"Keto is Restrictive" – Dumb Things People Say About Keto (Part 1)

A snarky rebuttal to people who claim that keto diets are restrictive.

People say a lot of silly things about ketogenic diets: Keto is a fad. It’s unsustainable. (Those are just two, and they’re both incorrect.) The full list would be pretty long, so here, let’s focus on something people often say about keto that they never say about other ways of eating: keto is restrictive.

This one particularly irks me, because first of all, “restrictive” is a relative term. What one person finds restrictive could feel liberating to someone else. Second, restriction isn’t always a bad thing. And third, we restrict ourselves in myriad ways every day, and no one seems bothered by this. In fact, we opt for restriction. We choose it willingly. How so? Let’s take a look at each of these three perspectives on restriction.

Before we get into that, though, let’s examine the word “restriction” a little more closely. It implies denying yourself in some way, or being prevented from doing something you want to do. A negative implication—or, more accurately, a punitive implication—is built into it. There’s a limitation, and this limitation is undesirable. But what if you don’t want to do that thing? For example, if you don’t want to eat animal foods, and you don’t miss them, then following a vegan diet doesn’t feel punitive, because you’re not denying yourself anything. If you don’t want to eat bacon cheeseburgers, or a turkey sandwich, or a piece of broiled salmon, then avoiding animal foods isn’t limiting you. Likewise, if you follow a keto diet and you don’t want to eat cookies or muffins, or bread, or pasta and rice, then avoiding these isn’t a punishment. You’re simply being selective about what you eat and you don’t feel restricted because you’re not holding yourself back from anything. (It might be hard for someone to wrap their mind around someone else genuinely not wanting brownies and croissants and fettucine, so they’ll be convinced you do feel restricted, but that’s on them.)

Okay, detour over. Let’s move on to…

Ways we choose restriction happily

1. Marriage is restrictive.

How come when someone gets engaged, no one ever says, “Wait a minute… You’re only going to have sex with this one person, until one of you DIES?! Isn’t that restrictive?!” Unless you have an open marriage (which is totally cool if that’s how you roll), the answer here is yes. You have chosen to restrict yourself in this way. And you’re actually happy about it! You want to restrict yourself in this way. So why do people say keto is “restrictive,” as if restriction is always a bad thing, or always feels punitive?

2. Having kids is restrictive.

When you announce that you’re having a child, no one furrows their brow and expresses concern about how restricted your life is about to become. In fact, if you throw a baby shower, they lavish gifts upon you! They celebrate the restriction you are entering into. No one warns you that you might want to rethink starting a family because there’ll be a lot of restrictions on your life. For example, you won’t be able to get in your car unannounced and take off for parts unknown. Somebody’s gotta change diapers and feed and water the little tyke, after all. You’re gonna be “restricted” from zoning out in front of the TV as much as you’d like, because you’ll be busy doing about 72 loads of laundry unless you want the little angel sleeping in soiled sheets every night or spending all his or her time in onesies covered with spit-up and caked-on pureed peaches. You’ll be restricted from getting uninterrupted sleep for at least a few months, maybe a few years, depending on how things go. Not to mention the expense. Raising a child isn’t exactly cheap, and if you plan to pay for as much of your little darling’s college education as you can, well…you’re likely gonna have to restrict yourself from traveling as much as you’d like, treating yourself to that new car you’ve been eyeing, or enjoying some other perk that would require shunting money away from the college fund. And yet, millions of people engage in this kind of restriction every day without a second thought.

Once your kids are a bit older and capable of feeding and watering themselves and changing their own underwear, they might get mixed up in some dangerous shenanigans, and in your desire to protect them and set them straight, you might feel a desire to slam them into a wall, head-first. There may be times when you’d like to slap them so hard, even you won’t recognize them afterward. And yet, you won’t. You’ll restrict yourself from this kind of reaction. You might yell. You might throw things. But you won’t unleash your inner Mike Tyson on your child. Why? Because we consciously choose restriction in an endless number of circumstances without feeling like this puts harsh limits on our lives. (I hope you restrict yourself this way, anyway.)

