In recent years, the keto diet has exploded and many people from all walks of life can’t stop talking about it.

So, it seems that no one is asking “What is the keto diet?” anymore… everybody knows it and it has been turned into a miracle cure (with an anti-carb hysteria).

However, just in case you require the information, I will provide some details:

The ketogenic diet is a very low-carb diet that limits your daily carbohydrate intake to 40-50 grams per day. This means you are eating very little carbohydrates. The 40-50 grams of carbohydrate intake is mainly from vegetables and dairy. Your body will use fat instead of carbohydrates if you only eat a small amount of carbs each day. This is ketosis.

It is so popular because of this.

3 reasons:

People report feeling less hunger pangs, less mood swings, and easier weight loss when eating low-carb.
It is also a great example of a single-rule diet . These types of diets are easier to follow than those with many rules or nuance.
This particular diet, which follows a single rule, allows people to eat foods that are often “off limits” under calorie-controlled diets. For example, bacon, cheese, and egg yolks.
Single-rule diets have their flaws. They are easy to follow, because the guideline is so clear, immovable. However, there are a few problems.

One Rule is also a single point of failure
Their strength is also their weakness. They only have one rule that they can follow, and falling “off” can lead to a dramatic return to old ways of eating.

This can be a problem for people who self-identify themselves as having an “all-or nothing” personality.

If someone is trying hard to adhere to the ketogenic diet, such as for weight loss, it can be easy for them to slip out of ketosis by eating a guiltily-eating bagel.

These thoughts might sound familiar?

“Well, I’ve already blown the whistle today, so I might as ____.”
“I’m going to just take today ‘off. ‘”
“This week was a wash.”
Its specificity can make it economically challenging
If economic insecurity is a factor in someone’s eating habits, flexibility in dietary choices can be a great benefit. Low-carb diets may mean expensive grocery bills. Instead of low-carb foods like beans, bananas, and rice, people might feel pressured to buy more meat or high-carb snacks in order to keep their keto diet alive. For someone with a tight budget, this can prove to be unsustainablely expensive. Carbohydrates are cheap and easy to come by. It is common to hear that healthy eating is too expensive. I must say, however, that healthy eating isn’t expensive. However, a diet that excludes large food groups can be restrictive.

Be on the lookout for paranoia
When you look at the USDA food chart and see that grains are the most prominent, you might think: “Looks like Big Grain made someone rich for this chart!”. This suspicion is prevalent in many online discussions about low-carb diets. Big Pharma has the national medical “establishment” in its pocket (i.e. Extreme diet literature is full of the cliché “what your doctor won’t tell you” You can’t allow healthy skepticism grow into conspiracy theoryism.

Broad Rules Destroy Nuance
A low-carb diet can also cause confusion about what is healthy or unhealthy to eat. Clients may struggle to decide what to pack for a quick, easy snack or lunch. The obvious answer would have been an apple. It’s easy for people to lose sight of the bigger picture when they are so focused on a carb-free diet. It’s obvious that logic has been stripped of nuance when steel cut oatmeal or lentils are grouped with Captain Crunch.

It’s not that Atkins or keto diets don’t work. But they don’t infuse people’s behavior and mindset with the soft skill needed to long-term food, exercise and self-managementwhich I would sum up as:

Differentiating between different types and sourcing carbohydrates
Differentiating sugar from carbs
Whole foods versus processed foods
Benefits of Going Lower-Carb
Now that you’ve seen a lot of reasons to doubt the ketogenic diet I want to change gears and ask: Why is a lower-carb diet so beneficial? What are the benefits? What’s actually going on in your body? Why do I recommend a low- or carb diet to my clients?

