Relationships Talk

• The ketogenic diet is a popular high-fat, low-carb eating plan.
• People on Reddit complain that dating on keto is challenging, because of the diet’s strict rules about what you can and can’t eat.
• One Reddit user says his keto diet ruined his date.

The high-fat, low-carb ketogenic diet is all the rage these days, with devotees like Vinny Guadagnino touting it as a great way to lose weight. But dropping those pounds may come at a price; according to several Reddit users, following the keto diet could set you up for some pretttty awkward dates. I mean, what do you do if there’s nothing on the menu that’s keto-friendly? And what do you do if your date doesn’t understand your penchant for eating mass quantities of beef jerky and hard-boiled eggs?

Redditors have taken to the online forum to share the trials and tribulations of dating on the keto diet. Here are three ways they say keto has made their love lives a little challenging, to say the least. Thankfully, other Redditors chimed in with some helpful advice.

A Keto Debate Ruined This Guy’s Date

In a post called “Keto ruined a date for me,” user typical_iowan_male explains how his date took a turn for the worse when the conversation topic turned to carbohydrates. His date, who graduated from nursing school, argued with him about how many carbohydrates your body needs to function each day; things got especially heated when the Redditor tried to discuss the benefits of keto and intermittent fasting.

“She looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language,” he wrote.

Apparently, our friend from Iowa isn’t the only one who’s experienced conflict because of his eating habits.

“You know how they say don’t talk about politics on a first date? We should probably add keto and IF to that list,” Redditor Nobuko42 advised.

This Keto Follower Just Doesn’t Date at All

Some people apparently skip dating entirely because they don’t want to talk about their dietary preferences.

“I would be more open to dating if there was a keto dating site,” writes imsosorryeh. “Starting all over with a new person AND having to explain why I eat like this seems like a big time hassle.”

Although a few people agreed with the original poster, many feel the right person will accept your diet.

“I do keto my wife does not, we are happily married with two kids. Diet is kinda irrelevant if you find someone who actually cares about and that you care about as well,” one commenter explained.

Ordering Keto-Friendly Food and Drinks Can Be Time-Consuming

Many dates revolve around eating, and ordering on keto isn’t always so straightforward.

As Themoreddit wrote in a post, “I know what to eat, but how do I order without looking crazy? Should I explain keto to the server? My date?”

The user explained that finding a keto-friendly alcoholic beverage resulted in a 20-minute conversation with the waitress about which beers were gluten-free. In the end, Themoreddit settled on white wine and wings, but wants to avoid awkward moments during future dates.

The community offered up plenty of advice about go-to orders and the best way to broach the topic.

“I’ve found that if you do have to explain, to anyone, it’s better to say that eating his way makes you feel so much better. Weight loss does not have to come up at all,” one commentor writes.