Dirty Keto vs. Clean Keto

(Gus Garrison) #1

Good Morning!

I am curious is anyone else here has had a similar experience to what I have had?
I am going on 4 months on Keto with a total of 55lbs weight loss. I have tried many different things along the way, and learned a lot about the food I eat, my body & nutrition in general, so I feel as though I may know the answer to this.

I have done Keto in two different ways over the last 4 months, clean keto eating a lot of leafy greens, pasture fed and finished meats, and wild caught fish etc. Then I have done dirty Keto with processed packaged sausage links covered in cheap shredded cheese, pepperoni covered in cheese, lots of pork rinds and such things.

For me, my weight loss was significantly greater when eating dirty keto vs clean. So much so, that I am reserving clean Keto for maintenance once I reach my end goal. I know some of the things I am eating can’t be good for me, but as long as I continue to supplement with Potassium, Magnesium and get my salts in I feel just as good as I do on clean Keto. I have done each way of eating for a month per style, with clean resulting in a 10 pound loss over a month, while dirty was an 18 pound loss.

Just curious if anyone has had a similar experience?

(traci simpson) #2

That is interesting. I eat pepperoni and shredded cheese frequently. Pork rinds I’m not as crazy about as I was in the beginning, however I haven’t really kept track of anything. I will from now on though!

#3

What I call dirty keto would be using PUFAs and a boatload of sweeteners and foods that contain little nutritional value beyond the energy available from them. I eat plenty of sausage and cheap cheese and don’t really consider that “dirty”. My goto lately is salami and provalone layered together and folded like a taco.

Oh, and I add pork rinds to my bone broth, it’s delicious and helps balance out my aminos. [more glycine]

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #4

Well first off, we have to consider definitions. I’d call dirty keto, non-grass fed beef, non-organic, farm raised salmon, artificial sweeteners, etc. None of which do I have a problem with. In fact, I’ll go one farther, and say that when ever I see “organic, grass fed, wild caught, naturally sweetened” I immediately expect it to cost more, and / or taste crappier (or at least no better) and except on rare occasion, I usually steer clear of this.

Here’s the thing, their is absolutely ZERO hard core scientific proof, that any of those “all natural things” will make you healthier, or live longer. Time and time again, healthfood freaks get cancer and die, while people who eat nothing but crap, never get cancer. I mean, of course, it goes both ways. But I’m just saying, the healthfood freaks are not much less, or more likely to get cancer. Cancer is just so random.

Now, not taking care of one’s self, and becoming obese definitely does greatly increase the risk of diabetes and other health issues (although its also somewhat heriditary) and we know that eating Keto, dirty, or otherwise, can help to prevent these things.

I’ve been doing dirty keto for 2 months and have lost 30+ lbs. Feeling great, and don’t see myself ever not eating this way :slightly_smiling_face:

(Khara) #5

I actually think timing might be an issue. Fat loss on keto isn’t linear. It has fits and starts depending on when you hit fat adaptation and then as time goes by. So… tough to tell whether the dirty vs clean is the cause. Interesting observation though.

(Paul H) #6

Dirty or clean… Just keep the carbs as low and you can and eat what you like. My Tip #1 It’s about finding the foods you can and will eat for a lifetime. Foods that fit your lifestyle and time frame for preparing. 55lbs is kicking bootee. Most people will have stalling point(s). That’s when tip #2 comes into play… mixing it up and changing the foods. You might find the foods you like best are not best for you so keep looking for your kinda foods and mix it up! Good job so far!

#7

Are you eating a balance of muscle meats and organ meats? Getting any skin and tendons? Those are the type of things than can end up in sausage, chorizo, etc. You might have an imbalance in methionine eating “clean”.

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2018/01/08/why-you-need-glycine-a-panel-discussion/

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #8

I’m not sure what the need is to label, because I don’t see how these particular labels provide any value. A ketogenic diet is any way of eating that promotes a low insulin/glucagon ratio and therefore ketogenesis. Dr. Westman tells of a patient who ate a ketogenic fast food diet, in the process healing his metabolism and losing a fair amount of fat. So rather than labeling, it might be more useful to focus on efficacy.

(Bob M) #9

I would use a different “dirty”. To me, “dirty” is fat bombs, artificial sweeteners, Atkins-type bars, sugar alcohols, fake breads, etc. From that perspective, I eat very “clean”. Things that aren’t real food.

I cannot afford to buy most wild fish or grass-fed beef. While I do buy some stuff locally, it’s not much, as it’s also expensive. I buy the cheapest cuts (heart, liver, kidney) there.

I no longer eat a lot of cured meats (do eat ham, though), only because I eat a lower fat, higher protein diet, not because I think they are “dirty”. Most salami, pepperoni, etc., are too high in fat for me.

I’ve been doing this too long to notice any type of difference. When I started out, I ate “dirty” under the above definition provide by me, but now I eat quite “clean” and have for years.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #10

Hey Bob, its clear “what you do / eat”, but my question is, “why” do you eat this way ? Do you feel like this is giving you any advantages over eating dirty Keto ? Is it something you can physically feel ? … or does it just “seem” like it should be better ?

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #11

As we say in the Yukon, first observed by the local Indians, all the stuff the white man won’t eat are the best parts of the moose.:wink: