Added in to post above. “for weight loss”
The real Skinny on Fat series and paid attention. Delauer I think it was but not 100% which guest expert interview…sorry. Hungry mother to feed. 
The series is well worth watching for anyone who is committed to keto. I posted a link to it when it was free, now it is a purchase. I just watched the free casts.
@anon13588705 Meaning I don’t have a diagnosed disease or disorder and started keto simply to lose weight… and don’t qualify for not causing you “difficulty” in this paragraph:
While I do respect your opinion, I disagree with your cause for unease. I can’t see how you can feel that way when someone can tell you they have never felt better, even if they don’t have medical assistance to confirm that feeling.
She’s a psychiatrist who got into keto to heal some food problems of her own. She is connected with the Smith College Student Health Service in some capacity. Her Web site is www.diagnosisdiet.com, and there are a number of great videos of her lectures on YouTube.
It seems on the high side to me, and he said it was just his impression. I doubt there’s any way to obtain data to verify it anyway. But it does make sense to me that at least some percentage of the population might be able to eat carbohydrate with impunity. That’s okay by me, since it means more bacon for the rest of us! 
ETA: I should clarify that Phinney didn’t say that such people won’t benefit from keto (I have no data for this, but I am convinced that everyone is capable of benefiting from keto), merely that they did not need keto, because they could deal with quantities of carbohydrate without becoming insulin resistant.
I’d also like to I point out that it’s never “just” about losing weight, like that’s some sort of derivative thing. If someone is twenty, fifty, one-hundred pounds overweight, that’s not a “just” problem, it’s a real issue that’s likely surrounded by other symptoms; it’s just the extra fat is what they can actually see, it’s what other people can see, so that’s why it’s their primary concern, but there are almost always other problems included with it. For me, it was inflammation I didn’t even realize I had. If someone is overweight, it’s a sign of a bigger issue that something isn’t working in their bodies (which we now know is most likely insulin resistance). And for most of them, they’ve tried other diets. They’ve tried the low-fat, the low-calorie, etc., they’re here because nothing has worked long term.
There are a few looking into Keto to lose vanity weight so they can get their beach bod, but they’re a minority.
Spot on. I would say most come for weight loss (certainly that has been what I have seen) but stay for the health benefits. Everything @anon2571578 said is spot on but it seems daft quoting the whole lot!
What about the whole raft of things that keto helps for that doesn’t come under the metabolic disorder heading?
I can only speak for myself but because it reduces my depression and migraines. It also helps dramatically with my carb addiction and all that brings. My blood markers were always good despite getting to twice the weight I should have been. Could I lose weight eating all the food groups? Yes of course, and I did to start with. I had weight loss surgery and was encouraged to eat all the things. Wrongly. I lost weight alright - no problem there. Even the weight loss stalled out though, and it did nothing for the other things I mentioned previously. It was keto that helped with those and also with the rest of the weight loss and then maintenance.
You will find eating disorders in any community that addresses eating and weight loss. It is not specific to keto. Is it something we should be aware of and cautious when red flags pop up when someone posts something that sounds like it might be in this territory? Of course. I have met a fair few such people and had good conversations with them.
Yes and no. It depends what the eating disorder is and how it impacts the individual. Of course anyone with an eating disorder should get the right help just as much as anyone with a heart condition should or whatever health condition you want to list. Keto can (and has) helped many with eating disorders.
Bingo 
Completely agree. What’s not healthy about eating real food?
Very true. There are plenty of ways to eat healthily and keto is just one of them. If you are going to choose any “diet” to help lose weight though you could do a lot worse than keto. I know so many people who came to lose weight and then felt so good they stayed. How can that be a bad thing? Of course it goes sideways with some people but that isn’t specific to keto.
This is definitely a thing, yes. The way out of it is gentle reassurance and steering them towards health benefits over simply losing weight. My feeling is that it is good they are here (here meaning keto in the broad sense as well as the forum) and starting a healthy way of eating even if they approach it in a disordered way. Once keto kicks in and their mood starts to improve it is far easier to start tackling the emotional side of things and be open to taking the next step. When you have a carb brain that has been up and down with all sorts of diets over the years it just needs a chance to settle and heal a bit before it can start tackling the underlying problems. One step at a time
I can’t speak for anyone else but I have always been insulin sensitive. I had serious weight issues. I also had other issues that I mentioned above. Eating keto has been the only thing to help with all of these. Yes, the weight loss surgery helped with weight loss to start with but I would likely be back up near my original weight by now were it not for keto.
Weight loss is simply too much something that is tied up with too many people and posts to put in its own section. I’m not sure how it having its own section would help. How do you see it doing so? What would happen there? Is the motivation to collect weight loss knowledge and help people trying to lose weight or to tuck it out the way from the rest of the forum? You re always welcome to suggest a new category for the forum - make your case
There is a fair amount of doubt as to how accurate dexa scans are for defining fat vs muscle mass. I used to want one to get that definitive answer. I have since changed my mind due to learning that they are far from accurate and decided to save my money!
I’m glad the OP brought up this subject. It is good to take a beat and reflect on your own mental state when making big changes in life. Even good changes can become unhealthy, and self reflection can help one self correct or seek help on their journey.
It’s also good for us on a forum like this to have issues pointed out that we may not have ourselves so we can be aware and more helpful when interacting with others.
I think a lot of what I would say has already been said by others, so I won’t rehash. I will say, of all the ways I’ve tried (I lost a good amount of weight with WW, and kept it off for a few years) to lose weight, keto is the only way that came with so many NSVs and improved my overall health, not just the scale.
