KETO IS RESTRICTIVE!
“restrict [re-strikt]
verb (used with object)
to confine or keep within limits, as of space, action, choice, intensity, or quantity.”
So yes, the ketogenic diet is restrictive. Guess what though? This is not a bad thing! While I am tempted to leave this blog with just that statement, I will explain why I think this way and why it might just be good for you to do so as well.
Let me first say I am not going to take a common angle you hear from many folk in the keto social media space (myself included!) when we hear someone exclaim that keto is restrictive. That is the “There is so much you can eat!” usually followed by a list of options meant to convince you otherwise. You have seen that happen and maybe it helped, maybe it didn’t. Instead I want to lean into the fact that the basic premise of the ketogenic diet is the restriction of food choices, including foods that have higher levels of carbohydrates. Yep, I am looking at you bread, cake, cookies, etc. Many folk like to argue that when you restrict food in this way you promote a negative relationship with food and food choices, and set yourself up to “break” eventually leading too carb binges and falling off the rails on your journey.
For me, and many of you, though, it is through this restriction that we find freedom. For many people our relationship with food is already distorted and disordered to an extent that it has created life threatening issues including morbid obesity, type 2 diabetes and more. By embracing the restriction of the ketogenic diet we find several benefits that include:
Relief from carbohydrate cravings
Greater ability to manage caloric intake
Increased blood sugar regulation, fewer spikes
Mental clarity and focus
I speak to these benefits because they are the ones that offer hope to those who struggle to stick to a more simply based diet of calorie counting. I tried other ways to lose weight. I succeeded temporarily and then would fail when I could no longer just white knuckle through the hunger and cravings that raged inside of me. By cutting my carbohydrate intake and raising my fat intake, I found something that had long escaped me in my life as a morbidly obese food addict, relief. Ok, relief and strength to be more clear. Relief from constant cravings and the strength to make the choices I needed to when it came to food to give me the caloric reduction I needed. Gaining these things helped me to make a powerful shift in my perspective. I began to see the restriction of keto as a benefit and a choice I made to honor my body and its needs. I do not deprive myself by removing foods that promote health problems and strengthen my food addiction’s hold on me. I choose to embrace the restriction as a gift to myself that has empowered my success on this journey.
So when someone says, “But keto is restrictive!” I now can proudly say “Yes it is, and maybe what some of us need is more restriction in lives that have been defined by excess.” If you’re seeing success with keto but still struggle with the mental side of accepting that restriction I challenge you to reframe your thoughts. See your choice to restrict carbohydrates as a gift to yourself. A gift that will enable you to not only continue to see success but also enable you to live the life you envision in your goals.
If you need help building a sustainable plan for yourself and are interested in what we have to offer as holistic ketogenic nutrition coaches, click here now to see what we can offer.
