Keto Weight Loss: Common Pitfalls And How To Avoid Them

Weight loss is a common goal for people starting a keto diet, but it's not always a straightforward process. Many people hit a weight loss plateau at some point, where they stop losing weight even though they're following the diet correctly. This can be caused by a variety of factors, including not achieving ketosis, eating too many carbs, calories, or protein, snacking too often, lack of exercise, stress, insufficient sleep, underlying medical conditions, and more. To overcome a weight loss plateau, it's important to identify the specific factors contributing to it and make adjustments accordingly. This may involve tracking calories and macros, intermittent fasting, reducing calorie intake, increasing physical activity, managing stress, improving sleep, or addressing any underlying health issues.

Eating too many carbs

However, carbs can be hidden in vegetables, sauces, dressings, and even some meat products. For example, honey-smoked bacon or Italian sausages can contain added carbs. Therefore, it's important to carefully evaluate your carb intake and track your macronutrients through an app or food tracker. This will help you stay within the recommended range and avoid consuming too many carbs, which can prevent you from entering ketosis and hinder your weight loss efforts.

Additionally, be mindful of acceptable carbs like nuts and dairy. While these foods are typically high-fat and nutrient-dense, making them great additions to a keto diet, they still contain carbohydrates. Overconsuming these foods can also prevent you from achieving and maintaining ketosis.

In summary, to maximize weight loss on a ketogenic diet, it's crucial to monitor your carb intake closely and ensure you're staying within the recommended range. This will help you reach and maintain ketosis, which is essential for burning fat and losing weight effectively.

Eating too many calories

On a keto diet, it's important to eat fewer calories than you burn to maintain a continuous negative energy balance. This often occurs naturally on a keto diet, but not always. For example, half a cup of almonds contains over 400 calories. If you are not mindful of your portion sizes and overall calorie consumption, you may not achieve the desired calorie deficit.

To manage your calorie intake, you can use fitness trackers to monitor your calorie consumption and ensure it is within a healthy range for weight loss. Additionally, pay attention to your portion sizes and be mindful of snacking in moderation.

It's worth noting that keto diets are generally satiating due to the high fat and protein content, which can increase feelings of fullness and prevent overeating. However, if you are not losing weight, it may be necessary to evaluate your calorie intake and make adjustments.

While calorie counting is not typically required on a keto diet, it may be beneficial in certain situations, especially if you tend to overeat or consume excessive amounts of high-calorie, calorie-dense foods.

Eating too much protein

The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet. However, it is different from other low-carb diets because it is moderate in protein. Most of the calories on the keto diet come from fat, and protein should make up less than 35% of your diet.

When you consume excess protein, your body tends to break it down into amino acids and turn them into sugar. This process is called gluconeogenesis (GNG). Many people believe that GNG can knock you out of ketosis by increasing your blood sugar levels. However, this is only a myth.

GNG is a necessary process that occurs in your body. It is not the enemy of ketosis—in fact, it makes ketosis possible in the first place. Your body needs glucose and glycogen to keep you healthy, even when you are in ketosis, and GNG ensures that your body gets them.

GNG is stable

GNG is an extremely stable process. It is not easy to increase it even with extra protein. Unlike when you eat chocolate cake and your blood glucose spikes, eating extra protein does not cause a similar spike in blood glucose. Studies have shown that GNG production does not increase even with extra amino acids.

GNG is necessary for survival

GNG is how your body creates internal glucose from non-carb sources, including protein. Your body takes compounds like lactate, amino acids, and glycerol to manufacture glucose when there are no carbs around. GNG is necessary for survival.

GNG makes ketosis possible

Your body needs glucose even when you are in ketosis. GNG prevents hypoglycemia by keeping your blood sugar levels healthy. It also fuels tissues that cannot use ketones, such as red blood cells, the inner part of the kidney, testicles, and some portions of your brain. Additionally, GNG resupplies glycogen stores, which are crucial for muscle recovery after workouts.

Eating protein is not just safe; it is necessary. Eating too much protein won't increase the rate of GNG.

Benefits of eating more protein on keto

Eating adequate amounts of protein is beneficial on the ketogenic diet. Here are some reasons why:

• Protein helps with fat loss: Protein is more satiating than fat. It is also very nutrient-dense. People tend to overeat when protein is low. If your goal is to lose fat, increased protein consumption is a great way to approach your keto diet plan.
• Protein provides fewer calories than fat: Your body needs to use more energy (calories) to burn protein than to burn fat. For example, when you eat 100 calories of grass-fed beef, your body can only store 75% of it as calories because it requires 25% of the calories to burn and use it as fuel. Conversely, when you consume fat, you are storing up to 98% of it as calories.
• Protein deficiency is dangerous: Not eating enough protein on keto can have serious side effects, including worsened workout performance, neuron atrophy, a weaker immune system, and an increased risk of diseases.

Snacking too often

When following the keto diet, it is crucial to understand the concept of "fasting between meals." This doesn't necessarily mean adhering to a strict fasting schedule, but rather allowing sufficient time between meals without snacking. This fasting period is essential because it activates the metabolic process that produces ketones and promotes fat burning. By snacking too frequently, you may disrupt this process and hinder your weight loss progress.

To avoid this issue, it is recommended to focus on eating nutritious, whole foods and be mindful of your portion sizes. Opt for unprocessed, keto-friendly foods such as full-fat dairy, eggs, fish, poultry, and healthy fats like avocado and olive oil. Include non-starchy vegetables like greens, broccoli, peppers, and mushrooms to add nutrients and fibre to your meals.

Additionally, be cautious of hidden carbs that can be found in vegetables, sauces, dressings, and even some keto-friendly foods like nuts and dairy. These hidden carbs can add up quickly and impact your overall carb intake, potentially disrupting ketosis.

It is also important to manage your overall calorie intake. While keto-friendly foods are often high in healthy fats and proteins, which can increase feelings of fullness, it is still possible to consume too many calories. Monitor your portion sizes and be mindful of the calorie density of the foods you snack on.

In conclusion, while snacking can be a part of a healthy diet, excessive snacking on the keto diet can lead to a higher calorie intake and disrupt the metabolic processes that are crucial for weight loss. By being mindful of your food choices, portion sizes, and overall calorie intake, you can avoid the pitfall of snacking too often and get back on track with your weight loss goals.

Not exercising enough

Getting enough physical exercise is crucial to weight loss when on a keto diet. You still need to burn more calories than you consume to shed fat. Regular exercise has other benefits, too. It helps you build muscle and boosts your metabolism, as well as protecting you from chronic disease.

To lose weight, you should aim to get at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per week. You may also want to consider experimenting with new activities to switch up your routine, such as running, cycling, swimming, or strength training.

Low-intensity, steady-state workouts (like easy jogging or cycling) tend to be the least affected by the keto diet. On the other hand, the keto diet tends to limit performance during high-intensity workouts.

If you are in the gym to keep the muscle mass you have, a ketogenic diet could work for you. But if you are looking to add muscle mass, the lower amounts of calories and protein you take in each day while you are on keto could make it tougher for you.

To maximise weight loss on a ketogenic diet, be sure to get adequate sleep, reduce stress, be more active, and consume whole, nutritious, low-carb foods whenever possible.

Frequently asked questions