Why Am I Not Losing Weight While in Ketosis?

Are you on ketosis for losing weight from last three months? or six? or should I say a YEAR, 

but still not losing a pound weight ?  ?

If you do not adhere to the correct ketogenic diet protocol, there is a high possibility that you will not lose weight even if you are in ketosis. To understand this, you must first know why you are not losing weight while in ketosis.Go grab pen and paper, write down what you are eating, drinking all day long.

Before we move on let's understand why keto diet is best for weight loss.

Typically, your body breakdown carbs in glucose, which it uses as its source of energy. When there is a reduction in the carb content in the body, your body goes into ketosis.

During the stage of ketosis, your body begins to burn fat as its new source of energy instead of glucose. This fat burning process leads to a reduction in weight, which makes the keto diet a suitable choice for weight loss.

If you have been asking the question, why am I not losing weight while in ketosis from a long time? 

1. You Are Not Yet in Ketosis

Attaining ketosis can sometimes be a bit difficult when you start newly on a ketogenic diet. People often think they have entered ketosis just because they have been on a diet for several weeks. However, they failed to calculate their intake accurately.

• How to Get into Ketosis?

Getting into ketosis requires more than just consuming a low-carbs keto diet. You will need to monitor your macronutrient intake: how much fat, carbs, and fat you eat daily.

write it down.✍️

 Although the intake of calories will not affect ketosis, it will go a long way to impact your weight loss target  negatively. Even more, carbs intake during ketosis often varies from one person to the other.

To get into ketosis, you will need to follow a strict ketogenic diet. The addition of intermittent fasting to your regular keto diet will help you stay in ketosis despite your carb intake.

• How Do I Know I am in Ketosis?

When you get into ketosis, your liver produces huge quantities of ketones, which helps supply energy to the body and brain.

One of the straightforward ways to find out whether you are in ketosis is by testing for ketones in your blood. Other methods include:

Ketone Breath Meters

By testing the number of ketones in your breath, you will be able to determine whether you are in ketosis.

The breath test technique involves you blowing air into a meter. The meter then measures acetone levels present in your breath. The more acetones you have, the farther you are to ketosis.

Urine Sticks or Strips

Ketone urine sticks show the quantity of ketone in your body using a color-grading scale. This test can be inaccurate as it measures for unused ketones in your body.

If there is a large number of ketones in your blood, the strip will be darker. The deeper you get in ketosis, the more ketones your body makes utilizes.

Blood Meters ?️

Blood meters are the most precise method to measure your level of ketosis. Pierce, your finger, take some blood samples and then get an analysis of the ketones in your blood.

That said, if you do not want to use the testing method, you can check for other signs such as keto flu, and keto breath. Others include increased energy, insomnia, muscle cramps, and loss in weight.

2. Consumption of Too Many Carbs

One of the significant reasons you are not losing weight in ketosis is that you are eating foods with high carb content. To attain the state of ketosis, you will need to reduce the number of carbs you consume drastically.

Studies have shown that only about 5% of your calorie intake should be carbs. Although your standard dietary recommendation says that you should consume between 45 to 65% carbs, when you are on a keto diet, it is different.

That said, at the initial stage of a ketogenic diet, cutting down on carbs can be difficult. But, if you must remain in ketosis and achieve your diet's aim, you just reduce carbohydrates.

3. You Aren't Eating Foods Rich in Nutrients.

Irrespective of the ketogenic plan you are following, the success of your weight loss will depend on your consumption of nutritious and whole foods. Eating processed foods will affect your weight loss goal negatively, even if the claim to be keto-friendly.

Also, if you consume snacks like keto desserts, snack bars, and many others in between your meals, it can disrupt your weight loss target. More so, foods that are poor in nutrients like fast foods and hot dogs are high in calories and low in antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins.

If you want to get the best results in your weight loss journey, you must stick to eating whole and unprocessed foods.This maybe the major reason why you are not losing weight on ketosis.

To utilize your intake of nutrients while losing weight on the keto diet, stick to unprocessed, whole foods. Such foods include eggs, pastured meats, full-fat dairy foods, avocado, poultry, olive oil, and fish. Additionally, you can add vegetables like broccoli, greens, mushrooms, and peppers.

4. You May Be Eating Too Many Calories

If you are attempting to reduce your weight, you must do everything possible to reduce your intake of calories. You can cut calories by burning calories through regular exercise and activities or by reducing the number of calories you eat.

