Breaking A Keto Stall: Strategically Using Carbs To Your Advantage

A keto plateau is when you stop seeing changes on the scale or your body fat percentage isn't decreasing while on the keto diet. This can be frustrating for those who have been losing weight quickly at the start of their journey, only for it to slow down or stop altogether.

There are many factors that contribute to weight loss stalls on keto, including hidden carbs, excess calories, chronic stress, and a lack of physical activity. However, it's important to remember that stalling on keto is more common than you think and can be overcome.

- Adjust your calorie needs and macros: As your weight changes on a diet, your calorie and macro goals will also change. Use a keto calculator to figure out how many calories and grams of protein, fat, and carbs you should consume each day.

- Increase physical activity: Any type of exercise will help you lose weight. Incorporate cardio, resistance training, or high-intensity interval training into your routine.

- Manage your stress: Stress can increase your risk of gaining weight. Try mindfulness strategies, self-care practices, and reducing screen time to lower cortisol levels.

- Intermittent fasting: Combine the keto diet with intermittent fasting to control your overall calorie intake and improve gut health. Popular methods include the 16:8 method and OMAD (one meal a day).

- Track your ketone levels: Check your ketone levels using a blood ketone meter, ketone breath tester, or urine ketone strip to ensure you're in ketosis.

- Look for hidden carbohydrates: Read labels and be mindful of snacks, sauces, condiments, and processed foods that may contain hidden carbs.

- Be aware of food sensitivities: Common food sensitivities that may contribute to weight gain include dairy and FODMAPs. Try eliminating these from your diet one at a time to see if it helps break the plateau.

Reduce stress and cortisol levels

Reducing stress and cortisol levels is an important part of breaking a keto stall. Here are some tips to help you achieve that:

• Mindfulness and Stress Reduction Techniques: Practices such as slow, deep breathing, meditation, and yoga can immediately reduce cortisol levels and improve your mood and cognitive function. These techniques help to activate your parasympathetic nervous system, promoting a sense of calm and reducing the negative impact of stress on your body.
• Awareness of Negative Thoughts: Being aware of negative or worried thoughts can help lower cortisol levels. Constant negative self-talk increases cortisol responses to stress. By recognizing and reframing these thoughts, you can reduce the associated stress response.
• Positive Social Connections: Maintaining supportive relationships with friends and family who are willing to listen and provide perspective can help lower cortisol levels and improve your overall mental and physical health. Sharing your problems and seeking support can be an effective stress management strategy.
• Physical and Emotional Intimacy: Emotional and physical closeness with a romantic partner is an excellent way to cope with stress. Physical touch and intimacy can reduce cortisol responses and improve recovery after a stressful event.
• Nature and Sunlight Exposure: Spending time in nature and getting sunlight on your skin can help lower cortisol levels. Japanese studies on "forest bathing" show that spending time in natural environments reduces cortisol and related stress markers. Aim to get natural sunlight exposure, especially in the morning, to support your body's natural circadian rhythm and cortisol release.
• Establish Healthy Routines: Develop consistent morning and nighttime routines to support healthy cortisol levels. Stick to regular sleep and wake times, get natural sunlight during the day, and avoid artificial light at night. Avoid electronic devices a couple of hours before bedtime, and consider using blue-light-blocking software or apps.
• Exercise and Physical Activity: Regular exercise and physical activity can help regulate cortisol levels and improve your overall health. Incorporate a variety of exercises such as cardio, resistance training, and high-intensity interval training. Additionally, increase your non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) by incorporating more movement into your daily routine, such as walking, taking the stairs, or gardening.
• Sleep Hygiene: Prioritize good sleep habits. Research shows that sleep deprivation is linked to increased cortisol levels and can affect your body's ability to regulate appetite hormones, leading to increased hunger and cravings for high-calorie, carbohydrate-rich foods. Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night.
• Limit Caffeine Intake: Caffeine can increase cortisol levels and disrupt your sleep, so it's best to cut back or avoid it if you're experiencing high cortisol levels. Opt for herbal teas or other non-caffeinated beverages, especially later in the day.
• Healthy Dietary Choices: A ketogenic diet itself can help lower cortisol levels, but it's important to be mindful of your food choices. Avoid excess consumption of full-fat dairy and nuts, as they are calorie-dense and can contribute to a stall. Focus on adequate protein intake, which helps maintain muscle mass and preserves your resting metabolic rate.

Cut out dairy, sweeteners, and processed foods

Dairy products, sweeteners, and processed foods are common culprits when it comes to breaking a keto stall. Here are some detailed tips to help you cut them out:

Dairy

• Understand the impact of dairy: Dairy products like cheese and heavy cream can cause bloating and weight loss stalls, even in small amounts. The reason is that dairy is generally inflammatory, and too much of it will lead to bloating.
• Try a temporary dairy detox: Consider cutting out dairy for a few weeks to see if it makes a difference. This doesn't mean eliminating it forever, but it will help you understand how your body reacts to dairy and how much you can have without affecting your weight loss.
• Look for hidden dairy: Dairy can be found in many processed foods, such as sauces, salad dressings, and even some keto-friendly products. Be vigilant about checking ingredient labels to ensure you're not consuming dairy without realising it.

