Dr Westman's definition of dirty keto is not about net carbs but about cheap meats and fats. McDonald's patties, hot dogs ect. Love the channel!

Been doing Keto going on 4 years. Due to me losing weight in the beginning, then losing zero after the first two years. I’ve given up on Keto for weight loss. I tried every angle and I mean everything related to Keto. From fasting to smaller portions to everything. To continue the weight loss as I’m still very overweight after losing 75lbs the first 2 years. I recently realized I was beginning to become obsessed with finding that perfect thing that would work. I also realized I had cut every aspect of food from my life. I was only eating meat, once a day and had begun to eat less of that. I was guilting myself constantly over food. Maybe it’s chicken or pork or that extra piece I had. I was looking at every ounce of anything I put in my body. I began about a month ago to question everything. So I’m not losing no matter what I eat, when I eat or no matter how much or less I eat. It’s taken a toll on my mental health and well being. The day of my awakening of I’d went to far. I was standing in front of the dairy isle trying to decide if my one tablespoon of heavy whipping cream in my coffee was keeping me fat. I realized I’m a 62 year old woman stressing over every tablespoon I consumed. I’m done with the guilt! Im done with me feeling like less of a Keto person because I stopped losing weight. Before anyone thinks I’m ditching Keto. There is no way I would ever go back to the S.A.D way of eating. I will be Keto for the rest of my life. I’ve had tremendous success with greatly improving my heath. That will not change. But the fact I was standing in front of the dairy concerned about a tablespoon of cream? I had to take a deeper look at where I’m at. I’m going to restructure my Keto experience and let myself find some peace with myself.

I just walked out of the grocery store today without any food. They wanted more than I would pay for bacon. Strangely, I just wasn’t hungry enough to give up my yarn money for food. Dinner was another cup of coffee, and it’s possible I’ll go fishing in the morning. If poor fat people would just go fishing… why, yes, I’d pay taxes for people to learn this life skill. The government keeps harping about exercise, and most people can sit and fish. Anything has to be better than subsidized wheat, corn and soy. Or, maybe, if instead of charging fifty cents for cheese, fast food restaurants gave a fifty cent discount for no bun or no fries. And an extra quarter less for a diet soda.

Once an addict always an addict is what I’ve been taught. You are either in recovery or active. If I don’t think of it that way I end up down the carb rabbit hole. Thanks for all you do.

Finally got back into ketosis; remaining low carb for a long while (no wheat oats corn) was much less harmful than returning to SAD....definitely I have emotional reasons for overeating "keto" foods or candy. I won't go back to dirty keto, but it's 1000 times better than constantly eating processed carbs. I want never to have another stroke or develop dementia! Accepting that I'm a carb addict was needed to return to full keto. Thanks!

"Anything we can do better is better" has been what I've live by the past 3 years of keto. Great advise😁 If I don't have at least one cheat day a month, I'll fail

I was under the impression that dirty keto was eating the cheaper types of proteins and not paying attention to the types of oils. 🤷🏻‍♀️

The first phase of addiction management is the contemplation/awareness phase...... Truer words have never been said. I wish I thought of that 50 years ago. In the past 12 months I stopped my 50 beer a week habit, having a big pinch of tobacco between my check and gum, and learned why and how to keep daily carb intake below 50. My contemplation phase for the chew and beer lasted 50 years.

Dr. Erik Westman says he pushes dirty keto because he wants as many people to do a form of keto as possible. In all fairness, after I lost the weight on strict keto, I started my 300 lb son on dirty keto to WEAN him off carbs. It worked beautifully for him, he has lost 120 lbs and is totally brainwashed about eating bad carbs. The best advice I have heard lately is 1) “ If it ain’t on the list, don’t eat it” and 2) “Stay on course”… cause in the long run this WOE is what brings the most success for health.

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom. - Proverbs 11:2 Dr Cywes, you epitomize humility in your approach to science and health. You are much loved. God bless you and your family.

