Normally, when a person does not lose weight on the keto diet, it is because they have not reached ketosis. The most common reason for not getting into ketosis is not reducing carbohydrates enough. Overall, keto has many things going for it. It helps people get off the blood sugar roller coaster, and some people swear by its ability to improve mental focus and fat loss.
But if you're struggling and not getting results, take a step back and evaluate how you can adjust this plan to experience maximum benefit. Don't automatically adhere to the hype. Try different plans (including intermittent fasting) and see how you feel. Remember that you are not a study or a statistic, so it is important to listen to your body and find what works for you.
This has been shown to lead to weight loss and can improve heart health and blood sugar control as well (1,. Here are 8 things that may be sabotaging your weight loss efforts on a keto diet. Regardless of the diet plan you follow, the key to healthy weight loss is to eat nutritious, whole foods. Relying on processed foods can put a dent in your weight loss, even if they are keto-friendly.
Adding foods such as keto bars, keto desserts and other packaged foods between meals can derail your weight loss efforts with the extra calories they provide. Also, eating too many convenience foods like hot dogs and fast food when you're on the run can slow weight loss. To optimise weight loss when following a ketogenic diet, avoid eating too many processed foods and instead focus on meals and snacks that contain fresh, whole ingredients. When following any diet, it is important to create a calorie deficit to promote weight loss.
Reducing portion sizes, limiting between-meal snacks and being more active can help you shed the extra pounds. The ketogenic diet is an effective weight loss tool. However, if you are having difficulty losing weight even though you are doing all the right things, it is a good idea to rule out any medical problems that may be preventing weight loss success. Through proper treatment, including medication if necessary and lifestyle and dietary modifications, you can achieve and maintain healthy weight loss.
It is normal to want quick results when following a new diet plan, but it is important to remember that weight loss can vary from person to person. Although the ketogenic diet can promote weight loss if followed correctly, the rate at which you lose weight may not be rapid and that's okay. While it may be tempting to aim for high weight loss goals, most experts recommend that losing 1 to 3 pounds or about 0.5 to 1 kg per week (depending on weight) is best (. Although this may lead to slower weight loss, increasing muscle mass and decreasing fat mass benefits health in many ways.
It can reduce the risk of heart disease and improve bone health (10, 1.A healthy weight loss of 1 to 3 pounds or about 0.5 to 1 kg per week can help keep you on track and maintain weight loss over time. However, consuming too many high-calorie ketogenic snacks such as nuts, nut butters, fat bombs, cheese and jerky can cause your weight loss to stall. Research shows that stress, especially chronic stress, and lack of sleep can negatively affect weight loss (1.Stress and lack of sleep can negatively affect weight loss. Do your best to reduce stress and get enough sleep.
Exercise benefits health in many ways and stimulates weight loss. Make exercise a habit by setting aside time for a few workouts a week. Along with other healthy lifestyle changes, the ketogenic diet can be an effective tool for weight loss. Eating too many calories, lack of activity, chronic stress, underlying medical problems and not following recommended macronutrient ranges can negatively affect weight loss.
To maximise weight loss on a ketogenic diet, get plenty of sleep, reduce stress, be more active, and eat whole, nutritious, low-carbohydrate foods whenever possible. This simple 3-step plan can help you lose weight fast. Read about the 3-step plan, along with other science-backed weight loss tips, here. Some foods can reduce your appetite, reduce cravings and help you burn more calories.
These are the 19 most weight loss foods on the planet. The weight loss industry is full of myths. Here are the 12 biggest lies, myths and misconceptions about weight loss. Categories Articles and resources, Uncategorized This is a letter to everyone who has hit a wall with keto.
Grab a cup of tea (hold the milk), this is a long one. If I've linked you to this post, it's because you've asked me why keto has stopped working for you, or isn't working for you, or isn't getting the results you were hoping for. This is one of the most common questions I get, and by far the hardest to answer: Is keto sustainable? How do I start doing keto again? No one seems to appreciate it when I answer with "it depends," but it's the only correct answer. If someone tries to tell you that there is only one reason why keto doesn't work, they have grossly underestimated how complicated our bodies are.
