You’re Using Keto All Wrong: The Fad Diet That Needs to Die
(10 Minute Read)
(Disclaimer: This is a critical breakdown of ‘Keto’ as a trendy weight-loss diet. Reasonable uses of the Ketogenic Diet include; diabetes, epilepsy, morbid obesity, GI disorders/intolerances, autoimmune disorders, and by direction of your physician/dietitian.)
History and Prevalence
Remember that story I told in my “Ultimate Fad Diet Cliff Notes” blog about a client proud of eating pork rinds with cream cheese all weekend because it was low-carb? As a coach and sports nutritionist, it’s painful seeing this ridiculous carb stigma that’s become commonplace in western society.
People are always desperate for the next ‘magic pill’. Low-carb dieting first gained notoriety in 1863 thanks to William Banting. After cutting back on starches and sugars by recommendation of his doctor, he lost a significant amount of weight. He published a testimonial along with the diet plan in a booklet, “Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public”. This popularized the diet for weight-loss across the UK.
150 years later there are are numerous diets based on low, or no, carbohydrates. The Atkins Diet, Beach Body, Mediterranean Diet, South Beach Diet, ad infinitum. There may have already been a stigma tied to carbohydrates but as the diet’s attempted use became increasingly prolific, misinformation spread like wildfire. Today, the most misused, misrepresented, and commercially profitable diet in the world is known as the “Ketogenic Diet”.
What is a Carbohydrate?
Carbohydrates are the sugars, starches, and fibers found in fruits, grains, vegetables and milk products. They are a basic food group and an essentially important part of a healthy diet. They are your body’s main source of energy and you can not live without them. Carbohydrates are critical for brain function, decision making, and science stands firm that carbs are critical to peak performance in sports, as well as in muscle development.
Low-Carb Diets & The Ketogenic Diet
In low-carb diets, most starchy carbs and processed sugars are to be avoided, with fibrous carbs like fruit and vegetables being the main source of carbs. These diets typically recommend anywhere from 5%-20% of your daily calories come from carbohydrates. Most of them lean towards replacing those carbs with higher than normal fat consumption, upwards of 80% daily fat intake.
The Ketogenic Diet takes it a step further by working to achieve ketosis. Due to carb starvation, cells switch from blood sugar (glucose) for energy to breaking down stored fat into ketone bodies for energy. To achieve ketosis, the diet requires 75% of calories to come from fat, compared to a normal 20%-30%. It also requires 5% of calories from carbohydrates, ~20-50 grams per day, and 15% from protein. I should mention this comes with some other adverse effects like Keto flu, brain fog, and low-libido!
There are no cheat meals in the processes of Ketosis. It takes 72 hours of the above criteria to achieve it and only one small cheat can take you out of it. Better make sure to test your urine, and blood, regularly to see if you’re actually maintaining Ketosis.
“Kinda being on keto is like kinda being pregnant, either you are or you aren’t”
Weight Loss Was Just a Byproduct
You’re going for weight loss, right? Cool, it absolutely can and will work for that in the short-term but it might not be in the way that you think and it may very well come with some unwanted consequences.
Low-carbohydrate dieting was originally used to treat epilepsy and diabetes. Physicians and dietitians still prescribe this for individuals with Type II Diabetes to assist in blood sugar management. Additionally, individuals with epilepsy, specifically children, are often prescribed the Ketogenic Diet to help combat uncontrollable seizures when other medicinal treatments have failed. During the application of these diets, patients often went into a caloric deficit and lost weight by removing many foods with bad carbs and processed sugars.
People who start a low/no carb diet often celebrate an initial drop in weight. Congrats, it wasn’t body fat, it was water and muscle loss! Glycogen stored in the muscles is quickly depleted resulting in a significant and rapid loss of water weight. This is what the scale is actually saying. Sadly, this is a fallacy in the widespread misunderstanding and misuse of the diet by people celebrating the misleading number on the scale. Actual fat loss will come, but only when in a caloric deficit just like every other effective diet.
The Ultimate Rule: Calories In, Calories Out
Let’s get something very clear about fat loss. In order to burn fat you MUST be in a caloric deficit. This means that all of the calories you consume in a day, liquid included, must be less than the total amount of calories your body burns in a day (TDEE). If, on average, the number of calories/day is higher than your TDEE, you can not and will not lose weight.
Are you counting your total calories every day? If not, I suggest using a calorie counting app and tediously log every calorie you consume. Do this for several days to get a really solid average. If your intake is less than your output, you are in a caloric deficit. Ketosis can actually speed up this fat burning process, but only if you are still eating in a caloric deficit. Notice a pattern here?
Even without the CICO rule, a study of all available evidence of low-carbohydrate diets found they were not any more effective than other approaches to weight-loss.
