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What are your thoughts on Keto?
Replies
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@janejellyroll Actually, if you read many people who post against keto or offer their advice on keto, even in this thread alone, say it's just one of many options to get a calorie deficit. I'm saying it's more than just calorie deficit or weight loss related. My Mom is not overweight. Skinny and active. She does not overeat. Eats way more fruits and vegies than the average person. Yet she has diabetes and high cholesterol. My autoimmune disease has a terrible inflammatory component. Two weeks back on keto, without having lost enough weight for that to have an impact, and my inflammation is way down. The effect of very low carb on your liver health, etc are more than just secondary to weight loss.
My aunt was on keto most of her life because she was epileptic...her keto diet caused her to have high cholesterol and other health issues and she died at 52 from them.
I eat a varied and well balanced diet consisting largely of whole foods and exercise regularly...that fixed my high cholesterol and pre-diabetic blood work. Having a diet that is significantly plant based means I eat quite a few carbs and have zero issues.12 -
I did keto for about 3 and 1/2 years. I was not always strict but I tried to be. Honestly, I wish I never did it. I looked at it as a way to cheat the system (the system being a calorie deficit) and still lose weight. I did lose weight because basically you can only eat so much bacon and cheese.
I feel that it messed up my relationship with food. It's a very restrictive diet. And ultimately if a person can't do it for life, they'll most likely end up back at square one after they can't stay with it anymore.
Aside from medical reasons, and as someone who did it for a long time, I give it a one star review.13 -
@janejellyroll Actually, if you read many people who post against keto or offer their advice on keto, even in this thread alone, say it's just one of many options to get a calorie deficit. I'm saying it's more than just calorie deficit or weight loss related. My Mom is not overweight. Skinny and active. She does not overeat. Eats way more fruits and vegies than the average person. Yet she has diabetes and high cholesterol. My autoimmune disease has a terrible inflammatory component. Two weeks back on keto, without having lost enough weight for that to have an impact, and my inflammation is way down. The effect of very low carb on your liver health, etc are more than just secondary to weight loss.
There are people for whom keto is medically desirable or necessary, which I believe has also been said several times in this thread. Perhaps you and your mom are such people?
A balanced, well-rounded nutritious diet at appropriate calories, plus regular exercise, helped me to lose weight from obese to healthy (and maintain there for going on 5 years since). Weight loss fully resolved my high blood pressure, poor lipid profile, and inflammatory issues.
For people like me, and unlike you, keto is just one potential route to a calorie deficit, nothing more.
For me specifically, I wouldn't consider it, as a long-term (45+ years) vegetarian. It would limit foods I consider nutritious and delicious (beans, fruit, starchy veg, etc.). Some people do keto vegetarian or even vegan, and I support that if it works well for them. I seem to do fine eating 200g +/- carbs most days (150g +/- while losing weight).
It's useful that you point out that keto can be especially beneficial or helpful for some, but that does not seem to be universal.
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Loving seeing a variant of replies!
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On a personal level it's utterly unappealing.
How about you OP? What are your views and experiences?
I personally like keto!
I had a nutritionist recommend keto for me at the end of 2017 because of some health issues with my digestion and severe inflammation in my body. I implemented the diet at the start of 2018 and was strict for 5 months. The nutritionist also recommend eliminating many other foods (elimination diet) from my diet like dairy, nightshades, gluten, processed foods, hydrogenated oils, so I ate a lot of whole, clean foods.
I found it hard at first but because of consistency and determination, it became apart of my life and I saw the inflammation go down in my body, my skin cleared up, and my digestion was better. I felt overall better physically and mentally. I was also able to be creative with my meals and making my own recipes! I loved the fact that I could be creative and have some fun with the diet!
It is hard to keep up with keto when I was out on the road for work but it is difficult to keep any diet when you eat on the go and don't track what you eat and how much you eat.
Just in general with any diet, I do find it important to track what you eat and how much you are eating if you want to lose/maintain weight.
