Milly Gaines
The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat, and moderate-protein diet that has gained popularity for its weight loss and health benefits. While the keto diet can be an effective weight loss tool, it must be implemented correctly. Here are some reasons why you may not be losing weight on a keto diet:
- Not achieving ketosis: Ketosis is a metabolic state where the body burns fat instead of carbohydrates for energy. To reach ketosis, you need to drastically reduce your carbohydrate intake, typically to 5-10% of your daily calories.
- Eating too many carbs: Even if you are on a keto diet, consuming too many carbohydrates can prevent you from achieving and maintaining ketosis, hindering weight loss.
- Consuming too many calories: To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit. Eating too many calories, even if they are from keto-friendly foods, can prevent weight loss.
- Eating too much protein: Excess protein can be converted into glucose, which the body will burn instead of fat, delaying or hindering ketosis.
- Constant snacking: Snacking, even on keto-friendly snacks, can increase your calorie intake and hinder weight loss.
- Lack of physical activity: Regular physical activity is essential for weight loss and overall health. Exercise stimulates the body's metabolism and burns calories.
- Underlying medical conditions: Certain medical conditions, such as hypothyroidism, PCOS, Cushing's Syndrome, and metabolic syndrome, can affect weight loss. Additionally, certain medications can hinder weight loss progress.
- Stress and lack of sleep: Chronic stress and inadequate sleep can negatively impact weight loss. Stress increases cortisol levels, which can encourage fat storage, while lack of sleep can affect hunger-regulating hormones, leading to increased appetite.
What You'll Learn
You're eating too many calories
Even if you're following the keto diet to a tee, there's still a chance you might not lose as much weight as you expected. One reason for this is that you're eating too many calories.
The keto diet is still a diet, and losing weight typically happens when there's a calorie deficit. Rahaf Al Bochi, RD and owner of Olive Tree Nutrition, explains that "getting in more calories than your body requires from food can hinder weight-loss efforts no matter the type of food eaten or ratio of foods."
To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume. This can be achieved by reducing your calorie intake or expending more calories through increased physical activity. If you switch to a keto diet but don't watch your calorie intake, you're unlikely to lose weight. Many keto-friendly foods, including avocados, olive oil, full-fat dairy, and nuts, are high in calories, so it's important not to overdo it.
While most people feel more satisfied after eating ketogenic meals and snacks due to the filling effects of fat and protein, it's entirely possible to consume too many calories on a ketogenic diet by eating portions that are too large or snacking on high-calorie foods throughout the day.
To create the calorie deficit needed to lose weight, pay attention to portion size, increase your physical activity, and snack in moderation between meals.
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You're not eating enough calories
While it may seem counterintuitive, not consuming enough calories can actually hinder your weight loss efforts. When your body is not getting enough calories, it can go into starvation mode, slowing down your metabolism and making it more difficult to lose weight. This is especially true if you are physically active or have a physically demanding job or lifestyle.
On the keto diet, it can be challenging to consume enough calories, as many keto-friendly foods are low in calories. For example, a person may find themselves eating only 800-900 calories a day when their daily calorie requirement is 1200 or more. In such cases, it is important to ensure you are eating enough food to meet your calorie needs.
- Plan your meals: Take the time to plan your meals and create a grocery list. This will help you ensure you are getting a variety of nutrient-dense, high-calorie foods.
- Focus on healthy fats: As the keto diet is a high-fat diet, make sure you are consuming enough healthy fats such as fatty, grass-fed meats, cold-pressed unrefined oils (like coconut oil, MCT oil, olive oil, and avocado oil), wild-caught fish, nuts, and whole, organic olives.
- Include high-calorie, low-carb vegetables: While the keto diet restricts carbohydrates, you can still include low-carb, high-calorie vegetables such as avocado, which has 160 calories and 15 grams of healthy fat per 100-gram serving.
- Add high-calorie toppings: Include toppings such as butter, cream, and cheese to your meals to boost the calorie content. For example, adding a tablespoon of butter to your coffee can give you an extra 10 grams of fat.
- Consider fat bombs: Fat bombs are small, high-fat snacks that can help you increase your calorie intake. They are typically made with ingredients like coconut oil, nut butter, and cream cheese.
- Monitor your calorie intake: Use a calorie-tracking app such as MyFitnessPal to ensure you are consuming enough calories. This will help you identify if you are consistently falling short of your calorie needs.
- Listen to your body: Your body will tell you when it needs more fuel. If you are feeling hungry, honour those signals and eat something, even if you have already met your macro goals for the day.
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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 calorie-dense. Burning off excess calories through exercise can help you reach a calorie deficit, which is crucial for weight loss.
If you're not already, aim to incorporate at least 3-4 days of exercise into your weekly routine. Creating a workout schedule and sticking to it is a great way to bolster a healthy exercise habit. Choose a time of day that works best for you, whether it's first thing in the morning or after work, and set yourself up for success by laying out your workout clothes or keeping a gym bag in your car.
