Losing weight, curing cancer, transforming your life, and more.  These are the claims that the ketogenic diet has provided depending who you talk to.  While there are some documented benefits to this diet, it seems we often forget, it is just that – a diet. As in, not meant to be a lifestyle or long-term. If you are considering quitting keto, you are not alone, below you will learn why I quit keto and why I’m so glad I did.

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I get the wanting to lose weight thing.  I have struggled with that my entire life, as so many of us have.  We all think someone else looks better, we compare ourselves and we inevitably end up with an unhealthy mindset devaluing what we look like.

Enter a new “proven” way to lose weight. 

What?  All I have to do is eat fat and no carbs?  Does it matter how much fat I eat? No?  Sign me up!

But, if it was that easy, wouldn’t this have been discovered by now?

Like, why is this keto thing such a 2018-2019 trend?  We have had so many fad diets come into the mainstream only to be forgotten a few years later.  Why would this trend be any different?

Does No/Low Carb Really Work?

I’m not here to discuss what keto is.  By now, you’ve probably got the gist of it –> A diet that controls macros to consists of mostly fat + protein with little to no carbohydrates. 

Turns out, yea it can.  When going into ketosis, a recent 24-week study confirmed body mass, as well as cholesterol levels of patients was reduced. 

Now that’s all fine and dandy, but, what they don’t mention are the long-term effects of this type of diet. 

While they call this a “long-term study” I have to call BS.  Since when is less than 6 months considered long-term? 

I have personally consumed a low carb, high fat and protein diet for about 3 years.  In this post, I’ll give you the what I went through and why I quit keto.

Before the buzz word of keto and the well-known ketogenic diet was around, I was doing something eerily similar.  Essentially, I was shooting for Paleo, which is more of a food choice (real food vs. processed), but ended up with a high fat intake (because that’s what tastes good).

I struggled to get the amount of protein Paleo called for but kept my fat and veggie intake high with the only carbs being sweet potatoes on occasion or some fruit if I was splurging. 

Now paleo is already low carb by nature since you can’t have any refined carbs, sugars, or basically anything that doesn’t grow in the ground or on a tree.  So, essentially what I was doing was very ketogenic but without any dairy and more emphasis on protein when I could.

I did my paleo/keto-type diet for about 3 years.  I love a good cheat meal when I’ve earned it, but for the most part, I stuck to my low-carb, high fat and protein diet.  I’d call it a cleaner version of keto…  sans dairy.  

My Keto Journey: The Beginning

I started the diet around the end of 2012.  It wasn’t an overnight switch.  I first had to learn to replace certain items with what I had always eaten in the past.  Dairy was the first adjustment.  Milk with cereal or oatmeal subbed with almond milk, no more yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, or cream cheese.  I substituted avocado smashed on toast or bagels, at the time I still ate butter so I would still eat that on some things or cook with it occasionally.  But generally speaking, I excluded dairy from my diet after a month or two. 

Once I figured out how to navigate the non-dairy eating waters I switched my sights to a refined grain-free and sugar-free diet.  I stopped buying any and all bread, cereal (I still miss it sometimes), crackers, snacks, refined carb anything.  If it didn’t look the same on the shelf as it did growing in the ground, I didn’t buy it.  

What I realized was this meant no more pizza, ice cream, sushi, cheese, sandwiches, and so much more.  I was a little crushed, but with my health and weight in mind, I forged on. 

The one thing I didn’t give up was wine.  I love wine and I couldn’t imagine giving up that one thing.  Wine was my only vice.  At times, a lifesaving vice.  So the wine stayed. 

I am a firm believer in you have to make your nutrition work for your personal needs. 

That’s where the 80-20 rule comes in for me.  I did not drink wine every day, but it was nice to have when the mood struck.

A couple months later, I was full-fledged high fat/low carb. 

I was 26 at the time and I really felt like my body was going through some changes.  I struggled with digestion on both ends of the spectrum. If it wasn’t diarrhea it was constipation.  I felt terrible at times.  My body just wasn’t cooperating. 

The reason I say that is because that was another driving force for me to continue to eat healthy.  I very much noticed as soon as I would “cheat” on clean eating, I would have to deal with the repercussions digestively speaking.

My Keto Journey: The Middle

Like I said, I’ve typically been an 80-20 kind of gal.  I used the diet as a guiding principle but I never let it permanently force me into something I wasn’t willing to do anyway.  When it came to sticking to this diet, there were many motivations – better digestion, more energy, feeling better overall, and fueling my workouts.

But before long, I ended up dabbling in the one thing I missed the most, you guessed it, cheese.  CHEESE! Oh how I missed you!  LOL.  But really, that stuff is so good.

You might think I’m crazy but as I write this I legit no longer have any desire for cheese.  Hard to believe right?  I didn’t think it was possible either.  But that’s another story for another time. 

Back to the “middle” of this story.  I continued on my high fat/protein, low carb + the occasional cheese diet.  My hard ‘No’ was milk.  The thought of drinking milk to this day makes me sick.  I wouldn’t eat milk, cream cheese, sour cream, yogurt, or cottage cheese to save my life.  It just sounded gross at that point. 

I had been successful in not eating most dairy except for cheese, butter and the rare dessert.  But carbs were a different story.  I became intermittent with my refined carbohydrate intake.  My 80-20 turned into 80-20 M-F and 50-50 on the weekend.

AKA my diet went to shit on the weekend.                               

