My friend has her 11 year old on keto or her version of it. He consumes maybe 40gm of carbs a day but the carbs he’s eating now mostly come from cheeses or veggies versus what he (they) were actually eating (garbage). I think they started in April, he was about 93 lbs at that time and a little overweight for his stature and age according to medical charts and his PCP but all was fine. His mom took him to the doctors appointment for something unrelated where his weight was taken and as soon as his doctor saw him she mentioned his weight loss. He is now 86lbs. Not a big difference. But the doctors comment was that she’s surprise because children usually don’t loose weight. 
… I should mentioned that the kid also had some form of gastrointestinal issues before and was on some crazy myralax dosages and dulcolax combined. Now he’s going by himself daily and without being bloated according to his mom. But she called me in a panic about this weight loss, and if she should stop. I obviously don’t want to meddle too much because it’s her kid but all I told her is that maybe since he wasn’t eating a fulfilling diet before of fat and protein his body is now literally releasing all the crap and it’s working as it should…? I’ve been keto for almost a year and I don’t consider myself an expert at all but this tickled me a bit, especially the doctors comment. Maybe if children that needed to change their eating to something like keto would be able to let go of all that crap too. Something else, in January the kid had a blood test done where his bad cholesterol was high and his bilirubin as well. He took another one two weeks ago that came back perfect… according to the doctor. But who knows right.
Keto and kids
Bonaria
(Bonaria Bustamante)
#1
PaulL
(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?)
#2
Keto is not primarily a weight-loss diet, it is a weigh-normalization diet, so the kid should be fine. However, he is on the verge of his growth spurt, so your friend should not be limiting his protein intake to the levels we recommend on these forums. He will need lots of protein to grow with. As long as the kid keeps his carbohydrate intake low, he should feel free to eat his mom out of house and home like any other teenager, lol!
Also, at age eleven, he can probably handle even more than 40g of carbs a day, but why risk it? Forty sounds like a good level to stay at, and less couldn’t hurt.
