What is the Lazy Keto diet method?
And does it work?
Perhaps you’ve been doing the keto diet for a while now.
Like many, in the beginning the keto diet is all new and you try to take in all the “rules” so you can follow them to be successful in your weight loss. You’ve learned which foods are considered “keto” and which are not. You’ve probably learned more about carbohydrates, fat and protein than you ever thought you would. You follow and read about people who have been successful and you try to duplicate that so you too can be successful.
In the beginning, when you just start out, you devote a lot of time to this keto thing.
Maybe you have a phone or computer app that you use to track all of your calories and grams of fat, protein and carbohydrates. You search for new recipes or how to turn your previous high carb favorites into a keto version. It seems every spare moment of the day is spent talking or thinking about something keto related because you want to succeed!
But as time goes on life has other plans. You get busy. It takes more effort to track everything. You begin missing a day here or there with tracking. It becomes time consuming to keep track of every little thing and so you slowly slide back to old habits and old ways of eating. Soon you’re watching the scale slowly climb back up and you begin thinking there’s got to be a better way.
Along the way you’ve start hearing about the lazy keto diet method. You start wondering what is the lazy keto diet and could it make following the keto diet easier?
But then the keto police spring into action and tell you NO the lazy keto is NOT KETO. If you do this YOU WILL FAIL!!!!
Yes the keto police are all over the internet. They police other people’s food choices, how they count carbs (or macros), tell you which foods are or aren’t allowed, how many carbs you can eat daily and only they can determine what is and isn’t a “keto” diet. And if you should say Lazy Keto they will most certainly tell you that this is not keto.
But they would be wrong!
What is the keto diet?
A keto diet is one in which you get your calories from 75 to 80% fat, 15 to 20% protein and 5% carbs. Eating like this will cause your body to switch from using glucose for energy to using ketones for energy . This is called ketosis. How you choose to reach these amounts is up to each person.
Perhaps you’ve heard of several other terms related to the keto diet including strict keto, dirty keto as well as lazy keto. Here’s what each of them means:
What is a Strict Keto diet?
This generally means someone who follows the keto diet (getting calories from 75 to 80% fat, 15 to 20% protein and 5% carbs) and keeps strict counts of their calories and grams of fat, protein and carbohydrates. They strive to eat 20 grams of carbs or less daily. They generally have a list of food items that are considered keto safe and not keto safe. They track their macros daily to make sure that they are in their desired range of fat, protein and carbohydrates. While this form of keto will work, many people find it’s time consuming and has you constantly focusing on hitting your chosen numbers.
The downside to this method is the time involved for the constant monitoring. Also for those who have had some type of eating disorder in the past it can trigger their disorder again due to the intense focus of monitoring and counting everything you eat.
What is the Dirty Keto diet?
This generally means someone who follows the keto diet (getting calories from 75 to 80% fat, 15 to 20% protein and 5% carbs) but will eat anything that they feel fits their macros for the day. So that candy bar or cookies you’ve been craving? If you eat it but stay within your carb count then this is fine if you are following a “dirty keto” method.
The down side to this method is you might be choosing foods that are probably the same foods that you ate when you were heavier. Will the candy bar or cookies fill you up and keep you from being hungry for hours? Probably not. While this method can work it could potentially trigger previous bad habits.
What is Clean Keto?
Those that follow the clean keto diet will often avoid eating processed foods even if they fit into their macros for the day. All those keto cookies, brownies, snacks and other assorted pre-made keto foods you see on the market….they avoid them. The idea behind clean keto is to focus on eating whole foods and avoid highly processed foods even if they are deemed “keto”. Some who follow the clean keto method will focus on organic foods and grass fed meats. However others will simply focus on eating whole, unprocessed foods.
