Weight gain is a very common health concern for many people including me!Yes, I said it. Managing your diet, exercising and overall being healthy is sometimes very difficult to maintain when you have a busy schedule and lifestyle. As someone who struggles with weight, I have personally tried every diet and weight loss pill you could think of. JK! (I just think I have…lol). It is a struggle sometimes; my stubborn weight always seems to come back every time I lose weight and I know I am not the only one. There are many factors that contribute to weight gain like eating a lot of junk and a sedentary lifestyle. A relatively popular and common method used for weight loss are diets, because they are mostly inexpensive and can help with rapid weight loss in a short period of time. So many of these diets come out all year round or are reintroduced back into the market that promise rapid weight loss and other health benefits often categorized as fad diets.
As I decided to give up on my attempt to lose weight, I stumbled on something called the ketogenic diet. I was skeptic and decided why not just try this. If it doesn’t work I will go back to being my chubby self. So, my journey with ketogenic diet began. You may ask, what is a ketogenic diet? Simple, a ketogenic diet (keto) is a low carbohydrate diet “that causes the body to release ketones into the bloodstream” (healthharvard,edu). That is when you do not eat a lot of carbs, after a period of time, the body begins to break down the stored carbs within the body that is needed for energy which leads to the process called ketosis. During ketosis the body burns the stored fat very quickly because energy is needed for all proper functioning of organs in the body contributing to weight loss. As I continued to do my research on ketogenic diet, I found out that they are sometimes recommended for cancer patients who have trouble digesting foods, especially before and after surgery. I was impressed, this may actually work for me and it truly did. It was not easy but I was able to lose 15lbs in a month and maintain it. It took about two weeks, for my body to adjust to my new dietary intake and actually started feeling good with some new found energy . A Boston Medical report, reviewed that over 45 million Americans try out or use a diet for weight loss including weight loss products to assist with faster weight loss. So, I am not the only one (sigh of relief!). Did you know that, In America only, over $33 billion is spent on weight loss products every year? Often the idea of losing weight sells very quickly (Bostonmedical.org).
To conclude ketogenic diet can be beneficial to weight loss. Ketogenic diet can be beneficial in many ways. And I think some more studies should be done to learn other ways can ketogenic diet can help the body not only limiting it to body weight. It is important that anyone who use or plans to use keto as an alternative form to lose weight know the effect of keto on their body and total cholesterol levels. There could be many underlying side effects that may arise from short or long-term use of a ketogenic diet including decreasing the levels of high-density lipoprotein which is vital for proper body functioning because it works against low density lipoprotein to unblock arteries for proper blood flow. So there goes, keto is good and I can testify of its effectiveness. However, everything has a short/long side effect. So therefore, remember to do your research, reach out to a professional and use due diligence to determine what diet or supplement works out for you.
Bueno et al 2013: Very-low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet v. low-fat diet for long-term weight loss: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Campos, Marcelo 2018 “Ketogenic Diet: Is the Ultimate Low-Carb Diet Good for You?” Harvard Health Blog, Harvard Health Publishing.
Cohen et al., 2018: Favorable Effects of a Ketogenic Diet on Physical Function, Perceived Energy, and Food Cravings in Women with Ovarian or Endometrial Cancer: A Randomized, Controlled Trial.
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