I was talking to my neighbor this afternoon. She was complaining about how much her joints hurt these days, especially after she exercises. I mentioned how my joint problems have pretty much disappeared since I started eating low carb (I did not go so far as to mention keto.) I could see the lack of interest turn on. She’s a fairly intelligent person, but our conversation made me realize how much people don’t want diet to be the answer to their health problems.
Edith
Some people just want a quick fix and are willing to take a pill than to do anything, even something minor as cutting out carbs.
There is a book called “Love Your Disease”. It points out that some people like the social esprit of their maladies and wouldn’t be without them. Or they think it’s normal… how could you cure That with diet… If what you are were saying was true, everybody would be doing it.
Duh.
I’m ‘lucky’ that my neighbour is Type 1 diabetic and uses keto very successfully to manage his condition. His wife recently joined him on a five day fast and the first thing she said to me afterwards was that her knee pain (she’s a runner) she’s had for months was completely gone. Since then I’ve been telling everybody with any joint pain to try low carb (not mentioning keto either) but no one wants to hear it!
I know my diet (more low carb than keto) has helped keep my 51yr body joint pain free - I do a lot of exercise - if I do get an niggles I tighten up my diet (lower my carbs) and it seems to heal much quicker.
If only my husband with his constant (over 18 months) hip pain would listen - but instead spends much money on his physiotherapist - hey ho.
Paula,
I am 51 as well. Could you tell me why you are doing more low carb than keto? I recently upped my carbs to about 50 g a day. I was not feeling well on lower carb (about 30g/day) but as soon as I upped my carbs a bit, I felt much better. Unfortunately, that kicks me out of ketosis. I only measure blood ketones at 0.2 to 0.3 mmol/L in the morning, but my body is so much happier. Did you have something similar or do you just not like the extreme?
Edith
Hi Edith! I’m very interested in the idea of keto as a repair tool and if I found out I had diabetes or a serious illness I would do it in a heart beat. But I’m very healthy right now and also do a lot of exercise so I’m not sure I need to be that strict. I hang out here because I like the mindset of the people here, and I love the science 
I try to keep my carbs around 40-50g a day with one slightly higher day at the weekend. I don’t measure but I suspect that I’m often near ketosis on my low carb days because of the exercise I do - mostly running now but in recent years Ironman training. The higher carb day is on the recommendation of my mentor/therapist - I can be too strict on myself which ultimately leads to me going off the rails for a few days (wine and chocolate my main loves) and then being angry/upset with my behaviour. I only go up to around 80-100g of carbs but it is working and my diet has been very constant for a while now and the weight is coming down.
For me I think 20g would just be too hard and I’m not sure if I would feel any better - I feel great at the moment. I do try to use my carb allowance for veggies mostly and a little dark chocolate
I’m not trying to lose a lot of weight - just a few pounds to make my running easier.
I hope I didn’t ramble on too much, I’ve always wanted to do an intro post but felt that as I wasn’t completely keto I probably shouldn’t - so thank for asking
Thanks for your response. I find it very helpful. I exercise 6 days a week: running and strength training and I was really beginning to feel cruddy even though I was in ketosis. Slightly higher carb and on the ketosis cusp is definitely working better at this point. It’s nice to know not being all the way in ketosis works for others as well.
Thanks again.
I am a keto snob too BUT I do a really good job at keeping it to myself.
I had a girls weekend and realized how much, how badly and how often they eat. I tried to be sensitive to my facial reactions as I watched them eat donuts and apples dipped in caramel and chips and breads and protein bars and gummy bears. One of my girlfriends actually kept a pack of gummy bears and snacked on them all day through the entire weekend. I wanted to grab them from her and save her from insulinocide. But then I realized a couple of things 1) She is not ready to hear any of this right now. 2) I can’t judge. Even though they are all very overweight, few of them are interested in changing their habits.
However, One of my girlfriends claims to be on a “diet”. She loves protein bars, low fat yogurts, granola, special K. She eats about 6-8 meals per day. But she has lost about 20 pounds and she is so happy. SO my goal as her friend is to encourage her and motivate her in her current way of eating. But for right not CICO and constantly high insulin levels are working for her. I know she is insulin resistent based on her shape. She may even be diabetic based on the dark pigment marks on her face. But we all know there is more than one way to beat the insulin resistence, so I am not going to judge. Now if that weight starts to creep back or if she gets discouraged, then I may mention keto.
