Keto diet is known to be one of the prominent weight loss methods. When you start following the keto diet, your body eventually shifts into ketosis. In ketosis, your body produces ketone, which turns your metabolism from carbs to fat utilization. Once you achieve ketosis successfully, you start losing weight at a rapid rate.
There are chances that some people might not lose weight in ketosis due to the following reasons:
• Inadequate Protein Amount
When people start the keto diet, they neglect their protein intake, thinking it doesn’t matter in the diet. Healthy protein intake will make your body full so that you won’t get hungry very often. Make sure that your protein intake stays around 1 – 2 gram per pound lean mass. You have to see that you are eating a proper amount of protein, which is not too high or not too low. A high protein keto diet may also increase your insulin level to make sure you only eat a balanced protein diet.
• Overeating Carbs
People think that a keto diet means eating more fat and fewer carbs without knowing that it is about limiting your carbs intake to a minimum. Most of the keto diet consists of only 20-30 gram carbs a day in all the meals, which is sufficient to shift your body into ketosis. If you eat a higher amount of carbs, your body will come out of ketosis, and you have to start again afresh.
• Not Eating Carbs
Going low carb doesn’t mean eliminating carbs from your meals. You have to eat a small amount of carbs so that your body won’t have cravings. Most of your favorite foods are available in keto versions with very low carbs, which can satisfy your cravings easily. Do not eliminate carbs from your diet as it may lead to health complications.
• Eating More Than Enough Calories
Having calories from a good source is as important as having an adequate amount of it. Eating a high fat doesn’t mean that you can eat junk food and fatty foods just to cover up your fat intake. If you are eating more than necessary calories, your body won’t lose fat even if you are into ketosis. Most of the fatty foods contain twice the calories than the carbs and protein, and if you eat such food more often, your body will get more calories than recommended, stalling your weight loss.
• Cheat Meals
Most of the people who successfully lose some weight initially think that it is fine to have a cheat meal while being in ketosis. Keep in mind that a single high carb meal will kick you out of ketosis, and you will land at weight loss plateaus. In such a case, you have to start again with a strict low carb diet so that your body shifts into ketosis quickly. A lot of people find it hard to move into ketosis once they are out of it. So, follow a strict low carb meal until you reach your end goal.
• Overeating Nuts and Dairy Food Items
Although nuts are good for your health, they contain a high amount of calories, and if you overeat them, your body will get more than enough calories to burn, and it will lead to weight loss plateaus. The same is the case with dairy products, so if you are unable to lose weight while in ketosis, reduce the amount of nuts and dairy products from your diet.
• Hidden Carbs
While calculating your daily nutrition intake, you should check the hidden carbs too. Several food items contain carbs like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower nuts, dairy sprouts, and turnips. It is better to follow a keto diet meal plan, which already provides information on nutrition so that you can be assured about the amount of carbs and fat you are having with each meal.
• Food Allergy
A large number of people have one or another food energy, and most of them are not aware of them. If you are eating something for the first time, you should check the ingredients list to make sure it doesn’t include anything which you might be allergic to. People usually have allergies to foods like nuts, eggs, milk, soy, and wheat. If you are allergic to any food item, you should consider having its substitute in your meal plan.
• Already Weigh Healthy
When your body shifts into ketosis, you lose weight at a quicker pace, but once you get closer to your healthy weight, the weight loss decelerated. If you have already reduced a big chunk of your weight, keep in mind that you won’t lose weight at a quick pace once you reach your end goal. When you start the keto diet, your body finds a significant source of energy (fat), but when you already burn that down, your body slows down the process.
• Processed Food
keto diet doesn’t only mean to eat food with low carb and high-fat amount. It is about eating healthy food. If you are eating processed food in all your meals, chances are you won’t be able to get proper nutrition from it, and it might stall your weight loss. You should eat healthy green food so that you can be assured about the nutrition you are getting from it.
• Thyroid & Weight Loss
If you have thyroid and you are already into ketosis following a regular keto diet, you won’t be able to lose weight quickly. In thyroid, your body would require at least 30 to 40 grams of carbs each day to function properly. If you are not aware that you have thyroid or not, you can take a test to confirm.
• No Exercise
Even though you can lose weight in ketosis without any exercise, indulging in some sort of exercise will increase the process manifold. When you exercise, your body will demand more energy, which you will get by burning fat at a rapid rate. Exercising in keto diet will make sure that you get lean muscle mass while burning all the excessive fat.
• Lack of Vitamin
Although most of the keto diets are vitamin-rich, you should check the nutrition detail to make sure you have adequate vitamins. Vitamins help your body run smoothly, and lack of the vitamin can limit your body functioning and weight loss. You should check your meal plan to confirm that you are eating enough vitamins in all your meals.
• Lack of Sleep
A proper sleep cycle is as necessary as a healthy diet while in ketosis. If you are not sleeping for at least 8 hours a day, your body will not burn much fat as most of the weight loss occurs while you sleep.
• Alcohol
Even though most of the nutritionists do not suggest that you should have alcohol while on ketosis, there are some drinks you can have in limited quantities. You can have drinks like Rum, Whiskey, Light beer, and Vodka as they are very low in carbs. So, if you have taken a drink while on ketosis, it might have stalled your weight loss.
• Weight Gain Fluctuations
If you are already into ketosis, you should strain yourself from eating a high carb diet. If you have eaten a single meal that contains a high amount of carbs, your body will retain the water for a short period. Your body will stay into ketosis, but you won’t lose weight for 1-2 days until the water level comes to normal in the body. Water retention also results in a slight weight gain sometimes.
• Water
Water is an important part of keto diet, and if you are not drinking enough water, you won’t be weight at a quick rate. If you are not losing weight even when you are in Ketosis, the chances are that your body is dehydrated. You should drink at least 5 to 6 liters of water each day.
• Anxiety and Stress
Anxiety and stress are normally correlated, which means when you stay stressed for a period of time, you might not able to lose weight. When you are stressed continuously, your body produces a hormone called cortisol. This hormone is responsible for storing fat in your body. When you are following the keto diet, you should stay away from overthinking. You can try medication as it helps you stay calm and helps your metabolism to function properly.
• Not in Ketosis
If you have just started the keto diet and there is no weight loss till now, chances are you are not in ketosis yet. There are several methods you can choose from to check if you are in ketosis or not, such as Ketone breath meters, Urine strips, and blood meters. When you get into ketosis, your liver produces more ketone bodies. If there is an increase in the ketones in your blood level, you are in ketosis, and if not, you are not in ketosis.