Quality Matters
You’re skipping high quality nutrients and Keto is not a high-protein diet. I’m always seeing friends online passing around Keto recipes like Keto chocolate lava cake and Keto breakfast sandwiches. Almost all of them have absurdly high saturated fat (this is mostly animal fats) and very little protein. High saturated fat consumption is directly correlated with high LDL cholesterol. Low protein consumption can cause muscle wasting and lowered energy output (as in lower metabolism).
The quality you’re NOT getting: Significant intake of fruits, whole grains, dairy, and starches, which provide potassium, sodium, and magnesium, adequate vitamins and minerals like folate (B9), biotin (B7), selenium, choline, vitamins A, E, D, chromium, iodine, and molybdenum.
If you’re a pragmatist sticking to chicken, lean beef, fish, veggies, etc. then you will fare better than others but you will still have to be cognizant of your daily macro-nutrients to ensure you’re getting sufficient protein and micro-nutrients and not eating too many unhealthy fats.
“A gram of fat has 9 calories, one gram of carbohydrates has 4. You could literally eat twice as many grams of carbs than fat and still be eating less calories. Carbs don’t make you any more fat than fats do. Calories in, calories out.”
Heart Disease & Other Side-Effects
Back to the topic of fats; if someone is uneducated on the different types of fats then they may be consuming too much saturated fat. Saturated fat consumption is directly associated with elevated LDL and a higher risk of coronary heart disease.
The Ketogenic diet has also been associated with low blood pressure, kidney stones, constipation, nutrient deficiencies, and poses a risk for individuals with a history or susceptibility to eating disorders, specifically binge eating after periods of carbohydrate restriction.
If you’re a bodybuilder or wanting to grow muscle, you might want to reconsider approaching Keto. The diet induced muscular atrophy by decreased protein synthesis in mice, as well as a reduction in lean body mass in CrossFit athletes, but more research is needed here. Extremely low-carb diets may only support muscle retention if protein remains high enough, which is out of the question with by-the-book Keto.
Sustainability and Rebounding
The biggest reason most fad diets fail is due to being unsustainable long-term. The Ketogenic Diet does not offer long-term practicality and success due to lack of practical real-world diet management. Heavy restriction of anything is also associated with binge-eating or rebounding in weight, not to mention the stress on the mind and body during that unnatural restriction.
Bottom line: If you have not spent the time on Keto learning about the differences of good fats vs. bad fats, good carbs vs. bad carbs, and quality of foods, you will struggle after the diet is over to manage your body composition and nutrient balance. Most importantly, if you haven’t educated yourself on proper portioning of all food types and pinpointed your own daily calorie and exercise needs, you are extremely likely to gain more weight back than you started Keto with.
Who SHOULD be using it?
I understand that this write-up may come across as brash and biased, but in all honesty I have zero qualms with people using it for practical and necessary purposes. As mentioned earlier, individuals dealing with epilepsy, diabetes, morbid obesity, or certain food intolerances are prescribed the Ketogenic Diet regularly for treatment and monitored by a registered dietitian.
One of my clients who didn’t really ‘need’ the diet informed me it was actually very successful for him due to the disciplinary challenge and paradigm shift when he needed a big change in his life and health. This is a completely acceptable reason to hop on, as long as you are properly adhering to it and checking with your physician to ensure you and you’re liver are staying healthy.
Another colleague of mine who hosts the “Good Old Boy Podcast” recently lost 70 pounds successfully in a healthy balance using the Ketogenic diet and exercise. Now at a healthy weight, he is transitioning back into carb consumption and engaging in weightlifting in order to develop muscle while slowly burning off body fat. This is a perfect example of proper use and proper disposal after goal completion. You can listen to our podcast where we discuss this in detail.
Everyone wants the quick and easy magic pill to weight loss, but Keto IS NOT THAT. It requires immense discipline and sacrifices, is not quick, and is not healthy long-term so you will be back at square one and likely rebound after all your efforts. The quick part is only the initial water loss, which is completely arbitrary and meaningless when considering fat loss.
In Closing
As a coach, it is extremely frustrating to see countless people trying to jump on a trendy diet when there are so many more practical and healthy methods to lose weight with a practical and balanced lifestyle of eating, including carbs, and exercising. The Ketogenic Diet trend needs to exit the realm of casual weight loss dieting.
If you want to lose weight, eat in a caloric deficit with sufficient protein, and exercise 3-5 days/week. If you want to put on lean mass, eat in a clean caloric surplus including carbs and engage in resistance training 4-6 day/week.
Be practical and think long-term. Don’t go for a diet, go for a lifestyle of healthy and balanced habits.
And always remember; calories in, calories out!
For professional guidance on nutrition, dieting, or exercise, or weightlifting, reach out to #TeamBeau for a consultation or a myriad of related products and services.
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