Keto Weight Gain: Strategies For Overcoming Challenges

The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that has become popular for weight loss. However, some people may struggle to lose weight or even experience weight gain on keto. This can be frustrating, especially if you're carefully tracking your food intake and sticking to keto-approved foods. Here are some common reasons why you might be having trouble losing weight on a keto diet:

- Not achieving ketosis: Ketosis is a metabolic state where your body burns fat instead of glucose for energy. To achieve ketosis, you need to reduce your carbohydrate intake significantly. Even if you think you've cut down on carbs, you might still be consuming too many to prevent your body from entering ketosis.

- Eating too much protein: On a keto diet, a moderate amount of protein is recommended. Too much protein can be converted into glucose, which can hinder ketosis and weight loss.

- Not counting calories: To lose weight, you need to consume fewer calories than you expend. Even on a keto diet, it's possible to eat too many calories, especially since many keto-friendly foods are high in calories.

- Snacking too much: Constant snacking, even on healthy keto-friendly foods, can increase your calorie intake and lead to weight gain.

- Eating too many acceptable carbs: Some foods that are typically considered keto-friendly, such as nuts and dairy, contain carbohydrates. Eating too many of these can prevent you from achieving and maintaining ketosis.

- Stress and lack of sleep: High stress levels and inadequate sleep can impact your hormone levels, leading to weight gain or difficulty losing weight.

- Underlying health conditions or medications: Certain medical conditions, such as hypothyroidism, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and Cushing's syndrome, can make weight loss difficult. Additionally, certain medications, such as antidepressants, may also contribute to weight gain.

- Not enough exercise: Exercise is crucial for weight loss as it stimulates your body's metabolism and burns calories. A lack of physical activity can hinder your weight loss efforts.

- Inconsistent carb intake: An inconsistent or fluctuating carb intake can disrupt your metabolism and make it challenging to maintain ketosis.

- Not consuming enough nutrients: It's important to focus on consuming nutrient-dense, whole foods on a keto diet. Relying too much on processed keto foods can lead to nutritional deficiencies and metabolic imbalances, hindering weight loss.

Not staying in ketosis

One of the most common reasons for weight gain on keto is an inconsistent carb intake that causes your metabolism to switch between burning fat and using sugars as the primary energy source. This is known as "flip-flopping".

To enter ketosis, you need to limit your carb intake to 20 to 50 grams per day. This keeps insulin levels low, which triggers ketosis and primes your metabolism to break down fats.

Cheat days on keto can quickly derail your weight loss efforts. When you consume too many carbs, your insulin levels spike, which inhibits fat burning and stimulates fat storage. It can also take several days for your body to restart ketosis after a carb-rich meal, which can slow down keto-adaptation and lead to weight gain.

Stress is another factor that can contribute to weight gain and affect your ability to stay in ketosis. When you experience stress, your adrenal glands release cortisol, a hormone that regulates metabolic processes to support the body's energy needs during stressful periods. Prolonged stress can lead to chronically elevated cortisol levels, which have been linked to weight gain, especially around the abdomen.

To achieve consistent weight loss on keto, it's crucial to limit your net carb intake, manage stress through a healthy lifestyle and relaxation techniques, and ensure you're consuming enough healthy fats and moderate amounts of protein.

Tracking Your Macros

To succeed on the keto diet, you need to track your macros (fat, protein, and carbs) properly. This means eating 60-70% of calories from fat, 20-30% from protein, and 5-10% from carbs. This eating pattern signals to your body that carbs are scarce, activating your backup, fat-burning, ketogenic energy system.

While limiting carbs is simple in principle, it can be challenging in practice due to hidden carbs in various foods, such as salads, soups, sauces, dressings, and packaged foods. Using a macro tracker app or food journal can help you stay within your carb limits and increase your chances of staying in ketosis.

Other Factors Affecting Ketosis

In addition to carb intake and stress management, there are other factors that can impact your ability to stay in ketosis:

• Time: Getting into ketosis can take different amounts of time for different people. Some may enter ketosis following an overnight fast, while others may take several days of keto dieting.
• Protein intake: Eating too much protein can prevent ketosis. While keto allows for a moderate amount of protein, it should not exceed 35% of your diet, as excess protein can be converted into types of sugar.
• Calorie intake: Even if you are in ketosis, consuming more calories than you burn can still lead to weight gain. It's important to track your calorie intake and ensure you're creating a calorie deficit to promote weight loss.

Consuming too much protein

While the keto diet is primarily known for being low-carb and high-fat, protein intake also plays a crucial role in its success. Consuming too much protein can impair ketone production and affect your weight loss goals.

How your body responds to protein intake

When you consume protein, it triggers the release of two energy-regulating hormones: insulin and glucagon. Insulin stimulates the uptake of sugar into cells and reduces the breakdown and release of fat from fat cells. On the other hand, glucagon triggers glycogen breakdown, the breakdown and release of fat from fat cells, and fat burning.

The ratio of insulin to glucagon released depends on factors such as your macronutrient makeup, gender, activity levels, and whether you have diabetes. If your body secretes more insulin than glucagon in response to protein consumption, your ketone production will be reduced, and you may be kicked out of ketosis.

How too much protein becomes a problem

The likelihood of being kicked out of ketosis depends on your health and how much protein you consume. Studies indicate that individuals with type 2 diabetes are more likely to experience a significant increase in insulin levels after protein intake, while healthier individuals may not experience any insulin increase. Therefore, those struggling to control their blood sugar levels may find that consuming too much protein impairs their ketone production or prevents their bodies from entering ketosis.