If you still maintain a high intake of calories despite the ketogenic diet, you will not lose weight? even on ketosis. This is because several keto meals like olive oil, avocados, nuts, and full-fat dairy are already high in calories⏫

A lot of persons often get satisfied quickly after eating keto snack and meals just like me :P. It is due to its protein and fat content. Hence, you can cut down on your calorie intake by reducing the quantity of food you eat and reducing your consumption of keto-friendly snacks.

5. Underlying Medical Conditions

Without a doubt, a keto diet is an effective way of reducing weight. Nonetheless, if you are strictly adhering to your ketogenic protocol, yet you do not see any result, it could be due to an underlying medical condition.

On the other hand, it could be a result of medication you are taking for the health condition while on a diet. According to research, some of the underlying medical conditions that can cause you not to lose weight while in ketosis include:

If you are still unable to lose weight after following the ketogenic diet protocol, ensure you see your doctor. Series of tests will be conducted by your doctor to ascertain what's the real cause may be. Your doctor will also guide you on how to treat or manage the health condition alongside your keto diet.

6. You Have Unrealistic Weight Loss Expectations

It is not out of place to have the eagerness to want to lose weight quickly when you start a keto diet. However, it is necessary to note that it is a gradual process and differs from one person to another.

There is no doubt that a ketogenic diet helps you in losing weight if followed correctly. But the rate at which you will lose weight may not be the way you are thinking or want.

When on a ketogenic diet, it is the small and consistent changes to your body that means a lot to your weight loss journey. It can sometimes be tempting to target high weight loss goals. Research shows that losing 1–3 pounds weekly is best.

On the one hand, if you are involved in a bodybuilding exercise routine, you will lose weight but then build muscles. On the other hand, building muscles can make your weight loss process slower.

7. Frequent Snacking on High-Calorie Foods

Eating snacks is one of the best ways to prevent yourself from getting hungry in between meals and overeating. Nevertheless, eating too many keto snacks that are high in calories such as nut butter, nuts, cheese, jerky and fat bombs can cause you not to lose weight while in ketosis.

Even though the snacks are keto-friendly, they are capable of hampering your weight loss when they are consumed in excess. You can consume proteins and non-starchy vegetables to keep you feeling full even without the calories.

8. Stress and Inadequate Sleep

Excess cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, causes your body to store fat, mainly in the belly region. If you are regularly stressed, you will also lack sleep, which will lead to weight gain.

9. Inadequate Physical Activity

Lack of enough physical activity in your daily lifestyle is capable of causing you not to lose weight. Apart from facilitating weight loss, an exercise routine will improve your overall health in several ways.

Furthermore, regular exercises reduce your risk of having health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, depression, obesity, and anxiety. Even more, it also helps you to build muscle, thus giving your body metabolism a significant boost.It can be the reason you are not losing weight even in ketosis.

No doubt, starting an exercise routine can be challenging, but there are several ways you can imbibe to make it easier. The techniques include creating a workout schedule, sticking to the plan, setting three or four days’ goal weekly. Even more, by choosing a convenient time and keeping yourself always motivated.

10. Lack of Preparation

Unlike other diets, the keto diet is one that will require you to prepare for the diet before you start. You will need to draw up a plan, ideas for making daily food decisions, and a helpful strategy to make your new eating style easier.

Also, you will need to prepare to be consistent irrespective of how long it will take for you to begin to see results. You will need to prepare to track the number of calories you are losing and the number of carbs you are eating. All of these will require plenty of time and effort.

11. Eating Too Few Calories

Yes, you read it correctly.

Although we mentioned earlier that eating too many calories can negatively affect your weight loss. However, just the way eating above your daily limit can affect your weight loss; eating below your daily limit can also be a challenge.

12. Eating Too Many Keto Junks

With the rise in popularity in the keto, there's also been a corresponding increase in the number of keto-friendly junks such as keto sweets and snacks. Excess intake of keto junks is one of the key reasons why several people are unable to lose weight while in ketosis.

There are now several recipes for fat bombs and junk foods which have been sweetened using bacon and erythritol. Although both ingredients are keto-friendly, you are likely to exceed your required daily needs when you consume these snacks in excess 🙁

13. You are Consuming Excess Protein

There is a general misconception that the ketogenic diet is a high-protein diet. However, the truth is that it is a moderate-protein diet. It is a diet where 20 percent of the calories you consume come from protein.

Protein can kick you out of ketosis when eaten in excess, hence causing you not to lose weight. It may occur through a process called gluconeogenesis. 

Gluconeogenesis is the process where the excess protein in your body is converted into carbs and then sugar.