3. Having a dog or cat is restrictive.

Owing to their need for walks, dogs are a bit more restrictive than cats, but both types of “fur babies” require care and feeding. Even if you go away for a couple days and leave your cat with an automatic feeder, it will need to be refilled and the litter box will need to be emptied eventually. Even if you hire a dog walker, you likely walk little Lassie a few times a day, yourself, so you have to keep somewhat of an eye on the clock, lest twelve hours pass since the poor thing has last been outside.

And yet…

And yet, millions of pet owners restrict themselves in these ways—happily—for decades. They choose these restrictions because they see them as a fair tradeoff for the benefits that come with the restriction: the companionship, the unconditional love (well, with a dog, maybe less so a cat), the mental health boost, the physical health benefits (depending on the details of one’s dog walking).

There’s an endless supply of other examples. Being in the military is restrictive, yet a few million people do it every day – and we’re glad they do! Rather than chastising these folks for restricting themselves or questioning them for doing it, we appreciate them for it. Following a workplace dress code is restrictive – and thank goodness for that! How many of you are grateful your coworkers aren’t allowed to wear a Speedo in the office?! (Exception for lifeguards.)

How does this relate to keto? Easily.

If, in exchange for restricting your carbohydrate intake, you’re able to stop taking insulin and oral drugs for type 2 diabetes, or your migraines disappear, your heartburn goes away, your hormones improve significantly if you have PCOS, your blood sugar control is better than you ever hoped for if you have type 1 diabetes, or you put bipolar disorder, major depression, schizophrenia, or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) into remission, if your binge eating disorder massively improves, or if you put Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis into remission, does keto feel restrictive, or does it feel liberating? Do you feel limited, or do you feel like you’ve gotten your life back?

Yes, you have to avoid bread, pasta, rice, cereal, cookies, bagels, and other high-carb foods. But that seems like an acceptable tradeoff for being freed from decades of debilitating mental health problems, or from years of bloody diarrhea, or from the heartbreak of infertility due to PCOS. And it’s not like this tradeoff requires you to live on bran crackers and alfalfa sprouts. You can have juicy NY strip steaks, roasted brussels sprouts with balsamic vinegar, roasted chicken with the crispy skin, a charcuterie board with prosciutto, cheese, olives and cornichons, a cobb salad with blue cheese, bacon, hard-boiled egg, and avocado, roasted shrimp dipped in melted butter. A keto diet isn’t exactly a hardship. So, yes, you have to restrict your carbohydrate intake, but you’re not gonna go hungry. In fact, a keto diet allows for plenty of foods that other ways of eating would have you restrict. Try having a ribeye on a low-fat diet. Or that loaded cobb salad when you’re counting calories.

News flash: every diet is restrictive.

And yet, whereas some doctors actively warn their patients against keto, they will happily steer you toward a low-fat, vegan, or low-calorie diet. But all of these require some kind of restriction. A low-fat diet, by definition, means you have to restrict fat. A low-calorie diet requires calorie restriction. A vegan diet requires you to restrict anything that comes from an animal. All of these are restrictive, so why is it only keto that causes people to get their panties in a bunch use the R-word?

And you know what else is restrictive?

• Limited mobility due to fatigue, joint pain or obesity.

• Migraines that keep you bedridden multiple days every month.

• Heartburn so strong you have to sleep sitting up—if you can sleep at all.

• Skin problems so severe that you’re embarrassed to attend social events.

• Not being able to travel because your IBS or IBD is so severe and unpredictable that you’re afraid to go anywhere you might not have immediate access to a restroom.

• Arthritis that prevents you from playing your guitar, doing woodworking, or engaging in other hobbies that require fine motor skills.

If not restricting your carb intake results in gout flares, headaches, energy crashes, bloating, or something else you’d rather avoid, then rather than feeling restrictive, keto probably feels freeing.

I’ve had clients come to me taking 4, 6, 8 medications. And the keto doctors I know have patients on more than that. How come no one ever says that’s restrictive? Taking not one, not two, but three medications just for blood pressure? Um, HELLO?! Having to travel with an insulin kit and inject yourself before every meal for type 2 diabetes? Having a pill organizer with your plethora of tablets and capsules doled out for the week, and having to watch the clock so you take things at the right time, with food, without food… That’s totally fine, but not eating bread is a problem? How come no one ever says taking ten medications is restrictive or unsustainable? Some doctors would have no problem prescribing you an eleventh medication, but don’t you dare do that crazy keto diet. We are truly living in Bizarro world, my friends.