I know I’m a carb addict. Keeping my total carbs to about 20 grams a day. But I thought I was doing dirty keto because I do eat cold cuts and deli meats, and probably more than I should. I thought what made my keto dirty was that I was not eating the good meats, and seafood and poultry. And overindulging a bit on cheese. Feeling really good overall - blood pressure is generally around 125/70 and my arthritis pain is almost nonexistent, but I still have about 30 pounds to lose. No medications. And I’m a lot closer to 80 than 70.

A start is better than no start!

One of the most knowledgeable doctors out there!

Argh lol you always show up in my feed when I need to hear something. I keep going back and forth and I just can’t seem to make the leap. I’m prediabetic with over 50lbs to lose. What am I so afraid of?! Thanks doc. I won’t give up.

It is far to easy to rationalize when in reality all the popular movement is about replacement foods . . . replacing pizza, replacing bread, replacing sugar . . . it's insane how we do this. I'm addicted to carbohydrates and I cannot replace anything successfully. I have to quit sugar and bread and pizza. I tried a low carb cookie recipe and it sucked me into a rabbit hole I'm still fighting my way out of . . . not worth even a try. Cookies are a no. Doesn't matter what the ingredients are. NO

Plain pork skins with melted butter and salt is really good. Better than popcorn and should be sold at the movie theater.

I always heard that dirty keto is when you include things that are very low or no carb but are unhealthy for you. Things like seed oils and artificial sugars would be acceptable for dirty keto.

Dr Cywes. I have been following you for awhile now and I believe you may have misunderstood dirty keto. It is when you count net carbs not total carbs and when you eat lots of artificial sweeteners and any types of oil. Stephanie Laska has many KZfaq videos that explains dirty keto. Dr Westman has always stated 20 Total carbs. In a carb addiction world when you start eating all those keto goodness sometimes you can’t stop. Hope this helps

I always thought dirty keto was net carbs, keto products like bread and desserts. Dr Westman is not a proponent of dirty keto. Check out his page 4. Only thing dirty on it is zero calorie sugar substitute items like diet soda.

Paleo was my stepping stone from 20 year of vegetarian, which ruined my life.. to keto/carnivore. Paleo really helped me adjust, I was eating meat and fats, but also some honey, fruit, etc. After 2 months I adjusted to keto/carnivore. I am so grateful for paleo being a stepping stone for me, because I found it extremely helpful in my particular situation.

Wish there was a place to really define all the different keto diets. What I call dirty is eating keto manufactured and processed foods and keto lookalike foods. Plus dirty counts net not total carbs. Then what do u call strict? I used to weigh or measure everything I ate but after 1 yr into keto, I now I seldom weigh foods. I can’t sustain my life that way and I’m pretty close to actual carbs. As I get to my goal (15# more), I plan to allow fruit on rare occasions. It’s a slippery slope so I’ll see how it goes. I don’t want ANY pain to return and that is a great incentive not to pig out on carbs for me!!

Dr. Cywes, I am a carbolic! I was fine until I had my two boys and then after the second one I put on weight. That was 1978. I tried every diet their was including Atkins. I was never overweight growing up and after I graduated. After I got married and had my boys I don’t know what or why I started gaining weight. I would love some and gain it back. Finally when I was 69 close to seventy I was worried. I had a pace maker since I was 50 due to AFib. I was tired before that due to the AFib. I had a pheocromocytomia I had removed in 1988. After that I gained weight. By September of 2019 I weighted 218 lbs and I am 5’6. Riding a horse, doing housework, gardening, helping on the family farm but I was struggling. I had tried the usual low fat diet of the 50’s that never worked for me. I would eat and then be hungry! It was the carbs and I wish I had know that back in my 20’s! I watch KZfaq and one day this young girl who was over weight was talking about all this energy she had and had painted all the baseboards in her house. I stopped and listened to her. She had started Keto and was on her second month. Hummm. I started researching Keto through the month of September 2019 and started my life saving journey on October 1, 2019. I kept a record of my weight the 1st of every month since then. I turned 70 on December 5, 2019 and I was thrilled I had gone through Thanksgiving and by December 1, 2019 I had lost 9 lbs. and continued a steady weight lose for a year and by October 1, 2020 I weighted 178 lbs. I felt amazing and happy with myself. As of April 1, 2022 (2 1/2 years on Keto) I have lost 50 lbs. GRADUALLY! I have gone from a size 22 to a 14. I was in my 20’s before I had my since I would wear a 14! I cut processed carbs and sugar out of my diet. During this time some months I would loose 4 lbs and the more weight I lost I slowed down and would maybe gain 2 lbs and then loose it or not loose any for two month! BUT I was soooo happy I found a life style of eating that made me feel 10 years younger and could would circles around my sister who is 7 years younger. My blood pressure runs 120/78 I weigh at this time 158 lbs. and I wear a size 14 jeans and a medium blouse or dress! The 14 jeans or slacks are almost too big. My sister had a health scare last October 2021. She has cut carbs and sugar out but uses only low fat anything and eats fruit. She is still on blood pressure medication. But she has lost 30 lbs and can fix into a size 10 again. She is 5’4”. She has give me some of her 14 clothes to wear. All my blood work is good except my cholesterol is high and my doctor wants me to take a statin which I refuse to do. I eat some some carbs sometimes that is over 50 in a day but not often. I would like to drop to 155 put it will take awhile and it will happen by the end of the summer I am sure. I just wanted to tell you my story. I enjoy your video very much and are subscribed to your channel for a few months. Thank you very much for this information. I do eat dirty keto but keep it under control, if you understand me.