Sweeteners

• Avoid sweeteners during a stall: While sweeteners like stevia, erythritol, and monk fruit are generally considered keto-friendly, they can still trigger cravings and hinder your progress during a stall.
• Sweeteners may affect blood sugar: Some sweeteners, like sucralose, may produce harmful compounds when exposed to high temperatures. Additionally, sweeteners like honey, coconut sugar, and agave nectar are high in carbs and can increase blood sugar levels, interrupting ketosis.
• Sweeteners may trick your brain: Even though sweeteners are not sugar, their sweetness can trick your brain into thinking you're consuming sugar, leading to more cravings.

Processed foods

• Return to whole foods: Processed keto foods, like keto bars, snacks, and convenience foods, often contain chemicals and artificial ingredients that may interfere with ketosis, increase inflammation, and negatively impact your overall health.
• Be wary of labels: Don't blindly trust labels that claim a product is keto-friendly. Always check the ingredients and nutrition facts to make sure the product aligns with your keto goals.
• Practice clean keto: Focus on eating real, whole foods. This approach, known as clean keto, can help reduce inflammation and accelerate weight loss.

Eat within a 6-8 hour window

Intermittent fasting is a great way to break through a keto weight loss stall. This involves eating within a set time window each day, typically between 6-8 hours, and fasting for the remaining 16-18 hours. This approach has multiple benefits, including:

• Reducing the frequency of insulin spikes, as eating less often means you stimulate insulin less often.
• Helping to control your overall caloric intake.
• Improving gut health and mental health.
• Giving your body a longer period of time to burn off the carbs you've eaten.

There are several different types of intermittent fasting, including:

• 16/8 method: Involves limiting your food consumption to only an 8-hour window each day and fasting for the remaining 16 hours.
• OMAD (one meal a day): This approach involves eating just one meal per day and fasting for 23 hours.
• 5:2 method: Involves five days of normal eating and two non-consecutive "fasting" days where you consume 25% of your normal calories.
• ADF (alternate-day fasting): This involves eating 0-25% of your normal calories every other day.

If you're new to intermittent fasting, it's best to start small with 12-hour overnight fasts and gradually increase your fasting window from there. It's also important to note that intermittent fasting may not be suitable for everyone, so be sure to consult with a healthcare professional before making any significant changes to your diet or eating patterns.

Stop cheating

Cheating on your keto diet will cause a weight loss plateau. Every time you cheat, you will gain water weight, which can take up to a week to come off. If you are serious about succeeding on your ketogenic weight-loss journey, you need to approach it as a lifestyle and not a diet.

If you are experiencing a weight loss stall, it could be because you are eating hidden carbs or the wrong foods on keto. Make sure you are sticking to the keto food list and not sabotaging your diet.

• You are not in a caloric deficit.
• You are stressed.
• You are not getting enough sleep.
• You are not exercising.
• You are eating too many nuts.
• You are eating too much dairy.
• You are eating too many sweeteners.
• You are eating too many processed and packaged foods.
• Your cortisol levels are high.
• You are not in nutritional ketosis.

If you are experiencing a weight loss stall, try the following:

• Recalculate your macros.
• Eliminate or reduce certain foods, such as dairy, nuts, gluten, and artificial sweeteners.
• Take stock of non-scale victories, such as losing inches, having more energy, clearer skin, regulating medical conditions, and having more endurance at the gym.
• Start or change your workout routine.
• Manage your stress.
• Try intermittent fasting.
• Track your ketone levels.
• Look for hidden carbohydrates.
• Be aware of food sensitivities.

Eat 20g of total carbs per day

To break a keto stall, it's important to first define what a true keto weight loss stall is. Typically, this happens when an individual has been consistently eating a keto diet for at least three months and their weight loss trend has stopped. It's important to note that weight loss is rarely linear and there will be natural fluctuations in body weight. Therefore, it's crucial to examine the general trends in weight loss over time rather than focusing on daily variations.

Now, let's discuss how eating 20 grams of total carbs per day can help break a keto stall. According to the ketogenic diet guidelines, an individual should consume up to 50 grams of carbohydrates per day to stay in ketosis, the fat-burning state that the keto diet aims for. By limiting your carb intake to 20 grams per day, you give your body an even stronger push towards ketosis. This is because when you significantly limit carb intake, your body is forced to burn fat instead of carbs for energy, leading to weight loss.

To achieve this, it's important to be mindful of hidden carbs that can be found in snacks, sauces, condiments, and processed foods, even those marketed as keto-friendly. Additionally, be cautious of consuming too many nuts, as they are calorie-dense and can cause the carb count to rise. Aim for one serving of nuts per day.

By sticking to 20 grams of total carbs per day, you create a larger calorie deficit, which is crucial for weight loss. This doesn't mean you have to count calories, but it's important to be mindful of your calorie intake and ensure it's less than what you burn.

Remember, when reducing carbs, make sure to replace them with quality foods such as high-fiber carbs like vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains. This ensures you get all the necessary nutrients and makes the keto diet more sustainable and healthier overall.

Frequently asked questions