There are so many factors that go into our overall health, and when we expect miracles just by cutting carbs, our expectations may not align with reality. I've said it before and I'll keep saying it - Keto is not a weight loss diet. Now that I've got that out of the way, there are several things we can check before you decide that the Keto diet isn't working for you, or if you're wondering how to start Keto again. Whenever you start to wonder if Keto works for everyone or if Keto stopped working, go through this list and try something new.
If you give up, and go back to your old way of eating, you'll have the same problems you're trying to get away from. There's no such thing as "finish keto and go back to normal eating", if your normal was processed, carb-rich food. You will go back to your old health problems, if this is your "normal". I am writing this post for you, because I want you to succeed.
I want you to message me in 6 to 12 months and tell me you've figured it out. Cut a little cheese, a little oil, a little fat off your steak. It can be easy to go overboard on calories when you keep the carbs low. If you don't have that much weight to lose, your calorie needs may be lower than you expect.
See the calculators in the "Getting Started" section of this website. So if you're worried about weight gain after stopping keto, this is the place to start. Understand your calories and the rest will fall into place. Meal plans and recipes are a place to start, but there are 7 billion people on this planet and our bodies are all pretty unique.
We respond differently to foods, eating patterns and amounts, so there is no one meal plan that works for everyone. It's all about learning and adjusting, so if you're using a set eating plan, remember to adjust it to your body and keep evolving what you're eating until you get it right. If you're wondering if the ketogenic diet is sustainable, the only way it's going to work in the long term is to find a way to fit it into your lifestyle. Sometimes our expectations about the number on the scale don't line up with reality.
Sure you may have weighed 60kgs when you were 17, but you may not be 17 anymore. Your body needs and therefore produces more fat as it ages, and your natural healthy weight range will increase. If this may be the case for you, focus on body recomposition: take your measurements. Our bodies hold on to weight for a variety of reasons and we often get depressed when we step on the scales every day to find that our weight has gone up.
Measure your body at various points (here's a great guide to measuring yourself) and focus on changing your body shape, improving your muscle tone and waist size, and you'll see far more progress than the scales will give you. If you've been eating a "normal" diet full of processed grains and sugars all your life, your body has a LOT of healing to do before it can start shedding excess fat. If you are eating whole, clean, homemade foods and eliminating inflammatory foods, your body will continue to heal and this is much more important than losing 5kg before summer. The tricky thing is that this list extends for some people to include things like nuts, tomatoes, eggs, soy, and many others.
If you've been asking yourself "why doesn't keto work for me, when everyone around you is having success, inflammatory foods could be the key. If you're not sure, consult a nutritionist for food allergy testing or try an elimination diet. Inflammation is the enemy of gut health and your body will struggle to heal if you keep introducing inflammatory foods into it. I cover this a bit in the 21 Day Challenges and you can read more about it here, but until you sleep well and control your stress hormones, your body will constantly feel "under attack".
Our bodies are one big hard-wired machine, and our diet and sleep play into everything. Many of the common keto snacks are very calorie dense and can add up very quickly. Eating too often can also be a burden on your digestive system, and many people are reaping the benefits of fasting in its various forms. I see people eating three full meals a day and then snacking on calorific foods in between.
There are many benefits of fasting too, Dr. Jason Fung is a good place to start if you want to learn more. It's hard to tell right away that keto is "working" if your only goal is weight loss, and fast weight loss at that. If you change your goals to something more realistic, you're more likely to notice your success.
For example, if your goal was to eat home-cooked meals every night and leftovers for lunch, it's pretty easy to see if you've achieved it, isn't it? Compared to "lose 20kg", which will have ups and downs and it's not clear when it's "working". Set slow, realistic goals that you can actually control and achieve with your actions. If losing weight is your ultimate goal, make your goals the small steps you have to take to get there. Your weight naturally fluctuates depending on many things, including many of those mentioned above.
