What is Dirty, Lazy Keto? Should You Go Clean?

If you are one of the millions of people on the keto bandwagon, you probably either practice squeaky clean keto or dirty lazy keto - without even realizing it.

The keto diet is the short name for the ketogenic diet, which is a high fat and low carb lifestyle diet that has many health benefits. Numerous studies have proven that as long as you follow the somewhat restrictive keto rules properly, you will lose weight. 

Keto - What's clean and what's dirty?

In general, whether your practices fall under the clean or dirty keto category depends on how you prioritize what you value most when it comes to the choices you make in terms of food. On one side we have the clean keto diet, where the priority is consuming high-quality keto-friendly regardless of convenience and expense. On the other hand dirty lazy keto does not take quality into account as much as convenience and cost. In this case, as long as something is cheap and readily available, food quality doesn't matter nearly as much. For instance, people who are following the squeaky clean version of keto will prefer a hundred percent organic, grass-fed beef that has been raised sustainably, while someone on a dirty lazy keto diet will opt for the cheapest option available.

Lazy, Dirty Keto - A General Overview

When you adopt this keto approach, your main focus is consuming the allocated amount of macronutrients from carbs, proteins and fats to maintain ketosis. What exactly you eat to get to those macros doesn't matter. 

This approach can be quite tempting since you can eat almost anything you want as long as you stay under the allowed carb limit. On dirty lazy keto, you don't even have to eat vegetables as long as you meet your macronutrient needs. Even though lazy dirty keto is convenient and easy to follow, unfortunately this approach has a few potential shortcomings even if it does help us lose weight.

The Risks of Going Dirty with Your Keto Diet

While the dirty keto approach has received its share of criticism, it does have benefits. The convenience alone makes it easy to adopt and simple to stick to. In addition to the health benefits you achieve by virtue of the weight loss, another potential benefit is that dirty keto is cheaper and more convenient than strict clean keto.

However, having dirty, lazy keto as your only style of eating is not recommended. While you definitely save time and money in the short-term, dirty keto is not ideal for your overall health long term. This is because eating low-quality, keto-friendly food comes with the following risks:

• Greater consumption of toxic, unhealthy oils.

• Increased risk of cardiac problems for some people. 

• Added exposure to hormones and antibiotics present in conventional animal products. 

• Dangerous and unknown effects of artificial sweeteners. 

• Greater intake of preservatives and harmful, high carb additives.

• Inadequate intake of fibre, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats. 

• Increased severity of keto flu.

• An enhanced false sense of diet sustainability.

What to Eat if you want to do Lazy, Dirty Keto:

The following dirty keto staples are convenient and you must have them in your pantry

• Conventional full-fat dairy products like cheese, cream cheese, heavy cream, and butter.

• Processed meat like bacon, jerky, cold cuts and sausages, and packaged seafood like smoked fish, canned seafood etc.

• Keto-friendly snacks like pork rinds, nuts, seeds, and other packaged snacks. 

• Cheap salad greens.

The following dirty keto foods should be limited and eaten only in moderation:

• Pre-packaged and processed keto-friendly products.

• Low-carb fast food. 

The following dirty keto foods should be avoided:

• Margarine and hydrogenated oils or oil products. 

• Refined plant-based oils. 

• Burnt or charred meat, fish, or vegetables. 

Should you go clean?

On a clean keto diet, dietary intake is focused on low carb foods that have minimal processing, are full of nutrition, and are produced sustainably. Stimulating ketosis by keeping carbs low is still crucial, but clean keto places greater emphasis on higher-quality foods. 

In general, the squeakier clean your keto eating is, the better your overall results will be. Having said that, the occasional dirty meal will not spoil your progress. Your results are ultimately a product of your overall choices, if the majority of your choices are closer to a cleaner and healthier lifestyle, you will stay on the right track.