Type 1 diabetic for 44 years..... carbs are horrible for bloodsugar....even a small amount say 10 total and my.bloodsugar is high for hours and the amount of insulin I have to take is ridiculous.... trying to.go.total carnivore but I feel so tired and my digestion isn't good along with not having a bowel movement for longer than 10 days.... so that makes me feel horrible also.

Thank you so much for this great video! I'm a morbidly obese, sugar addicted diabetic. When I do Dirty/Lazy Keto, I find myself existing on low carb wraps, buns, ice cream and other "keto" products until I fall off the wagon altogether. You're so right! I cannot manage my relationship with these foods. Thank you for opening my eyes!

Why is what I need to determine! Thank you so much! I need structure!

Thanks for sharing perfectly clear explanations for us ( I'm french Canadian). Just finished this 232 episodes playlist! My family and I are on keto for about 4 years, but I find it hard to get reliable and detailed informations. Now I can understand better what I'm doing and I feel more confident about the choices I make. One thing that I think you never talked about is the school system. Here in Canada, it's a continuous battle with the school system that encourages kids to eat all the time. Food rewards for good behavior and birthday celebrations are very difficult to be avoided by our kids. We talked with our kids and explained why we chose to eat that way and to see the difference themselves. They now understand and they don't ask for food between meals anymore, they don't feel hungry all the time. Thank you so much!

I thought Eric Westman's dirty keto was about not being overly worried about eating cheaper meats such as hot dogs, hamburgers, deli, cornbeef etc if you can't afford to buy pasture raised, grass fed animal foods - as these will still work. I'm pretty certain Eric Westman only advocates 20 carbs a day and tells you to count all carbs, not just net carbs. Don't ever remember him talking about reducing carbs slowly, making substitutions or eating carbs a few days a week at first, although he does give you a little leeway on artifical sweeteners.

I almost didn't click because I thought it was going to be another dogmatic video. But I was happy to hear what you had to say and that it was about making better choices and realizing that dirty keto is still WAY better than eating the full high-carb diet I may have been used to eating and yes, it gets easier to make those keto choices the longer you are doing it, but perfection is overrated.

The problem with me and Dirty Keto is that there is no limit as to how dirty it can get. If I allow a little dirt today, tomorrow I'm allowing more dirt, and the next day even more.

Thx💯✌

The things you mention here, to do the best you can, are so important!!! I reversed pre-diabetes (I was on track to develop full on diabetes before even turning 20...) by cutting out lots of sugar from my diet, I was still fat but I really saved my health by reducing the junk food and doing what I could. Something is way better than nothing!

