Just listening to Chris Kresser’s latest chat with Joe Rogan and it’s fascinating. He touches on keto (as does Rogan who we know does do keto - although he admits not all the time). Anyway I am in month four now, having adopted (and adapted!) in solidarity with my wife who has been prescribed the keto lifestyle for her thyroid/adrenal dysfunction. We’re both loving it and - just as Kresser states at one point - have become raging ketovangelists who tell everyone how amazing it is and get somewhat carried away with some sense of immortality/immunity etc (even more so for reading the science etc). Anyway it got me wanting to check if it really is viable to live this way all the time? I feel younger and healthier and have lost weight (not been an aim but is a bonus and the benefits are appreciated). Have read so much bad stuff about sugar and carbs so am not bothered really about boredom or cravings (not been an issue) so my intention is indeed to carry on for the foreseeable future, any real reasons not to? TIA, M
So, can I do this forever?
I haven’t been able to find a single reason not to.
eta: As we say in the South, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Me, too.
And I hear you on the ketovangelism! I’ve had to learn that showing works better than telling, but I forgive myself for telling because I feel so good.
I intend to live this way for the rest of my life, but I was also T2D. If we learned nothing from Ansel Keys and the diet-heart hypothesis, it is that telling people what to eat can be extraordinarily harmful to the health of a population resulting in millions, tens of millions, of deaths and hundreds of millions of people with metabolic dysfunction.
I am reluctant to tell anyone what to eat, but my personal choice is keto.
What I am not at all reluctant to say is the SAD, the U.S. Government recommended diet, the ADA recommended diet, the AHA recommended diet, it is detrimental to human health.
Keto for Life!
Richard - a FatMan for life!
Brilliant responses one and all - I’ll drink [a cup of bulletproof coffee with heavy double cream] and/or [a glass of dry red wine] to that 
My wife and I have been keto a little over four years now, and unless I learn of a compelling reason to stop, I am sticking with it. I’m 55 and feel better than I have in decades.
Keto On @markh !
I think alot of people will benefit from long term ketosis. Others may benefit from a bit more carbs. Hard to say what is ideal / best for everyone and their situation.
Another vote for this terrific podcast episode. I know that Joe Rogan isn’t everyone’s cup of tea (though he’s grown on me!) but this is well worth a listen. Kresser is clear-headed and brings together a fantastic combination of personal experience, long clinical practice, research on the psychology of behavior change, and a wide-angle lens on the diabetes crisis. I loved it.
I am frightened that I don’t have the control and power to stay keto forever. But it is definitely my plan. I think that fasting and learning more about fasting will be the saving grace to keep me keto focused. If something happens and I mess up, I know that I can do a quick IF/EF to reset and get immediately back on keto without any loss of gains. My sugar addiction is SO powerful. I haven’t had bread or french fries in 3 months! This is coming from someone who used to eat bread and french fries DAILY, sometimes twice a day. I have never had this much control over my appetite and food decisions probably ever. Keto is the answer for me, but I know I will at some point have a weak moment and do something off plan. But as a few of you on this forum have explained to me, the key to keto is to control what we eat and stop the accumulation of constant overeating, carb loading, sugar loading, insulin spiking behavior. SO if those moments happen occasionally, it is ok as long as it is no longer the norm.
True, Dawn. “Once in a while” is far different from the constant bombardment of the carbohydrate/insulin response treadmill. We all find our place, whether it’s “perfection” or not. Used to dump two whole packs of crackers (so 80 of them) in a huge bowl of soup, and I could do that for days on end. A supertanker, plowing through the ocean with immense momentum - not going to get it turned around right away but at least I got that sucker aimed in a better direction.
I’m finding that Keto is quite surprising in that area. Once your stomach begins to shrink and you become fully fat adapted, you aren’t gonna give a damn about eating what you used to consider “normally”. It all becomes easier and not something that you focus on any longer, but something secondary and in the background. You’ll finally be free of the carb monkey on your back and become bulletproof, if you will. Definitely something to strive for!
I wonder about the nutritional low calorie foods that we have to give up like fruit? I guess they knock you out of ketosis, but at what point can you add them back?
There isn’t a ton of hard and fast data on this, I don’t think. But, people are experimenting with fasting and keto to rehabilitate carb sensitivity and insulin response. So, the idea is… if we can heal the metabolism, then we can eat carbs without the majorly ill effects of having huge insulin spikes.
However, it wouldn’t be long-lasting. It would be dance forever, as diabetics are pre-disposed to get immune to insulin’s effects.
If insulin sensitivity isn’t the issue, then whenever the goal is reached, carbs could be put back in. Of course, if you gain weight, maybe you have to go back on keto.
I’m not inclined to say anything is forever.
I will say that the keto WOE is doing very well for me now. Weight is going in the right direction and I’m feeling pretty good. I don’t know what happens when I get to where I want to be weight wise. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.
Will I add in some more fruit? Maybe. Will I add in some more borderline kinds of veggies such as carrots and maybe even some beans? Maybe. But I’m hoping that the keto experience will have taught me enough to know that I can’t just go back to the McDougall way of eating and expect to fare well. I didn’t last time.
And it may be that I’ll find some variation in the ways that I keto onward. Some eat more meat, some eat less. Some eat more dairy and cheese, some eat less. I’m not planning to go vegetarian again but am open to some vegetarian meals, we sometimes eat them now.
Dunno. I’m gonna try to keep an open mind and pay attention to what my body tells me. Whatever is to come, I’m thankful for the keto experience!
I’m in this for life. I started this for health reasons, it is helping me more than I can say. I actually have a Life now. I can do so much more than before. No pain. And i am such a carnivore I enjoy eating this way. Keto for life baby!
Listening to Chris Kresser’s two podcasts on Rogan raises some other interesting issues though around keeping the gut biome healthy and the fact that the sugar cravings come from the microbes as much as human host - he explains it really well and once again I get the message that the keto way is far more natural and supportive and getting the whole system healthy. Also some great reminders about the root of so many diseases, depression included, being an inflammatory response - we really have come a long way from where we are supposed to be - all of which BTW lends me to believe I am keto 4 life
I had cranberry sauce made with stevia for Thanksgiving and stayed in ketosis. Many on keto still eat lower sugar fruits such as strawberries and raspberries. And many of the fruits that are often considered vegetables such as cucumbers and bell peppers are ok in moderation. Monitoring ketones and blood sugar is one way to know what and how much you can eat.