15 Reasons Why You Might Not Be Losing Weight On The Keto Diet
Weight loss is the primary goal for individuals following a keto diet, where while following it, you are to consume only 20 or 50 grams of carbohydrates daily. A keto diet aims to put your body into the metabolic state of ketosis when it burns accumulated fat for energy instead of blood sugar. This is accomplished by consuming a high-fat, low-carb diet.
The keto diet is considered a successful technique for weight loss since it decreases body fat. However, it would be best if you used keto correctly to reduce weight and profit from its other advantages. Some errors might prevent you from losing weight while on the keto diet.
How much weight can one expect to lose when on keto?
If you only look at before and after photos, you might assume that going on a keto will cause rapid and substantial weight loss. That isn’t always the case, though, and it’s also unhealthy. Instead, how much weight you can lose on a keto diet rests on several factors, including your body composition and health. Given these variables, a healthy average loss is between one and two pounds weekly. You should be fine if you lose this much on average.
However, if your weight loss efforts have halted altogether, you might wish to think about the following errors and make corrections to reach your weight loss objectives.
So, what may have stopped your weight loss on a keto?
Below we will go through the possible reasons why you may have stopped losing weight on the keto diet, such as:
- You might be eating more calories than you need.
- Perhaps you’re consuming too many carbs.
- You might be consuming too much protein.
- You might have a hidden medical issue.
- You might have been consuming too much dairy.
- You are not in a state of ketosis.
- Perhaps you’re not consuming enough nutrient-rich keto meals.
- Inadequate consumption of fibre and electrolytes
- You could be overeating artificial sugar.
- Overindulging in cookies and snacks.
- You might be consuming too much alcohol.
- You might not be exercising enough.
- You might be under too much stress
- You might be getting too little sleep.
- You may expect to lose weight in an unrealistic time frame.
1. You might be eating more calories than you need.
For weight reduction to occur, there must be a calorie deficit. To prevent gaining weight from consuming too many calories, you must burn off more calories than you consume.
On the keto diet, you may be managing your carbohydrate intake. Still, you may not be keeping a close eye on your calorie intake, and you might unintentionally consume more calories daily.
To find out if you are consuming too many calories, you may start counting them daily. You might also consider restricting your snacking between meals, planning meals, and lowering your portion sizes.
2. Perhaps you’re consuming too many carbs.
You must adhere to the suggested daily carbohydrate restriction of 40 g to lose weight when following the ketogenic diet. This will guarantee that you lose weight and that your body stays in ketosis.
If you consume excessive carbs, your body will use glucose as fuel, slowing your weight loss.
By monitoring your carb consumption and other macronutrients and ensuring you aren’t consuming too many carbs daily, you may make it easier to stick to a balanced low-carb diet.
It would be best to examine the labels of food goods, particularly processed meals, to ensure you aren’t unknowingly consuming carbohydrates.
3. You might be consuming too much protein.
The ketogenic diet is high in fat and low in protein. This implies that following the plan, you must consume protein in moderation and keep your daily intake under 75 g.
Your body will start breaking down the protein’s amino acids and turning them into glucose if you consume too much protein. This will hinder fat loss and delay ketosis.
You will need to balance your protein consumption to guarantee that you still have muscle mass while on the keto diet.
It would be best if you tried keeping track of your macronutrient consumption to ensure you’re getting the proper amount of each, and make balanced meal plans in advance, so you know what to eat and when to consume it.
4. You might have a hidden medical issue.
Even when a person follows all the necessary steps, weight loss is not always possible. You may need to consult a doctor to find out if you have an underlying medical problem if you have tried everything yet can still lose weight on the keto diet.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Hypothyroidism, and Cushing’s disease are among the illnesses that frequently make losing weight challenging. These conditions typically involve hormone production and need medical treatment for a formal diagnosis.
5. You might have been consuming too much dairy.
You should exercise caution while consuming dairy because it may be a good source of fat and is advantageous for the keto diet’s higher fat intake.
Dairy products can be high in carbs due to lactose, despite delivering fat and protein. The high carbohydrate content of dairy products, especially low-fat varieties, is well known.
It’s essential to carefully check product labels while following a ketogenic diet to prevent mistakenly going into ketosis from eating too many dairy-based carbohydrates.
Pick full-fat or keto-friendly dairy substitutes like unsweetened almond and soy milk when choosing dairy products.
6. You are not in a state of ketosis.
You may believe you’ve reduced your carb intake, but you may still consume plenty of it for the body to manufacture energy from glucose. If so, you haven’t truly started reaching ketosis.
You might choose to invest in a home test kit that detects the existence of ketone in your body. When shopping for produce, consider items with little carbohydrates, such as green leafy vegetables or berries.
7. Perhaps you’re not consuming enough nutrient-rich keto meals.
A diet rich in substantial meals is an essential strategy for achieving outcomes. You can eat a lot without consuming many calories if you consume vegetables.
Keto foods, such as broccoli, green beans, and other leafy greens, provide lesser calories for a large volume of food. A 300-calorie salad will feel fuller mentally than a pack of chips with a comparable caloric amount. Those vegetables described above, as well as avocado, egg whites, and chicken, give much food with relatively few calories.
8. Inadequate consumption of fibre and electrolytes.
In the keto diet, fibre is an essential macronutrient that improves intestinal health and digestion, and an electrolyte is a mineral in blood, perspiration, and urine. Electrolytes contain either positively or negatively charged ions and are needed for metabolism. Both of these might also give you a fuller feeling.
