Theketogenic diet—aka the keto diet—is one of the most popular eating patterns around. But that doesn’t mean it’s the best option for everyone. The diet’s restrictions can make it difficult to follow, which has caused some of its most influential followers to move away from it.
Once a leader in the online keto community,Janelle Rohnerhas since transitioned to an unlimited eating pattern. While popularizing keto-friendly food trends like cream-cheese-stuffed bell peppers across TikTok and to her5 million followers, Rohner now preaches balance and eating all foods in moderation as a certifiedmacroscoach.
So what caused this shift? Rohner tellsEatingWelleverything she learned while she followed the keto diet, including the pros and cons of the diet as well as the things she wished she knew before starting it. Here’s what she had to say about her journey.
Source Imagery: Getty Images. Collage: Cassie Basford.
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EatingWell:What initially attracted you to the keto diet, and why did you stick with it?
EatingWell:Were there any pros and cons while eating keto that you think others should know about?
Rohner:For me, a pro is the accessibility of it. You can be out, and you can easily get a keto-friendly meal. You can say, “I want a hamburger with no bun.” That’s a pro for a lot of people: it’s quick and easy on the go. You can eat out at a restaurant and do it easily. The con, first of all, is that it’s not sustainable. And it’s just not necessary. I thought I couldn’t process carbs. Diet culture had taught me to eat less, less, less, and it’s just not necessary. I’ve been doing it for so long when I could’ve been enjoying all types of foods in moderation. The biggest con is, you just don’t need to be living that way. You don’t need to be ordering a hamburger with no bun; you can have the bun, it’s totally fine. You can have the fries, it’s fine. I think that’s something I wish I learned so much longer ago.
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EatingWell:Ultimately, what led you to decide to quit the keto diet?
EatingWell:How would you describe your eating pattern now? What are the meals you typically eat in a day?
Rohner:I focus on foods I love. Macros have taught me that you can have any foods you love in moderation, so I like to follow an 80/20 lifestyle. I eat lots of chicken, rice, vegetables, fruits, all of those things, and foods I love like candy, french fries, a little bit of ice cream. I plan in my “must-haves” every day, and my must-have is a dessert, so I have what I’m craving. My lifestyle now is completely unlimited, and macros have really taught me that. Actually, being unrestricted has made me crave fewer foods. I remember being someone who had heard that, where someone would say, “Stop restricting and you won’t crave things” and I was like, that works for them, but that’s not me. That’s not my body, that’s not my hunger levels, but it really is true. The second I started incorporating all of the foods I’ve been restricting for so many years, I really stopped craving buckets of candy. When you really don’t restrict yourself, you really don’t crave those things as much as you used to.
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EatingWell:What does eating well mean to you?
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