Should You Go Keto?
Your friends and family members have gone keto.
They’ve lost weight fast.
They feel amazing, and love that bacon and cheese are mainstays of their diet.
So, should you go keto, too?
And if you’re already keto, what does the science say about how healthy it is for you?
Will you be able to keep the weight off?
And what if you’ve hit a weight loss plateau? Then what?
This article covers exactly what you need to know about keto, if it’s for you…and if you should consider coming off of it.
What is keto?
The Keto diet, or Ketogenic diet, is a high fat, low carbohydrate, and moderate protein way of eating.
The goal for most people on Keto is to eat no more than 50 grams of carbs per day.
For reference, a medium apple has 25 grams of carbs.
So, Keto is very low carb.
Keto restricts bread and pasta, right?
Yes.
If you’re Keto, you have to be mindful of limiting your fruit, veggie, lentil, bean, pea, and other whole grain and fiber-rich starch intake so that you stay under 50 grams of carbs each day and are able to remain in the ketogenic state.
Because Keto is very low carb, it means that even nutrient-dense and fiber-rich starches and carbs ((like sweet potatoes and squash) are limited.
Why would someone restrict carbs so significantly?
The goal of most people going Keto is to burn fat and lose weight.
Typically, your body, specifically your brain and your muscles, run efficiently on glucose.
When you restrict carbs significantly and you only have a limited supply of glucose to run on, your body adapts.
It starts to break down your fat stores into ketones.
Those ketones then fuel your heart, brain, and muscles.
Well, that sounds awesome! Why WOULDN’T I go Keto?
Because the short-term effects can be a total nuisance, and the long-term effects can be serious.
You see, the Keto diet was not created as a weight loss tool for the masses.
Keto has been around for over 100 years, and was designed to help reduce the severity of seizures in epileptic children.
There’s also been evidence that Keto is useful is treating early presymptomatic stages of Alzheimer’s, along with a practical approach to managing the disease. More research is needed.
The short-terms effects of going Keto include:
Fatigue
Dizziness
Headache
Upset stomach
Trouble sleeping
Constipation
The long-term effects of going Keto include:
Liver disease
Kidney stones
Nutrient deficiencies, which have a whole host of symptoms (because the diet is lacking vitamins A, C, K, and folate from fruits and veggies)
Other unintended long-term consequences:
Because the diet is intentionally very low in carbs, the diet is unintentionally very low in fiber (fiber is a type of carb).
The health benefits of fiber have been shown time and time again, from reducing your risk of heart disease, obesity, and diabetes to improving gut health, digestion, and keeping you full and satisfied which can naturally lead to slow and steady weight loss).
Fiber feeds the healthy bacteria in your gut.
The healthy bacteria in your gut in turn reduces inflammation in your body.
And with 90% of chronic disease being rooted in inflammation in the body, the healthy bacteria in your gut are gamechangers when it comes to your long-term health.
The healthy bacteria in your gut also regulates your metabolism, mood, and immune system.
Another consequence of the Keto diet is that it creates the mindset that carbs are bad.
That carbs are the enemy. That carbs make you fat.
There’s no research that supports that more than 50 grams of carbs in the form of fruits, veggies, lentils, beans, peas, and whole grains make you fat.
If you find several studies that suggest the contrary, please let me know.
So, can you lose weight going Keto?
Of course you can.
Diets, weight loss plans and programs work make so much money because they work.
But they only work for a little bit.
In the long run?
Nope. You’ll gain the weight back.
And chances are, you’ll gain back even more weight than you lost going Keto.
Why?
Diets have been proven to not work, and actually cause weight gain in the long run.
So if diets don’t work, why is the diet and weight loss industry booming?
For that very reason.
You eventually gain the weight back (and more).
And then you purchase the products and participate in the weight loss plans and programs again…and again…
Not to mention, going Keto is hard to maintain.
Are you ready to commit to a LIFE of minimal carbs (where you have to limit fruits, veggies, lentils, beans, peas, rice, and potatoes, all of which are health-promoting)?
Seriously? The rest of your life?
In summary:
If you’re currently doing Keto or are thinking about going Keto to lose weight and keep the weight off (remember….the odds are against you unless you want to be obsessed with what you’re eating for the rest of your life), then I want you to ask yourself these questions:
Are you going to be Keto forever?
And if you are going Keto for the rest of your life, are you prepared for the unintended consequences discussed above?
This is why I’m a dietitian who doesn’t believe in diets.
I don’t believe that you should diet.
I believe that you should put the systems and habits into place that make you feel alive.
That make you feel like you’re thriving.
I believe that your health and your life is more important than what you weigh.
I believe your health is a healthy mind, body, and soul…not a number on a scale that makes you feel “confident.”
And if you’re unhappy with your weight, there are systems and habits you can do on a daily basis to help you get to your leanest livable weight without ever dieting, restricting, depriving, or counting calories.
My friend, I hope you always choose the middle way.
And that you never live in the extremes.
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