If you have fat to lose, you want a downward trend, but it comes in the form of a zigzag line. Going up some days means nothing. Going up every day for 10 years is a problem. They can sneak in when you least expect it: that extra piece of onion or tomato, a few cloves of garlic.
The thing is, it's pretty hard to overeat the best carbohydrates, the ones that come from green leafy vegetables. I would venture to say that no one has ever become unhealthy by abusing the carbs from spinach or courgette. It's worth checking your food on a food tracker at first, until you know for sure that your carbs are in a good place. Sneaky carbs are a big reason why the keto diet isn't working for many people.
If you're struggling to keep an eye on carbs, a set eating plan can be helpful like my 21 Day Keto Kick Start Challenge. As mentioned above, there's more to "dieting" than just what you eat. Your body is wired and many other issues affect how your body will digest food or maintain weight. Hypothyroidism, polycystic ovary syndrome, Cushing's syndrome, menopause, depression and high insulin levels are some of the problems that can cause weight gain and make it difficult to lose weight.
Medications can also make it difficult to lose weight. It is important to manage these medical conditions first, and in conjunction with your diet. The great news is that many people find that a cleaner diet can help reduce symptoms of other seemingly unrelated conditions. If you're trying everything with the ketogenic diet and it's not working, talk to your doctor about what else might be going on.
It's easy to add more protein to a meal to fill you up, but be careful about adding too much. Although it doesn't "convert to carbs" as some people claim, it does increase blood sugar, which we now understand is the cause of weight gain (in a roundabout way, you can go down this youtube rabbit hole if you want to know more). A good rule of thumb for protein on keto is around. So for a 75kg woman, this is 60g - 75g of protein a day (NOT meat, but macro protein).
This equates to about 200 - 250g of chicken breast per day. Generally you need more protein if you exercise or are a man, see the calculators in the Getting Started section for a better understanding. That's fine, but don't be fooled into thinking it doesn't affect your health and weight. You can read more in my article here on alcohol, but basically it boils down to the fact that alcohol actually does NOTHING good for you.
Even that feeling of "relaxing with a wine" is feeding a low grade dependency because we should be able to relax without wine. Yes, it may be low carb, but it is NOT good for you. It's time to rethink your relationship with alcohol if you think the keto diet isn't working for you. We also consume more salt and electrolytes on the keto diet, and we need to drink plenty of water to go with it.
For those who say they don't like water, what would you say to a child who says they don't want to eat their vegetables? If you think it might be you, keep cutting your carbs and you'll get there. It's easy enough to eat chicken and broccoli for dinner, and quickly see if this is a problem for you. Eating simple meals is by far the easiest route to success: a small portion of protein and low-carb vegetables, with some healthy fats like avocado or olive oil. We all fall into the trap of the old weekend cheat meal idea sometimes.
The thing about keto is that it doesn't work that way. If you eat a strict, healthy keto diet Monday through Friday and then go back to carbs on the weekend, by the time you get back into ketosis next week, it's almost the weekend again. Keto is not a life sentence, a short term or quick fix diet. It's a sustainable, healthy and enjoyable way to eat if you do it right.
Don't load up on calories or carbs at the weekend because it's not worth it. One day of double carbs and calories will undo an entire week of maintenance. If you feel the urge to binge as a reward, then you need to assess what is triggering this feeling: are you depriving yourself too much during the week? Are you eating enough? If cravings are really affecting you, I discuss them in depth in my article 10 Tips for Keto Cravings. Do you have to exercise to lose weight? No Do you have to exercise to optimize your health? Yes, of course you do.
Exercise is not about burning calories, and if that's how you see it, you're going to have a terrible time punishing yourself. Exercise is amazing for our body and mind. I've always found it hard to stick to a regular exercise regime unless I find something I really enjoy; for me it was a team sport combined with yoga. Keep trying things until you find some form of movement that makes you feel good, inside and out.
