Keto's Limitations: When The Diet Doesn't Work For You

The keto diet is a popular weight-loss strategy that involves eating lots of fat and very few carbohydrates. While some people do lose weight on this diet, it doesn't work for everyone. There are several reasons why keto might not work for you, including stress, unrealistic weight loss expectations, underlying medical conditions, and difficulty in customizing and sustaining the diet. It's important to consult a healthcare professional before starting any new diet, especially one as restrictive as keto, to ensure it's safe and appropriate for your individual needs.

Not achieving ketosis

Usually, when a person does not lose weight on the keto diet, it is because they have not achieved ketosis. Ketosis is a metabolic process that provides fuel for your body when there is a lack of carbohydrates. During ketosis, the body becomes very efficient at burning fat and using it as energy instead of glucose.

Carbohydrate intake

One reason for not achieving ketosis is not cutting back enough on carbs. Carbohydrates should represent only 5-10% of a person's calorie intake on the keto diet, which equates to 20-50 grams of carbs per day on a 2000-calorie diet. Even if a person feels they have drastically reduced their carb intake, they may still be eating enough carbs for the body to produce energy from glucose, which may slow down the rate of fat burned.

Home testing

Home testing kits can be a helpful way for people to ensure they are entering ketosis. These kits contain test strips that check for ketones in the urine. A positive result indicates that the body is in ketosis. Another option is to use a small machine called a ketone breath analyser, which detects ketones in the breath.

Protein intake

Eating too much protein can also prevent ketosis. The body can break down excess proteins into amino acids and convert them to types of sugar. A person on the keto diet will get most of their calories from fat, which should represent about 55-60% of their calorie intake. This leaves little room for protein, and if protein makes up more than 35% of a person's diet, they may not go into ketosis.

Acceptable carbs

On the keto diet, some carbohydrates are acceptable, including nuts and dairy. However, eating too many of these foods will prevent a person from achieving and maintaining ketosis as they still contain carbohydrates.

Stress

Stress can also be a factor in preventing ketosis. In times of stress, the body releases the hormone cortisol, which can increase heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar. When cortisol is produced, it also temporarily shuts down certain functions in the body that it considers unnecessary, such as digestion and reproduction. If a person is under constant stress, their body may continuously produce cortisol, stealing valuable progesterone and converting it to cortisol. This can create an imbalance between progesterone and estrogen, resulting in issues with weight, mood, sleep, and energy.

Eating too much protein

While the keto diet is known for being low-carb and high-fat, it's important to remember that it's also a moderate-protein diet. This means that, on average, about 20% of your daily calories should come from protein. That's about a gram of protein per kilogram of body weight, or somewhere between 60 and 120 grams of protein per day, depending on your size.

The reason for keeping protein intake moderate on a keto diet is that too much can interfere with ketosis and your body's ability to burn fat. When you eat more protein than your body needs, your body can turn its amino acids (the building blocks of protein) into glucose (blood sugar). This process is called gluconeogenesis, and it means that your body opts to use glucose for fuel instead of breaking down fat into ketones. As a result, you get stuck in sugar-burning mode and can't shift into ketosis.

Signs You're Eating Too Much Protein

Ammonia Breath

Ammonia is produced by the body when it digests and breaks down protein. When you ingest large amounts of protein, ammonia production can make your breath smell. So, if your breath smells like cleaning products, your protein intake may be high enough that it's pulling you out of ketosis.

Flu-Like Symptoms

When too much protein shifts your body out of ketosis, it leaves you stuck in a metabolic limbo, similar to the 'keto flu' that people often experience when they first start the diet. Due to shifts in electrolyte levels and hydration during this metabolic shift, you may experience low energy, irritability, headaches, muscle cramps, and digestive issues. While keto flu symptoms typically clear up within a week or so, eating too much protein can bring them back repeatedly as your body bounces between burning sugar and burning fat.

How to Get Your Protein Intake on Track

If you're unsure whether your keto diet is too high in protein, you can track your food in an app for a few days to get a clearer picture of your intake. If you're eating more than about 20% of your daily calories from protein, you'll need to adjust your meals and snacks.

Another way to test whether your keto diet is achieving its purpose is to test your ketone levels using at-home strips. These can help you tune into the amount of ketones present in your urine and make sure levels are in the true ketosis range.

Eating too many acceptable carbs

Even if you are eating "acceptable" carbs, eating too many of them can prevent you from achieving and maintaining ketosis. On the 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.

To be in ketosis, you need to consume under 50 grams of carbs per day. This leaves you with very few carb options, except vegetables and small amounts of berries.

Sugar alcohols are typically a good option for people following the 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 are eating too many acceptable carbs, you may benefit from purchasing a home testing kit to check for ketones in the urine. A positive result indicates that your body is in ketosis. Another option is to use a small machine called a ketone breath analyzer that detects ketones in the breath.

Not counting calories

Even if you are in a state of ketosis, you may still gain weight if you are consuming too many calories. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume. Therefore, it is important to keep track of the number of calories you are consuming.

Most keto-friendly foods are high in calories, so it is important to be mindful of your intake. For example, avocados, olive oil, full-fat dairy, and nuts are all calorie-dense foods. While these foods are nutritious and filling, it is still possible to overeat and exceed your calorie requirements.

To avoid this, pay attention to portion sizes and be mindful of snacking habits. Opt for lower-calorie options, such as non-starchy vegetables or proteins, to keep you feeling full without the extra calories. Additionally, increasing your physical activity can help create the necessary calorie deficit for weight loss.

Remember, a balanced meal plan and regular exercise are crucial components of a healthy weight loss journey.

Constant snacking

To avoid constant snacking, it is important to ensure that meals are well-balanced and contain sufficient amounts of fats and protein, which promote feelings of fullness and reduce the likelihood of snacking between meals. It is also recommended to plan ahead and prepare keto-friendly snacks to have on hand when hunger strikes. Some examples of keto-friendly snacks include:

• Red meat, such as beef, pork, or lamb
• Poultry, such as chicken and turkey
• Fish, such as tuna, salmon, halibut, and shrimp
• Natural fats like butter and olive oil
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Most cheeses
• Vegetables, such as leafy greens, eggplant, cauliflower, broccoli, and tomatoes
• Nuts, such as pecans, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, and almonds
• Avocados
• Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries
• Starfruit
• Tuna salad with sliced tomato
• Celery sticks with almond butter
• Pickles with cream cheese and turkey cold cuts
• Broccoli with ranch dip
• Persian cucumbers with plain full-fat yogurt
• Bacon slices with olives
• Sunflower seeds
• Seaweed snacks
• Bell peppers

It is also important to keep track of your net carb intake with each snack to ensure you stay within the recommended range of 15 to 30 grams of net carbs per day. Additionally, while snacking can be helpful in managing hunger, it should not replace regular meals. Ideally, you should not feel the need to snack at all on the keto diet, as it is designed to keep you feeling full and satisfied between meals.

Frequently asked questions