This is it. If you feel good and have energy then I think you have found the right plan for you. Well done.
This right here. Weight loss can have huge benefits for people and I try to encourage anyone seeing results even if it’s not the “diet” I’d recommend. I will never recommend anything but keto though.
One of my closest friends is on a specialized diet by her trainer to help her reach her goal of becoming a body builder next year. She eats low fat, high protein and moderate amounts of carbs (from whole grains, fruits, veggies and low-fat dressings). She cuts back her processed carbage a lot so that’s wonderful and I try to encourage her. It’s hard because her diet leaves her hungry, full of cravings and her energy is in the dumps. She cheats a lot on the diet and it takes a toll on her mentally. If I do criticize her diet I try to say things like “If your diet is causing you to cheat once or twice a week and go on crazy binges, then it may not be the diet for you. The reason I love keto is because I don’t have cravings for anything I cannot eat and I don’t feel restricted. You should talk to your trainer about finding an eating plan that doesn’t make you feel restricted and reduces your likelihood to cheat, whether it’s keto or not.” She agrees but her trainer just wants her to “tough it out” and fight the cravings. 
A lot of this is so psychological that it can be hard to untangle. I’ve been eating keto for over six months now and still get cravings for spaghetti and glazed doughnuts and the like. The difference is that they are now solely psychological cravings and not physical, addictive cravings. But they don’t stop just because I am not hungry. So in my case, it does make sense to fight these cravings. But if your way of eating is stimulating real, addictive withdrawal symptoms, then it would certainly make a lot of sense to change to a way of eating that doesn’t generate them.
Hi Roy,
I have been T2D for over fifteen years, was T2D, and a new doctor prescribed a ketogenic diet. I was taking six medications for just T2D plus two more and now nothing. I felt like a moron. If you are T2D, don’t eat anything that just turns into sugar in your blood. Doh!
The obvious weight loss brought on questions from people at work. One of the developers that works for me is honestly worried that I am killing myself. He is also T2D, but he will never be able to eliminate insulin injections because his pancreas has failed. Years ago, Greg had one of his kidneys removed because of cancer, and just a few weeks ago he received a heart transplant. A heart transplant! Somehow, I am killing myself by not eating carbs while he is enjoying cake, pie, donuts, bagels … Greg honestly believes that eventually I will need to stop eating keto or I will die.
I can not blame him for his ignorance. It was less then half a year ago that I was just as misinformed. I am 55 and he is 60, and both of us have been drowning in the same swamp of dietary propaganda, and yet some people can learn while for others the situation is more problematic. The most robust barrier to learning anything new is first unlearning those thing one believes to be true that are false.
For some people, I think the admission of fallibility, the self confession of error, the abandonment of long cherished beliefs however erroneous, this is just not going to happen. For myself, it is easy. I have long excepted the reality that I am an ignorant man, that the scope of my knowledge is not only finite, it is remarkable limited. I might be “smarter” then many, but what I know and understand is massively dwarfed by what I do not know and what I fail to comprehend. For all of my adult life I have understood my epistemic duty and I love learning, but this is not true of a great many people.
What I have learned from Greg is that some people refuse to learn.
Keto for Life!
Best Regards,
Richard
But he could get off the excessive carb / excessive insulin train !
Low Carb is even better for Type 1s.
Considering the circumstances, you’d think he’d be game to try something new !
I’m 46 and I’m 10lbs lighter than when I graduated boot camp in 1989!
Let me say that again, I am lighter than I was at 18!
So, concerned person at work or church or wherever, eat your damn donuts and tell me I’m suicidal… when’s the last time you saw your feet while standing??? 
My daughter was able to get her arms around me for the first time, so I do feel like I’m making progress. But I have a long long long long way to go
I want to address a serious issue that has been on my mind. When is Momma June (I think that’s her name) going to address her daughters health? The child is very young and obese. The mom has gotten herself healthy with gastric bypass but she has failed to do anything about her daughter. Obviously, based on the drastic action she took for herself, she understands the dangers of being obese. So why not help her daughter? I’m not saying she needs to make her go keto or anything but something needs to be done. I hope this doesn’t make me a horrible person for saying this. Everytime I see the commercials, my heart goes out to that little girl. With everything we know a out childhood obesity, this could be really dangerous. Is this keto snobbery? Or just mean spirited? I don’t mean any harm, I just hate to think about the little ones future with her being obese at such a young age.
