The ketogenic or “keto” diet was without question one of the biggest food trends of 2018: every week, blogs, magazines, and YouTube channels sang the praises of this innovative new approach to weight loss and healthy eating. Celebrities claimed to rely on the keto diet to stay in shape, and everyone from seniors to bodybuilders claimed to have benefited from it.
So what makes it so popular, and is it really the miracle diet some people have called it? While the diet itself is based on hard science, there are a few reasons why so many people have gravitated toward it at this point in time. This article will explore three of the most prominent.
Keto isn’t Just a Diet: It’s a Lifestyle
One of the things that make it different from other diet crazes is that it isn’t meant to be a temporary weight loss regimen. Rather, it is designed to be a lifestyle that people can adopt indefinitely.
Eating keto involves dramatically cutting back on carbohydrates while ramping up consumption of healthy fats. This puts the body into a state known as ketosis, by which it starts to fuel itself primarily from fats rather than carbs.
Because ketosis is a natural process, transitioning to a low carb/high fat diet is completely sustainable, and allows the body to burn fat faster without any harmful side effects.
Eating Keto Can be Fun
People may be more health conscious than ever before, but that doesn’t mean they necessarily want to give up eating foods like steak, cheese, and cream. According to Hungry Squirrel, one of the reasons this diet has attracted such a following is because it facilitates a healthy lifestyle without forcing you to cut back on flavor.
This has made it the ideal choice for people who have struggled to stick with diets that are more based on self-denial and reduction. When you are eating keto, you can — and should — increase your meat intake, so long as that meat is from farms and providers that specialize in healthy, environmentally friendly products (you can visit truLOCAL to get more info about how you can access local, sustainable meat).
Keto Fuels an Active Body
One of the downsides of diets that restrict fat and protein intake is that they make it difficult for people in high intensity sports to keep their bodies in peak condition. Athletes who want a healthier diet can switch to keto without worrying that they will drop muscle mass or lose energy, because protein is an essential component of this diet.
It has become so popular in recent years that shape.com named 2018 “the Year of the Keto Diet.” For thousands of people, the unique lifestyle that it fosters have proven to be a great way to cut back on unhealthy carbs, lose weight, and become more fit and healthy.
If you are interested in finding out for yourself how the diet works, why not try going keto for a couple of weeks yourself? You may find that helps you strike the perfect balance between wholesome eating and gastronomic pleasure.
Nina Smith 
Kim Marks