This lead to a resurgence of acne being a nuisance again, digestion was a problem,  feeling crappy, and weight maintenance was a struggle.

My Keto Journey: The End

After a year or so of that, I decided to get back on the saddle and go full-force with my diet. I wanted to get into great shape and low-carb, high protein and fat seemed to have the answers, as it was all the rage among those at the gym.

The most “carby” thing I ate was sweet potatoes and occasionally popcorn (but that was a treat).  Mostly, however, my carbs came from veggies, my favorites being spaghetti squash, broccoli, and asparagus.

Lower calorie carbohydrates meant I needed calories from elsewhere {fat}. 

So my diet was at that point ketogenic.  High fat/low carb with extra effort to keep protein high.  

A year into this diet, by no means was I perfect, but for the most part I avoided starchy-carby foods.  And the sad part?  Looking back, I didn’t really have any better weight maintenance results.  I only did this “diet” because that’s what I understood healthy to be.

Then I started to notice some changes.

I would wake up, drink my coffee, feel great, go to work, and without any explanation I would get these low energy spells where I could barely open my eyes.  It would be 2pm in the afternoon, for no reason and unlike anything else, I couldn’t stay awake to save my life.  Caffeine had no effect.

And it wasn’t just the physical fatigue, I also felt dizzy and foggy-headed.  Like I couldn’t compute or discern meaning accurately. 

If I had any amount of energy I would immediately be excited to workout, only to be completely disappointed in my performance.  I could barely get through any amount of conditioning and all I wanted to do was eat to try and get some energy.

Quite opposite of my initial intention.

I started to get this every week to every other week.  Often enough to notice something was most definitely wrong. I’ve been tired before but never to this level and I knew there was a problem when I started to have to leave work early because there was just no way I could continue. 

I was completely clueless as to the cause of my lost energy.  It was driving me crazy not being able to workout as much and feeling like a failure at work to boot. 

Once it started to affect my work, I knew I had to do something.  The problem was, I didn’t know what.

Finally, after a few months of this I went to the doctor.

I explained how I was getting some serious low energy spells and couldn’t work. I thought maybe I was anemic (it’s common in women).  We checked my vitals, did some blood test, and finally after it all checked out she asked, “Are you eating carbohydrates?”

I thought:  Pssshht, and risk getting fat?! I don’t think so!

“No, aside from vegetables I’m not.”

She clarified, “No complex carbs like rice, beans, or oatmeal?” 

Definitely, no… I shook my head.  

“Why don’t you try that and see how you feel…”

I wasn’t sure how exactly I was going to eat more carbs and not gain 500 pounds.  Honestly, I was a little crushed.  

It’s almost as if I was brainwashed to think carbs were the enemy and if I ate any I would gain weight. 

…Actually,  I was brainwashed.  

How I Quit Keto: The Adjustment

For someone who doesn’t eat starchy carbs of any kind, an adjustment would be an understatement. 

I used a calorie tracker to track what I was eating so I had a better understanding of my macronutrient intake.  I had to make a conscious effort to incorporate the foods my doc recommended:  Oatmeal, rice, quinoa, potatoes, starchy veggies. 

This is when I found out eating carbs is hard. 

I know that makes some of you think I’m crazy.  But when you’ve eaten a certain way for years (not too mention the brainwashed thing) and have to change, the transition takes thought and effort. 

It’s easy to eat “bad” refined carbs such as bread or pasta, those seem to be readily available everywhere you look.  To avoid those, meant I had to get to the grocery store and have something on hand to maintain complex carb consumption.  You can check this post for more tips on how I meal prep. 

The key?  Batch cook your carbs for the week.

Why I Quit Keto: The Results

I noticed something happened…

I had energy!  And brain power!  And exercise wasn’t such a chore!

No. Freaking. Way.

Yea, my energy came back.  I’ve felt so great since making those changes. 

Since then, I’ve maintained my carb intake to ensure I don’t lose that precious energy. 

I’m forever a carbs woman and no fad diet will change that. 

I would notice when I’d slip up and forget to eat carbs.  If I started to feel an energy slump, I thought about what I ate the past 12-24 hours.  Usually I’d find I hadn’t eaten any complex carbs and as soon as I would realize –-> COMPLEX CARB LOAD! Boom, fixed.

Have more energy, fuel your workouts – Download the list – 16 High-Fiber Complex Carbs

I’ve also created a balanced meal plan, which includes complex carbohydrates, grab it below.

Related:  How I Meal Prep For Weight Loss

Why I Quit Keto: In Conclusion

A ketogenic diet may have its place in the world and I know there are some proven benefits.  However, the research is limited on the long-term effects of this type of diet.  In my experience, I had the craziest energy slumps that affected my days so much it required doctor intervention. 

At some point you have to ask yourself if this alternative diet is worth it. Do you actually feel better?  Is the weight loss true fat-loss or just water weight?  How is your workout performance?

I now live my life with a much more balanced approach to carbs, fat, and protein.  I listen to my body, I understand what my cravings mean, and why they are important – to survive and thrive. 

I know that carbs are not the enemy and fat is not some superfood. 

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Let me know what your experience with keto has been in the comments below.  I’ve heard some interesting stories and it would be great to hear what has worked for you!

Disclaimer:  All opinions are my own.  This post is intended for educational, inspirational, or entertainment purposes only.  I am not a doctor, the content on this blog is not intended to be substituted for medical advice.