Is Keto for Me?

Every where I turn, I hear the word Keto. It’s seems everyone is giving keto a try and looking for keto recipes. It’s made me wonder, is keto for me?

At this very moment, I have several friends and family members who are eating in the Keto way.

Eating Keto as they call it. To be honest, when I hear about the pounds they’ve lost, I think maybe I should do Keto? It promises almost effortless weight loss.

But I don’t because in the end, it is a diet and I don’t do diets. But so many people are doing Keto these days that I want to share some of my thoughts on it. I’m old! I’ve seen every diet come and go at least twice.

What is Keto?

In the simplest of terms, eating Keto means eating very little carbohydrates in your diet.

Back in the day, Atkins was the name of this type of eating. But this diet has been around even longer, there were versions over a hundred years ago. It’s not new and it has been studied extensively.

There are some medical reasons to consider eating keto. Eating a strict keto diet is beneficial to people who have epilepsy as it helps reduce seizures. Diabetics can manage their disease by keeping carbohydrates extremely low.

Especially because of its use with epilepsy, keto has been studied over the years.

And some people do lose weight very quickly eating like this. Some don’t. Believe it or not, eating lots of fat and low carb is not all fun and games.

Like any other diet, it takes restricting something and it takes the discipline of making good choices.

What I Like About Keto

I like that keto restricts sugar, grains, and processed food. These are good foods to limit or eliminate all together. Most people eat way too much of this junk and it’s horrible for your body.

The name Keto comes from the word ketosis which is the state you try to get your body into to start burning that fat! The other thing I like about keto is that you are allowed to eat fat and healthy fat is a good thing.

However, many people don’t worry about the type of fats they are eating. If losing weight is the ONLY goal, and you don’t eat healthy fats, you can be doing more harm than good!

I’ve written in the past about the health benefits of fat and how to get your body to start burning fat. Fat itself does not make you fat. With keto, because you aren’t filling up on carbs, you do need to eat fat to get full.

So, the two things I like: Eliminate sugar and grains. Add in more fat.

If you are doing a more moderate version of keto that allows some higher carb vegetables, then it’s a better way of eating than the standard American diet.

What I Don’t Like About Keto

It’s a diet and at some time, you will have to get off it. Diets such as this are very effective for losing weight.

They are. However, they are no more effective for long-term maintenance than any other diet. They all fail eventually.

Some versions recommend really low amounts of carbohydrates a day. While that may be initially great for losing weight, it is not so great for long term sticking to a way of eating.

Remember, health is about eating for nourishment rather than just losing weight.

We forget that because we see skinny as equal to good health. As I am getting older, I am seeing so many of my thin, fit friends getting cancer and having other health problems.

Being thin is not protective in itself. And often the things women do to become thin, are not good to their body. So, while losing weight also remember that you are feeding your body too.

Let’s Talk About Your Body

Bodies have a mind of their own. Our weight literally has a mind of its own and it is very difficult to get it to change its mind.

We can force it into submission sometimes, but as we all know, that weight almost always comes back.

That’s because we are programmed to keep a steady weight. Not too fat, not too thin. This is good news if you like your weight. It is bad news if you aren’t as crazy about your weight.

We have a sophisticated system of hormones that regulate our weight and believe me, they have to work hard these days.

If You Want to Try Keto

Keto has some good habits to incorporate. Eating a wide variety of protein and incorporating healthy fats into your diet is great.

Avoiding sugar is fantastic. I recommend not replacing it with any other artificial sweeteners. Let your sweet tooth go! Other keto-friendly sweeteners, while not adding carbs do keep your sweet tooth going and can confuse your body.

Try a moderate carb amount. Most people do not need to keep their carb amounts super low. An example of extremely low is 20 grams a day.

I never feel good on that low amount. While you probably don’t need a whole potato with a meal, a fourth of a sweet potato can make a huge difference to your energy and your mood.

Keto can be a way of learning some new eating habits that are foreign to you. Most people have never contemplated living a life without sugar, bread, or pasta. Keto can be a way to learn to eat different cuts of meat and eating sufficient amounts of healthy fats.

Keto can get your body burning, rather than storing fat. That’s a great feeling too.

I am definitely not a hater! (Here’s a resource to get an idea of the kinds of food you can eat on Keto)

However, if you look at it as a diet only for the purpose of losing weight, then you might not see the bigger picture of building a healthy lifestyle for life.

Is Keto for Me?

Maybe. Forget the promise of effortless weight loss and look at it as a way to learn new eating habits for life. The types of foods you eat is pretty good though a little limited as far as all the vegetables and fruit you can eat.

If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Keto can be an effective way to lose weight, but it is a diet. And after years of diets that leave you hungry, keto can sound like a miracle.

I encourage you to read about it from multiple sources and make your own decision. If you do nothing else though, give up the sugar and processed foods and add some healthy fats to your diet.

Stay healthy my friends!