Sometimes circumstance limit what people can actually do - not everyone who watches your videos is able bodied. Personally, I had an L5/S1 prolapse 1991 and required a discectomy; subsequently developed Fibromyalgia; but carried on working for another 20 years (I was an IT Consultant). Had an L5/S1 re-prolapse 2009/10; was diagnosed with arthritis in my left ACJ 2010; was forced to retire (for medical reasons) 2011; went blind in one eye end of 2013 due to a cataract (surgically corrected 2014) and was diagnosed with a cataract in my other eye too. Now (2022) having somewhat aged - my walking distance, ability to lift & carry, stand, cook & clean are all severely limited. Most days, once I wake up in the morning, it's a matter of whether I can stand up properly (or not). I had an adult social work assessment (within the last two years) which says, I need someone with me regularly to help maintain a safe living environment / nutrition and acknowledges / confirms my physical & visual impairment. While I love cooking, I cannot practically do that as much as I once used to (if at all). So, what now? Dirty Keto isn't an option or is it a better option than others? When we no longer have the options that we used to have, it's a matter of maintaining what balance we can under our current prevailing circumstances.

excellent

I started at 100 complex carbs a day, then 65, now under 50. Mostly fatty meats, fat, cheese, veg. Lost 30 lbs A1c normal from pre-diabetes. Blood pressure cut in half. I'm always in ketosis now. :)

Thanks Doc! I completely agree…… I am working toward a clean long term/lifetime keto. Blessings!!!

Dirty Keto is better than No Keto!

Thank you!!! This really helped me know how to help my kids transition away from the SAD!

I would like to see you and other keto docs have a face to face debate with anti keto docs on keto. There are a few doctors on youtube and who write books who excoriate the keto diet and say it's very unhealthy.

Great vid I have been on and off the wagon for almost two years, need to get it right soon.

You help me to keep my eyes open and my mind working. I am in the fight of my life. Thank you for sharing your insights.

Love it. Agree, no rules, do what works, no matter what, you are going to die, it is just a matter of how soon and how strong do you want to be while waiting for the end of life in this world. The vast majority of the US is not happy in their job (look at change of job rates), not happy in their marriage (look at divorce rates), the vast majority have no solid plan for getting rich or retirement, why would we expect them to have a plan for eat? The government is counting on the people to fail, we must prove the government wrong. We must prove to the person in the mirror, we can beat the odds, we can be better. We can get happy - Make major changes in your life, environment first (job, spouse, location), sleep, exercise (even walking, walking in a pool if needed to start), sun light, sex, relationships,.....make a plan, write it down, execute the plan, change, grow, improve, fall down, get back up, keep moving forward : )

Good point

Junk food got me in trouble... it's a matter of time before keto junk food would too... #imwithyou

Thank you! This was great! I just can't sustain keto emotionally over 2 weeks. Maybe it's my adhd...but I always lose weight with it. This video made me feel like less of a failure and more like an adaptive person. Gives me incentive to at least do dirty keto and improve my health (15 # over after surgery and low level prediabetic). Thank you for a different perspective! God bless!😊

I'm currently doing a high protein keto diet . I use to do dirty keto but I fell of the band wagon and found it hard to get back into it . So know I'm doing an Australian keto diet . At the moment I am having around 200 grams of protein, 87 grams of fat , and no more than 25 grams of carbs and I am doing a calorie deficit of 1,668 calories a day and I am finding this model of life style sustainable with a refeed day once in a while

Dr. Cywes, when I first found you I thought you were totally obnoxious but as I have listened to you time and time again, you have endeared yourself to me and I have grown to appreciate your take on it all and the fact that you are living out the reality as a carb addicted person. You bring much hope to the overweight / obese community. Thank you for all that you do from the goodness of your 💖!

I think different people are using different definitions. In my head dirty keto is like you dont care about quality of the food as long as its low in carbs. Which at some income levels or depending what foods you have access to where you live might sometimes be your only only option. You dont care about organic, pasture raised, grass fed, etc ... And not eating perfectly keto, eating carbs sometimes but trying not to eat too much of them is more like "low carb" - you dont care about ketosis, just about eating less carbs then before. Typically because you get they are bad but lowering them too much for forever is for you or your family at the moment unimaginable.

I love your straightforwardness!