We restrict ourselves all the time in ways we don’t even realize.

Buying things is restrictive.

Food, clothing, cars, toilet paper, socket wrenches… If you want to take something home from a store, you have to pay for it. “What? I can’t just put this in my bag and walk out of here? I have to exchange money for it? I feel so restricted!” — said no one, ever.) A silly example, maybe, but it’s true, no? Unless you’re a thief, you restrict yourself this way every time you purchase something.

HOV lanes are restrictive.

If you commute to work in a high-traffic area, there’s a chance there’s a high-occupancy vehicle lane (HOV) somewhere along your route, where only cars carrying two, three, or more passengers are permitted. You might feel a little annoyed that you can’t ride in that lane if you’re by yourself, but it’s probably never occurred to you that it’s a restriction. You don’t resent having to stay in one of the regular lanes. It’s just the rule, and you follow it with barely a second thought.

Restriction isn’t always a bad thing

Many of us choose to restrict our carbohydrate intake because of the freedom this gives us in other areas of our life. And diet isn’t the only place we restrict ourselves in exchange for a positive outcome, nor is restriction always a bad thing. Where is restriction actually a good thing?

Obeying traffic signals and not driving under the influence: good restrictions!

Thanks to traffic lights, stop signs, yield signs, and other roadside directives, any time we get behind the wheel of a car, we are restricted from driving as fast as we’d like to anywhere we go. If we see a red light or a stop sign at the end of the street, we are restricted from blowing through the intersection without stopping. If we consume a bit too much alcohol, we are restricted from getting behind the wheel.

We all, as a society, have collectively agreed to these restrictions, for our own safety. None of us would say we should be able to blast through every intersection at top speed and ignore all other traffic signs and signals because we’re just in a hurry. (“You mean I can’t blow right through this busy intersection?” “I can’t ignore the flashing lights and stop sign on this school bus? I feel so restricted!”) None of us would say that we should be allowed to mow down somebody’s kid in a crosswalk on their way home from school or drive regardless of how impaired we are after tossing back a few drinks. We have collectively agreed to restrict ourselves in this way to minimize the chances of us all getting killed.

Keeping your emotions in check at work: a useful restriction

Most of us have probably had a moment – or five or six – where we would have liked to punch our boss or a coworker square in the face. Or if not get physically violent, then maybe unleash a string of expletives that would have the Merriam-Webster people reaching for their notepads to write down all the creative new things you’ve come up with. But we don’t do this. (Unless you want to get fired, in which case workplace violence would probably accomplish that.) We restrict ourselves from acting or speaking in certain ways in certain places, and we probably consider this a good thing, because we don’t want our coworkers or boss punching us in the face, either.

Not letting your toddler stay up all night, or cross the street without holding your hand: beneficial restrictions

Do these really need any explaining? You put restrictions on your child for their own good. They might not like it, but you know these are beneficial.

Once again, for the folks in the back: restriction is not always a bad thing.

So, is keto restrictive? Yes. But LIFE is restrictive. We restrict ourselves every day, in countless ways, some of which we choose happily, and some of which we agree to for the collective good. Because the payoffs—the positive outcomes we experience, individually and as a society—are greater than the discomfort of the restriction.

So, the next time someone comments on the “restrictive” nature of a way of eating you enjoy and have chosen to adhere to, you can just nod, smile, and go on living your improved life.

P.S. Maybe you do miss donuts and cake, cookies and granola bars, or pasta and potatoes. Maybe you do feel restricted. Fair enough. Not everyone loves keto. But if eating this way is helping you normalize your blood sugar or blood pressure, keeping the low mood demons away, keeping your GI system happy, keeping eczema, heartburn, or joint pain away, helping to control your binge eating, or helping you experience any other positive effects, maybe you can acknowledge that keto feels restrictive, but the restriction is worth it in order to maintain those positive things. Two things can be true at the same time: keto can feel restrictive and the restriction is an acceptable tradeoff for the good it brings to your life.

P.P.S. Future installments in this series on dumb things people say about keto will include “Keto is unsustainable,” “Keto is a fad,” “Keto is dangerous,” and whatever else I come up with down the line.