If you want to lose weight while in ketosis, you must consume moderate quantities of complete protein, having significant amounts of all the essential amino acids. Examples of complete proteins include eggs, fish, and meat. On the other hand, examples of incomplete proteins from nuts, vegetables, and starches. Although the incomplete proteins are essential, they are not enough.

14. You Have Leptin Resistance

If you are not losing weight while in ketosis, it might be because you have stopped eating a hormone that plays an active role in your weight and hunger management. This hormone is known as leptin. Leptin is a hormone that slows down the feeling of hunger, sending specific signals to the brain each time your body’s energy needs have been attained.

Leptin resistance is activated by stress, irregular sleep, calorie restriction, and overeating. It is capable of affecting your thyroid also. The thyroid is responsible for secreting hormones that stimulate growth, development, and metabolism.

The amount of leptin available to your brain has a significant influence on the number of thyroid hormones released into the body. Your resistance to leptin can negatively affect your thyroid function, hence causing you not to lose weight and leading to a slower metabolism

15. Drinking Alcohol

Most alcoholic drinks, such as beer and wine, contain high carb contents. Since high carbohydrate contents in foods are harmful to ketosis, the consumption of alcohol may cause you not to lose weight while in ketosis.

On the other hand, hard alcohols like vodka and gin contain a low amount of carb content. Hence, they can be consumed on a ketogenic diet :P. Nonetheless, such hard liquors have high-calorie contents which are capable of preventing weight loss.

16. Lack of Adequate Exercise

Without a doubt, exercise is an essential ingredient for staying healthy. It helps you burn fat and stimulate your body’s metabolism; hence it is excellent for those on a diet.

Similarly, exercise is an excellent tool for those on a keto diet as it helps them burn calories from high-fat foods. However, a keto diet is targeted at helping you to lose weight if you are not losing weight when in ketosis, it might just be because you are not exercising enough.

17. You are Allergic and Intolerant to Something You Are Consuming 

Food allergies are not an uncommon thing that happens. Several people are either allergic or intolerant to certain drinks or foods. Some of the common food allergies include eggs, milk, peanuts, wheat, tree nuts, soy, crustacean shellfish, and fish.

Although food intolerance and allergies are common, they can cause several disruptions, which may lead to inflammation. Despite being in ketosis, such swellings may not allow you to lose weight.

How to Boost Your Keto Results?

Now, we have seen that it is possible not to lose weight while in ketosis. As a result, it is essential to find out ways you can use to ensure you achieve the best results while on a ketogenic diet.

Try Intermittent Fasting to Accelerate Weight Loss

Even though intermittent fast does not form part of the keto diet protocol, it helps produce ketones in your body for rapid weight loss. When you are on an intermittent fast, your body gets the opportunity to use its stored glucose. After the fast, you will then be able to switch back to burning fat again.

Practice Cyclical Ketosis

A keto diet requires you to eat a low carb diet all the time. However, prolonged carb restriction may cause insomnia, thyroid problems, dry eyes, and fatigue as your body needs some amount of carbohydrates to function correctly.

Cyclical ketosis requires that you eat additional carbs one day of the week while maintaining your keto diet protocol for the remaining days. When you occasionally increase your carb consumption, it helps in supporting your sleep and speeding up your weight loss process.

That said, you must ensure you consume only clean carbs such as carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, and berries.

Add MCT Oil to Your Food and Coffee

MCT oil, such as Brain Octane oil, helps to increase your ketone levels. Adding this oil to your food and coffee will boost your ketone level to a point where it can suppress your appetite, reducing the quantity of food you eat.

Check The Quality of Your Fats

Even though a ketogenic diet is a high-fat diet, you must ensure you are consuming good-quality fats. Fats in foods come in different forms. While some are stable and anti-inflammatory, others are not.They maybe the reason why you are not losing weight in ketosis.

We advise that you consume foods that contain monounsaturated fat, saturated fat, and polyunsaturated fat. Examples of foods containing such quality fats include wild-caught fatty fish, grass-fed lamb, and beef, grass-fed butter, MCT oil, pasture-raised eggs, and avocados.

Additionally, you must ensure you avoid trans fats and vegetable oils as they promote diet-induced inflammation.

Conclusion

Although one of the benefits of ketosis is weight loss, some persons are unable to lose weight while in ketosis.

Several reasons may be responsible for this; we recommend you first test to ascertain that you are genuinely in ketosis. If you are in ketosis, check out the reasons we have discussed and then make appropriate changes where necessary.

Additionally, we have also included tips you can use to improve your weight loss while in ketosis.

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