I’m the antithesis of a kumbaya type, I’m a coldhearted detached sort and a scientist by nature, training and profession; individual biochemical differences are indeed a valid thing and def factor in to which dietary regime shall work for a given individual and no, keto is not the regime for all.
However THIS^^^^ outlook -seeking loopholes to sabotage and cheat- I agree is common and will likely lead to a disastrous result.
I still find it amazing that without pointing to any individuals, how I pissed off so many people !!! Like I say, about 190 of the 200 responses in a couple hours, were raging on me ! Crazy ! And all I did, was simply point out that that particular FB page had nearly as many posts about cheat days / meals, fails, falling off the wagon, etc, as it did, doing it right, and success stories… And that I didn’t need all the cheat and fail stuff.
I don’t need any excuses. I’m staying strict with Keto, and it’s working great for me.
Wish id have saved that original post, as I still don’t think I said anything that deserved that kind of reaction.
Me every day since around 1990 when the Culture of Mollycoddle began to take over.
#participationawardmentality
So maybe you hit too close to home for some of them. We all tend to rationalize our own bad behaviors, which is a way of lying to ourselves.
It takes some introspection to differentiate between self-compassion for our failures (“I made a mistake, but I am going to do better armed with new self-knowledge”) and rationalization (“well, it was ok because it was a special occasion, or I had a bad day, or well nobody can resist forever”).
So when you point some of these things out, even in general, those who often rationalize their bad behavior (which is all of us), and who aren’t working on the internal dialogue to change it to an honest self-appraisal (which is few of us) probably feel like you are attacking them because you are challenging their carefully constructed set of self-lies.
So people get all bent out of shape.
I think your assessment is spot on.
It was interesting though, of the 10 or so positive responses, most of those had been very successful, including one lady who had lost 120 lbs ! And she was on the exact same page ! She agreed she didn’t want or need any excuses, and she completely ignored all those posts about cheat this, cheat that, fell off the wagon, etc. Not her story. I wish I could invite each of those positive posters here.
I know I lied to myself for enough years, doing Yo-Yo dieting, and no more! Keto is awesome and I have so glad that I found this lifestyle change and this awesome forum =).
I end up saying this in my posts because there are often several people who will get all indignant at the scientific thing I just said and respond that “Well, that’s not true, because my N=1 [in which they didn’t really track all of what might have been going on] is different.” I get tired of arguing with those types, so I try to give them an out to start with. I know there are plenty of other people who take that approach in their posts, too. So try to ignore it.
This I will disagree with. Some people do better with external motivation. Some people like to stay in their own heads. Other people respond great to competition. This is definitely a way that people are different.
Amen.
When I say the mirror I am not talking about how a Kardashian uses the mirror.
I am talking about this.
When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.
For it isn’t your father, or mother, or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.
He’s the fellow to please – never mind all the rest
For he’s with you, clear to the end
And you’ve passed your most difficult, dangerous test
If the man in the glass is your friend.
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.
That’s all very true !
Honestly, I’ve only ever looked in the mirror (from my neck down 
lol) for a couple years of my 54, and thought, “Holy crap ! I look like like a male model” (used to love the mirrors in the Underarmor outlet fitting rooms, as they were just low enough to cut my head off lol …then I’d walk back out and see all kinds of adds with their models, and I’d be thinking, that guy ain’t got nothing on me 
… Except this one big buff black guy, and I’d have to give him the nod… If only I had 3 more years) … Then shortly after that, I had my back injury… And that hurt me as much mentally, as it did physically 
But I can’t change that. All I can do now is the best I can do from here on out.
What happened to your back? I know you injured it badly, as you have mentioned a few times, was it a car accident? It is wonderful that you didn’t get hurt worse, then you did, ie: in a wheelchair, etc. but still horrid that it happened and you are still suffering the pain of it.
Honestly it was a really stupid thing… After lifting weights 6 days a week, and doing hundreds of pushups every day, feet elevated 2ft and wearing a 40lb weighted vest… I was at the grocery store, leaning way over a bin full of watermelons, on one leg, and tried to pull one out that was wedged against the side of the bin… Yanked and it felt like a red hot poker in my spine ! Ended up rupturing a disc. Bed ridden for 2 weeks, missed 2 months of work. Took a year to heal to 95%, but even after that, it would come back and mess me up from the smallest things … usually sleeping wrong.
Not trying jinx myself, but after losing this 30 lbs, my back hasn’t felt this good in the 4 1/2 yrs since my injury.
Wow, that sounds so painful and must have really been upsetting that you had such a freak accident like that. But, I am really happy for you that Keto has been so amazing for you and healing it, that is great =).
I hope that it continues and the pain will go away completely over time.
Honestly I think any diet that caused me to lose weight… Heck even starvation 
would have been good for my back.
But keto has been great for so many other things also
Well, I am glad that your back is repairing, and for sure, Keto is awesome, as you yourself know =).
Cheating on Keto Diet?
I can’t figure out why anyone would. If you don’t like the benefits you are getting in keto, the just quit. If you like the benefits, the what is the purpose of cheating?
I can sort of “get it” in the first couple weeks…breaking that carb addiction is tough and it is a real addiction. But, just like when I quit cigarettes…once I succeeded nothing would ever get me to do it again…not going through that withdrawal ever again,
My experience has been the keto haters are either jealous or scared to try it themselves because of the commitment to low carb. Scared of failing so they bash it.
I have no desire for carbs. I can sit and watch others eat pizza, donuts, waffles with syrup and I can only think “Holy Ghost…you are poisoning yourself”. Never would I put any of that into my mouth!
We have all kinds of people on the forum, from healthy athletes looking to gain a competitive edge, muscle buliders, T1 and T2 diabetics, to someone who saw “keto” on a magazine cover at the checkout and wants to lose 5 lbs or 100 lbs. The approach needed is different depending on circumstance and goal. Many people don’t even know their metabolic status to begin with, so it’s up to us to get down to what’s going on under the hood. Then you can have problems with food reactions as well. [I forgot to mention mental health which is the most important aspect for me]
We encourage n=1 experiments for these reasons and because many people like the data collection and analysis aspect of finding out what works best for them.
Besides, once you’ve collected enough anecdotes, they start turning into data. N = 1 may not provide proof, but once you start asking “Why did it work that way in that case?” instead of dismissing it as an anecdote, you’re well on your way to a testable hypothesis.
Dave Feldman and Ivor Cummins are making valuable contributions to lipidology as a result of attending to their own cases. David Diamond’s personal medical history got him interested in lipidology and cardiology, where he has done a lot to expose the flaws in statin research and in the lipid hypothesis. Dr. Atkins tried out the diet in Banting’s Letter on Corpulence, and it worked for him, so he started recommending it to his cardiac patients, and his case notes have been turned into solid data by Dr. Westman. So I wouldn’t be too quick to dismiss N = 1 experiences.
I regret that I have but one like to give for your post. 
