Lenny and Larrys
If there were ever a cultural phenomenon in the dieting world, it would be keto. Even more so than the Atkins diet back decades ago, the “keto craze” is still alive and going strong, thanks in no short part to its ability to help people shed weight quickly. While each person is different, it’s not uncommon to hear stories of people losing 10 or more pounds in their first month on the diet. This is because keto is a low-carb diet, and the typical western diet is full of various carbohydrates and refined sugars.
When eliminating something from your diet so drastically, it’s possible to see surprisingly efficient results. We’ve written previously about keto, ketones, and the power that comes from a low-carb diet for some people. Today, however, we’re talking about the lazy keto diet. Is it a revolutionary new take on the incredibly popular diet, or is it more of the same with a lazily thrown-together name?
Note: We recommend speaking with a trusted healthcare provider, dietician, or nutritionist before starting any form of dieting.
What Is Lazy Keto?
Lazy keto is an alternative form of the popular keto diet where dieters are only required to restrict their carbohydrate intake without the other macronutrient consumption rules.
On the normal, non-lazy keto diet (in which the goal is to stay in ketosis), people reduce their total carbohydrate consumption while also consuming high amounts of fat and a nominal amount of protein. Lazy keto keeps the restriction on carbohydrate intake but loosens the other restrictions.
How Normal Keto Works
Traditionally, the macronutrient breakdown of a person on the keto diet would look something like this:
55%-60% fat
30%-35% protein
5%-10% carbohydrates
Standard keto users are required to track all three macros in order to enter and maintain ketosis.
How Lazy Keto Works
Lazy keto is similar to the standard form of keto since it’s about avoiding carbohydrates as much as possible, but the biggest difference is the laxness of macro tracking. So long as you keep 10% or less of your daily macro intake as carbs, you’re golden.
Drawbacks of the Lazy Keto Diet
The biggest downside of the lazy keto diet is that it doesn't always allow a person to experience ketosis and, unfortunately, may not promote the needed caloric deficit due to not requiring macro tracking. This provides an interesting dilemma; on the one hand, it can seem more approachable to someone who is looking to diet but may not be familiar with or comfortable tracking macros. Plus, if macros are not being tracked, there's no guarantee that the exclusion of carbohydrates will provide as big of a benefit as expected, especially when that person may consume more calories than they burn off.
Who is Lazy Keto For?
Note: We recommend speaking with a trusted healthcare provider, dietician, or nutritionist before starting any form of dieting.
Lazy keto is likely a good starting diet for someone who may be new to dieting. More experienced dieters, or those who can come maintain the discipline of, will ultimately benefit the most from the standard keto diet. Like most things in life that we scrutinize, there is a significant advantage to the overall amount of control a person has on their weight by counting macros.
Tracking the intake of macronutrients into the body also allows for a more tailored dieting experience, depending on a person’s overall health and fitness goals. Some people may require the number of macronutrients to be adjusted to their specific body type rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Nevertheless, both forms of the keto diet require the person to consume no more than 10% of their total daily macro intake as carbohydrates.
No Matter the Keto
Making the choice to concentrate on health and fitness goals is always a winning bet. Whether you decide to go with one of the keto methods or decide to start with a more basic CICO (calories-in-calories-out) regimen, we sincerely commend you for your efforts! Taking control of your life is incredibly empowering and well worth the sacrifice. You've got this!