The opposite of insulin resistance is insulin sensitivity. An insulin sensitive person can eat processed foods and sugars and the effect on their insulin is minimal in comparison to insulin resistant people. Their blood glucose goes up from eating something with a high glycemic index but the glycemic load (amount of time the particular food affects BG) is much lower, which puts insulin at rest much faster.
People with insulin sensitivity can eat garbage and it seemingly has no effect on them, but I can assure you that it does because I used to be insulin sensitive. I used to be able to eat ANYTHING and not gain an ounce, literally eating ice cream and potato chips for dinner. I couldn’t move a scale if it had wheels on it.
Eating a carb-based diet for most of my life may have not made me fat for many years, but it was slowly rotting my insides, beating down my insulin sensitivity and inflammatory by nature. Doctors told me I was very healthy but why then did I always feel like crap? I can remember feeling “old” for much of my 30s when weight was still not an issue and I understand now that it’s because of the poison I was eating.
The saying “you can’t outrun a poor diet (way of eating)” truly has a special meaning to me. I know you can outrun it for a while but it will eventually catch up to you. Insulin sensitivity may be a gift but it’s one that can be abused and causes many problems later in life. Eating LCHF has taught me so much about myself and my hormones in such a way that I truly believe I am a much better person… to myself and to others.
@Carl Keller I had no intention to personally offend you or anyone and my post was in response to the original post at the top of this page from a therapist. I am sorry I offended you, I genuinely am.
Perhaps reread the original post from the therapist at the top of this thread and consider what I was attempting to address.
ie People with eating disorders often have body dysmorphia and are trying to lose weight when they are underweight and they want to “diet”.
Really? No idea where you learned they are far from accurate…I would check the source of that information if I was you.
They are relied on so heavily for their accuracy and for research intended for publication because of their accuracy.
Clearly you don’t respect my opinion at all but that is fine, it doesn’t distress me.
I don’t believe people who have never felt better were mentioned and I was not actually writing to you, or with you in mind, since I don’t know you and don’t know why you are doing keto. Why would you imagine I would have a problem with you feeling great? I can’t see where what I wrote here says or implies what you read into it.
Body dysmorphia was mentioned. Underweight was mentioned.
This spoke to me! I recognize myself as obsessive and I know the number on the scale is only a guide, yet, I am so frustrated when it goes up (even though I know fluctuation is normal, healthy, and does not equal gained fat). For me, I am a few pounds UNDER my goal weight which I feel has really gotten to my head. It’s like now that I know I’m capable of this number then if I creep up to my original goal then I’m gonna be mad… yeah… it’s not good. Not to mention my daughter is bulimic so even though she has no clue I obsess over this, in some subconscious way I must have passed this obsession down to her. 
Yes @PetaMarie - that’s my husband. He was already thin but he was eating so much junk his whole life, he knew he probably wasn’t healthy on the inside. And i mean real junk like sodas and candy bars whenever he wanted… chips whenever he wanted. Anything he wanted! And never gained weight! (Grrr). He does Keto with me now solely to avoid diabetes, heart problems, Alzheimer’s, etc… he didn’t need to lose any weight but knew he needed to get healthy and we’re both convinced Keto is the way for us. He watched “The Magic Pill” one day (I had already been Keto for a couple months) and was hooked from then on! Lol
My mom obsessed about her weight and she was very thin. I got my dad’s genes and was more athletic and what I considered husky compared to her even though I was a size 7. I watched her obsess over her weight and she was my mom and I emulated her. Girls really watch their mothers.
I’m not suggesting you’re doing the same thing at all but you’re in a tricky situation outwardly considering your food choices in a home with someone struggling with disordered eating. I wish you both the best.
That is not actually what I said. I said “there is a fair amount of doubt as to how accurate dexa scans are for defining fat vs muscle”. I forget who it was but I will endeavour to remember. It was someone who’s knowledge I respected enough to forget saving the money to get one done. The argument they made made sense to me - that the level of accuracy of distinguishing between fat, water and muscle mass was not as accurate as people were saying. I’m not saying they have no value but that relying on a certain level of accuracy might be misplaced.
EDIT I don’t think @siobhan was the original person I discussed it with but she does the job just as well. Please can you clarify how there can be variability in the lean mass element of a DEXA scan.
I love that you could share these thoughts here because you are correct that this forum tends to address both physical and mental health, and for the most part, the people that stick around have a healthy approach to body image. Having been here since the very beginning, and even before that when the dudes started out with a Facebook group, I’ve seen a lot of people come and go. The ones that are solely focused on reaching or maintaining a certain weight or size tend to leave. Having been very open about struggling with an eating disorder, I recognize when someone is here trying to reaffirm their distorted thinking around weight loss and body image. And many times when I’ve expressed concern- and its usually women- people get very defensive. It’s so ingrained in our culture to believe our purpose is to be thin and devote inordinate amounts of time and energy to pursing that goal. And I will confirm that as a woman, and a personal trainer, I get tremendous amounts of positive feedback about my body. I am very, very lean, and have a lot of muscle tone so I look very fit, which I suppose I am. But- I have reached a place where I no longer have a punitive or restrictive mindset about food or exercise. And in my defense when I was struggling with anorexia I was completely unaware of it. It took going through a very difficult recovery process before I could honestly see if my motivations are coming from a healthy place. So those are my thoughts- and I really love hearing another woman vocalize how important it is to not feed into that propaganda that robs people of their self esteem and happiness. Keto can be a wonderful fit for anyone who has grappled with a restrictive mindset around food- but it takes an honest approach to make sure you aren’t falling into the trap of diet culture, just under the guise of pursing “health”
