Plenty of people are negative towards keto diet. In fact, keto diet comes in at the bottom of a lot of “top x” diets for whatever the current year is.
But is this negativity warranted?
And what if the negatives are actually positives in disguise? Let’s take a look at this topic today.
Hello and welcome to Fearlessly Holistic.
My name is Irma and I want to share my journey to improved health by eating whole foods, moving my body and eliminating stress as much as possible.
It is my hope to inspire you to make daily changes. Why? Because eating fresh, seasonal food, getting some sunshine, and purging unhelpful thinking is the best way to increase longevity. But you do not want just a long life.
You want a quality long life.
Ready to start keto? Grab my KETO FOOD GUIDE and start eating better today. Keto diet, and especially clean keto which I advocate for, it healthy and delicious and nourishes your body which encourages healing and weight loss.
My blog posts are my opinion and the results of things that I have tried that either worked for me or didn’t. My opinions are for informational purposes only and are not intended as medical advice. Medical advice should always be obtained from a qualified medical professional for any health conditions or symptoms associated with them. As well, there may be affiliate links in this post. Read more here.
The Basics of Keto Diet
Macronutrients, or macros, are fat, protein and carbohydrates and are the main components of dietary guidelines.
The standard American diet consists of a 2000 calorie a day diet with macros of 50% carbohydrates (mostly processed grains), 15% protein and 35% fat.
Keto diet is almost totally the opposite.
A ketogenic diet has macros of 75% fat, 20% protein and 5% carbohydrates, mostly in the form of vegetables.
Your body will always burn carbohydrates first, so the principal of the keto diet is to lower carbohydrates to a minimal level so that your body can move on to burning body fat instead.
When it comes to your macros, you can eat low fat or low carb, but you need to make sure you get the right amount of protein.
If you do not, your body will take protein from your muscles.
On keto diet, you should have no problems getting enough quality protein as it also delivers fat to your diet at the same time.
What could be bad about that? Let’s explore.
Keto Diet “Negatives”
The keto diet is very popular, which is why health experts, doctors and diet specialists like to critique it in the media.
Some believe that it is dangerous.
Others say that it is a healthy method to lose weight, but only on a short-term basis.
However, there are also thousands of individuals who have found success with the keto diet.
They can speak from personal experience and know that the diet works and it is an effective means of keeping weight off.
I have improved multiple areas of my health, including vision problems, joint pain, and depression by eating a clean keto diet.
There are thousands of testimonials that tout the benefits of the low carb way of living.
If they do occur, the side effects normally only last through the first couple of weeks of the diet.
There are many typical criticisms of the keto diet, and here are some of them:
Keto negative #1: The diet is too high in fat.
The butter, oil and fatty meats that are used in the keto diet are a far cry from the low-fat diet fad that is encouraged by dieticians and doctors.
For many people, the low fat mindset has prevailed and they cannot fathom eating real butter or cream with their meals.
It seems like too much fat at first glance.
However, those that pay close attention to keto guidelines and follow the program closely know that the diet focuses on good quality fats.
Extra virgin olive oil, avocado’s, butter, ghee and other helpful fats are emphasized.
The proper use of these fats is important to brain function and mood management.
You do not get that with industrial seed oils, aka vegetable oils. Why? Because they are unnatural (not real food) and your brain knows it.
Seed oils are high in Omega-6, which means they create inflammation in your body and make health worse. Read this article by Chris Kesser to learn more about this important information.
Whereas natural fats, like coconut oil or butter, are saturated fats and your body knows they are real food.
Keto criticism #2: Keto focuses too much on food and not enough on exercise.
On keto diet, you do not need to exercise to lose weight, because your diet naturally improves your health.
However, you should still practice fitness activities.
Walking is always encouraged, and so is weight training to improve muscle tone.
Exercise regimens are encouraged, because once you lose your excess weight you want your body to look good, without loose skin.
Most ketoers that I know practice simple body weight lifting activities, to maintain upper and lower body strength.
Mark Sisson, of Primal Blueprint (a paleo diet), has some great ideas for a simple fitness plan.
Keto diet negative #3: The diet is hard too keep up in the long term.
Critics in this category will admit that keto diet is effective in short-term weight loss efforts, but point out that the lifestyle is hard to maintain over time.
However, people who have had long term success with keto claim it is one of the easiest diets to follow for significant periods of time.
The keto diet plan has rich food that is forbidden on other programs.
High fat and moderate protein has an appetite-suppressing effect.
When you combine this with the quick weight loss, keto is easy to stick to long term.
If you want success stories from long term ketoers, check the threads on r/keto on Reddit.
Keto criticism #4: Constipation
The thing is, eating processed foods adds bulk to your stool. They are larger and must be expelled pretty much daily.
That is not normal.
It is the product of a low-fat diet that is high in carbohydrates.
For many years, people were encouraged to eat 300 grams of carbohydrates a day.
You cannot eat 300 grams of fresh vegetables and fruit per day, unless that is the only thing you have time for. It is a lot of chewing.
So the “experts” encouraged you to eat other foods to meet the threshold: bagels, rice, pasta etc to reach this goal.
This added massive bulk to your digestive tract, and empty calories to your health.
On keto diet, you eat natural, clean, single-ingredient foods.
Your body recognizes that this is food, and digests it accordingly, because these are foods that have been available for centuries.
That means that your body will extract every nutrient it can find as the food travels through your body.
This extraction process takes time.
So while it may seem like you are constipated, it is merely your body working hard to make sure you are healthy.
The low-fat/high carb diet is forcing your body to expel items that it does not deem as food, as quickly as possible.
Keto diet negative #5: Bad breath
Okay, I will give them this one.
The bad breathe from keto diet is an indicator that you are in ketosis, aka burning excess body fat for fuel. This is a good thing.
When you are in ketosis, your body is functioning optimally.
You have less hunger, more brain function and if you are getting some fasting in, you also get some autophagy.
Trust me when I say, if you want to super-charge health improvements then autophagy is the way to go.
There are pros and cons to many diets.
If you don’t particularly enjoy preparing and eating meat, then keto is probably not for you.
But if you are considering a ketogenic diet, make sure to look beyond the common criticisms for the truth about the diet.
FYI: keto diet is searched more on Google Trends than either plant-based diet or vegan diet combined.
As well, keto diet is searched 25% to 50% more often than Mediterranean diet, which is the diet that comes in #1 on most “top 20” diet lists.
The reason is that keto diet works, and works well, and the longer you stick with it the more health improvements you get.
Kind of like compound interest in your bank account, Keto compounds health improvements over time.Click To TweetConclusion
I love eating low-carb and being in Ketosis; it has healed so many areas of my health. I have made the Keto diet to fit my life and the concepts that I am aligned with, which are clean, seasonal eating.
If you are interested in how I do Keto, please check out my FEARLESS KETO DIET KIT: get recipes, a shopping list, tips, and a planner to set goals, track progress, and success tips.
This kit is all the help you need to get started eating Keto diet to lose weight and there is nothing else like it anywhere else.
If you are not quite ready to go all-in then why not get this free keto food list and quick start to help you decide if keto is right for you.
Holism targets overall wellness, and when we are well, we only get better with age.
Eat the best food that you can afford to give your body the building blocks it needs for optimal health, longevity, and looking good for as long as possible 😉
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Until next time, here’s to our health!
-Irma