Anyone been on the ketogenic diet long term?

Soldato
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On keto for 8 years, but i see loads of people say it's not good long term. i must be an outlier.

After the fat adaption, i never bonk( hypoglycemia ) when cycling/running like i used to when my metabolism was glucose based
 
Caporegime
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It isn't clear that it is. So why not just have a normal balanced diet that is known to be healthy in the first place?
 
Soldato
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A balanced diet ( Western Diet ) is what's giving people Western diseases, T2 diabetes , obesity, etc. ' balanced' is vague, 'cause what's right for you isn't necessarily right for me.

Tell me what's normal, what's healthy and balanced?
 
Soldato
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With the odd blip here and there I'm just over a year into eating this way. Actually can't stand some foods now (normal chocolate bars are awful now for instance).

I get to eat tons of veg, salad and pretty much whatever meat I want. Hunger doesn't impact me like it used to and with little more than some water I can keep going for a lot longer before needing to eat.

I see this as an absolute win! I feel better, I'm enjoying my meals, I'm losing weight with ease and learning about lots of new ways to cook!
 
Caporegime
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A balanced diet ( Western Diet ) is what's giving people Western diseases, T2 diabetes , obesity, etc. ' balanced' is vague, 'cause what's right for you isn't necessarily right for me.

No a balanced diet isn't given people diabetes or causing obesity. That's what happens when people don't eat a balanced diet, eat excessively etc..

Tell me what's normal, what's healthy and balanced?

Well there are plenty of examples - I didn't think this needed to be explained:

here is a quick one from google
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/

I get that there are short term benefits but the long term effects aren't so clear, there are risks of nutritional deficiencies if you are restricting food groups etc... potentially unknown effects on the gut microbiome etc... do you use artificial sweeteners etc..?

I don't see the advantage tbh...not at the moment at least, beyond maybe doing it for a short period of time for something specific like weight loss - even then you could just go into calorie deficit in a regular, otherwise balanced diet anyway.

I'm not saying it is definitely a bad thing I'm just not sure why people do it rather than just eating healthily in the first place? It just seems like a bit of a fad that is all.
 
Soldato
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I remember eating an apple pie after a night out made my a mates girl, had to eat it to not offend, but next day broke out in scabs/pimples due to the sugar/insluin response. It's amazing how toxic sugar is when you are weened off of it.
 
Soldato
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potentially unknown effects on the gut microbiome etc... do you use artificial sweeteners etc..?

I don't see the advantage tbh...not at the moment at least, beyond maybe doing it for a short period of time for something specific like weight loss - even then you could just go into calorie deficit in a regular, otherwise balanced diet anyway.

I'm not saying it is definitely a bad thing I'm just not sure why people do it rather than just eating healthily in the first place? It just seems like a bit of a fad that is all.


Agree with the gut flora, that's crucial to mental health . but as i said, the Western diet promotes the majority of your calories be carbohydrates . and carbs break down into glucose , and too much high blood sugar is inflammatory and leads to diseases like we get in the West. Glucose isn't an essential nutrient , we make it ourselves from protein. We don't need to eat it.
 
Caporegime
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You can always make your more regular, less restricted balanced diet more Mediterranean, doesn't have to be a traditionally British one necessarily.

People in the Mediterranean tend to do rather well - plenty of fruit and veg, lean meats, fish etc..
 
Caporegime
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I eat veg, i eat fish, but why does meat have to be lean?

I was giving a brief example of stuff in a Mediterranean diet.

If you were eating beef burgers every day then that wouldn't be a Mediterranean diet - it would be more American!
 
Soldato
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It's funny, I've been on the ketogenic diet for a few months now due to health reasons. It's been great, I've lost over 5 stone and find it generally a better way of eating for me. The stuff I hate to eat I now don't have to at the small sacrifice of a few things that I do like pasta.

Sugary stuff makes me feel ill now, stodgy foods make me horribly sluggish and bloated. I'm sleeping better and feeling better in general.

As a result I'm now in remission of type 2 diabetes, within 3 months.
 
Soldato
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I’ve done keto before and felt great, now I just eat low carb but not specifically tailoring what I eat for keto although I do tend to end up in a state of ketosis

I feel good and I’m losing body fat (main aim), the only negative thing so far is I don’t have a great deal of burst energy , if I try and push myself my muscles burn out quickly
 
Commissario
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A diet that gets you into ketosis is generally just a way to force your calorie count down so that you're in a deficit.

This is an interesting read. His articles are generally very good.
 
Soldato
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A diet that gets you into ketosis is generally just a way to force your calorie count down so that you're in a deficit.

This is an interesting read. His articles are generally very good.

not strictly true as you can be in a state of ketosis but still eat a calorie surplus, although it is easier to be in a deficit if weight/fat loss is your goal.
 
Soldato
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I tried it out of interest. But it basically means you can't eat out our are very limited in choice. It drove the wife mad.
I loved starting my day with a coffee with butter in it, dinner usually salad with cheese and fatty fish, olive oil dressing.
Tea some meat and green vegetables.
 
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