1 Year Keto! Surviving the Keto Diet Long-Term and Why I Finally Gave it Up!

It’s been just about a year since I started the keto diet! I dove into keto in February 2019, pretty much giving up carbs cold turkey. My results were amazing! I lost weight quickly and ate more of the foods I loved, with none of the weird side effects that were commonly reported. I never once experienced keto flu, keto breath, the dreaded keto crotch, or any of the negative side effects of the keto diet. The first few months were pretty much a breeze and I reported on my progress periodically on this blog and on my Instagram. 

As much as I love the diet and despite how effective the keto diet is at managing weight, I’ve decided to take a break. It is wildly effective, and pretty easy to maintain, but it had some major health drawbacks that are making me put it on pause. Keep reading for why I broke up with the keto diet, how keto impacted my health long term, and what steps I’m taking for healthy weight management!

Health Risks and the Keto Diet

I’m not going to spend a lot of time discussing what keto is. At this point it’s so popular and there are so many resources that can give you an in-depth overview if you are looking for one. But in a nutshell, keto is a high fat, low carb diet that is proven to help with weight loss and weight management. It worked incredibly well for me, but after being on the keto diet for almost a year I did have some negative health effects. After my last physical I learned that my cholesterol was crazy high, blood sugar was completely out of whack, and I had high inflammation. I had also been experiencing night sweats off and on for months and couldn’t figure out why! 

After going over my lab results with my doctor, she strongly suggested I reset my diet to get my system back in order. The high cholesterol was common with the keto diet, especially when you find yourself practicing more of a dirty keto diet than a clean keto diet. She also mentioned that my blood sugar was relatively high for someone on keto, because the keto diet basically eliminates sugar. I was also severely fiber deficient. Even though I use fiber supplements daily on the keto diet, I wasn’t getting anywhere near the recommended amount, and hadn’t in almost a year. I underestimated the importance of fiber in a diet, but it’s good for way more than just keeping things regular! Fiber is pretty important for overall digestion and bowel health, plus it helps manage your blood sugar and cholesterol, 2 things I was having issues major with. 

Dirty Keto vs Clean Keto

There are a few different ways to keto diet, but 2 of the most common are dirty keto and clean keto. Dirty keto means you are adhering to the high-fat low carb principles of the diet, but eating more unhealthy options and fast food. I definitely fell into dirty keto for a while, forgetting the difference between good fat and bad fat. That meant a diet full of processed foods, red meat, fast food, and foods that are high in saturated fat. Steaks, cheese and butter were basically my best friends! Clean keto focuses on getting your fat from healthy sources, like fatty fish, olive oil, nuts, and avocados. So, while I did lose weight from regularly eating lettuce wrapped double cheeseburgers with bacon and sausage egg and cheese breakfasts, the results were proving to be disastrous for my health. 

Giving Up the Keto Diet

I’ve spent the last few weeks giving my body a break from the keto diet to get back on track. I do plan to restart a cleaner version of the keto diet in a few more months, once I feel like my system is stabilized and functioning in optimal health. I just need to give my body time to reset from my old dirty keto style of eating!

Since I moved away from my semi dirty keto diet, the mysterious night sweats have disappeared and I will know more about my cholesterol and sugar when I do my blood work next month. While I still generally practice a low-carb diet, my focus is more on making sure I hit my fiber goal. My doctor recommended getting 30-35 grams of fiber a day and challenged me to get that fiber from a plant-based diet, not just taking additional supplements. Getting that much fiber is harder than it sounds, especially if you are not relying on processed foods like fiber bars. The high fiber diet means my daily carb intake is usually around 50 grams, and when I was on keto it was always under 25 grams. So while that is considered a low carb diet, it keeps me out of ketosis.

And yes, I have already gained weight back! I’m trying not to stress about it since health is more important, but I have definitely noticed a difference in my body. It’s only a few pounds and I’m letting it rock while being mindful. I definitely don’t want to dramatically gain or lose any weight this close to wedding dress shopping! 

I will also say that my doctor made it clear that she is not anti-keto, just that I need to find a way to clean it up and make sure my nutrients are balanced. So if you are concerned about the potential health risks of the keto diet, talk to your medical professional and work with them on a diet plan that can help you maintain the keto diet without compromising your health. I’m an LA girl now, so it was easy to find a doctor that focused on medicine and also nutrition. She was able to give me great tips on meal planning and food prep that would enable me to continue a low-carb lifestyle in a healthier fashion.  If you are thinking about doing a modified low-carb diet, focus on finding the balance between healthy fats, carbs and fiber. Try to stay away from processed foods and foods high in cholesterol as well!

Hope this helps if you are thinking about starting or stopping the keto diet! Overall, it’s important to make sure you are staying healthy and balanced in any diet you choose to follow. Let me know any questions in the comments, or tips about keto if you are on the diet as well!