In a social media-dominated world, misconceptions are a constant—especially when it comes to certain foods and diets.

My friends have recently been trying out the keto diet, which primarily cuts out carbohydrates and expedites weight loss. But the effects of the diet can be illusory.

Once the body enters ketosis and a fat-burning stage, your metabolism eventually adjusts to new levels of fat in your bloodstream. The absence of carbohydrates prompts the body to eat your glycogen stores, which are crucial for storing water. So, basically, on the keto diet, you’re only losing water weight.

The biggest problem is the keto diet does work—but not permanently.

The keto diet offers a “get slim quick” attitude that appeals to many people looking for quick weight-loss solutions. But when you’re working out, if you’ve started restricting your body’s best energy store, it can be downright dangerous to exercise.

You run the risk of weakness or exhaustion, and as soon as you reintroduce carbs into your diet, the weight piles back on.  

The bottom line here is that diet fads are exactly that—fads. Trendy diets offer weight-loss solutions when the goal shouldn’t be weight loss; it should be health.

There shouldn’t be pressure to eat a certain way. You shouldn’t be made to feel bad for eating bread because of fitness culture proliferating on social media.

Just because your favourite model advertises the keto diet on Instagram doesn’t mean the keto diet will work for you, or that you should follow it in hopes of looking like a celebrity.

Personally, I know that the keto diet would never work for me—I eat carb-heavy meals around four times a day. Granted, I’m an avid runner, but even after hanging up my shoes, I eat like a 14-year-old boy.

Sometimes I hear people turn up their noses because someone said they ordered a pizza: “Wow, do you even know how many carbs are in that?”

Yes, I know how many carbs are in that. It shouldn’t matter.

Food shouldn’t be the enemy, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution for fitness.

I’m not saying that the keto diet is the enemy, but diet misconceptions are. The keto diet, if adhered to, should be a lifestyle—not a diet.

Life is too short to pass up on your favourite food because the internet said it isn’t cool anymore.

Maggie is The Journal’s Assistant Sports Editor. She’s a fourth-year English major.