Why Keto could be a really bad idea for your weight loss
Looking like a bomb as the arresting figures of supermodels on Maxim, Vogue or their likes has become an idée fixe these years! We people worry about having imperfect bodies just because they make us look less attractive or, may be…ugly. There are just a few of us who actually strive for a healthy body, rather than a good-looking, fancy one. And in this bout for accomplishing the ‘perfect weight’, weight loss has now taken forms of crazy frenzies!
So when it comes to losing all that extra weight, you’re only absorbed into weight loss deadlines. And this safe formula: (Diet+Workout) seems like an old-school grind to you.
“To hell with exercise; I don’t have all the time on earth!” You just want to reap the result through quick fixes, totally unmindful about the grave threats they toss over your health.
SORRY, if that sounded like you.
Well, Keto is one such “quick fix” diet that seems to be a growing rage among the fitness enthusiasts of today. Yes, you read that right. Ketogenic diet has appeared to be the “in-thing” among people who are dead set on losing oodles of weight with the least amount of sweat being shed in a period that’s dramatically short. Seems all hunky dory, huh?
What drove a lot of my heed towards Keto is when a few of my darling buddies started with it with great aplomb. I was myself amazed yet bewildered at the quick drops in their weights. Even so, the restrictions seemed simply odd to me. Nonetheless, in the fullness of time, we realized that things weren’t really nice in here.
Let’s try to understand why it’s important to know what this diet is all about.
What’s the Ketogenic diet?
A Ketogenic diet subjects the body to a state of “ketosis”, in which it uses its own fat to keep it going good. Carbohydrates are almost banished from the diet & all that’s required in huge proportion comes from- FATS & proteins.
The normal process in which our body generates energy is by breaking down the carbs into simple glucose to provide us with energy to perform basic functions. The essential part of this glucose is assimilated for sustenance & whatever remains in excess is stored as body fat. Well, this is how we comprehend a situation where a person eats excess of carbs, thereafter, the excess of glucose produced is stored as his/her body fat after the required amount of it has already been used up for normal functioning. He/She ends up putting on excess weight. And that’s sad.
But hey, Keto puts our body over an entirely different job. Ketogenesis prohibits consumption of these carbs (>100grams is not allowed); so the body actually “starves” of the carbohydrates that could have been utilized for energy & hence sustenance of physical functions. So, it uses what’s available to it in abundance – FAT. This fat burns to generate (fatty acids+ketones). The ketones are often excreted & fatty acids are what the body uses for energy. By the end of these keto cycles, the dieter loses lots & lots of body fat. And that’s how a person’s own body fat is used as fuel to keep it going on, rather pulling on.
Sounds enticing to get you hooked to this approach to losing weight? Well, there’s something that’s really not nice about Keto. Let’s see what.
What’s good about it?
- You lose lots of weight in the shortest period of time, say, almost 10kgs within a week.
- You get rid of the stubborn abdominal fat too quickly.
- Studies show that ketogenic diets can effectively reduce seizures among children with epilepsy, the explanation of which is beyond the scope of weight loss.
Here’s what the experts say…
“Over half of our daily calories should come from quality carbohydrates, like whole grains, dairy, fruits and vegetables,” says Kim Larson, the spokesperson for The Academy Of Nutrition And Dietetics. “We cannot support the brain if we are taking in less than 120 grams of carbohydrate per day, and a lack of glucose (like oxygen) to the brain can cause irreversible damage.”
Unfortunately, most of us render the term ‘carbohydrates’ as bad as body fat. The correlation assumed, I guess, can be attributed to the fact that all of us tend to think of sweets, candies, bread & similar stuff when we contemplate carbs. However, nutritionists are tired of screaming simple vs complex carbohydrates to us.
We need to ensure that we consume ample complex carbohydrate foods like fruits & veggies, whole wheat, white rice & abstain from the “badder” or simple carbs such as pastries, sweets, fruit juices. The latter are directly absorbed by the blood because they are already available in the simplest forms of glucose & hence do not require further breakdown & assimilation. This results in the rise of blood sugar. Contrary to our belief, complex carbs take quite sometime to be broken down, keep us full for long & provide us with dollops of energy for the day.
According to Keri Glassman,”Glucose is the form of sugar that our brain uses so we can have energy to do things from breathe, digest, run, do work, think.”
So, what’s going to be bad about Keto?
Severe fatigue often accompanied by loss of concentration/Brain Fog
source: www.theodysseyonline.com
Since the brain thrives on carbohydrates for most of its activities, the lack of these is bound to cause some ill effects in here.
High risks of damage to kidneys & liver for those having issues already
source: www.thehealthsite.com
Ketosis apparently causes the body to produce an excess of ketones which leads to drops in the pH of the blood. This adversely affects the normal functioning of the kidneys & the liver. Cases of kidney stones & low blood pressure have commonly been reported with such patients.
Regaining the lost weight
Once you’ve been a Keto-dieter, your body essentially gets trained to live off the carbs.
Nevertheless, Keto is an extreme diet which is practically not feasible to be followed for the rest of your life after you lose the desired kilos or pounds.
Eventually, when you switch to your carb-studded diet again, your body loses its cool & you end up regaining all that weight upon feasting on the carbohydrate-rich diet that you missed before.
So what?
A Ketogenic diet comes across as a diet adorned with a cart of complexities & severe long-term side effects. Another well-known certified nutritionist, Francine G Blinten says, “Keto diets should only be used under clinical supervision and only for brief periods.” She adds further, “It can do more harm than good. It can damage the heart, which is also a muscle. People are using this for cosmetic reasons, but it’s so extreme that it’s dangerous.”
That being the case, while being on a weight loss spree, we must ruminate well on the realistic & long-term benefits of the approach before taking it up. This must be the ultimate checklist we must gaze at:
- Is it a realistic plan?
- Does it have any adverse effects on health?
- Does it encourage or go hand-in-hand with exercise?
- Will the success last long?
- Will it make me a much better & disciplined person?
On that note, it’s imperative to realize that we have all the above points checked before falling prey to fancy dieting fads.
Because,We’d never want to look back on our dieting days with repent, would we?
I would love to hear any of your experiences with similar fad diets.
Feel free to touch them up in the comments.
Oh man I have a real grouse with these fad diets. Isn’t it obvious that they will not work in the long run? Yet, people do hanker after them. I guess they are so fed up of their weight that they want quick fixes which some of these diets offer. Of course, they gain back all the weight and end up doing harm to their organs. Sigh! Well written article!
That’s right, Rachna. When you fail to see your body as a den for your health & life, you see it only in terms of the number it shows on the weighing machine. And this stems for one’s obsession about reaching a certain weight at any damn cost, SOMEHOW. All because they also hope to brag about the loss in numbers over the shortest span.
But sadly, these fad diets come with a price to pay – the quality of your body & its longevity. It’s high time people start to realize the science behind the diet before sheeping someone else’s.
Thanks for your appreciation! I couldn’t hold back from writing this because I’ve seen it affecting my friends, & they were wise enough to give it up for other healthier ways to weight loss.