How Long Can I be on Keto?

ARE THERE ANY LONG TERM NEGATIVE SIDE EFFECTS OF KETO? IS IT HEALTHY TO DO KETO LIFELONG?

You can and you should be on keto for as long it gets to meet your desired results. That is your endgame. As a keto coach I try my best to help my clients power through moments when they want to give up on it just because it’s hard. It is definitely hard but oh-so-worth-it!

Doing keto for a prolonged period without the healthy interference of a strategically placed cheat day is a big NO-NO. When your body doesn’t produce insulin for a long period, it can lead to complications like ketoacidosis, pancreatic cancer….and god knows what-not. And we definitely want to avoid that. You must consult a ketogenic dietician to curate a well-thought plan that also emphasizes how important cheat days are. Carefully taken after every 3-6 weeks, cheat days ensure your body replenishes glycogen levels.

To follow a healthy keto routine, you must abide by certain Do’s and Don’ts. No matter how many times you need to pee, drinking enough water is absolutely essential to avoid problems like kidney stones. If you think you can tick off your goals by doing what is called ‘Lazy Keto’, you’re only fooling yourself. Hence, you can’t be consuming more carbs by munching on more peanuts. If you want to see results, you will have to put in the hard work. So, get off your couch and rightly measure fat-protein ratios of your meals.

Keto can also be exactly what your body needs. After a certain age, you’re more prone to type 1 and type 2 diabetes. While medication can come to your rescue, switching to a keto diet goes a long way. So it all boils down to how properly you’re walking the keto path. If you’re following it to a T, you can do it for more than two and a half years, much akin to my experience. And if a lifetime commitment is not on the cards for you, make sure you take required caution while on keto, but also follow an offset plan to safely transition to a non-keto diet.