Sooooo true..I was clean keto beginning with fast weight loss..now dirty weight stall and looking for that perfect dessert..u opened my eyes weight loss is a long time coming with dirty keto

Very well said, doc. Thank you for sharing. I need to go to almost zero carbs. I tried to go back to ear a bit of carbs after months of being healthy and mainly eating carnivore. It didn't work. In my case, I see I would need years of the wrong carnivore before I can imagine being back to some carbs and starches.

Thanks doc...your the best

Keto bread is a drug I struggle to manage. I'm sure if I could do one slice a day it would be good. Sadly a loaf a day leads to be unsuccessful in making any meaningful progress.

I consider myself practicing "dirty" keto because when I make my cheeseburger casserole, I use sugar free Heinz ketchup and Hellmann's mayo. I don't like the taste of those items when I've made them myself. Ketovore for 2 years!

Hot dogs and mustard are better than twinkies and Pepsi. Whatever you can afford is a step in the right direction.

Thanks for keeping it real

They need to call it was it is lower carb and that is not an issue to do that as like you say everything is an improvement over SAD, but to use the term keto for any version where they are not in ketosis because they still eat too many carbs to be in ketosis pisses me off. I had to leave all keto groups because no one was actually keto, and new people would come and ask real questions confused and these people would say oh yeah you can eat this or that, none of which are foods that are keto. So I join ketovore and carnivore groups and you know what most in those groups are not even keto, let alone carnivore. It just makes them feel better to say they are, and once again they tell others that this and that is ok and then those people believe them instead of actually googling some real info and whining in the group saying, why can't I lose weight, why don't I feel better. Well, it is quite simple because you are still eating a shit ton of carbs while calling yourself dirty keto, or keto, or ketovore or carnivore. I am now at the point of dumping all but two actual serious carnivore groups. Then people wonder why the most simple way of eating in existence is "just so confusing"! It's because people who are not following it, but say are, think they should be experts because whatever level of no keto they are doing has given them some measure of improvement. Most of them were not the really sick ones or severely obese and they pass on their crap advice to people with very serious healthissues. A small group of us spend all day saying no, go watch Dr Berry, Dr Cywes, Dr Westman, Dr Chaffee and get real info.

Not much success with staying on keto or carnivore until I finially gave up the carbs completely. Now the only carbs are in occasional use of no sugar bbq sauce or ranch dressing. Its still working (no cravings) even when I cook a chinese meal for my husband. I simply fix my chicken thighs separate with pork panko and I'm happy! You, Dr. Ken Berry, and Casey Durango helped me see the problem.

Once again thanks for sharing your knowledge!

I lost 60 lbs 4 years ago on full 😂blown keto. Took care of a1c, blood pressure and acid Flux. No more medication! After about a year I started backing off into a dirty keto. Vegetables were first, then an occasional " cookie". Have gained about 10 lbs back but have held that new weight for two years. Being 70 years old I think occational pleasure can be more satisfying than spartan policies. I fixed my health issues and am happy with my new nutritional life. My doctor loves it!

I was starting to have some issues and knew what I was eating was at least part of the problems. How much was diet, age, menopause,...I could not say. Nov 19 2023 was the day I decided to make a change and bought only meats, milk and cheese, and a few vegetables. 3 days later a lot of those issues were gone or decreasing. It was amazing. I am experimenting my way through keto, less carbs to find my new relationship with food. You made me re-think why I am eating what I am eating when I am eating it. Getting that soda because I deserved a "treat". I have to watch carefully. Can i manage carbs or will they manage me? Invaluable perspective. Thank you.

This really resonated with me. Doesn't work for me either, but I'm getting there.

Some of us have to do dirty keto in order to to get our weight back up to normal. I'm not a big guy and didn't need to lose any weight at all. Went HFLC at the beginning of February and immediately lost 10 pounds! For the past two months, I've been trying everything to get even half that 10 pounds back: more fat, more fat, and even more fat. I felt so full I couldn't eat any more and still couldn't get even a couple of pounds back. Only thing I can think of to try is add some carbs back in. So as of today, I guess I've gone dirty keto. I've added 1/3 russet potato to breakfast, sliced thin, and deep friend in organic virgin coconut oil, along with half a grapefruit or slice of cantaloupe. That is on top of all the HF food I already eat. I'll know in a few days if that will be enough to put some weight back on. If so, I'll continue with dirty keto and after a couple of weeks, I'll order a fasting insulin test to see how I'm doing. I was IR, but since starting the HFLC, my fasting glucose is usually low-70s to low-80s, which is great but will have to wait for my insulin test to see if that potato/cantaloupe is doing me in. It would be cool for you to do a video on how to gain weight on keto. Thanks for the vid, especially the one on blood work.

