Have you ever heard of the keto diet? Many people use it for weight loss and are pretty successful! I've lost 90 lbs on it! But if you deal with anxiety, the keto diet can have MANY more benefits for you!
These are the 6 Life-Changing Mental Health Benefits of the Keto Diet that you need to know!!!
The keto diet has gotten a bad name in many clinical circles, but the truth is, if you do the clean keto diet, you can be both prosperous and healthy all the same!
I started my journey with keto in 2018 when I found myself weighing 228 lbs! It was a massive problem for my 5'1 frame. My husband already had some success on it, and I was at rock bottom. I initially decided to try it for weight loss and quickly realized that my mental health started improving every day!
Suddenly, I had more energy than caffeine had ever given me. I was able to complete tasks with such ease, and I amazingly could handle stress in stride! Here's what you need to know...
My 90 lb transformation! What you can't see is all the weight of my mental health that also lifted!
Continue reading for more encouragement!
These are the Top 6 Mental Health Benefits of the Keto Diet that will change your life!!!
Mental Health Benefits of Keto
1. Mental Clarity
Dealing with anxiety can fog your mind and make it hard to concentrate and difficult to make decisions. When I was eating whatever I wanted (tons of sugar and carbs), I had difficulty completing tasks because I lacked clarity.
Having mental clarity means making decisions well and not being smothered by anxiety, worry, and all the what-ifs of this life!
For years I had tried different diets, vitamins, and even medications! All in efforts to obtain the kind of level-headedness I began experiencing within a month of a clean keto diet!
Having mental clarity can significantly affect the way you handle anxiety when it comes to the day-to-day. I never thought of using a diet to manage stress and panic, but the keto diet changed that!
Here are a few resources you may find helpful on the keto diet and the brain!
The Ketogenic Diet & Brain Health
How Low Carb and Ketogenic Diets Boost Brain Health
12 Keto Diet Books to Read in 2021
2. Energy Boost
Another thing I noticed with implementing the keto diet was the boost of energy I had each day!
Up until that point in my life, I had LIVED off of caffeine! As a teenager, I would make a daily run to a coffee shop to pick up a frappuccino to get in the extra shots of espresso I needed to survive. During early adulthood, I could be found needing a nap during my small break at work each day.
Oddly enough, I never equated my energy with my diet! The more I needed energy, the more I would try new things, leading to a string of diet pills and energy drinks. None of which were beneficial to my physical or mental health.
When I started the keto diet, I never expected it to give me energy or other mental health benefits. Still, I was stunned and grateful by its effects on that area of my life. Suddenly, I WANTED to exercise, suddenly I thought, "wow, it would be nice to have some toned arms, strength, and stamina!"
The keto diet gave me physical and mental energy that all the coffee, diet pills, and energy drinks failed to do. The energy was sustainable and never made me crash!
3. Reduced Stress and Anxiety
Food affects our levels of anxiety, especially when we are stressed. Common foods that increase anxiousness are:
- Sodas.
- Candy, Cakes and Cookies, Pies.
- Fried Foods.
- Refined Carbs.
- Processed foods + Ready-made meals.
- Energy drinks.
- Alcohol.
- Fruit Juice.
You can eliminate all of these foods on the Keto Diet.
There's tons of research to back up this point, and I'll link some articles below. However, I'd like to share briefly how the Keto Diet has dramatically impacted the level of anxiety I experience.
Dealing with anxiety since my late teenage years, I have become quite accustomed to dealing with it. I started keto in June of 2018 and can now tell an extreme difference between eating a diet primarily comprised of carbohydrates and one with more moderate protein and high fats (the healthy kind)!
While on the keto diet, I sleep better, worry less, and use less caffeine! I am more productive, decreasing my stress, and having more energy to spend time with family and friends. The things that produce less anxiety in my life can happen because of the results of a ketogenic diet. More energy, focus, better mood, and a fire-hot memory!
Check out these articles for more in-depth info on the Keto Diet reducing stress and anxiety!
Ketogenic diet and mental health
Can the Keto Diet Help With Anxiety?
Got Anxiety? Low-Carb and Keto Diet May Help
Free Printable Food List to help you get started!
more free printables from goodbye Anxious!
4. Improved mood
It's not rocket science to figure out that if anxiety and stress have lowered and you have more energy and mental clarity, you naturally have an improved mood!
For years anxiety, fear of people and rejection, and self-esteem issues due to weight gain were my everyday life. I was quite an angry person on most days. Though I tried to maintain a good image in front of people, I often fell apart when I was alone. My mood was rarely ever good.
I would notice how foods affected my mood through the years but never truly saw a dramatic difference when eating foods. UNTIL, the keto diet!
Within months of being on the keto diet, I noticed my daily mood about life, in general, shifted to a more positive one. The happier I became, the more I wanted to be around people, the more I wanted to be successful, and eventually started dreaming again.
Here are a few more articles on the clinical side of the Keto Diet and mood disorders!
Ketogenic diet as a metabolic therapy for mood disorders: Evidence and developments
The Ketogenic Diet for the Treatment of Mood Disorders
5. Helps with Memory and focus
Once I reached a state of Ketosis (click the link to read up on that), the first thing I realized was that my mind seemed to be clearer.
I could suddenly remember things from years back that I thought I had forgotten. Joyful memories were more readily available. I could remember my to-do list without looking at it 20 times and could even remember if I unplugged my straightener when I left my house, LOL!
Anxiety and stress can have terrible effects on your brain and your memory. I thought I'd have to live with those effects for the rest of my life. Restoring my memory with a diet change was so encouraging to me.
Having a good memory is something many people work hard for to be more productive in life. When eating a regular carb-based diet, I was not nearly as effective as I have been over the last 4 years on the ketogenic diet.
Check out this article for more about anxiety's effects on your memory:
6. Increased Self-Esteem
Though on the surface, higher self-esteem wouldn't seem to be a mental health benefit of the keto diet, it is! If you've ever dealt with low self-esteem, you know the deep and lasting ramifications it can have on your mental health.
The weight loss aspect of the keto diet was the primary factor impacting my mental health and self-esteem. However, reducing anxiety with this diet also resulted in higher self-esteem overall.
I went from a person who hated photos to someone who started her own keto transformation Instagram page! The social anxiety I used to experience due to lack of self-confidence was almost 100 percent eliminated!
My self-esteem increased as I started to drop weight and began exercising because of my increased energy. I was more productive, and with great mental clarity, I have focused on achieving my goals. These benefits gave me enough confidence to start living my dreams by creating Goodbye Anxious, a mental wellness this blog!
another transformation pic from my keto journey!
Another Related article from goodbye anxious that you may enjoy!
When I started the keto diet in June of 2018, I never knew there were benefits far beyond weight loss! With each passing month, I discovered more and more of these life-changing mental health benefits.
If you are wondering how to get started, I'll link a few of my favorite keto experts that have helped me along on this journey!
This article was all about the TOP 6 MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF THE KETO DIET!
Have you tried the Keto Diet? What were some mental health benefits you discovered? Let me know in the comments below how this helped you!
Saying Goodbye to Anxious,
Kristina G.
Here are some of my favorite
keto diet experts to follow!
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