The ideal amount of protein to consume on the keto diet depends on various factors, including genetics, gender, current macronutrient and calorie intake, insulin sensitivity, activity levels, and body composition.

As a general guideline, if you are sedentary, aim for 0.6-0.8 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass. If you are regularly active, consume 0.8-1.0 grams, and if you lift weights, eat 1.0-1.2 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass.

Signs you may be consuming too much protein

• Your breath smells like ammonia: Ammonia is a natural by-product of protein metabolism, and when protein intake exceeds what your body can handle, ammonia levels can build up and be exhaled or excreted in your sweat.
• Flu-like symptoms: Experiencing symptoms similar to the "keto flu," such as low energy, irritability, headaches, muscle cramps, and digestive troubles, may indicate that you are consuming too much protein and your body is transitioning in and out of ketosis.

Tips to get your protein intake on track

• Track your food: Use an app to track your food intake for a few days to get a clearer picture of your protein consumption.
• Test your ketone levels: Use at-home strips to check your ketone levels in your urine and ensure they are in the optimal range for ketosis.
• Adjust your meals: If you find you are consuming more than 20% of your daily calories from protein, adjust your meals and snacks to reduce your protein intake.

In summary, while protein is an essential part of the keto diet, consuming too much can impair ketone production and affect your weight loss goals. It is important to monitor your protein intake and make adjustments as needed to ensure you stay within the recommended range for optimal results.

Eating too many acceptable carbs

On a keto diet, several types of carbohydrates are acceptable, including nuts and dairy. These foods are typically high-fat, nutrient-dense foods that make a great addition to a keto diet. However, they also contain carbohydrates. Eating too many of these foods will prevent a person from achieving and maintaining ketosis.

To reach the state of ketosis, you must drastically reduce your carbohydrate intake. Only around 5% to 10% of your total calories should come from carbs. This is in stark contrast to the standard dietary recommendation that 45% to 65% of calories come from carbs.

To achieve consistent weight loss on a keto diet, it's crucial to limit your net carb count to no more than 20 to 50 grams per day. This doesn't leave you with many carb options, except vegetables and small amounts of berries.

Sugar alcohols are typically a good option for people following a keto diet as they provide sweetness without increasing net carbs in the body. However, not all sugar alcohols are alike. For example, although maltitol is technically a low glycemic index (GI) sugar, it can still affect a person's blood sugar levels. Consuming too much maltitol may prevent a person from entering ketosis.

If you want to get into ketosis and reap the full metabolic benefits of a keto diet, it may be necessary to go under 50 grams of carbs per day.

In addition to limiting acceptable carbs, it's important to make sure that most of your fat intake comes from omega-3s, mono- and polyunsaturated fats to properly fuel your body.

Not counting calories

• Consuming too many calories: Many keto-friendly foods are high in calories. Even if you are in a state of ketosis, consuming more calories than you burn can lead to weight gain. It is important to track your calorie intake and maintain a deficit to lose weight.
• Snacking too much: Snacking on healthy foods can help curb hunger between meals. However, excessive snacking can lead to consuming too many calories, resulting in weight gain. It is recommended to keep snacks to a minimum and track everything you consume.
• Overeating high-fat keto snacks: It is easy to overeat high-fat keto snacks like nuts, nut butter, and full-fat cheese. These snacks are healthy in moderation, but consuming too much can provide your body with enough fuel to prevent it from burning its fat stores.
• Not eating enough nutrient-rich foods: Consuming nutrient-rich, whole foods is crucial for healthy and sustainable weight loss. A diet rich in processed keto ingredients and products can lead to increased hunger and eating more food than your body needs.
• Underestimating portion sizes: It is common for people to underestimate how much they are eating. Calculating your macronutrient needs using a keto calculator and tracking your intake can help you develop a better understanding of appropriate portion sizes.
• Cheat days: While cheat meals can help with adherence to the keto diet, they can also lead to weight gain. Consuming high-carb foods can cause your body to retain more water, and it is easy to consume enough calories on a cheat day to gain fat.
• Alcohol consumption: Alcoholic drinks are high in calories and can impair weight loss by disrupting sleep quality, blood sugar regulation, and ketone production. It is recommended to limit alcohol consumption or keep it below one to two servings per day, depending on your gender.

Constant snacking

One reason why constant snacking can hinder weight loss on keto is the high-calorie content of many keto-friendly foods. Avocados, olive oil, full-fat dairy, and nuts are all calorie-dense options. Consuming these foods in large quantities or as frequent snacks can easily cause an excess of calories, even if they are technically keto-compliant.

Additionally, some keto-friendly snacks, such as nuts, nut butter, and full-fat cheese, are healthy in moderation but can quickly provide the body with enough fuel to prevent it from burning its own fat stores. As a result, the body may store this excess energy as fat, leading to weight gain over time.

To combat this, it's recommended to opt for lower-calorie and/or higher-protein snacks, such as hard-boiled eggs, sugar-free deli meats, beef jerky, or kale chips. These options tend to be more filling while providing fewer calories, helping individuals feel satisfied without exceeding their daily calorie needs.

Furthermore, it's worth considering whether snacking is truly necessary. Often, the urge to snack in the afternoon is a result of nutritionally inadequate meals earlier in the day. By prioritising well-balanced meals packed with whole foods, individuals can reduce their reliance on snacks and naturally lower their overall calorie intake.

In summary, while snacking can be a helpful tool for managing hunger on the keto diet, it's important to practise moderation and portion control. By choosing nutritious, lower-calorie snacks and prioritising balanced meals, individuals can avoid the potential weight gain associated with constant snacking while still enjoying the benefits of the keto diet.

Frequently asked questions