Keto Diet: Regaining Weight And Breaking The Cycle

The ketogenic diet is a popular weight-loss diet that involves eating high-fat, moderate-protein, and very low-carbohydrate meals. While the keto diet can lead to rapid weight loss, it is challenging to maintain over the long term because of how restrictive it is. Many people who stop following the keto diet will regain some of the weight they lost, but this is not inevitable. The key to maintaining weight loss is to adopt a new lifestyle and ensure that your intake matches your output.

The body's replenishment response to restrictive diets

The body has a natural replenishment response to restrictive diets, which can lead to weight regain and other negative consequences. This response is driven by biological mechanisms that kick in when the body perceives a state of famine or starvation. This is known as the binge-restrict cycle.

Eating more calories than burned

It is common for people to regain weight after stopping a restrictive diet like the keto diet. This happens because these diets are often unsustainable in the long term, leading people to revert to their previous eating habits and consuming more calories than they burn.

When transitioning off the keto diet, it is essential to make gradual changes to your diet and maintain a calorie deficit by consuming fewer calories than you burn. Here are some tips to avoid eating more calories than you burn:

• Make a personalised plan: There is no one-size-fits-all approach to maintaining weight loss after keto. Work with a dietitian to create a plan that considers your calorie needs, stress levels, activity level, and lifestyle.
• Bump up activity levels: Increasing your physical activity can help create a calorie deficit and prevent weight gain. Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise per day.
• Eat adequate protein: Consuming about 50 grams of protein per day promotes fullness and increases the number of calories you burn due to its thermic effect.
• Eat more vegetables: Vegetables are low in calories and high in fibre, which adds volume to your meals and helps you feel full. Aim to include vegetables in every meal.
• Make home-cooked meals: Cooking at home allows you to control the ingredients and calories in your meals. A study showed that those who cooked dinner at home consumed fewer calories, regardless of weight loss intentions.
• Stop mindless snacking: Evaluate your snacking habits and ensure they align with your activity level. Choose snacks with fibre and protein, such as almond nuts, walnuts, eggs, and pumpkin seeds.
• Prioritise sleep: Insufficient sleep is associated with eating habits that increase the risk of weight gain, such as frequent snacking and increased consumption of fast food and sugar. Aim for at least seven hours of sleep per night.
• Manage stress: Long-term stress can lead to the consumption of hyper-palatable foods high in fat and sugar. Try stress reduction techniques like meditation or yoga to manage stress effectively.

Metabolism slowdown

The keto diet is a high-fat, moderate-protein, and low-carb diet. It can be challenging to stick to in the long term because of how restrictive it is. Restrictive diets like keto can lead to a restrict-binge cycle, which slows metabolism and makes it harder to lose weight later on. This is a definite challenge, especially if you did gain back some or all of the weight you lost—losing it the second time around can be more difficult.

When you first start the keto diet, you may experience flu-like symptoms, known as "keto flu." This may include poor energy and mental function, increased hunger, sleep issues, nausea, digestive discomfort, and poor exercise performance.

When you stop the keto diet, you will likely experience weight rebound as those lost pounds can quickly return when you revert to previous dietary patterns. This is because your body will try to replenish its stores after being deprived of energy.

To avoid this, you can try to transition off the keto diet slowly by paying attention to how your body responds to the revised eating plan and making adjustments as you go. For example, you can slowly scale back fat intake and add back carbs slowly.

It's also important to make changes to your diet slowly. If you suddenly start eating a lot of fiber after not eating much at all, your stomach will likely cause some pretty intense constipation. Add in one or two servings of high-fiber foods per day, and if your stomach tolerates that, bump it up a little more the next day.

Additionally, you can try to boost physical activity when transitioning off the keto diet to help maintain your weight.

Reverse dieting

• Determine your baseline: Calculate your baseline calorie intake, which is the number of calories you're currently consuming to maintain your weight.
• Gradually increase calories: Each week, increase your calorie intake by 50 to 100 calories. For example, if you're eating 1,500 calories per day, you can increase it to 1,600 calories the next week.
• Monitor your weight: As you increase your calorie intake, track your weight to see if there are any changes. If you're still losing weight, continue increasing your calorie intake gradually.
• Find your maintenance calories: Once you reach a point where you're no longer losing or gaining weight, you've found your maintenance calories. This is the number of calories you need to consume daily to maintain your current weight.
• Adjust as needed: You can adjust the rate of increase to suit your needs. For example, you can increase by 50 calories instead of 100 or spend two weeks at each calorie level to account for weight fluctuations.
• Focus on whole foods: While reverse dieting, prioritize whole, unprocessed foods and a balanced diet. This will ensure you're getting adequate nutrition and supporting your overall health.
• Seek professional guidance: Consult a healthcare provider or a registered dietitian to ensure that your reverse dieting approach is safe and tailored to your specific needs.

It's important to note that reverse dieting may not be necessary if you avoid strict or very low-calorie diets. Instead, focus on sustainable lifestyle changes, such as improving food quality, balancing meals, listening to hunger cues, and managing emotional eating. These strategies can help you maintain weight loss in the long term without the need for restrictive diets or complex calculations.

Lack of discipline

Returning to Old Eating Habits

After completing the keto diet, some people may fall back into their old eating habits, which can lead to weight regain. Restrictive diets like keto can be challenging to maintain in the long term, and it is common for people to revert to their previous dietary patterns, which may include more carbohydrates and processed foods. This sudden increase in carbohydrate intake can lead to a rapid regain of weight, including water weight.

Lack of Mindful Eating

Mindful eating involves paying attention to your body's signals, such as hunger and fullness cues, and making conscious food choices. A lack of mindful eating after keto can lead to overeating and poor food choices, resulting in weight regain. It is important to continue making healthy food choices and listening to your body's needs to maintain weight loss.

Inadequate Physical Activity

Physical activity plays a crucial role in weight maintenance. A lack of discipline in maintaining an active lifestyle after keto can contribute to weight regain. Incorporating movement into your daily routine, such as walking or yoga, can help prevent weight regain and improve overall well-being.

Not Sticking to a Plan

After completing the keto diet, some people may lack the discipline to stick to a structured plan. "Reverse dieting" or "offset plans" are strategies that involve gradually reintroducing carbohydrates while monitoring weight and measurements. These plans require discipline and careful calculations to ensure a sustainable transition out of ketosis. A lack of discipline in following these plans can lead to rapid weight regain.

Lack of Awareness

Some people may lack the awareness or knowledge about what to do after completing the keto diet. This can lead to hasty decisions, such as abruptly increasing carbohydrate intake or returning to old eating habits. Educating oneself about proper post-keto strategies and seeking guidance from experts can help prevent weight regain due to a lack of discipline and knowledge.

Frequently asked questions