Remember, exercise doesn't have to be boring or feel like a chore. Find an activity you enjoy, such as dancing, swimming, or hiking, and make it a regular part of your routine. You can also try varying your workouts to keep things interesting and target different muscle groups. For example, you could try a combination of strength training, cardio, and yoga or Pilates.
If you're new to working out or increasing your activity levels, it's important to start slowly and gradually increase the intensity and duration of your workouts. This will help reduce the risk of injury and ensure you don't overwhelm yourself, making it more likely that you'll stick with it.
In addition to helping with weight loss, exercise has numerous other benefits for your health. 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 number of calories your body burns at rest.
So, if you're not seeing the weight loss results you want on the keto diet, make sure you're incorporating enough physical activity into your routine. Combine your keto diet with regular exercise, and you'll be well on your way to reaching your fitness goals!
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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 the keto diet, carbs should make up only around 5-10% of your total calories, which equates to around 20-50 grams of carbs per day for most people. This is a significant reduction from the standard dietary recommendation of 45-65% of calories from carbs. Even if you feel like you've cut down on carbs, you may still be consuming enough for your body to produce energy from glucose, which can hinder your weight loss goals.
To ensure you're in ketosis, you can use home testing kits that check for ketones in your urine or breath. Additionally, tracking your macronutrients through an app can help you stay within the recommended range for carb intake. By reducing your carb intake and reaching ketosis, you'll be more likely to achieve your weight loss goals on the keto diet.
It's important to note that not all carbs are off-limits on the keto diet. Fiber and sugar alcohols, for example, don't raise your blood sugar and are generally considered acceptable in moderation. However, it's crucial to track your carb intake, especially from sneaky sources like soups, sauces, dressings, and certain vegetables.
In summary, if you're struggling to lose weight on the keto diet, make sure you're not consuming too many carbs. Reduce your carb intake to the recommended range, track your macronutrients, and consider using home testing kits to ensure you're in ketosis. This will help maximize your chances of weight loss success while following the keto diet.
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You're eating too much protein
Protein is a building block of life and an essential component of any diet. It's crucial for healthy brain function, skin, bone and muscle health, building muscle mass, and recovering after workouts. However, when following a keto diet, it's possible to eat too much protein, which can hinder weight loss.
Gluconeogenesis
The body can convert excess amino acids from protein into glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis. This happens because the body prefers to use carbohydrates as its primary energy source and will do whatever it can to get enough glucose. As a result, eating too much protein can sabotage your weight loss efforts and prevent your body from entering ketosis.
The recommended amount of protein on a keto diet is generally between 10% and 20% of your daily calorie intake. For a 2,000-calorie diet, this translates to about 75 grams of protein. However, this amount may vary depending on age, gender, weight, and activity level.
To ensure you're getting enough protein without hindering your weight loss, it's recommended to 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. This will provide your body with the protein it needs to maintain muscle mass and improve body composition.
Signs of Eating Too Much Protein
If you're eating too much protein on a keto diet, you may notice the following:
- Weight loss plateaus
- Increased hunger
- Fatigue
- Hormonal imbalances
If you experience any of these issues, consider reducing your protein intake and increasing your healthy fat consumption.
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Frequently asked questions
There could be a number of reasons why you're not losing weight on the keto diet. Here are some of the most common ones:
- You're not in a state of ketosis. Ketosis is a metabolic state where your body uses fat, instead of carbs, for energy. This is achieved by drastically reducing carb intake and increasing fat consumption.
- You're eating too many carbs. On the keto diet, carbs should only make up 5-10% of your daily calories. Even low-carb foods can add up quickly, so it's important to be vigilant about your carb intake.
- You're consuming too many calories. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume. This is true even on the keto diet. Calorie tracking can be helpful in making sure you're staying within your calorie needs.
- You're eating too much protein. The keto diet is not a high-protein diet but rather a moderate-protein diet. Excess protein can be converted into glucose for energy, which can delay or stop ketosis.
- You're constantly snacking. Snacking can be a part of a healthy keto diet, but it's important to be mindful of your choices and portions. Even keto-friendly snacks can hinder weight loss by delaying ketosis or increasing calorie intake.
There are a few ways to test for ketosis. You can use urine strips, breath analyzers, or blood ketone meters. Blood ketone meters are generally the most accurate, but they can be more costly and require a small blood sample.
Some common mistakes include not tracking calories and carb intake, eating too much protein, snacking too frequently, and not getting enough physical activity. It's also important to manage stress levels and get enough sleep, as these factors can indirectly affect weight loss.
Yes, there are some medical conditions that can contribute to weight gain or hinder weight loss. These include hypothyroidism, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), Cushing's syndrome, mental health conditions such as depression, and certain medications. If you suspect an underlying medical condition, it's important to consult your doctor.
If you're sure you're in ketosis, eating the right macros, and not overeating, you might consider trying intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting involves eating within a specific window of time and fasting outside of that window. This can be an effective tool for weight loss and has additional health benefits.
