4 ms·

I'm not even on a keto diet, but I avoid refined sugars as much as possible. On most days my refined sugar intake is well below 10 grams. You don't have to do

I'm not even on a keto diet, but I avoid refined sugars as much as possible. On most days my refined sugar intake is well below 10 grams. You don't have to do go full keto to get a health benefit!

SmellyGeekBoy 7y ago
This is exactly it. There's no need to take things to extremes. Any diet that is unsustainable long term is not going to be good for you.
- scarecrowbob 7y ago
  "Any diet that is unsustainable long term is not going to be good for you." I hope this doesn't come across as too pedantic, but I dunno if your maxim holds. For instance, fasting isn't necessarily bad (I think it's quite useful) but clearly it's an unsustainable beyond a certain number of days. Similarly, keto can both be very effective, change your eating preferences, and be done over a span of months even if it's not something done forever into the future. I say this not because I have data, but just anecdotally... I lost quite a lot of weight through fasting and ketosis, and now that I've hit a stable weight and modified my diet (no sodas, sweets, bread, dairy and mostly plant based high-fat foods) I'm not in keto but a lot healthier than I was. You can enter ketosis long enough to lose some weight and then add back in some carbs at some point... just don't return to whatever habits led you to gain weight in the first place.
  - senux 7y ago
    > You can enter ketosis long enough to lose some weight and then add back in some carbs at some point... just don't return to whatever habits led you to gain weight in the first place. That's the key though. Despite using keto or fasting, you still changed your diet. However, the changes you've made are more manageable for the long run.
    - scarecrowbob 7y ago
      True. But I don't know if I wold have made the dietary changes if I hadn't lost the 50 lbs. And I would not have lost that weight on my current diet, I don't think. So my point that there are useful short-term diets still seems tenable to me.

I'm not even on a keto diet, but I avoid refined sugars as much as possible. On most days my refined sugar intake is well below 10 grams. You don't have to do go full keto to get a health benefit!

SmellyGeekBoy 7y ago

This is exactly it. There's no need to take things to extremes. Any diet that is unsustainable long term is not going to be good for you.

scarecrowbob 7y ago
"Any diet that is unsustainable long term is not going to be good for you." I hope this doesn't come across as too pedantic, but I dunno if your maxim holds. For instance, fasting isn't necessarily bad (I think it's quite useful) but clearly it's an unsustainable beyond a certain number of days. Similarly, keto can both be very effective, change your eating preferences, and be done over a span of months even if it's not something done forever into the future. I say this not because I have data, but just anecdotally... I lost quite a lot of weight through fasting and ketosis, and now that I've hit a stable weight and modified my diet (no sodas, sweets, bread, dairy and mostly plant based high-fat foods) I'm not in keto but a lot healthier than I was. You can enter ketosis long enough to lose some weight and then add back in some carbs at some point... just don't return to whatever habits led you to gain weight in the first place.
- senux 7y ago
  > You can enter ketosis long enough to lose some weight and then add back in some carbs at some point... just don't return to whatever habits led you to gain weight in the first place. That's the key though. Despite using keto or fasting, you still changed your diet. However, the changes you've made are more manageable for the long run.
  - scarecrowbob 7y ago
    True. But I don't know if I wold have made the dietary changes if I hadn't lost the 50 lbs. And I would not have lost that weight on my current diet, I don't think. So my point that there are useful short-term diets still seems tenable to me.