If you do high intensity exercise, interval training or anything like Crossfit, you may need to introduce a small amount of carbohydrate before you exercise. A banana or a small amount of sweet potato can help give you the explosive energy needed for these workouts. See how you do - everyone is different in this area. I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone offer the suggestion to eat more fat to someone who isn't losing weight on keto.
Yes, Keto is a relatively high fat diet, but if you are trying to lose weight, your body must rely on some of its fat stores for energy. This means that if you eat more fat, you will burn LESS body fat, because you are eating it instead. Does that make sense? Back to the absolute basics. Here's a weekly meal plan for you, showing just how simple this can be.
If you start here, it's very easy to adjust things - protein, fats and carbs, without getting bogged down in additives, snacks, baked goods and complicated recipes. I want to know what else you've found that should be added to this list - what challenges have you overcome to make keto work for you? If you're feeling really stuck, a guided eating plan might be right for you. You can learn more about the 21-Day Kick Start Challenge which has helped over 4000 people successfully get going with Keto. As for point 1, you're absolutely right, sometimes we really miss the taste, texture and feel of these old favourites.
In my experience, we can draw the line between "enjoying the taste" and "bingeing" by taking a smaller portion and savouring it, eating it slowly and not feeling guilty about it. For me, this is the key to continuing to have these foods in my diet from time to time. Glad the article was helpful x I'm glad you found it helpful Tiff, it was a passion project over many years of answering emails and messages, feeling the frustration of so many people when they hit a "keto wall". I hope it continues to be useful to you and that you can try and error your way to your 'keto for life' ❤️ Here you'll find my unique keto recipes, resources for getting started and staying keto and a range of other resources to support your keto lifestyleRead More.
These tasty little prosciutto and ricotta tarts are super simple to make and are the perfect weekend brunch. The recipe for this coeliac-friendly caramel tartlet combines a crumbly biscuit base, a delicious coeliac-friendly caramel and a chocolate ganache topping. Perfect for when The perfect side dish - Keto Cheese Garlic Rolls are soft and fluffy, cheesy and loaded with garlic. Kids, husbands and everyone loves them, perfect PLUS Get a FREE 7-day keto meal plan straight to your inbox - all recipes, shopping lists and more included Bamboo on Trellis Framework by Mediavine Privacy Policy.
To get into ketosis, you need to keep a close eye on your macronutrient intake - the amount of protein, fat and carbs you eat daily. Eating too much protein or too many carbs can throw you out of ketosis and negate all the benefits of ketosis. You may have noticed that people looking to improve their insulin sensitivity are often good candidates for the keto diet; usually this refers to people who have diabetes, although not everyone with diabetes should try keto. I've been on the keto diet for 6 months now and have lost only 10 pounds, eating 1 meal a day, with very little fat and eating only organic foods, I don't know why.
Also, since your brain runs on carbohydrates, the keto diet can make you feel sluggish or experience brain fog. While the keto diet is an effective tool for most people who try it, there are some who don't do as well. Strict keto diets generally recommend no more than 20-30 grams of net carbs (total carbs minus fibre) per day. By taking things one step at a time and checking off the boxes as you go, you'll be well on your way to reaching your health goals using the keto diet.
If you're not losing weight on keto (or gaining weight on keto), these simple adjustments can help you get more out of your diet. And in fact, the keto diet is associated with an increase in bad LDL cholesterol, which is also linked to heart disease. If you continue to feel bloated and constipated weeks after the keto diet, consider an alternative diet to help your body. Your doctor is also unhappy with your latest blood test results, as the keto diet can increase cholesterol and lipid levels.
Whether you've heard about it from your favourite celebrity or seen a friend show off their results on social media, the conversation surrounding all the ways the keto diet can work seems to be endless. I'm not saying you shouldn't give keto a chance, as long as you don't have a medical condition that warrants avoiding a high-fat, low-carb diet, give keto a try for 30 days (not just a few days or a week) to see how your body responds.