I personally think any diet could work if you are dedicated to it and you are putting great quality food into your body. I'm not as strict on keto as I was two years ago but I still track my calories and eat wholesome foods. I still avoid gluten and dairy because those were huge factors in causing inflammation in my body. I know keto has helped many people whether they want to lose weight, reverse a heath issue, or for mental clarity!
All in all, I think people would benefit from a healthy lifestyle whether if that's doing Keto or Vegan or in moderation!
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
You would never really know how it will truly affect your body until you actually give it a try!
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@janejellyroll Actually, if you read many people who post against keto or offer their advice on keto, even in this thread alone, say it's just one of many options to get a calorie deficit.
I don't think this is true. For example, upthread I noted that it might help with appetite control. The focus of the conversation naturally has been on weight loss, however, as keto is not the only dietary change that helps with medical conditions, so I think it would be unusual for someone just asked about general thoughts on keto to bring up that it might help with some medical conditions. Same with other ways of eating.
Re T2D/IR, it is one option, but to actually become more insulin sensitive usually weight loss is what does it. Keto or low carb can be a way of controlling the symptoms (spikes) which can be damaging or avoid medication, but most often it seems there are other dietary ways of doing that (controlled and moderate carbs combined with sufficient protein and fiber).
It also seems that in many people keto may actually cause or worsen high cholesterol, and for others it is irrelevant. Are there some for whom it helps when no other dietary changes would? I find that unlikely but not impossible. But again certainly dietary changes can help with high cholesterol in some, and some of the foods you won't be able to eat on keto contribute to high cholesterol in some.
My dad had high cholesterol at a normal healthy weight, and even though he was quite active. His doctor advised him to cut back on sat fat and that worked for him. He now has good cholesterol numbers even though he eats nothing like a keto diet (quite high carb, probably, although also very healthy and he's very active for someone of his age (76)).
Are there other conditions that keto can help with in some? I suspect there are, so believe you that it helped with your condition. The way can help prevent with seizures and for some help with mental health conditions and migraines is known or being studied.
Re: IF being easier, I didn't find that it had any effect on that, but then I find it easy in general (as do many who do it without doing keto). Again, people are different, and my only objection is to selling keto as having these effects for all.3 -
My $0.02 and worth exactly that:
My brother has done strict Keto, and he enjoyed some substantial weight loss when he did. However, he likes carbs. So when he craved carbs, he got into that mindset of falling off the wagon- not wanting to get back on.
He's since regained the weight he lost.
So I would say, having seen what he went through and what the results for him were, it wasn't worth it. He would have better invested his time eating things he liked in moderation and learning how to do that. There might be some people for whom eating in a Keto fashion is a dream come true- I'm not one of them. I've found through trial and error that my optimal satiation clocks in at right around 33%/33%/33% give or take a little, protein/carbs/fats.
From a medical standpoint, I have my opinion but it is that of someone uninformed, so I won't comment. If it's working for you and your doctor is happy, then I'm happy for you.3 -
My doctor doesn't advise it for me as it is too high fat. Your mileage may vary.0
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All in all, I think people would benefit from a healthy lifestyle whether if that's doing Keto or Vegan or in moderation!
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
You would never really know how it will truly affect your body until you actually give it a try!
Of course people would benifit from a healthy lifestyle and of course that includes weight management and nutritious eating.
It absolutely does not have to include keto or veganism - and of course vegans and keto eaters can be overweight and eat non nutritously - or not - just like everyone else.
I like the foods I eat and have no intention of changing to keto - I can control my weight perfectly well on the diverse range of foods I already eat (in portion control, of course) and I have no medical issues with any relevance to keto eating.
Trying something just because you dont know how you would feel if you didnt is not a rational reason for doing something.
Trying something because it has proven benifits relevant to you and the pros of doing so out weigh the cons - yes.
Just randomly trying because you dont know unless you try - no.