Avocados, chia seeds, broccoli, flaxseeds, leafy greens, and nuts are all excellent sources of fibre on the keto diet.
To improve your daily fibre consumption, you may want to consider taking a fibre supplement.
Potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium and phosphate are essential electrolytes in the body. The body utilises these minerals for various functions, including maintaining water levels and assisting nerve and muscle activity.
Electrolytes are crucial while on keto because the lower insulin levels caused by the diet imply that the kidneys may excrete vital electrolytes.
9. You could be overeating artificial sugar.
While many sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners have a glycaemic index of zero, they are frequently combined with fillers like dextrose and sorbitol, which can affect blood sugar and raise your consumption of carbohydrates.
A rise in blood sugar levels might prevent someone from entering ketosis and reduce body fat, making it impossible for them to lose weight while following the keto diet.
You may use a variety of keto-friendly sweeteners that will not boost blood sugar levels, such as stevia and xylitol, but check the product package for any hidden carbs.
10. Overindulging in cookies and snacks.
You run the possibility of going over your daily carb intake if you indulge in snacks and treats too frequently, which can lead to weight gain.
You may take a few things to fix this if you’ve noticed that you’re snacking excessively. You may increase the amount of protein and fat in your meals, making you feel more satisfied and ensuring you drink plenty of water.
You may also try eliminating any tempting snacks from your home and creating a meal plan, so you know what to eat and when.
11. You might be consuming too much alcohol.
Being high in carbs, alcoholic beverages are not recommended for those following the low-carb keto. You must restrict your alcohol consumption if you want to keep losing weight.
Spirits like vodka and rum, either alone or with a low-carb mixer, are among keto-friendly alcoholic drinks with minimal net carbohydrates.
Since they have high carbs, several well-known drinks are not keto-friendly. A Piña Colada has 23 g of carbs per serving, but a Bloody Mary only has 4.9 g. It is advised to stay away from this type of alcoholic drink.
12. You might not be exercising enough.
Losing weight requires a calorie deficit. It would be best if you thus consumed fewer calories than you expend. A more significant calorie deficit is produced by exercise, which increases calorie burn. The metabolism is also considered to be accelerated by cardiovascular activity.
Because of these advantages, exercise is a beautiful strategy for weight loss and fat loss.
Exercise can assist people following the keto meal plan to lose weight by using their glucose reserves and hastening the process of entering the ketosis state.
On keto, regular exercise can aid in losing weight. HIIT workouts, free weights workouts, weight training, and cardio are among the activities you might want to give a try.
13. You might be under too much stress.
Cortisol, a hormone that urges the body to retain fat, is produced in excess by chronic stress. It is harmful to attempts to lose weight and might result in overeating.
There are several relaxing strategies you may do if you’re feeling anxious. To help you live in the present more, you may start by using grounding and mindfulness exercises.
You might also want to try morning meditation to clear your thoughts and daily yoga practice to focus on your breath and move your body.
14. You might be getting too little sleep.
Adults need a minimum of seven hours of sleep every night. Overproduction of the hunger hormone ghrelin, the satiety hormone leptin, and the stress hormones cortisol, cortisol, and cortisol, respectively, have been linked to insufficient sleep.
These hormones increase your propensity for overeating, cause you to crave unhealthy foods, and encourage the body to retain fat. Losing weight becomes considerably more challenging as a result.
Try at-home treatments like chamomile tea and lavender essential oil inhalation before bed if you have trouble falling asleep. Another option is to ensure you put your device away for several hours before bed.
To rule out any underlying medical illnesses, it may be necessary to consult with a doctor if your sleeping problems are seriously hurting your day-to-day activities.
15. You may expect to lose weight in an unrealistic time frame.
People lose weight in different ways. It’s crucial to not place too much burden on oneself or anticipate significant improvements quickly.
Weight reduction of one to two pounds per week is typical on keto and other low-carb diets. It is beneficial to lose this much weight each week, and going over that limit might harm your health.
Use other tracking techniques, such as taking measures, putting on old garments, or taking photographs of your progress, if you aren’t seeing the improvement you would want to see on the scales.
Your weight loss may fluctuate, and there may be periods when it plateaus, which is entirely normal. This should not discourage you.
What Steps Should You Take Next?
Keep trying if you’re having trouble losing weight while on a ketogenic diet. While some people get benefits right away, others will need to wait longer or try different approaches to get the same results.
Make careful to alter many factors, including the overall quantity of calories, the amount of physical exercise, and adopting healthy sleeping practices.
Consider taking a little vacation from your diet to enable your metabolism to reset if your weight reduction attempts have stalled. The body occasionally has to modify its metabolism to break through weight reduction plateaus.
Once you’ve completed the procedures mentioned earlier, it may be appropriate to discuss further health-related issues with your doctor that might hurt your weight reduction objectives. Regardless of your weight, it would be best never to jeopardise your health.
Adopting enduring, long-term food choices may make your diet a success story. A happy and healthy life cannot be purchased with money. To live a fulfilling and long life, make sure that your health comes first in your life.
The conclusion –
Keto can be a powerful weight loss aid when combined with other healthier dietary adjustments. Some people, however, may not get the outcomes they want for various reasons.
Eating too many calories, not exercising enough, being under extreme stress, having underlying health conditions, and not adhering to the proper nutrient-dense diet ranges can all have a detrimental effect on weight reduction.
Get enough sleep, manage stress, increase activity, and consume nutritional and low-carb meals whenever you can to maximise weight loss on keto.