When a person does not lose weight on the ketogenic diet, it is usually because they have not reached ketosis. The most common cause of not entering ketosis is not reducing carbohydrates enough. Even if you are in ketosis and counting your calories, you may hit a weight-loss plateau or a ketogenic plateau. Over time, the body adapts to changes in diet and needs fewer calories to keep going. There is no need to worry, as there are other ways to measure progress.
So when does a period of weight stability after weight loss become a weight loss plateau? Weight loss plateaus are often a normal, but frustrating, part of the weight loss process. If you are stuck on a true weight-loss plateau while following a low-carb or ketogenic nutritional approach, it may be due to one or more of the reasons outlined below. But first, ask yourself if you are really in a weight loss stagnation or if this is part of a period of weight stability, which most people should expect at some point during their weight loss journey. Our differences can be wonderful, but when it comes to finding stagnation in your weight loss, it can also be a source of frustration. Remember that ketosis is a metabolic state in which your body burns fat as fuel instead of glucose.
The best way to kickstart this process is to reduce your carbohydrate intake to 5% or less of total calories. The balance of your ketogenic diet will be 70-80% fat and the rest will be 15-20% protein. Fasting is much easier than it seems and especially IF or intermittent fasting. You can still eat every day, but you restrict them to an “eating window”. Many people adopt what is called intermittent fasting 16-8.He's fasting for 16 hours and sleeping most of it.
You can choose the time frame that best suits you and your schedule. For example, one package of Splenda contains maltodextrin and dextrose and 1 carbohydrate. You can see that it wouldn't take many packages to completely change your macros if you weren't tracking this correctly, not to mention the added sugars in that package. Speaking of tracking macros, you'll also want to track calories to ensure sustainable weight loss. To facilitate intermittent fasting, start slowly with 12-hour night fasts and work your way up to a longer fasting window if desired. For more information on IF, see our guide to IF and Keto.
Even if you keep your metabolism high, your weight loss may decrease over time. As you reduce calories and lose weight, your body will adapt to the change and you'll start needing fewer calories to keep going, says Keatley. In other words, people tend to stagnate in losing weight. You may feel the opposite when you step on the scale daily, with no sense of progress, but anything less than three months without weight loss is not considered true stagnation. The many benefits of carbohydrate restriction, including weight loss, can be achieved when carbohydrate intake is kept below your tolerance (or carbohydrate threshold) to control blood sugar and insulin levels. Many people experience constant weight loss for quite some time, followed by periods of weight stability, and it may not be a true weight loss plateau. To maximize weight loss on a ketogenic diet, get enough sleep, reduce stress, be more active, and eat whole, nutritious, low-carb foods whenever possible.
This feels very different and is likely to be more sustainable than most typical weight-loss diets. It's normal to want quick results when following a new diet plan, but it's important to remember that weight loss can vary from person to person. Your weight will vary from day to day by up to several pounds due to normal fluctuations in body water. All you need are the right strategies to address the many potential causes of your weight loss stagnation. With a ketogenic diet, your body will lose a lot of water weight in the first few days due to carbohydrate restriction, but fat loss depends mostly on calorie intake.
In addition, eating too many convenience foods such as hot dogs and fast food when you're on the road can slow down weight loss. This has been shown to lead to weight loss and may also improve heart health and blood sugar control (1).If you create too large a deficit, your metabolic rate will drop significantly to protect normal organs and body functions. If you are experiencing a plateau in weight loss and it doesn't seem to make sense then you may be maintaining a calorie deficit too serious.
