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Jillian Michaels has been very outspoken about her dislike for keto. In a recent video, she addressed why she “doesn’t like” keto. Being someone who has a tremendous amount of influence, I wanted to use this video as a teaching opportunity to help shed light on some common myths and misconceptions that Jillian mentioned in terms of what some people believe “keto” is.

First, one of the biggest misconceptions she mentions in her video is: “All those benefits {of keto} – I can give you – eat less, move body more often.” If it were that easy, why hasn’t the recommendations we’ve been given since the 1970’s worked? This same logic would theoretically apply to military and suicidal teens – telling them that they just need to “be less sad and be happy more.” The same applies to nutrition. While the premise is obvious, you’re lacking the execution on other factors at play (i.e. mental, physical, emotional health)

Second, she mentions “You can eat less, move more and get all of the same benefits of keto without the negative side effects.” If that were the case, studies with equivalent calories would show no differences correct? Here are the studies I reference

Webb, P., and J. F. Annis. "Adaptation to overeating in lean and overweight men and women." Human nutrition. Clinical nutrition 37.2 (1983): 117.

Shai, Iris, et al. "Weight loss with a low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or low-fat diet." New England Journal of Medicine 359.3 (2008): 229-241.

Samaha, Frederick F., et al. "A low-carbohydrate as compared with a low-fat diet in severe obesity." New England Journal of Medicine 348.21 (2003): 2074-2081.

Johnstone, Alexandra M., et al. "Effects of a high-protein ketogenic diet on hunger, appetite, and weight loss in obese men feeding ad libitum." The American journal of clinical nutrition 87.1 (2008): 44-55.

a.Effect on body composition and other parameters in obese young men of carbohydrate level of reduction diet - Young et al 1971

b.Effects of a high-protein ketogenic diet on hunger, appetite, and weight loss in obese men feeding ad libitum - Johnstone et al 2008 – same as satiation study

c.A low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet combined with six weeks of cross t training improves body composition and performance

d.The Three-Month Effects of a Ketogenic Diet on Body Composition, Blood Parameters, and Performance Metrics in CrossFit Trainees: A Pilot Study

e.Efficacy of ketogenic diet on body composition during resistance training in trained men: a randomized controlled trial

f.The Effects of Ketogenic Dieting on Body Composition, Strength, Power, and Hormonal Profiles in Resistance Training Males.


One extremely common misconception is that keto is “extremely difficult to adhere to.” The data shows otherwise:

Hession, M., et al. "Systematic review of randomized controlled trials of low‐carbohydrate vs. low‐fat/low‐calorie diets in the management of obesity and its comorbidities." Obesity reviews 10.1 (2009): 36-50.

Further points that lack scientific credibility are “dwe know that diets high in animal protein and saturated fat have negative side effects.” Context is key here and understanding that while a BigMac is high in animal protein and saturated fat, its also high in vegetable oils and processed carbohydrates 🡪 a metabolic disaster.

Here are some studies showing ketosis actually may have anti-aging and longevity promoting properties:

•Roberts, Megan N., et al. "A ketogenic diet extends longevity and healthspan in adult mice." Cell metabolism 26.3 (2017): 539-546.

•Simeone, Kristina A., et al. "Ketogenic diet treatment increases longevity in Kcna1‐null mice, a model of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy." Epilepsia 57.8 (2016): e178-e182.

•Newman, John C., et al. "Ketogenic diet reduces midlife mortality and improves memory in aging mice." Cell metabolism 26.3 (2017): 547-557.

•Yu, Yunhua, et al. "Ketogenic diet attenuates aging-associated myocardial remodeling and dysfunction in mice." Experimental Gerontology 140 (2020): 111058.

Lastly, her argument for why carbohydrates are essential includes a discussion that “purple potatoes and kiwi fight cancer.” As a leader and authority, I highly encourage her to be careful about making bold claims that aren’t entirely substantiated by science. It’s not the potato having positive effects, it’s the anthocyanins in the purple potato. Second, I could make an entire video on why I think ketosis could be a far better adjuvant therapy with dozens of citations to support that. Here’s one to keep you busy showing that tumor size is directly proportional to the amount of glucose in the blood (might want to rethink eating purple potatoes):

Seyfried, T. N., R. E. Flores, A. M. Poff, and D. P. D’Agostino. “Cancer as a metabolic disease: implications for novel therapeutics.” Carcinogenesis 35, no. 3 (2014): 515–27.

Let me know your thoughts on this video and let me know what other videos/topics you want me to address. Thank you!