The downside to this method? There really isn’t one unless you’ve come to believe that you can only do it if you eat organic/grass fed and your budget doesn’t really allow for these higher priced foods. Some will argue they are necessary however “organic” does not necessarily confer health benefits that conventional foods do not have. While they may be higher in some specific nutrients they generally contain the same levels of nutrition on conventional foods. If you think you can not continue on the keto diet due to not being able to afford organic foods then think again. Focus on fresh/frozen/canned vegetables, unprocessed cuts of meat, eggs, fish, and fats such as olive/coconut oil, butter and higher in fat containing foods such as avocados, nuts, cheese, etc and you will do great!
What is the Lazy Keto diet?
This generally means someone who follows the keto diet (getting calories from 75 to 80% fat, 15 to 20% protein and 5% carbs) but they’ve grown weary of all that counting and have decided to only focus on the number that seems to affect their weight the most….the carbohydrates.
Lazy keto followers have figured out that if you control the carbs you generally get in enough fat and protein along the way. Because we are sick of counting, some of us (including myself) have developed tricks along the way to help keep us on the path. A bit of meal planning and food journaling with a focus on whole foods will get you far with this method and it doesn’t take much time either!
Does the Lazy Keto work?
YES! For many people if you are eating 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates (strict keto followers will say the real keto diet is no more than 20 grams) then your body will switch over to using fat to provide the energy you need.
You don’t have to count calories.
You don’t have to lose you mind constantly trying to figure out if a food is “keto”.
You can be a little more at peace with what you are eating AND still lose weight.
You still get the biggest benefit from the keto diet which is satiety….. you don’t feel hungry like many do with a high carb, low calorie diet.
With the Lazy Keto diet method you are still keeping to the desired percentage of carbohydrates that will keep you in ketosis….which makes this the keto diet. With the Lazy Keto diet method, unlike Strict Keto, the only thing you need to keep track of is grams of carbs.
That’s it.
No need to count anything else.
Sounds crazy to only count carbs when everyone else doing keto is constantly talking about counting calories, fat, protein and carbs. But I can tell you it works.
What’s the secret to making Lazy Keto work for weightloss?
Personally I prefer to call this Smart Keto instead of Lazy Keto. The secret to making lazy keto work is…..a notebook.
Yes it’s true.
I don’t know about you but often times I found myself eating a lot of the same things. In the end, the key to my own personal success and maintaining a 120 lb weight loss for over 14 years came by keeping a keto journal. Now don’t get worried…..this is easier than you think!
Start by grabbing yourself a plain old notebook (the size is up to you). As you go about your day, or even at the end of the day, write down the meals you are eating. Don’t worry about amounts and exact measurements of each food item. By writing this information down you will be able to build a list of meals that you like to eat and will have a way to quickly build a meal plan for a day, week or longer.
Your journal might say something like this:
Breakfast: keto butter coffee, 2 keto muffins
Lunch: salad greens with broccoli slaw, shredded chicken, cheese and dressing
Snack: olives, several slices salami, cheese cubes, mix of raw veggies
Dinner: steak, broccoli and cheese, cauliflower mashed potatoes
Snack: Keto mug cake
You also may find keeping a list of keto friendly foods and even carb counts around can help you with planning meals. If you sign up for the newsletter you can get access to the keto library which contains a PDF file with a food item list and the carb count that is handy.
Want to find out about some great items that you should stock in your keto kitchen? Then check this post out for 12 great items to keep on hand to make your keto meal prep easier.
Looking for some fast and easy recipes? Check out these keto freezer meals or even these breakfast recipes.
Work on your keto journaling and then check out this post on how to use a meal planner to help you lose weight following the lazy keto diet method.
If you are looking for other low-carb/keto recipe ideas, be sure to check out our growing Recipe Index full of low-carb/keto recipes!
Join us on Facebook to be part of our interactive Keto and Lazy Keto discussion or follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, or subscribe to our newsletter (see below) and be the first to know when we post a new recipe!
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I would love to subscribe to your page and have it come to my email. It doesn’t seem to want to work above. It’s Amiesue24@yahoo.com I’m very interested in learning more about lazy Keto from you. I have been doing Keto since Aug. 29th of this year and have lost 25 lbs but have now stalled for over a week . Would love some help to continue on.
