Should You Do Keto?

What is the Keto Diet?

The ketogenic (Keto) diet typically consists of around 70-80% of daily calories from fat, less than 50g of carbohydrates per day, and the remainder from protein.

What’s the Idea?

There are several reasons people might choose to try the Keto diet. One common belief is that consuming more dietary fat increases fat burning, which sounds like it would help you lose more body fat. However, fat burning and body fat loss are not the same thing.

Fat burning (using fat for energy) increases on a ketogenic diet because there's more fat available to be used as fuel. However, body fat loss can only occur in an energy deficit. You can theoretically lose body fat at maintenance calories by building muscle and losing fat at the same rate—this is called body recomposition—but this process is usually very slow.

One major drawback of the Keto diet is that you're likely to be quite low on dietary fibre. Fibre has been shown to reduce the risk of diseases such as coronary heart disease (CHD), cardiovascular disease (CVD), and certain cancers, with a dose-response relationship. Essentially, the more fibre you consume, the greater the benefits—although, of course, there are always exceptions.

Another potential downside is the possibility of increased LDL cholesterol, even while at maintenance or in a caloric deficit, due to the high fat intake (depending on the sources). Over time, this could pose potential health risks.

Anecdotally, some people respond very well to a ketogenic diet. If your goal is weight or fat loss and you enjoy a very low-carb diet without feeling deprived, then that’s great!

One thing to keep in mind with any diet is that just because it works for you doesn't mean it will work for everyone. The same core principle of weight loss always applies: energy balance.