I just love your videos. My story…I am a 59 yo woman from Australia. I am 5 foot 5 and 1/2 and weigh 119 pounds. I’ve managed to keep my weight between 116 and 125 pounds my entire adult life. I have always exercised and tried to follow a healthy diet but peri menopause saw me become a sugar addict. I was consuming roughly 4-5 pounds of dairy milk chocolate a week for easily 10 years. I found you on KZfaq and realized I have an addiction (I knew I did but because I managed my weight it hid my inner turmoil and people thought it was funny when I told them my eating habits). No-one took me seriously that I had a significant problem, but menopause finally brought my bad habits to a head as I suffered every symptom big time. I eventually went on HRT a year ago and my sleep and flushes are so much better. I also have been doing dirty keto and now dirty carnivore, getting demoralized when I can’t stick to the total carnivore woe but after watching this video it’s given me hope that what I am doing is way better than anything I’ve done previously. So thank you for the inspiration today. I shall continue to up my fat and meat intake and not beat myself up when I have my sweet stuff because I feel like for the first time in my life I have some control over my hunger x

Absolutely loved this video and it resonated well with me. I started with dirty keto and slowly overtime was able to end up doing a carnivore diet. Small attainable goals are going to be more beneficial towards achieving the longer term goal that just making a huge leap to the long term goal.

Oh my goodness, I am in this transitionary phase right now! THANK YOU Dr Cywes for letting me cradle my emotional end-of-day carbs (a packet of crisps & a glass of dry white wine) before I say my final goodbyes. I made huge strides today (TOTAL 2 x fried eggs, 1 x mackerel fillet with butter) but my day ended with the essential aesthetics of sharp chardonnay crisps and sauvignon blanc to a) celebrate life & feel happy b) chase my blues away .... all emotional carbs, exactly as you said! But thanks to you, I don't feel a failure. It's brilliant compared to what I normally eat!!

Thank you for this video! I am not bragging when I say that since starting Keto 9 months ago, I've never "cheated" or had an "off plan" meal. Not because I'm so awesome, but because in my 63 years I've learned I don't do "moderation"! I've tried with every other diet known to man and I'm just not that much in control of my addictions. So, I don't buy the stuff I can't have, not even Keto Treats, especially Keto Treats! I'm fortunate in the fact I have no one else to feed and that helps. I am also the personality type that if I give in ONE TIME, I will find excuses to do it again and again. Right now, its like I have this major accomplishment and I'm not about to screw it up! When I share keto with others, I do try to remember to start them out slowly, just like I did, because it's so easy to get overwhelmed with all the "keto" advise out there. Your video has helped me to rethink how to present this way of eating with others and to keep in the back of my mind for my own future health. I'm down 86 lbs so far, reversed my diabetes, lowered my BP, and Cholesterol and many other NSV's that will keep me on this WOE path for the rest of my life because I never want to feel like I used to again! I still have a long way to go in the poundage department, but I see light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you for all your videos, they are so informative yet easy to understand!

My husband has been struggling since going carnivore with high fat. He's concerned about his gallbladder. And now he's adverse to eating high fat because of the pain that follows. This past week he saw two doctors and neither were very helpful. One referred him to a surgery center who was all too eager to book him. The other ordered labs for next week saying he thinks it's his stomach and not the gallbladder. I just feel helpless when I look at my husband wincing and curled over but he assures me it'll be fine.

I have given up processed/fast food, grains, commercial vegetable oils, and severely restrict sugar. Don’t even have it in the house.

Even after 4 years … I still cannot do dirty keto on any type of regular basis .. occasionally on vacation … i really don’t want to , because I’m more conscious of what I put in my body , but I wish sometimes I could !

