8 Reasons You Are Not Losing Weight on Keto (2024)

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    • 8 ways you could be doing keto wrong
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8 Reasons You Are Not Losing Weight on Keto (1)

The keto diet restricts carb intake to about 20-50 grams a day

Many people follow the keto diet to lose weight and improve overall health. However, in order to lose weight on keto, you need to follow the diet correctly.

The keto diet restricts carb intake to about 20-50 grams a day. When your body does not have enough stored carbs to use for fuel, it enters a state of ketosis, in which fat is burned for energy instead.

Here are 8 potential reasons you may not be losing weight on keto.

8 ways you could be doing keto wrong

1. Eating too many carbs

The main reason why many people find that they are not losing weight with keto is that they are eating too many carbs. In order to achieve ketosis, you need to drastically cut back on your carb consumption.

However, carbs are tricky and can be hidden in vegetables, sauces, and dressings. In order to keep track of your carb intake, you can use a macronutrient tracker that helps you track your net carbs (net carbohydrates = total carbs - fiber - sugar alcohols).

2. Eating too many calories

The ratio of calories consumed from food to calories burned during active and passive metabolic activities is called an energy balance. In order to lose weight, you should aim to eat fewer calories than you burn to keep a continuous negative energy balance.

On a keto diet, this often occurs naturally, but not always. It is still possible to overeat while following a low-carb, high-fat diet. For example, half a cup of almonds contains more than 400 calories.

You can track your calorie intake by using fitness trackers to make sure your overall calorie consumption is within range for ideal weight loss.

3. Eating too much protein

When on a low-carb diet like keto, it can be easy to eat too much protein. Unlike other low-carb diets, the keto diet is moderate-protein and most of the calories come from fat. Protein should make up less than 35% of your diet on keto.

Because your body tends to break down excess protein into amino acids and turn them into sugar, eating too many high-protein foods can disrupt ketosis.

4. Snacking too often

When you fast between meals, your body activates the metabolic process that produces ketones and burns fat. While this doesn’t mean that you have to adhere to a strict fasting schedule, snacking too often between meals can cause your weight loss to plateau.

5. Eating too many sugar alcohols

Sugar alcohols are an ideal choice for the ketogenic diet, since they provide sweetness without increasing your net carbohydrate intake. However, not every sugar alcohol is the same.

Maltitol is a sugar alcohol that is not suitable for keto diet. Despite having a low glycemic index, maltitol still has an impact on blood sugar levels, which can prevent ketosis.

6. Not exercising enough

Getting enough physical exercise is crucial to weight loss when on a keto diet. You still need to burn more calories than you consume in order to shed fat.

Regular exercise benefits your health in other ways. It helps you build muscle and boosts your metabolism, as well as protects you from chronic disease.

7. Not managing stress

Your ability to lose weight on keto could be hindered by a high-stress lifestyle. Stress can alter hormone levels, which can result in weight gain or difficulty losing weight.

Cortisol is an adrenal hormone that is secreted when you are under stress. Excess cortisol can increase insulin and blood sugar levels while encouraging insulin resistance, neither of which will aid in fat burning.

8. Not getting enough sleep

Your circadian rhythm, the 24-hour cycle of wakefulness and sleep, plays a vital role when it comes to controlling body weight. Insufficient sleep produces ghrelin, the hormone that makes you hungry, and it also inhibits insulin function and elevates stress hormones in the body.

Medically Reviewed on 8/26/2022

References

Image Source: iStock image

Lack of exercise is a major cause of chronic diseases. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4241367/

Increasing muscle mass to improve metabolism. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3661116/

Ketogenic Diet. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499830/

Effectiveness of Intermittent Fasting and Time-Restricted Feeding Compared to Continuous Energy Restriction for Weight Loss. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6836017/

Effects of Chronic Social Stress on Obesity. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3428710/

A single night of sleep deprivation increases ghrelin levels and feelings of hunger in normal-weight healthy men. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18564298/

Sleep Restriction for 1 Week Reduces Insulin Sensitivity in Healthy Men. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2927933/

Sleep loss results in an elevation of cortisol levels the next evening. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9415946/

The Importance of Energy Balance. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6003580/

No observable differences in glycemic response to maltitol in human subjects from 3 ethnically diverse groups. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21481716/

8 Reasons You Are Not Losing Weight on Keto (2024)

FAQs

8 Reasons You Are Not Losing Weight on Keto? ›

If you're in ketosis but not losing weight, it could be that you're eating more than your body can burn. Fat has twice the number of calories per gram that protein or carbs do. It can be tough to stay within your maintenance calories, or even eat at a calorie deficit, if you're eating more than your body needs.