In other news I am not randomly trying Paleo, OMAD, Intermittent fasting, black coffee, stevia, push-ups before 6 am, sleeping with 3 pillows etc etc.
Sure, those things may work for others and nothing wrong with them - but no point in just trying for the sake of it when what I am doing already works for me.6 -
I don't know much about the science behind it, but my gut feeling is that it's another Adkins fad type diet for people looking to lose weight quickly. And it's probably very hard to maintain any of the lost weight. I think slow and steady wins the race, and if you're eating healthy foods at a deficit you WILL lose weight and that's much better than a diet that gives you the flu.1
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If you find a food eating plan that works for you long term, and you are happy with it. Then hooray, all is good. And what works for you, there are others that will say yes, me too. And lots of others that will say nope not for me.
Me, I do low carb, which is kind of close to Keto but is not Keto. My big difference from Keto, is that I really absolutely am not interested in a food program where Fats are anywhere near 50%. But with going low carb for me, and staying away from white, and whole wheat flour, all rice, sugar brown or white, ok most sugars. Instead I have learned about almond and coconut flour, and many alternate sweeteners. I can control my blood sugars into where I need them to be. And yes, I am losing weight steadily, and learning constantly on this journey. My type 2 diabetes was my driver, my Dr is cheering me on, for following a sensible low carb plan. Which I totally still log everything, weigh everything, and still aim for a calorie number. Because in order to successfully lose weight it still comes down to CICO.6 -
There have been studies that show Keto can boost mental alertness, increase energy, and assist in burning excess body fat. That being said, any caloric deficit diet will result in weight loss. I do think if you are serious about weight loss, and want to be hardcore about it, Keto is the way to go. I can speak from experience. I tried to do a Keto bulk, I weighed 165lbs and wanted to get to 175lbs. I took in my weight in grams of protein and stuck with 70%fat, 25%protein, 5%carbs. I was taking in between 2,800 and 3,100 calories a day on Keto... 4 weeks in I had lost 6.5 lbs and gained muscle mass, somehow my shirts were fitting tighter, but my fat and weight was decreasing... I’m still going strong on Keto, I’ll see what happens in another couple weeks. But it’s definitely an effective fat loss diet.5
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While 5 years ago I did accidentally lose 50 pounds (unplanned) and have kept it off for these 5 years I do Keto for health gains with pain management being my really only goal. The only thing I have been doing differently since Oct 2014 is I do not eat or drink food that has any added sweeteners and or any form of any grain. At the age of 69 simple is better I find. I do try to weight each morning twice to help insure I am drinking enough water. Now that COVID-19 is to show up here about middle April I am thankful KETO has been working well enough so I am Rx Med free at this time and have good pain management plus I stopped falling all of the time within weeks after my Oct 2014 WOE (Way Of Eating) change.
https://theguardian.com/science/2020/mar/06/low-carb-diet-may-reverse-age-related-brain-deterioration-study-finds2 -
I could never do keto, i've been eating high carbs my whole life. In fact when I was in my best shape at 5'9 168lbs I was eating 500g of carbs a day, no joke. But I understand keto might be great for certain people.1
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trentontamura wrote: »There have been studies that show Keto can boost mental alertness, increase energy, and assist in burning excess body fat. That being said, any caloric deficit diet will result in weight loss. I do think if you are serious about weight loss, and want to be hardcore about it, Keto is the way to go. I can speak from experience. I tried to do a Keto bulk, I weighed 165lbs and wanted to get to 175lbs. I took in my weight in grams of protein and stuck with 70%fat, 25%protein, 5%carbs. I was taking in between 2,800 and 3,100 calories a day on Keto... 4 weeks in I had lost 6.5 lbs and gained muscle mass, somehow my shirts were fitting tighter, but my fat and weight was decreasing... I’m still going strong on Keto, I’ll see what happens in another couple weeks. But it’s definitely an effective fat loss diet.
Well, I was serious about weight loss and have been serious enough about maintenance to maintain for 6 years.
You can most certainly be serious and 'hard core' about weight loss without doing Keto.