I used to live primarily on carbs like bread, potatoes & pasta. Last summer I started my keto journey by eating "dirty keto" foods like peanuts, almond butter, cheese, summer sausage, cold cuts, pork rinds & heavy cream in my coffee. Once those keto sticks turned purple I was mentally & physically able to shift to clean keto and then added intermittant fasting. I've lost 30 lbs & am feeling so much better. I have to say that I've never really gotten over that "break up". I still miss carbs. But keto makes it possible to stay in control most of the time. I'm 10 lbs from my goal weight now. I've fallen off the wagon a few times and it is SOOO hard to get back on.. Every time I fall off I use dirty keto to get back on... it helps me to get back in control.

I've been keto for just about 11 months now. When I started, I was able to restore health, insulin sensitivity and lose about 15kg of fat in the space of 6 months (20kg total, as of now). I am now building skeletal muscle to further help with longevity, maintain insulin sensitivity and live a youthful life, while in my 40's (metabolic age of 27, and a BMR of 3,018). To fully enjoy my life and keep emotional tension at bay, I drink alcohol on the weekends - 1 cocktail on each day + 1 bottle of wine on each day; red on Saturday, white on Sunday. If I do go out to eat during the week and I have a drink, I may compensate by not drinking on the weekend, depending on if I had just a glass of wine, a bottle of wine, a gin & tonic, or a couple of Long Island Ice Teas. Ultimately, by the end of that week, I will ensure I have had the same amount of alcohol within the 7-day period as I usually would, either way. This has not derailed my progress, and in fact, I quite enjoy these alcohol sessions because they help me maintain a balanced emotional status. I am drinking purely for the pleasure, and not to solve an emotional problem. I know that there are many folk who would find it difficult to control their alcohol intake the way I do, and my heart goes out to them. But for me, I am able to quickly get back into ketosis as early a 3AM after I have had my bottle of wine (I can taste the acetone on my breath), and while I may retain some water on Monday morning, it's usually gone by Monday night. So I agree with Dr. Cywes - if it's not to have as an end-point, and you are generally in good health and in decent control of your carbohydrate addiction, it may work 🙂. If it is an end-point for you, probably not.

Loved this. Thank you. Carb addicts are not always morbidly obese. I’ve been up and down with the same 10-15 pounds. With your videos I now understand. I can’t eat a little sugar. That’s just not me. So I’m now treating it like an addiction.

Agreed-Dirty Keto is a good way to ease into the Keto WOE. Prob the way to miss out on Keto Flu, too. There’s also so much to learn & this way it’s easy to learn while doing.

I have been keto for approx 10 weeks now, after being a full on carb addict , sucrose and cane sugar addict all my 67 years. 12 weeks ago my psa results came in at 11, my Dr who advised Statins for my high HDL ordered a second test when I was 4 weeks into my keto diet, my PAS levels came back at 9.5, he said it's a laboratory mistake, go have an MRI with 'Gadlinium' injection. My urologist on a digital examination found a small growth either side of my prostate, and ordered a prostate biopsy. I am very concerned about gadolinium and the biopsy itself as I do not show any of the regular symptoms males with enlarged prostate suffer, and feel uneasy about possibly putting my physicality on the line and ending with complications possibly for the rest of my life. I know I have been hyperinsulinemic for multiple decades on a total carb diet. Is it possible my psa levels will normalise over 1 to 2 years on keto diet, and do you feel I should go tru with the MRI and biopsy?

I've tried, keto, carnivore, very lowcarbs and cannot sleep through. I wake up 2-3 times a night. It's not just temporary, as I've had this last for months until I'm frustrated and give up,just to sleep. Adding salt, extra fat, melatonin, does not help.

Blunt, honest and straight forward. Thank you.

Thank you!

Thanks a lot Dr Cywes. I'm on keto for around 3 years and I can still learn a lot from your videos. Not only health knowledge but also some high-end vocabs which appear quite often in the GRE test I'm getting myself prepared for.😊

Once a week my wife and I will split a roasted sweet potato with grass fed butter and salt and pepper. Otherwise we are strict about carbs, sugar, processed garbage, seed oils, grains, rice, beans and fruits except for a few berries from time to time.