Why am I doing everything right on keto but not losing weight? ›

If you're in ketosis but not losing weight, it could be that you're eating more than your body can burn. Fat has twice the number of calories per gram that protein or carbs do. It can be tough to stay within your maintenance calories, or even eat at a calorie deficit, if you're eating more than your body needs.

How to speed up weight loss in ketosis? ›

Exercising while in ketosis accelerates weight loss. This is because glycogen stores run out the longer and harder you work out. Combined with a very low-carb diet, which also reduces glycogen, you'll take your weight loss to the next level.

What are big mistakes on keto? ›

Eating too much protein and not enough fats

Proteins as well can cause insulin spikes when over-consumed. The only macronutrient that doesn't spike insulin is pure fat. For this reason, you need to be adhering to very specific fat/carb/protein ratios when following a Keto Diet.

Why doesn't keto work for me? ›

Studies have shown the keto diet can actually worsen insulin metabolism and increase insulin resistance. If your insulin levels are lower, or if your body is resistant to insulin and already struggles to balance glucose intake, then it is not going to respond to the keto diet from a weight loss perspective.

What happens if you eat too much protein on keto? ›

#1: Eating too much protein.

The body can convert the amino acids from excess protein into glucose, potentially sabotaging your weight loss efforts and keeping your body out of ketosis. For a 2,000-calorie diet, this translates to about 75g of protein at about 10-20% protein.

What is the whoosh effect? ›

Summary. The “whoosh effect” is a term for the noticeable weight loss that some people report while following low carb diets such as a keto diet. Some people believe that the whoosh effect happens when fat cells lose fat and fill with water. Researchers have not scientifically proven the whoosh effect, however.

What speeds up ketosis? ›

Fasting, limiting carbs, and MCT oil supplements can speed up the ketosis timeline. EH Project. How long does it take to enter ketosis?: Tips for fasting 2024. Harvard Health Publishing.

What is the best exercise while in ketosis? ›

Instead, try incorporating a variety of low intensity, steady state activities into your workout routine to get the most bang for your buck on the ketogenic diet. Jogging, biking, rowing, and doing yoga are just a few examples of physical activities that may be especially beneficial on keto.

How do you accelerate fat burning? ›

5 ways to boost metabolism
  1. Exercise more. Add interval training to your cardio routine and burn more calories in less time. ...
  2. Weight train. Add muscle mass to your body and you can burn more calories at rest. ...
  3. Don't skip meals, especially breakfast. ...
  4. Eat fat-burning foods. ...
  5. Get a good night's sleep every night.

Can you eat unlimited cheese on keto? ›

Enjoying cheese is one of the pleasures of the keto diet. But that doesn't mean it's unlimited and unrestricted. Nutritionists say that keto practitioners need to be selective with the cheese varieties they consume while on keto and enjoy them only in moderation to avoid disrupting ketosis and hampering weight loss.

Can cheese knock you out of ketosis? ›

Any type of cheese can be included on the keto diet, as long as total dietary carbohydrate intake remains low enough to keep the body in nutritional ketosis (using stored fat instead of carbohydrate to fuel the brain and body).

Can I eat too much cheese on keto? ›

Consuming too much cheese on a keto diet can lead to an excessive intake of saturated fat and calories, which may hinder weight loss efforts. It's essential to maintain balance and moderation in food choices to achieve optimal results.

What happens if you don't eat enough fat on keto? ›

If a person does not consume enough fat on a keto diet, they may not feel full. This can lead to snacking and consuming more calories than a person needs, resulting in weight gain. Additionally, fat is an important component of a person's diet. It helps the body to absorb vitamins and gives the body energy.

How do you know if your body is rejecting keto? ›

As the body goes through metabolic changes to reach ketosis, it is common to feel more tired during the first three to five days into the keto diet," he told INSIDER. "If this exhaustion continues, however, it can be a sign that the body needs more carbs and a more modified low-carb diet may be better suited."

Why did I gain a pound overnight on keto? ›

Sudden weight gain on keto is often due to an overconsumption of fats like coconut oil, butter, olive oil, and other types of oils and fats. While these ingredients are perfectly acceptable on the keto diet, too much can lead to sudden weight gain.

Why am I not losing weight on keto even though I m in ketosis? ›

Along with eating the wrong things, excessive calorie intake can also be a reason for an inability to lose weight on the ketogenic diet. Over-consumption of food and going over your recommended macros (including fat intake) can lead to weight gain rather than fat loss.

How long does it take to start losing weight on keto? ›

Anecdotally, people report losses within the first week of anywhere from 1 pound (0.5 kg) to 10 or more pounds (5 kg). The larger you are, the more water weight you're likely to lose after starting keto.

What is keto whoosh? ›

These keto dieters say the fat on their body starts to feel softer to the touch. The concept of the whoosh effect is if you stay on the diet long enough, your cells start to release all the water and fat that's thought to have built up. When this process begins, this is called the “whoosh” effect.

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