I like this take on Keto for many reasons! Just an observation: I refer to myself as “eating low carb” or even “Atkins-style”. To me, that’s “lazy Keto” before anyone had ever really heard of the Ketogenic Diet… at least not not in it’s current “en vogue” iteration. Low carb diets have been known to be super conducive to weight loss and alleviating the symptoms of a myriad of other diseases for decades. But using the terms “low carb” or “Atkins” seem lately to elicit a strange reaction from many lately, when in reality that’s exactly “lazy Keto” is (in my opinion). Anyway… a very good article. Thank you!
Hi Hill,
Indeed using the term low carb or Atkins seems to cause a knee jerk reaction for many people. On the one hand you can follow a low carb diet and actually not be in ketosis (the hallmark of a “keto” diet). Low carb does not really have an absolute definition and is generally defined as consuming 20% or less of your calories from carbohydrates. Low carb diets have been shown by the literature to have positive effects on a variety of diseases. Coming from a family full of type 2 diabetics this was my main interest in low carb and the studies have shown a diet lower in carbs to be quite beneficial. Lazy keto could keep you in ketosis (so it would be a keto diet even if the keto police say otherwise) or perhaps someone might eat enough carbs to fall out of ketosis yet they would still benefit from maintaining a low carb diet. You reap the benefits no matter which way you go.
I’m definitely lazy keto. Otherwise I’d go nuts!! I don’t even count carbs because I don’t take many in at this point. I eat meat and cheese and some veggies occasionally. Even went to a nice dinner a couple weeks ago and ate BREAD and still stayed in ketosis. My problem is that I’m not doing much physical activity (so not burning the fat) and I’m still drinking too much wine (some days it’s the only carbs I really get). I also don’t snack much – pretty much i eat just lunch and dinner (see meat and cheese), with keto coffee for breakfast. Is it possible I’m not taking in enough calories? I don’t have much weight to lose (10 more lbs would be awesome) but I’m stalled out. What’s the better suggestion – more veggies, less wine, or just take more walks? All of the above?
Hi Kristi,
If I could point out just one culprit causing a weight loss stall I could quickly make myself a millionaire. Weight stalls can be any number of things including but not limited to too many calories, hormonal issues (PCOS, type 2 diabetes, etc), medications (some contribute to weight gain/stalls), too much stress, not enough sleep and others surprising non food related issues. Exercise helps with burning calories and also helps those who have insulin resistance so it provides a benefit. Only you can determine how many calories you are taking in. You might try journaling your meals for a few days. It could help to point out if you are consuming more than you realize especially when it comes to liquid calories. A serving of wine is actually just 4 ounces. Most wine glasses I’ve seen are double if not triple that size.
I have a question that I haven’t found the answer to yet. Do I really have to eat the veggies? I’m a meat eater! I can stand the salad and broccoli, but I don’t like most of the other keto approved vegetables. How many veggies do I really have to eat?
Hi Mary,
In the keto world people will argue over the amount of vegetables you need to eat. I can tell you that the daily recommendation is 2 1/2 to 3 cups of vegetables daily for most adults. 2 cups of salad greens is equal to 1 cup of raw or cooked vegetables. There’s a reason they say to eat a rainbow of vegetables and fruits. Vegetables provide fiber, minerals and various antioxidants depending upon their color. This variety provides lots of benefits to your body’s health. Start with what you already enjoy and try to introduce new things in. Go with small amounts and try different preparation techniques. Personally I’m not a fan of cooked carrots but love them raw. You might find the same true as well. The longer you are on a keto diet (and I’m just assuming here that you are) the more you might find your taste buds change. Foods that you once didn’t enjoy you may find enjoyable. Give something new a try once in a while. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Research carnivore keto. It’s a thing and works for some. I myself was lazy keto, I need variety and vegetables. But if you hate them- it’s worth looking into.
Ah yes another form of keto that the keto police would not approve of LOL. I think they have lost site that keto simply means eating few enough carbs to be in ketosis. How each person does that varies. What works for some would not work for others. I would personally not be a happy camper if I could not eat some vegetables. But that works for me.