Your definition of ‘dirty keto’ is different from mine. For me it means I’m not a purist. I do what I consider dirty, lazy keto. For me that means: I don’t worry about grass fed /free range etc. I don’t weigh or measure anything. I use things like hellman’s mayo, and store bought salad dressing, which purists don’t use. **But… In addition to protein sources, I eat only non-starchy veggies. I do not consume any sugary or starchy foods at all.

I have to agree JH. I thought dirty keto was more like allowing for some processed meats or maybe seasonings that are not organic or all natural. Which was my understanding of dirty keto. Now people that choose to have more carbs on a specific day was carb cycling. If I'm wrong someone let me know?

Please consider analyzing what Paul Saladino is promoting (carnivore + fruits) diet cuz I can see many keto ppl are going to that direction after reading his book. He states that fructose in fruits and raw honey has a complete different impact on the body rather sugar itself

I love your common sense.

Great advise!!!

I don't think a alcoholic can have a little alcohol. I think thats harder to truley change. Starting with no suger and lowering carbs over 3 months time is good. Cold turkey maybe to harder for many. The keto journey will also bring you to intermittent fasting and adding back good carbs after you are fat adapted and have achieved the results needed

another form of dirty keto is eating keto with very low quality cheap keto ingredients like mcdonalds meat without the bread and fries or ketchup.

I’m a carb addict. I can’t play. I will be right back on them

Dirty keto does not work for epilepsy patients. The carbohydrate allowance is too low and added carbs would change the ratio lowering the therapeutic ketone level which could lead to seizure activity..

I started clean keto and had huge success. When I started introducing keto processed garbage I stalled and inevitably ended up in my addiction all over again. I’m ridiculous. Would eat an entire box of Atkins bars! I had to end my relationship with dirty keto too. If you are an addict, just stay clean as much as possible.😳

Wow this one really hit home for me. Thank you Dr C for getting me back on keto this month after being off of keto for 3 years after my husband died. I lost 50 pounds in 2018 and I've gained back that weight plus 20 more pounds. I really needed to see the connection between my eating and emotions (grief, COVID, & stress from everyday life). Dirty keto was a way of life for me even through losing the 50 pounds.. I want to do it differently this time to make sure it sticks and is a lifestyle rather than a diet. I appreciate you very much!

This video is so helpful for me. Thank you.

My (dirty keto) meal is having a serving of refried beans made with beef lard once a month. Fortunately I have exceeded and maintained my weight loss goals and my blood lipid goals. However I still feel a bit guilty eating those 10 grams of carbs in the beans. I eat them because I really enjoy them and they are a real treat for me. I have no desire to eat/drink sugar. Pizza on the other hand I do miss that homemade crust.

cutting out grains I'd huge for me as I'm addicted to them. I can't keep eating a loaf of bread. but maybe I will have a banana once I a while instead.

Amen! Thank you so much!

This explanation was helpful

I definitely can't do dirty keto. I tried. I always slip back into bad habits. I start with eat the occasional potatoes or rice, and within a month I'm eating fries, burgers, and pizza again. I am a terrible carb addict. It has to be all or nothing with keto for me.

As I understand Dr, Westman, his idea of "dirty, lazy keto" is not what you mean by dirty keto. Dr. Westman's goal is maximum 20g of total carbs/day. "Dirty keto" refers to his tolerance for seed oils, fast food (McDonalds without the bun or fries), processed food (Spam) , etc. He asks people to eat the best they can afford even if they can't afford grass fed/finished beef and organic vegetables. I don't think Dr. Westman compromises on total carbs in his definition of dirty keto.

Doc, that's not what most people mean by "dirty keto". "Dirty keto" typically means a keto diet that includes packaged, processed, and fast foods. So low carb, but questionable sources of fats, as well as additives with other questionable effects. Drive-through burgers without bun or ketchup.

Some days I would take in basically zero carbs and other days it might make up 10% of my calorie intake. But I remain HFLC. I avoid the word keto.

YES!