Keto challenge

By , , medical review by Evidence based
Do you want to lose weight and improve your health? Perhaps you want to reverse your type 2 diabetes?1 Then join us and do what over 1 million people have already done – and sign up for our free 2-week keto challenge.

We’ll provide you with all the information and support you need to get started with your new diet and healthier life.

What have you got to lose? Well, maybe a few pounds, your high blood sugar, sugar cravings, and even other health issues like IBS, PCOS, and acne.

What will you eat?

This is no arduous diet, with two weeks of struggle and deprivation. This is two weeks of delicious, satisfying meals. You’ll be amazed at all that you can eat!

Diet Doctor’s recipe team creates the meal plan for each week. It’s designed to be as simple and delicious as possible.

Unlike other diets, you won’t have to worry about feeling hungry or deprived. The foods you’ll eat are filling, flavorful, and nutritious.2

Here are some of the amazing dishes you’ll feast on:

Keto recipes
 GSKC-2021-Recipes-EN-2

Sign up for free today!

Sign up for instant access to a simple step-by-step guide. You’ll also receive supportive emails describing in detail the next steps, meal plans, recipes, and shopping lists for two weeks. You don’t need to buy any special products; you’ll need to buy, cook, and eat real food.
In case you have not received an email from us after signing up, please check your spam folder.

Testimonial

What kind of results can you expect from the two-week keto challenge? Check out Caroline’s story for inspiration:

Why keto?

Everyone is talking about the keto diet. Why? Because it works!

Scientific research and a growing legion of personal stories document the array of positive effects. Common results include weight loss without hunger, improved diabetes management, reduced sugar cravings, calmer stomachs, and improved health markers.34

We know that not everyone will see results by switching to keto eating. But we do know from more than 10 years of experience on our site that many people’s lives are improved so dramatically that we must help as many as we can. You, too, could become one of the hundreds of inspiring success stories.5

Will you experience dramatic results? You’ll only know if you try.

So think of this as an exciting, no-risk, two-week adventure into a new way of eating. It may very well put you on the road to a happier, healthier you for the rest of your life. Doesn’t that sound simply irresistible? You know you want to try it.

 

Sign up for free today!

Sign up for instant access to a simple step-by-step guide. You’ll also receive supportive emails describing in detail the next steps, meal plans, recipes, and shopping lists for two weeks. You don’t need to buy any special products; you’ll need to buy, cook, and eat real food.
In case you have not received an email from us after signing up, please check your spam folder.

The success stories

What kind of results can you expect on a keto diet? Hundreds of people have sent us their success stories. Check out a few for inspiration:

Fantastic – I loved it!

Kick-started my low-carb journey, easy to follow, love the app – it’s brilliant!

I don’t have to wonder and think about what to eat. All I have to do is shop.

Rita

This challenge was user-friendly and a great resource.

I was initially ambivalent about getting started, but the daily emails made it super easy to get started. I didn’t have to log in to the website to find my daily plan. It was sent straight to my email.

The recipes were easy to follow and very tasty. I also felt that I didn’t waste a lot of food because many of the ingredients are consistently used. I highly recommend this website to get started.

Thank you!
Blanca

Hello Diet Doctor staff,

The keto challenge was wonderful, not so much a challenge but a joy. 😊

I followed the advice on other Dr. Eenfeldt videos on your site, where he suggested eating as much of the permitted foods to satiety rather than counting macros, which I would find tedious.

I am so pleasantly surprised! I thought I had a sugar addiction. It seems I don’t. On day two — and ever since — I’ve had ZERO cravings for sweet food. This is remarkable for me. And I have lost 13 pounds (6 kilos) in 4 weeks. (I did a week of keto before and after the challenge.)

I am continuing to eat keto as I love it.

Thank you for your excellent website. It’s so informative.

Paulette

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

How much weight will I lose on the 2-week keto challenge?

This is highly individual, but most people lose between 3 and 15 pounds (1.5 to 7 kilos) in the two weeks.6 Some lose more, some lose less.

Why does the challenge last two weeks?

Two weeks are enough to determine your own response to the diet and to get through early difficulties — like removing sugar from your diet. It’s enough time to start experiencing the true benefits of a keto diet and to know if you want to continue.7 It’s not a huge undertaking, and basically anyone can commit to this challenge for two weeks. Are you up for it?

How many carbs are allowed in the challenge?

Meal plans and recipes are designed to stay below 20 grams of net carbs per day (fiber not included) for maximum effect.8

What if I decide to stop before the challenge is over?

You can stop whenever you want. If you don’t want to receive more emails for the challenge, just press “unsubscribe” at the bottom of any email. You can sign up again later if you change your mind.

I’ve tried low carb and keto before but suffered side effects — is it possible to avoid them?

This challenge is designed to minimize any side effects. Should you experience side effects, we provide simple solutions.

Learn more about how to avoid or cure common keto side effects

Does this challenge contain recommendations on exercise?

No. Exercise is great for health and strength, but it’s not necessary to lose weight.9 We do not recommend changing your exercise habits for this challenge.

This is because it’s much more effective to focus on changing ONE habit at a time.10. You can always start exercising later after completing the 2-week challenge.

Can I still drink coffee, tea, or alcohol on this program?

Yes. There are plenty of keto ways to do that.

Keto alcohol – the best and the worst drinks

I have more questions

Here you’ll find more questions and answers about keto.

If you still have questions unanswered, feel free to email us at challenge@dietdoctor.com, and we will do our best to respond as soon as we can.

Sign up for free today!

