Low Carb or Keto?

Hi @RachelW and welcome to the forum.
Can you please tell us a little more about you, such as do you have a diagnosis of diabetes and can you let us know any meds your on? Then we can help you more

I'm low carb healthy fat rather than keto (the SLG2 inhibitors make it dangerous for me to keto) I don't actually count the carbs just avoid the obvious brown/white ones. I've lost about 4 1/2 stones in 5 years and maintained that this year (although I still need/want to lose about the same amount again) The idea of eating fat on keto/low carb is to stop once you feel full, it's a maximum not a target. Things like double cream in your coffee, homemade grain free granola for breakfast (if you eat it), salad dressing, full fat yoghurt, eating crispy chicken skin and pork chop rind, avocados (if you like any of them, don't force yourself to eat things you don't like just to get the fat) all help to up your fat intake. I'm also lucky that my body seems to go into nutritional ketosis at a relatively high level (around 70g), and I don't need keto sticks or a blood tester, my Mum is like a human keto machine and can smell them on my breath

RachelW said:

Hi. I am wondering whether a diet needs to be Keto for weight loss and putting type 2 diabetes into remission or can a low carb diet be just as effective? I also have liver issues and want to lose weight safely, but sustainably. What carb limit do people find safe? The fat levels on Keto also seem quite dramatic. Thank you

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Hi and welcome
Personally I found that a ketogenic diet with a time restricted eating window was very effective for weight loss and blood glucose control. Lost and maintained 120 pounds (ish). I found it easier to restrict carbs completely rather than try and limit a bit as I have a slightly food addicted past. Bread being my (and many others) absolute downfall cutting things out I found far easier than "moderating".

The other day I heard keto/dirty keto/paleo/ low carb all described as just colours in the same rainbow, which I thought so true. They all have the same basics at heart, it just a matter of you finding our what suits you and your body best.
I think I'm essentially low carb or very low carb, but I don't count carbs and find my weight has decreased to a level I'm happy at. My main driver is to keep my bg in range, weight loss is a welcome side effect. And keeping my bg low is governed by what I eat, not by some arbitrary limits or ratios as to how much and when. I'm happy mixing it all up, sometimes going longer between meals, using fat to satiate me, stopping when full and no (or very little) snacking.
I really don't want to add extra stress about numbers of carbs or length of fast or whether something is grass fed to my life

For me low carb and ketogenic are basically the same thing on a sliding scale - if I'm eating few enough carbs, then I produce ketones, and am burning both carbs and fats as fuel. Which means I can keep my glucose levels lower and stable, and if required maintain or lose weight by adjusting the amount of fatty food I eat. And I certainly don't eat excessive amounts of fat - I've always eaten normal full fat food, and have just upped consumption somewhat to compensate for my reduction in carbs. As @lessci has said , it's essentially a matter of eating adequate fat to satisfy any hunger (and I rarely feel hungry at all) , so it doesn't necessarily have to be a massive amount.

20-25g carbs is considered the guaranteed level to achieve ketosis, but once you've been at this level for long enough, your body will have (re-) adapted to using both carbs and fats for fuel, and it's then often possible to be a little more lenient with carbs. I generally aim to keep under 50g carbs a day - consumption is currently based on experience - I don't count or eat the same amount all the time, but will use my meter to keep an eye on glucose levels, as it's not only diet that can affect them.

When I was diagnosed I simply cut right back down (again) on carbs, and saw an almost immediate reduction to pre diabetic levels, and then at GP's suggestion for weight loss, based on Atkins induction phase (very low carb/keto) for a few weeks, lost around 20 kilos, and as a bonus reduced glucose levels further to just on normal, where with a few non food related glitches they've remained....

So, as to sustainability - I've kept my glucose levels down to high end of normal-low pre-diabetic for seven years, kept my weight down & stable, and for the last three years haven't required any diabetic meds - all without any severe restrictions on my diet.

I do roughly < 150g carb
Have lost as of today, 30kg and am on 38 hba1c
I also do at least 30mins a day cardio on my bike. Have reduced from a lot of drugs to just 1000mg metformin

so that works for me. Not keto by far

but that’s me, as some one earlier said, sliding scale. It might work for you, you might need a lot less carbs

Dr Atkins found that some people could be in ketosis if they are 90gm of carbs a day, but others could not get into ketosis on under 20gm, but much of what he discovered has been disregarded for decades.
It is probably best to obtain your own blood glucose meter and use it to discover what foods are going to spike you, so as to avoid them in future.
If you can keep your blood glucose normal, that is the battle just about won.
Once I had done that I found I had lost a lot of weight without trying, and when tested was no longer diabetic, at 6 months was not even in the prediabetic range and have stayed at exactly the same level for some years now.

RachelW said:

Hi. I am wondering whether a diet needs to be Keto for weight loss and putting type 2 diabetes into remission or can a low carb diet be just as effective? I also have liver issues and want to lose weight safely, but sustainably. What carb limit do people find safe? The fat levels on Keto also seem quite dramatic. Thank you

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IMHO, if you’re first starting out, Keto is a great place to start, you’ll get fat adapted. Once you’re reaching your weight goals you can make adjustments

I lost 30kg very gradually when I switched from vegetarian to vegan without any kind of restrictions. Now I restrict carbs to 70-100g a day, and just naturally have adapted to smaller portion sizes and minimal snacking, but don't count calories or worry about protein or fat - with a balanced, varied diet I'm getting enough and don't have to stress about it. I tried keto as a vegetarian and it wasn't for me.

RachelW said:

Can I ask what sources of protein you eat as a vegetarian please? Thank you

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I've been vegan for almost 10 years. I have tofu, yuba (tofu skin), nuts and seeds (in cooking, not just as a snack, and nut butters), various meat replacement products, and beans and pulses like chickpeas and lentils, but I watch my quantities because they are higher carb. Things like low carb noodles and pasta usually have higher amounts of protein too.