Stop Following People Who Scare the Cr@p Out of You

A permission slip to wrestle back your mental and emotional health from social media algorithms that want to cripple them.

Let’s not mince words, folks.

Stop following people who scare the crap out of you.

That’s it. The title could be the whole post.

But some of you might be wondering how to spot the people who scare the crap out of you. What do they typically say? What kind of tactics do they use? Let’s take a closer look so you can identify these colorful characters in your social media feeds and unfollow or unsubscribe from them if you are so inclined.

First, a bit of background.

If you follow a ketogenic, low-carb, or carnivore diet — or any other specific way of eating, for that matter — you’re very particular about what you put in your mouth because you know that what you eat has a dramatic impact on your health.

But what about what you’ve been putting into your mind?

Are you focusing exclusively on the food you eat with little to no thought about the inputs you’re giving your brain?

And I don’t mean inputs like DHA, caprylic acid, or other molecules that might be uniquely beneficial for the brain. I mean less tangible but perhaps equally powerful inputs — like the podcasts you listen to, the videos you watch, the social media feeds you follow, and yes, the Substack accounts you subscribe to.

The keto and carnivore communities are filled with experts who provide helpful, realistic advice grounded in clinical experience. But there are also a lot of popular influencers who traffic in hyperbole, fearmongering, and extremism. They have neither your best interests nor your emotional health at heart. (Not to mention your budget.)

Who do you follow on social media? What kind of content do you take in?

Do you come across a lot of posts and videos with titles like:

“The Hidden Dangers In _________.”

“The 5 Most Toxic Foods You Eat Every Day.”

“NEVER Buy This Brand of Butter Again.”

“Ditch These 6 Things from Your Pantry Immediately.”

If you enjoy this kind of content, carry on! Nothing to see here. If what you learn from watching, reading, or listening to what these people churn out makes you feel confident and empowered, then by all means, keep consuming. This stuff is a net positive for you.

But if you’re like some of my clients, the list of foods you feel “safe” eating grows shorter every day, while the list of things that worry you grows longer — at a nearly logarithmic pace. Your social life is shrinking. Family mealtimes are becoming increasingly uncomfortable. And your mental health is taking a hit.

Remember: low-carb, keto, and carnivore diets are supposed to make your life better. These ways of eating are known to improve physical and mental health. If you feel yourself going in the opposite direction — more afraid, more anxious, second-guessing every bite — then the people you’re following are doing you a disservice.

They are preying on your fear — your fear that you’re doing it wrong. (What’s “it”? Everything. The food you eat. The water you drink. The air you breathe. What you put in your coffee. The way you wash your dishes. The way you wipe your … ) Your fear that there’s a secret you don’t know. (The secret the conveniently nebulous “THEY” don’t want you to know.)

They are preying on your desperation. Your desperation to lose weight. Your desperation for quick results. Your desperation to be free of paper cuts, earwax, snot, stubbed toes, farts, and every other inevitable foible that afflicts perfectly normal, healthy human bodies.

They are counting on you to believe every word they say, hook, line, and sinker. And they’ll still be counting on you when they change their tune a few months later and backtrack on things they previously claimed with ironclad certainty, with nary a single mea culpa or slice of humble pie to acknowledge that maybe they shouldn’t have been quite so confident before.

If the people you follow make you anxious and do nothing but stir up fear and worry in you — as if everything you’re doing is dangerous or wrong — it may be time to eliminate those people from your social media diet. Just because the algorithms serve something up to you doesn’t mean you’re obligated to consume it. The same way you would pass on the breadbasket when dining out on a keto diet, you can simply scroll on by and skip things that are harming your emotional health.

You don’t have to attend every fear porn party you’re invited to. You’re allowed to decline.

When you started your low-carb way of eating, you may have done a “pantry purge” and cleared out all the high-carb foods you didn’t want in your environment. Consider doing a social media purge: unfollow, unsubscribe, or simply ignore the things that are working against you, mentally and emotionally. The algorithms feed on attention. On likes, clicks, and shares. The best way to see more of what you want to see is to stop giving attention to what you don’t.

Did any of this resonate with you? Tell me in the comments. The more alarmism and extremism dominate social media, the more necessary something like Keto Without the Crazy becomes, in my opinion. Do you agree?

More Sources of Sanity Amidst the Madness

1. My Patreon: Tired of ridiculous fearmongering and sensationalism in the keto space? Tired of finding new things to be worried about every time you open your social media apps? There ARE sane, down-to-earth people in the keto world — and we have a live call every week.
   
   If you want to eat delicious food and improve your health without turning every meal into a calculus assignment, and without constantly second-guessing yourself and being scared you’re doing everything wrong, there IS a community for you.
   
   Join my Patreon for your weekly dose of support, encouragement, advice, and help troubleshooting your low-carb or keto diet. Consider it an oasis of sanity in the desert of hyperbolic clickbait nonsense. See here for details.

2. Patreon not your thing? Not interested in live calls or other perks, but still want to support my work? Thank you! Please consider becoming a paid subscriber here on Substack, if you’re not already. Your support truly helps me devote more time to writing.

3. My YouTube channel: Keto Without the Crazy. (What else?)

4. Start Keto Right — online course from keto OG Dr. Eric Westman (with some help from yours truly). Learn the simplest, most straightforward way to do keto, directly from someone who’s been treating patients for over 30 years, and who spearheaded some of the first clinical trials of ketogenic diets in the modern era. If you consider yourself to be a seasoned keto veteran and you’re looking to dive deeper, we have a more comprehensive course coming out next month, called Keto Complete.

5. Merch! Want to spread the word about sanity and simplicity with keto? Check out the merch store. It’s only August, but the holidays will be here before you know it. These make great gifts for yourself and other low-carbers in your life.