Why Keto May Be a Bad Choice

I’m going to be one hundred percent honest with you. I used to be all in on the low carb, Mark Sisson craze a few years back when everyone swapped carbohydrates for fats. I got to my leanest level of body composition ever, and I felt great.

For a while, until something I cannot identify happened and I re-gained weight and carried more body fat than ever before despite eating less. I wasn’t eating more (I measure meticulously) and I regained pounds of body fat.

Every year, the industry repackages low carb into something different. First it was Atkins, then it was Paleo (I know, I know, it’s not by design low carb), now it’s Keto. Before you consider whether or not a keto diet is right for you, I’d like to caution you against it for the following reasons.

First, the initial “results” it tends to produce are transient and illusory. When we slash carbs, the first thing to go are glycogen (our stored carbohydrates) and water. We see a big drop in total weight, but typically none of it is fat. That then hooks us, and off we go down the trail to slashing carbs.

Second, it’s incredibly restrictive by nature as the overwhelming majority of the grocery store is wiped out and we’re left with animal proteins and veggies. I do not like restrictive diets by nature because they are all or nothing and very challenging to adhere to over the long haul.

Third, it is my personal opinion that it’s flat out not healthy. Keto is an appetite suppressing diet because of the satiety of all of the protein and fat. The average outcome for most people is that they under consume calories, which combined with intense exercise, over the long haul can throw your hormones out of wack and reduce your resting metabolic rate. Both of those lead to fat gain after a while.

Fourth, it creates fear around carbohydrates. Carbs are needed for many things and do not cause weight gain. Too many carbs might, but that’s like saying a glass of wine is bad because drinking a bottle and then driving might make you kill someone.

We are not saying that this blog represents fact and keto is evil. It can work for some genetic types and if it works for you, then great. Just keep a close eye on how it treats you over the long term, and if you feel yourself putting weight back on as a result of your endocrine system being out of whack, be ready to reintroduce carbs.