Keto Diet: Weight Loss Stalled? Here's Why

The ketogenic, or keto, diet is a popular low-carb, high-fat eating plan that has been adopted by many people looking to lose weight and improve their health. While the keto diet can be effective for weight loss, some people may find that their progress stalls, and they stop losing weight. This phenomenon is known as the keto plateau. There are several reasons why someone might hit a keto plateau, including consuming too many carbs or calories, not getting enough exercise, chronic stress, underlying medical conditions, or even hidden carbs in snacks and processed foods. To get past a keto plateau, it's important to evaluate your diet, exercise routine, stress levels, and overall lifestyle choices. Making adjustments, such as reducing carb and calorie intake, increasing physical activity, managing stress, and getting adequate sleep, can help break through the plateau and get back on track with weight loss.

You're eating too many carbs

One of the main reasons people don't lose weight on the keto diet is that they're consuming too many carbs. The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that aims to put your body into a state of ketosis, where it burns fat for energy instead of glucose. To reach and maintain ketosis, you need to drastically reduce your carbohydrate intake.

On a standard keto diet, you should aim for 20-50 grams of carbs per day. This is a significant reduction from the standard dietary recommendation of 45-65% of calories from carbs. It's normal to find it challenging to cut out carbs when first adjusting to the keto diet, but staying within the recommended range is crucial for achieving ketosis.

Even a few extra grams of carbs here and there can quickly add up and prevent you from entering ketosis. Hidden carbs can be found in processed meats, condiments, seasonings, and starchy vegetables, so it's important to carefully track your carb intake using an app or food tracker.

If you're eating too many acceptable carbs, such as nuts and dairy, you may be consuming more carbohydrates than you realise. While these foods are typically high-fat and nutrient-dense, they still contain carbs and can hinder your progress if eaten in excess.

Sugar alcohols, often used as sweeteners, can also affect your carb intake. For example, maltitol can impact your blood sugar levels, even though it's technically a low glycemic index sugar.

To reach ketosis, most people need to go under 50 grams of carbs per day. This restriction limits your carb options, mainly to vegetables and small amounts of berries. To calculate your net carbs, subtract fibre, sugar alcohols, and other nondigestible carbs from the total amount.

If you're struggling to lose weight on the keto diet, evaluate your carb intake carefully and make sure you're staying within the recommended range.

You're eating too much protein

Protein is a building block of life and a necessary component of any diet. It's crucial for healthy brain function, skin, bone and muscle health, building muscle mass, and recovering after workouts.

However, eating too much protein on the keto diet can be problematic. The body can convert the amino acids from excess protein into glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis. Because your body prefers to use carbohydrates as its source of energy, it will do anything it can to get enough glucose. Without even realizing it, you could be sabotaging your weight loss efforts without even consuming excess carbohydrates simply by eating too much protein.

Keto and low-carb experts recommend that the average person consume between 1.5 and 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or about 0.7 to 0.9 grams per pound of body weight. This amount of protein will give your body what it needs to maintain muscle mass and improve body composition without causing weight gain.

Some people may need to eat more or less protein based on their age, gender, weight, and activity level, but in general, these protein guidelines will meet the needs of most people.

How to Calculate Your Protein Intake

To find out how much protein you should be eating on keto for optimal health, calculate your keto macronutrients using a keto calculator.

As a general guideline, stay within your recommended protein range (30% of your daily calories if you're following a standard keto diet) or between 0.73 and 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. You may need more protein if you're older, recovering from an injury or illness, are an athlete, or live an active lifestyle.

What to Do if You're Eating Too Much Protein

If you're eating too much protein, you may need to make some adjustments to your diet. Try reducing your protein intake and increasing your consumption of healthy fats. Make sure you're also getting enough carbohydrates, as these are important for energy and can help you feel full and satisfied after meals.

You can also try intermittent fasting, which can help boost fat burning and increase your metabolism. Additionally, consider increasing your physical activity levels, as this can help you burn off any excess protein and improve your overall health.

You're eating too many calories

Even though the keto diet helps you feel more satisfied after eating due to the filling effects of fat and protein, it's still possible to eat too many calories. Eating more calories than you burn will increase your risk of gaining weight.

To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit. This can be achieved by reducing your calorie intake or expending more calories through increased physical activity.

If you're not losing weight on keto, determine how many calories you need each day to lose weight and track your total calorie consumption. Portion sizes, physical activity, and snacking between meals can all impact your calorie intake.

• Pay attention to portion sizes: Be mindful of how much you're eating, especially when it comes to high-calorie keto-friendly foods like avocados, olive oil, full-fat dairy, and nuts.
• Increase physical activity: Incorporate exercises such as walking, running, cycling, or swimming to burn more calories.
• Avoid constant snacking: Snacking between meals, even on healthy keto snacks, can increase your calorie intake and raise your insulin levels. Instead, focus on eating big, nutritious meals to overcome the urge to snack.
• Choose lower-calorie options: Opt for lower-calorie snacks like non-starchy vegetables or proteins if you find yourself snacking more than once a day.
• Be mindful of hidden calories: Some keto-friendly foods, like processed meats, condiments, and starchy vegetables, may contain hidden calories. Read labels carefully and consider using a food tracker to get an accurate idea of your daily calorie intake.

You're not exercising enough

Exercise is an important part of staying healthy and managing your weight. It stimulates the body's metabolism and burns calories, helping you reach your desired weight. This is especially important when following a keto diet, as the high-fat foods you eat are calorically dense.

To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume. While you can reduce your calorie intake by watching your portion sizes and choosing low-calorie snacks, this alone may not be enough to create the necessary calorie deficit. Exercise helps you burn off any additional calories, preventing them from being stored as fat.

Physical activity is crucial for anyone looking to lose weight, but it may be even more important for those on a keto diet. The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that aims to put your body in a state of ketosis, where it burns fat for energy instead of glucose. While this can lead to weight loss, the high-fat content of the diet means that you are consuming more calories, making it easier to exceed your daily caloric needs and hindering weight loss.

Exercise can help counteract this by increasing the number of calories burned. It is recommended that you aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per week. You can also experiment with different types of exercise to find what works best for you. For example, running, cycling, swimming, or strength training can all be great ways to get moving and create a larger calorie deficit.

In addition to helping with weight loss, exercise has numerous other health benefits. It lowers your risk of chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, depression, anxiety, and obesity. It also helps build muscle, which can boost your metabolism by increasing the amount of energy burned at rest.

If you're new to working out, starting an exercise routine can be challenging. To make it easier, create a workout schedule and stick to it. Set a goal of three to four days a week and choose a time that fits your schedule. To stay motivated, prepare a gym bag in advance or lay out your workout clothes before bed.

You're stressed and not getting enough sleep

Stress and lack of sleep can negatively impact your weight loss journey. When your body is stressed, it produces a hormone called cortisol, which encourages your body to store fat, especially in the belly area.

Chronic stress can also lead to sleep deprivation, which has been linked to weight gain. Studies suggest that a lack of sleep negatively impacts hunger-regulating hormones, such as leptin and ghrelin, increasing your appetite.

To reduce stress and improve sleep, try techniques like meditation or yoga, and reduce your screen time. Regular exercise can also help relieve insomnia and improve sleep quality.

It's important to note that insomnia may be a temporary side effect of transitioning to a keto diet. This is due to the reduction in carbohydrate intake, which can affect your body's sleep-regulating chemicals. However, over time, many people who implement the keto diet correctly find that their sleep improves.

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