Lazy keto is a popular variant of the very-low-carb keto or ketogenic diet. It’s often used for shedding weight, and, as the name indicates, it’s made to be simple to follow. The classic ketogenic diet involves meticulously calculating your intake of carbs, calories, fat, and protein to achieve ketosis, a metabolic state in which our body burns mostly fat.
However, lazy keto is far less rigid, as we only have to pay attention to our carb intake.
This article discusses lazy keto, including its benefits, downsides, and foods to eat and avoid.
What is lazy keto?
Lazy keto is a less rigid version of the conventional very-low-carb, high-fat, ketogenic diet. The ketogenic diet started in the 1920s as a medical solution to treating epilepsy. Of late, this diet’s variations, including lazy keto, have become mainstream practices for shedding weight [1].
Conventional keto diets require you to closely track your macronutrient intake and follow a rigid, extremely-low-carb, high-fat eating pattern that includes only moderate amounts of protein.
The objective is to induce ketosis, a metabolic state in which our body burns fat as its major fuel source. Like most variations of the ketogenic diet, lazy keto dramatically limits your carb intake. Usually, carbs are limited to around 5–10% of your total daily calories — or about 20–50 grams per day for most individuals [2].
However, you don’t have to bother about tracking protein, calories, or fat on lazy keto.
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Are there benefits to lazy keto?
A lazy keto is a fresh form of the keto diet, and, with that, there really isn’t any research tied explicitly to it. Still, researchers say there are some advantages you can receive while following the diet:
It’s less stressful than classic keto.
Lazy keto requires little thinking than the conventional keto diet to help take the hassle out of mealtimes. You’re not obsessing over macronutrients daily [3].
It requires singular calculations.
Under lazy keto, staying below your goal carb count or you focus on hitting, and that’s it. It is much simpler to calculate one nutrient than having to figure out multiple ones.
You may get typical keto results.
It’s possible to get similar benefits as a classic keto diet on the lazy keto diet, like increased energy, weight loss, and more satiety. But again, it’s not a guarantee. It’s tough to say that every individual who does lazy keto will get into ketosis, but if someone just feels good with that quantity of carbohydrates, that’s really the big picture advantage [4].
It’s more sustainable than traditional keto.
The classic keto diet is infamously challenging to stick with, given all of the counting macros requirements. But the lazy version may be simpler for individuals to follow. Individuals who feel overloaded or overwhelmed tend to do better, just picking one thing to focus on. That can aid them in achieving the results they want and to stick with it.
What are the drawbacks?
While lazy keto has its benefits, it’s certainly not perfect.
1. It may be less effective than traditional keto.
If our goal is to get into ketosis, it’s tough to know if we can actually achieve it with lazy keto. We would need to monitor our ketone levels with regular finger pricks to determine best if we are in ketosis and when we get out of it. If we are not serious about it, we might get into a low ketosis level, but we also might not quite make it.
2. It’s challenging to maintain in the long run.
While the lazy keto diet may be simpler to follow than the traditional keto, it’s still tough to maintain over time. No matter how we do it, this diet, lazy keto, or full keto, is not sustainable for most individuals in the long term.
3. It’s not for all.
The ketogenic diet may be used as a therapeutic approach to nutrition, and it may not be for all. It’s best to talk to your doctor for guidance on this as you may have specific health issues to attend.
4. It’s still a restrictive diet.
Even if we’re just counting carbs, aiming for 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates a day lends itself to being overly restrictive with what we’re eating. That can even lead to eating disorders.
Foods to eat
On lazy keto, extremely-low-carb foods are encouraged without taking into account their fat and protein contents.
Below are a few examples of foods to consume on lazy keto:
- Meat and poultry: turkey, chicken, and deli meat
- Shellfish and fish: trout, salmon, shrimp, tuna, crab, and lobster
- Eggs: scrambled, fried, hard-boiled, and most other types of eggs
- Seeds and nuts: tree nuts, peanuts, nut, sunflower seeds, and seed butter
- High-fat dairy products: cream, butter, and most cheeses
- Low-carb veggies: broccoli, leafy greens, onions, tomatoes, and many others
- Healthy oils: avocado oil, extra virgin olive oil, flaxseed oil, and others
- Unsweetened beverages: coffee, water, and tea
- Some fruits: berries, such as blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries, in small portions
Foods to avoid
Lazy keto restricts all carb-rich foods.
Below are a few foods that are restricted or altogether avoided on lazy keto:
- Grains: Pasta, bread, cereal, rice, and oats
- Starchy vegetables: Sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, and peas
- Fruit: Apple, bananas, oranges, and most other fruits
- Legumes: All types of lentils, beans, chickpeas, and soybeans
- Some dairy products: Yogurt and milk, specifically flavored yogurts
- Sugary foods: Cakes, cookies, candy, ice cream, and most other desserts
- Sugary drinks: Sports drinks, fruit juices, and sodas
Bottom Line
A lazy keto is an appealing option for people who find the conventional keto diet too strict. While it restricts carbs, there are no rules regarding your protein intake, calories, or fat. Overall, lazy keto may provide similar potential benefits as the traditional keto diet, at least in the short term.
These include quick weight loss, decreased appetite, and better blood sugar control in individuals with type 2 diabetes.
That said, there are possible drawbacks to ignoring your intake of fat, calories, and protein. For one, you may not achieve the metabolic state of ketosis, to which many of the conventional keto diet’s benefits are attributed. Also, lazy keto has not been well researched and ignores the importance of overall diet quality.
