Keto v low carb

[JumperandJacket]

Can somebody explain the difference to me? I thought keto was a sort of low carb diet but am a bit confused and not really sure which one I'm doing (I'm trying to stay under 50g carbs a day, largely avoiding processed stuff, having as much protein and fat as I want).

Any explanation would be gratefully received!

Keto is very very low and you don’t at all need to go that low for weight loss.

I believe it actually started as a treatment for epilepsy and managing seizures, but I’ve not looked into that in detail.

Eat as clean as you can with an emphasis on fresh unprocessed foods, and keep your carbs at around 50 and you’ll be fine. Eat high fat because that’s very important for low carb to work well and it’s very good for you.

That's really helpful, thank you.

If you’d like an easy framework within which to work the Low carb bootcamp threads will help a lot. They’re great to read through for tips, advice and recipe ideas and lots of low card discussion. There should be a BC starting anytime (probably in the next week or so actually) which you could join if you want guidance, support and a great group of people to chat with.

Keto is, as I understand it, less than 20g carbs per day (I might be wrong - but it's certainly specifically very low). Low carb is much more difficult to define as there are lots of different ways to low carb without an agreed amount of carbs. Very generally, anything under 100g carbs per day can count as low carb - but it's also the case that some people need to go much lower than that before they lose weight.

Sorry - clear as mud!

If you're interested, the next Low Carb Bootcamp starts on 18 October.

Can I jump on this thread to ask why high fat is important? And is it important if you’re just doing low(ish) carb not keto?

I’ve been losing weight well post baby on a lowish carb diet (cutting out pasta, rice etc but eating all fruit, veg, lentils etc), it’s slowed a lot as I get closer to my normal weight and wondering whether I ought to change anything. I don’t limit fats but I don’t seek them out either.

First, if you're keeping your carbs low, then eating fat won't be making you fat!

Second, fat provokes very little/no insulin release - the hormone which results in the laying down of fat.

And third, fat is very satiating which, along with a medium protein diet, will help work alongside your balanced hormones (insulin, grehlin and leptin) to act to suppress your appetite. (Your hormones are much more likely to be well balanced if your carbs are low - it's the carbs which result in an upswing in the amount of insulin).

It sounds like you're doing really well though! The only reason to up your fats would be if you find yourself hungry between meals, and keep having to snack.

It's quite normal for weight loss to slow as you reach your target. The only thing I'd think about is whether or not your portion sizes are too large - but other than that, if it's not broken then you don't need to fix it!

OH THIS is the thread for me. I lost 20lbs on Keto last year. Never lost weight so quickly. I followed it to the letter. And it worked.

But imo, it was a bit disordered, to be looking at a courgette in the same way I used to look at cake.

So I'm doing low carb now but getting impatient. The weight is coming off but not as fast.

Low carb is way easier though. What I do is eat what I used to eat when I was doing keto but not stress if I throw in an extra cherry tomato.

I may have to do a fast soon. When I fell off the keto wagon, i fell so hard I'm worried that i gave myself insulin resistance with all the carbs after being keto.

Hopefully not.

Cheers!