Sign up for instant access to a simple step-by-step guide. You’ll also receive supportive emails describing in detail the next steps, meal plans, recipes, and shopping lists for two weeks. You don’t need to buy any special products; you’ll need to buy, cook, and eat real food.
In case you have not received an email from us after signing up, please check your spam folder.

Get started keto challenge – sign up - the evidence

This guide is written by Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt, MD, Jill Wallentin and was last updated on August 12, 2022. It was medically reviewed by Dr. Bret Scher, MD on March 11, 2022.

The guide contains scientific references. You can find these in the notes throughout the text, and click the links to read the peer-reviewed scientific papers. When appropriate we include a grading of the strength of the evidence, with a link to our policy on this. Our evidence-based guides are updated at least once per year to reflect and reference the latest science on the topic.

All our evidence-based health guides are written or reviewed by medical doctors who are experts on the topic. To stay unbiased we show no ads, sell no physical products, and take no money from the industry. We're fully funded by the people, via an optional membership. Most information at Diet Doctor is free forever.

Read more about our policies and work with evidence-based guides, nutritional controversies, our editorial team, and our medical review board.

Should you find any inaccuracy in this guide, please email andreas@dietdoctor.com.

  1. The science of low carb and keto ↩

  2. Many studies, including this one, have shown that a keto diet is effective for weight loss — even when the participants are allowed to eat as much food as they need to feel satisfied:

    Nutrition & Diabetes 2017: Twelve-month outcomes of a randomized trial of a moderate-carbohydrate versus very low-carbohydrate diet in overweight adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus or prediabetes [moderate evidence] ↩

  3. Scientific studies report that low-carb and keto diets are often more effective for weight loss and improving certain health markers when compared to other diets.

    This has been demonstrated in several meta-analyses of all top studies. For example, this one:

    PLOS ONE 2015: Dietary intervention for overweight and obese adults: comparison of low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets. A meta-analysis [strong evidence]

    Ketogenic diets also tend to reduce feelings of hunger:

    Obesity Reviews 2014: Do ketogenic diets really suppress appetite? A systematic review and meta-analysis [strong evidence]

    Low-carb diets can help lower or even normalize blood sugar, and thus, potentially reverse or put type 2 diabetes into remission:

    Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice 2018: Effect of dietary carbohydrate restriction on glycemic control in adults with diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis [strong evidence]

    Nutrients 2020: Impact of a ketogenic diet on metabolic parameters in patients with obesity or overweight and with or without type 2 diabetes: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials [systematic review of randomized trials; strong evidence]

    A keto diet has also been shown to normalize blood sugar in over 50% of people with prediabetes

    Nutrients 2021: Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Focused on Normalization of Glycemia: A Two-Year Pilot Study [nonrandomized study, weak evidence]

    In this study, people on a low-carb diet experienced decreases in cravings for carbs:

    Obesity (Silver Spring) 2011: Change in food cravings, food preferences, and appetite during a low-carbohydrate and low-fat diet. [moderate evidence]

    More studies: The science of low carb ↩

  4. On a keto diet, a calmer stomach, less gas, fewer cramps and pains, and improvements in IBS symptoms are a common experience in clinical practice. [weak evidence]

    This small non-randomized intervention trial found promising effects:

    Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2009: A very low-carbohydrate diet improves symptoms and quality of life in diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome [weak evidence]

    A low-carb diet is generally a low FODMAP diet, and the latter has stronger scientific support for improving IBS symptoms:

    Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2017: The evidence base for efficacy of the low FODMAP diet in irritable bowel syndrome: is it ready for prime time as a first-line therapy? [moderate evidence]
    ↩

  5. Here are stories of improved lives from different people:

    600+ low-carb & keto success stories ↩

  6. In a survey, 86% of people completing this program reported losing weight:

    How much weight do people lose on low carb? ↩

  7. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2007: Low-carbohydrate nutrition and metabolism [overview article] ↩

  8. The idea that fewer carbs is usually more effective is mainly based on the consistent experience of experienced practitioners and stories from people trying different levels of carb restriction [weak evidence]

    The only intervention study – to our knowledge – that compared different carb restriction levels were a small trial that found as the carb intake went lower, the trend was towards greater weight loss and greater improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors.

    PeerJ 2019: Low-carbohydrate diets differing in carbohydrate restriction improve cardiometabolic and anthropometric markers in healthy adults: a randomized clinical trial [moderate evidence]

    Also, better glycemic (blood sugar) control is likely with lower carb intake:

    Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2008: Restricted-carbohydrate diets in patients with type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis [moderate evidence, downgraded as it’s comparing effects between different low-carb trials. There is no RCT comparing low carb to lower carb.]
    ↩

  9. Advances in Food and Nutrition Research 2015: Physical activity and health: “What is old is new again”
    [overview article]

    Exercise has some effect on weight loss – but probably a smaller effect than most people expect:

    The American Journal of Medicine 2011: Isolated aerobic exercise and weight loss: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials [strong evidence for about 1-2 kilos of weight loss]

    Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2006: Exercise for overweight or obesity [strong evidence for about 1-1.5 kilos of weight loss]

    Exercise interventions might be a bit more effective for overweight and obese adolescents (10-19 years of age):

    Sports Medicine 2016: Efficacy of exercise intervention for weight loss in overweight and obese adolescents: meta-analysis and implications [strong evidence for several kilos of weight loss]

    Why you shouldn’t exercise to lose weight, explained with 60+ studies ↩

  10. Journal of Consumer Research 2012: Too much of a good thing: the benefits of implementation intentions depend on the number of goals ↩