Keto still requires a deficiency in calories if you want to lose weight. You don’t “eat at a surplus” whatsoever. I eat less now than ever in my life. You can’t stay within the daily limit of carbs while eating “at a surplus”. It sounds like you’ve been misinformed about the diet.

I’ve tried simply cutting calorie diets, nothing has worked as well as keto, hands down. It’s not a magic wand but it definitely works. Once you get into a groove with it and make good foods, it doesn’t feel like a diet at all. The addiction to carbs and sugar is very real. I was always hungry before keto, always craving a carb/sugar. That’s gone now.

I lost most of my weight without working out. A couple months ago I started working out doing mostly cardio. In high school I could never run/finish the mile in gym class. Now I can run a mile in about 9:30. Not stellar, but for me it’s a huge lifestyle change. I ran a 5K in March, 31 minutes. Again, not stellar but for a guy who has been overweight his whole life it’s mind blowing.

My doctor supports it, the dietician I meet with supports it, and the nutritionist supports it. You know why? They see results in patients.