About a month ago, my family decided (per my suggestion) to start the Keto diet. Planning for the diet was excited,  but I quickly lost my enthusiasm once I started the plan. It’s awful. Very bad. (In all fairness, it probably wasn’t the right timing with swim season starting and my body having to exert extra energy for 2 hours at a time.)  

The keto diet is is a very low-carb, high-fat diet, much like the Atkins diet. You must drastically reduce your carb intake and replace it with fat, putting your body into a metabolic state called ketosis. Ketosis is when your body uses fat for fuel and energy instead of glucose from carbs.

Let me tell you, it was hard. I was hungry and cranky and REALLY wanted a cookie. I never realized how easy it was to just go to a restaurant and eat whatever you want.

For that week and a half, I had to think SO hard every day about what I could eat and what I wasn’t allowed to eat. Most of the time, I ate a burger with no bun and a side salad. I cried over salads. Cried. 

The Keto diet was challenging, but I made it through with only cheating one time. I proved to myself that I can change the way I eat, but I also know that it wasn’t fun. Not in the least.   

According to Keto-supporter Dr. Ethan Weiss, he skips breakfast and eats mostly salads, nuts, cheese, roasted vegetables and grilled chicken, fish or tofu, as well as dark chocolate for dessert. The result was 20 pounds lost and a whole new wardrobe. 

The diet can lead to quick weight loss, but many argue it is no more effective than other diets, and some even argue it is dangerous. According to reddit.com, it is “worrisome because it encourages foods high in saturated fat, which have been linked to heart disease, while restricting nutrient-rich foods supported by decades of research.”

It can also cause “constipation, fatigue, and in some people, an increase in LDL cholesterol particles, a risk factor for heart disease.” While on the diet, you must get your blood work done once a week, and many report elevated levels in LDL cholesterol. 

At the beginning of the Keto diet, most people lose a lot of water weight. It takes a couple days for your body to enter ketosis, depending on your age and your metabolism.  

I did the Keto diet for a week-and-a-half. I suffered through the sacrifices and never felt much difference in my body or mental state. I was more tired and hungry during the day, but that was it. Maybe I didn’t give it enough time. Maybe I did. 

Either way, it wasn’t for me.