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Curious what exactly do people mean when they say it has “reduced inflammation”?4
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On a personal level it's utterly unappealing.
How about you OP? What are your views and experiences?
The nutritionist also recommend eliminating many other foods (elimination diet) from my diet like dairy, nightshades, gluten, processed foods, hydrogenated oils, so I ate a lot of whole, clean foods.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
You would never really know how it will truly affect your body until you actually give it a try!
Food for thought could also be that maybe it was something in the foods you eliminated or added that improved your digestive problems rather than keto. With multiple dietary changes there's every chance some of those changes were beneficial and some had no impact whatsoever.
But as it works for you and you appear to enjoy it then I wouldn't suggest experimenting.
Just as I won't be experimenting as my high carb diet works very well for me and keeps me in good health.
The old saying..... "If it ain't broke - don't fix it."7 -
I'm 69 years old and had fought weight gain since I hit menopause when I was 52. Normal weight was 105 and almost over night it ballooned up to 149 which was horrifying for me. I'd never weighed that much in my life. So for years I struggled trying to get the weight off. Increase exercise, reduce intake of calories. Tried the 7 day soup diet, you name it, I tried it and finally, two years ago I gave up and resigned myself to being over weight. Stuck at 135 pounds. My doctor didn't seem concerned about my lab tests even though I was what you might say pre-hypertensive. Blood pressure was a consistent 136/85. It bothered me though but refused to take medications for it. I would somehow fix this.
Fast forward to today....my partner of five years has Parkinson's Disease and through reseach saw mention that a ketogenic diet could help people with Alzheimers. I thought why not try and see if keto will help and he agreed. To make things easier I told him I would do it with him not really expecting anything to happen for me. Much to my surprise I began to feel changes. My thinking became clearer, focus became amazing, the brain fog had lifted! Same for my beloved partner as well. We both had much more energy and just felt totally better. My arthritis eased off, no more back pain! And amazingly, the scales began to show that I was losing weight. Now today, I am a very happy 108 pounds, full of energy, and loving life. Blood pressure is normal, 107/60. Cholesterol numbers are excellent. My doctor is very pleased and told me to keto on. My partner enjoyed the benefits of clearer thinking and much more energy as well. Sadly, he went back too eating processed foods...namely junk loaded with unhealty fats, sugars and refined carbs. I won't go on about this as this isn't the main thought of this writing.
Anyway, the ketogenic way of eating has made a huge difference for me. I have my life back and I'm loving it! The main thing it has done to help me in this journey is to educate me about what is healthy and what is not. Processed foods for the most part are not good for you. They are loaded with unhealthy fats, carbs and sugars. Not to mention ingredients we cannot pronounce. I've learned to REALLY read labels and understand what they're telling me. So keto has been a real learning curve.
I would like to say that any way of eating that works for you is the one you should do. We are all different and one size does not fit all. One last thing....I've read that some of you get upset or annoyed when you hear someone going on and on about keto. Well, I was one of those people and here's why. When you've battled with your health, obesity, poor self image for years and you find something that works, you become very excited and want to tell everyone. You want everyone to be as happy and healthy as you are. So please be patient and kind with them.
Thank you for reading this. I hope you have a beautiful day.16 -
karenleigh - people getting excited about something that works for them and then want everyone to be 'as happy and healthy as them' are really really annoying
That isnt something unique about keto - same would be if their new and exciting thing were a religion, a product, anything really. Zealous new converts to anything.
I, for example, found calorie counting and MFP logging to be something that worked and that was exciting for me.
However I did not think everybody else had to do same as me in order to be healthy and happy nor did I think anyone else wanted to hear me going on and on about it.
In fact, I am sure they did not.
PS" not to mention ingredients we cannot pronounce" - is a sure fire way to lose credibility on MFP.
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I don't know why people pretend like processed foods can't be high fat and eaten by those on keto. Plenty are. Among other things, there's a whole Atkins line of processed products.7
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