By Richard Tardif
The ketogenic diet, an extreme low-calorie, high-fat eating plan ballyhooed by celebrities (Halle Berry and Kourtney Kardashian to name a few) and social-media’s day-in and day-out certification of a process forcing the body to use fat for energy instead of the body’s chosen source of, dare I say it, sugar. Known as the metabolic process called ketosis, followers say it helped them lose weight immediately as a result of a lower appetite and energy gain. That’s just the thing: Keto is immediate, and of course, as trainers with nutrition consultants we are looking for long-term and normal weight for our clients.
Is it sustainable? In keto diets, only 10 percent of total calories per day, or 20 grams give or take, come from carbs, with 20 percent from protein. You get your fats, those fancied good fats, at a level of 70 percent. The logic is that since our bodies go-to for energy is carbs, cutting them means we have to use something else to keep us going. Our bodies then turn to the glucose stored in our muscles as glycogen for fuel. Sounds handy.
Before we give credit to Keto as a sure-fire way to lose weight consider that our muscles store water, on average three grams for every gram of glycogen. According to research, that is the reason for the immediate weight loss, and when that inevitable event occurs where you will eat more carbs (Oh I don’t know, maybe Christmas, Easter, weddings, etc.) the water returns. That’s the first knock on all diets: initial weight loss is water related. But can it be sustained?
Unlikely, first, most keto diets entail a low-calorie plan, and you will lose quick weight under less calories, in the short-term (I still maintain the calories-in, calories-out equation doesn’t work in the long-term), which makes it difficult to determine what caused the actual weight loss. Lisa Cimperman, R.D.N., a clinical dietitian at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics said this to Healthline in 2016,
“Once your body enters ketosis, you also begin to lose muscle, become extremely fatigued, and eventually enter starvation mode. Then it actually becomes even harder to lose weight.”
Second, research continues to question the long-term impact of eating saturated fat. Sure, the idea of good fats versus crappy and processed foods is better for us has validity, and while long-term crappy carb intake leads to obesity and terrible health issues, eating 70 percent of fat is boring. Butter is back. Eat bacon. Most of us are unable to maintain a keto diet. It could be, and more than likely is, that people have dumped the crappy processed foods while on keto and that has led to weight loss.
Third, how does constipation, kidney function, leg cramps, and brain fog sound to you? Are you a likeable person? Consider how crabby you will be on keto? How about increased risk of GI cancers and decreased immune function, and so on? This may be scratching the surface. I didn’t do much research on the consequences of this form of eating, and look what I found. Expectedly, I am going to receive some arguments in favour of keto and I invite them.
Just a few days ago, I came across a freshly written article by Jaclyn London, a Nutrition Director reporting on nutrition news and trends, and “myth-busting” diet fads. In, The 5 Most Common Arguments for the Keto Diet, Debunked, readers called it “false,” “intellectually disingenuous,” and even straight-up “terrible” citing that there’s a ton of research on the benefits of ketogenic diets. There is, and what is shown is the inability to pinpoint what actually contributed to the weight loss when people report they have lost weight on keto, which we mentioned above.
You can read Jaclyn’s article here, but for now, think about this: Keto is another diet and fitness industry trend that doesn’t promote, nor incorporate wholesome, nutrient-dense foods that encourage improved eating patterns and manageable, and successful returns to normal weight.
Yes, I know there are keto kings out there and I will be accused of cherry-picking my research. We can’t say for certain that keto it is 100 percent safe. What others out there provide is just incomplete knowledge, claims, and advise that are not backed by enough evidence, yet. The only thing you can do is take a look at the research yourself and form your own conclusion. My conclusion is that most who try a ketogenic diet will drop off within weeks.
Richard Tardif is an author, personal fitness trainer, and an award-winning health and fitness journalist writing and teaching about health and wellness for over 20 years. Stop the Denial: A Case for Embracing the Truth about Fitness, published by Smiling Eye Press, is his debut book. Email at richard@richardtardif.com
