Do I understand well keto WOE?

(Doing a Mediterranean Keto) #1

So far, I have been doing a low-calorie keto diet (adequate amount of proteins, low carb, low fat … but I eat quite a lot of olive oil). It has been working well so far: I have lost more than 10kg in one month.

My feeling after this (short) period of time is that the keto WOE allows me to “detox” from the drug that sugars/refined-carbs are (to me, at least).

I am much less hungry than before. I find vegetables delicious (even sweet). I see myself more objectively. I can eat smaller portions and be satisfied.

Sometimes, I see claims about keto that go farther away from that.

My question to those doing keto long-term: are your perceived advantages similar to mine? Or is there anything different?

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #2

A well-formulated ketogenic diet has been shown to reverse insulin resistance, and even Type II diabetes mellitus. It reduces systemic inflammation and lowers blood pressure. To some extent it can also help reverse arterial plaque, depending on the extent of the damage. Β-hydroxybutyrate is an excellent fuel for the brain, so many people feel much clearer-headed and mentally sharper on a ketogenic diet (it can also help reverse some of the severity of symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, especially if the damage is not yet too great). Β-hydroxybutyrate also has a role in re-activating the body’s built-in defenses against oxidative stress (part of the way in which a ketogenic diet reduces systemic inflammation). A ketogenic diet has been shown to be a useful adjuvant therapy in conjunction with chemotherapy and radiation treatment from cancer. One psychiatrist in Boston has a patient whose schizophrenia has gone into remission on a ketogenic diet, without other medication.

Anecdotal evidence from these forums suggests that a ketogenic diet can help with allergies and arthritis, tighten up loose skin, relieves symptoms of depression, removes skin tags and acanthosis negricans (both symptoms of Type II diabetes).

Some of these benefits are the result of reducing serum glucose, others of reducing serum insulin, still others result from eating simpler, healthier foods. The three ketone bodies, acetoacetate, acetone, and β-hydroxybutyrate, also are now being shown to have epigenetic effects, so they are not just metabolic fuels, but also powerful hormones.

(John) #3

My benefits have been the weight loss and everything that comes with that.

The appetite reduction from eliminating sugars, starches, and grains has allowed me to become more mindful about what I eat and has made it easier for me to exercise conscious control over my eating habits.

However, those changes in eating behaviors were very intentional and required some effort and willpower to achieve, and still do. It was not an automatic result of eating a low carb diet. It is just that a low carb diet makes that easier.

(bulkbiker) #4

@Arbre

One of things I love about a keto/carnivore way of eating is that we can eat to satiety with no need for starving yourself.

I fear that you are not eating enough and that once your severely calorie restricted starvation diet comes to an end you will regain all that you have lost, maybe a few kilos more, and say that keto “doesn’t work”.

Losing 10 kilos in a month is great I agree but keeping it off for the foreseeable future is where the real struggle starts. I sincerely hope I am wrong but unfortunately experience tells me I’m not.

(Jane) #5

My husband and I have been doing keto for 18 months now and I am 60 and he will be be 57 in a couple of weeks. We both had a lot of joint pain that we attributed to getting older. He had a lot of skin tags, I had some loose skin from previous weight loss.

We both lost weight, of course but the health benefits convinced us to do keto for life. Our joint pain was dramatically redcued (didn’t give us back our 25-yo knees LOL but a big improvement), his skin tags are almost all gone, my skin is firming up. Our energy levels are much higher.

For maintenance we don’t do strict-under-20-carb keto, but we eat a ketogenic diet most of the time. Our metabolisms have become flexible enough that we can get right back into ketosis after a high carb meal. And we feel better, so no motivation needed to go back to omlettes, salads and bunless burgers.

We both still fast regularly for autophagy since we are cancer survivors and want to avoid a reoccurance.

And last but not least… I was prediabetic with an A1C of 5.8 and my doctor never told me - I found it looking up old blood tests. My current doctor doesn’t test for A1C since my fasting glucose is always under 100.

I paid for a private test of my fasting insulin, fasting glucose and A1C 9 months after going keto and I was no long pre-diabetic and my fastin insulin indicates I am no longer insulin resistant based on the HOMA calculation.