going as far as Keto goes).

there is no need to do Keto to lose weight. especially if it's not a way of eating one finds filling or can see doing the rest of their life. the best way to lose weight is by practicing habits you will hopefully maintain for life to keep the weight off.

to lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than your body uses over a period of time. that's it. pick a way of eating that is comfortable for you and keeps you full. personally my "diet" has no name. i eat foods i like, in moderation and ensure they fit in my calorie goal.

This. The only reasons to do keto are if you like to eat that way or if a doctor specifically told you to do it to treat a medical condition. Keto does not do anything special for weight loss. Weight loss happens in a calorie deficit, and keto is just one way that some people prefer to eat while in a deficit.

I highly recommend keto. I've been a food addict since I was 11 years old and a type 2 diabetic for about ten years. At the end of last year I was completely out of control, up to almost 240 lb and my blood glucose was through the roof. And still I couldn't stop. I ate fast food every day. Entire boxes of chocolates. My doctor wanted me to add a new diabetes medication which frankly scared the hell out of me. When I woke up one morning the week after Christmas and my fasting blood glucose was 267, I knew I had to do something or I was going to die. I researched as much as I could and found out about keto. I asked my doctor about it and to my surprise, she encouraged me. She said she had a few patients who had enormous success with it, but you have to be committed. And I made up my mind to do it. I'm going to turn 50 this year and if I don't get it together now, I never will.

So on January 1st, I cut out the junk. Just stopped. That's the bare bones of keto: no sugar, no grains, no vegetable oil. Sounds hard, right? Not at all. It was a relief, really. That's the thing about this diet. I don't get hungry and I don't crave the junk. Almost 4 months in, I haven't cheated once. I eat very well. Good quality eggs, grass fed butter, bacon, proscuitto, mozzarella, pistachios, a lot of chicken thighs, broccoli, salad. I'm not much of a cook but I've managed to make my first peanut butter mug cake (with whipped cream!) and also banana bread in a mug. That's the other great thing about keto. Almost any food you can think of, from butter cake to biscuits and gravy to pizza, there's a keto recipe for it. Youtube is full of them and there's a really vibrant community there constantly coming up with new ideas.

Cutting out the carbs was the only thing that broke my food addiction. I still get about 20 a day, mostly from vegetables and nuts. I just made my first goal yesterday: to be under 200 lb. before my birthday in October. I've lost almost 40 lb. and my fasting blood glucose this morning was 98. I feel great, I'm sleeping better and for the first time in a long time, I have hope. Keto has been a miracle for me. You have to decide what's best for you, and definitely talk to your doctor first. Good luck with whatever path you choose.

I have been following a ketogenic lifestyle since July and it has honestly changed my life. I have Lupus and it has helped my chronic pain and inflammation. As a very welcome side effect, I have lost 16 pounds and 6.5” off my hips, 4.5” off my waist. It has changed my relationship with food.

apullum wrote: »

Panini911 wrote: »

keto is just a way of eating. People maintain and even gain weight eating this way. some peoeple enjoy it as it keeps them full and they enjoy the foods that work well wtih keto.

Remember carbs are not only in bread and rice. they are in fruit and veggies and many other foods. and Keto is VERY low carb (you can alternatively eat just "lower carb" without going as far as Keto goes).

there is no need to do Keto to lose weight. especially if it's not a way of eating one finds filling or can see doing the rest of their life. the best way to lose weight is by practicing habits you will hopefully maintain for life to keep the weight off.

to lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than your body uses over a period of time. that's it. pick a way of eating that is comfortable for you and keeps you full. personally my "diet" has no name. i eat foods i like, in moderation and ensure they fit in my calorie goal.

This. The only reasons to do keto are if you like to eat that way or if a doctor specifically told you to do it to treat a medical condition. Keto does not do anything special for weight loss. Weight loss happens in a calorie deficit, and keto is just one way that some people prefer to eat while in a deficit.

It also helped, in my case, by breaking the addiction to junk carbs. Once I cut out the white bread and sugar and processed foods, it was like flipping a switch. I just didn't want them anymore. Being a food addict, it's the only thing that's worked for me. I spent years giving my money to Kellogg's, to Nestle, to Weight Watchers and Lean Cuisine, and I stayed broke, fat and sick. There's no one at the top of the keto pyramid making money off this diet. It's just the way we ate before processed carbs were a thing.