Keto Diet Questions

[Belinda]

Hey there,
Was just wondering, whoever's used the keto diet, what their experiences are with it. Reason for this is one of my friends has been using the keto diet and bodybuilding for a few years to manage his epilepsy - this has been pretty successful with less seizures and fewer drugs being needed. His task now is to convince the medical profession of its effectiveness. Here's the message he sent me on facebook so you know exactly the sorts of things he wants to know:

Any feedback would be great and I'll pass it on to him.


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I've been doing keto on and off for a while. Am currently on my 4th straight month of it and seeing good results. I don't find the regime particularly difficult, it's a bit draining at the start but once the induction phase is out of the way I feel great - loads of energy, better sleep and I've been lifting heavier every week at the gym. Only problem is I can't do intense cardio, but since I hate cardio anyway it's not the end of the world

In terms of side effects, I obviously got headaches, brain fuzz and lethargy during the induction phase. And I get the familiar acetone-type taste in my mouth as well.

I do a cyclical ketogenic diet though, I honestly would not be able to cope with not eating evil carby foods ever again. Got to have my Saturday night cheat meal to reward my efforts during the week!

 

[Smitch]

I just avoid carbs other than for breakfast, it's not as hard as you think.

Couldn't do zero carbs though, as others have already stated, it made me feel awful and i hacked about 2 weeks of it then sacked it off.

 

[Dig]

I would say sticking with this kind of diet would be hard for the average person.

But if it proved that it helps with managing their epilepsy perhaps plenty would be motivated enough to give it a go.

I say problem sticking with it as it is generally totally the opposite of what people eat, eg plenty of bread, cereals, processed carbs. If they arent a huge meat or seafood fan then it gets even harder.

If they go out for a meal or forget to take their dinner to work then what will they eat, sure if go for a meal might get a steak and salad or something like but to fill them up at work it's not likely they will easily find a keto friendly meal. And then if slip off the diet for some reason they will feel a bit sh1tty again going into keto, and prob think is it worth the hastle.

Have to look at cost as well, most of the processed cr@ppy meals people eat are much much cheaper than buying some steak etc

Maybe people are more motivated diet wise than i give credit for but i just cant see it.

(Not knocking your mate pushing to have a study done obv a very good idea if it has helped him)

 

[Smitch]

I just felt i needed carbs.

I was eating 6 boiled eggs for breakfast but they didn't satisfy me like a 100g bowl of muesli does and i felt very lethargic, but as soon as i added carbs back in for breakfast i felt fine again. You've got to try these things and i found it just wasn't for me.

That said, now i only have carbs for breakfast and then have high fat and protein the rest of the time and it's leaned me out and i'm still growin/getting stronger so i'm happy and still have the energy levels i need.

Prob a different story for a competetive BB'er though....

 

[LittleChris]

I've been doing keto on and off for a while. Am currently on my 4th straight month of it and seeing good results. I don't find the regime particularly difficult, it's a bit draining at the start but once the induction phase is out of the way I feel great - loads of energy, better sleep and I've been lifting heavier every week at the gym. Only problem is I can't do intense cardio, but since I hate cardio anyway it's not the end of the world

In terms of side effects, I obviously got headaches, brain fuzz and lethargy during the induction phase. And I get the familiar acetone-type taste in my mouth as well.

I do a cyclical ketogenic diet though, I honestly would not be able to cope with not eating evil carby foods ever again. Got to have my Saturday night cheat meal to reward my efforts during the week!

Whats your weight and what is a typical day's intake please.