If you use common sense when planning your meals, a lower-carb diet will automatically lead to more vegetables. More vegetables equals more nutrients and fiber each day.
A low-carb diet can often lead to a deficit in calories by eating lots of extra snacks off the table (i.e. The bagel served in the conference room. This makes it easier to lose weight and manage your weight.
Low carb diets often include more protein. This helps to maintain blood sugar levels and aids in muscle growth (i.e. To achieve your body goals and reduce cravings.
A lower-carb diet, especially one that is lower sugar, will cause fewer spikes and falls in blood sugar. This will allow you to have more energy and feel less hungry between meals.
Especially for women who are 45+ and starting to really feel the blood-sugar-rattling (and midsection-thickening) effects of perimenopause and menopause, focusing on being nourished by food and getting blood sugar stable can be a game changer for not only physique change, but for health.

How can we harness the power of a single-rule diet such as keto without taking on the risk of an all or nothing approach?

My strategy is to “low- er carb” with my clients.

(Because it’s easy to know when something is too hard, we can start with great intentions and not stick with it for very long …)

There are four main aspects to “low- er carb” and I’m going break them down for you.

1: Concentrate on Getting Carbohydrates from Fruits, Vegetables and Whole Grains.

Many people associate carbs with pastries, French fries and donuts. Keto’s misfortune is that keto foods such as apples, lentils and bananas are unnecessarily grouped together.

Instead of cutting out all carbs, you should focus on limiting processed carbohydrates. You don’t have to stop eating pizza – it could be a treat once in a while, or if the portion is moderate. You’d be amazed at the number of cravings that you have when your carbohydrate change up. A lot of people find that eating low-calorie, natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and whole grains can have a significant impact on their appetite.

2: Measure cups.

Simply using measuring cups when cooking at home with whole grains or pasta can make a huge difference.

A serving of quinoa, for example, is approximately 1/4 cup dry quinoa (roughly 3/4 cups cooked). A serving of cooked pasta contains approximately 2 oz (roughly 1 cup) of dried pasta. If you use measuring cups to measure these foods, and you stick to it diligently (and eat mostly at home), you’ll be surprised at the small serving sizes and how little you eat. This can help you understand why “carbs cause you to gain weight.”

We have been taught by Restaurants to adjust our perceptions of portions and to use measuring cups for carbohydrate.

3: Limit Sugar.

Many times, sugar is what people end up reducing by drastically cutting carbohydrates. This happens because high-calorie foods such as pastries, donuts and desserts are removed from their diet.

It can be simple to focus on sugar and use the “single rule” strength of keto but without any life-altering restrictions.

I recommend that clients look at a label for 10 grams. Pay attention to the label. If the food contains more than 10g of added sugars per portion, it is not recommended that you make it a regular part of your daily diet. If a yogurt has 24 grams of sugar per serving, it is not something I would recommend as my go-to.

Fruit is an exception, due to its fiber content and self-portioning nature. One apple, one banana, and one orange are the most common fruits we eat. Pay attention to fruits that are larger in quantity (like grapes) and avoid processed fruits like juices and dried fruits.

4: Limit Alcohol.

Many women, especially those nearing or passing menopause, underestimate the impact alcohol has on their health and blame carbs.

I have already written another blog article on guidelines for enjoying adult beverages. But I wanted to share an article that a member shared with me . This anecdotally describes how a woman in her 50s was able to get relief from the adverse effects of menopause (mostly by quitting alcohol).

Here, again, the single rule advantage may be in play. You can avoid alcohol by avoiding alcohol, but not all the time.

Drinking is often associated with overeating.
Poor quality sleep is often a result of alcohol consumption
Pareto’s Principle
With most of my clients I recommend small changes over big changes. Here’s why:

The Pareto Principle states that 20% of your efforts are responsible for 80% of your success. This is true for “cleaning up” your diet.

It is hard work to go low carb. This means that you will need to make big changes in your shopping habits, eating habits, and snacking habits. You may feel more tired and stressed out if you do not eat carbs.

It takes some effort to go low- or carb. However, it will allow you to exercise more and increase your muscle gains. This makes it less likely that you will have to eat different from your family members when you sit down for a meal.

Pareto’s magic is that you can get better results if you concentrate on the right things (like these four strategies) than you would if you were to make large, complicated, and difficult changes.

This means that you are dialing in to the 20% effort that makes the difference of 80%.