You’ve searched for “Why Am I Not Losing Weight : Keto diet”. Here you will discover the main causes for a lack of weight loss on the keto diet. It’s not common, but it does happen, and it’s almost always down to just a few mistakes.
The keto Diet (ketogenic diet) is an amazing diet which will help you to lose weight at a steady pace, and keep that weight off.
However, it is a diet that has to be implemented correctly.
There are a number of common errors which will prevent you seeing the weight loss you’d like.
These can easily be put right, and you’ll be back on track in no time.
Eating too Many Carbs
The keto diet has a set amount of carbohydrates, fats and protein that you need to eat each day.
If your only thought while you stand on the scales is “Why am I not losing weight? this is the most common reason.
Your daily intake should be no more than 5% carbs, 20% Protein and 75% Fats.
Your carb allowance should not exceed 20g Net Carbs each day. To find the Net Carb count subtract the fiber grams from the total carbs.
20g carbs is a very low carb intake, and you’ll need to carefully weigh and chart your carbs.
This is especially important at the beginning of your keto diet, when it is less likely that you can guess the carbs just by looking.
Additionally, try using one of the phone apps which will make tracking your carb intake a lot easier.
I use carbmanager. This is a great, straightforward app, and includes the option to use it for free.
By consuming 20g or fewer carbs you will be able to enter the state of ketosis.
It is while in ketosis that you will be burning fat to meet your everyday energy needs.
Try not to waste your carb allowance on ready-made “keto friendly” treats.
It’s always more healthy to choose nutritionally dense whole foods.
Your overall food intake is higher than you think
The keto diet works and is successful because you eat in tune with your hormones.
That is to say, by reducing your carb intake you will be preventing the Insulin driven signal for your body to store fat.
Further, you will be reducing your hunger, stabilizing your blood/glucose levels and triggering ketosis.
Because of this, you will be able to eat until you’re full. Counting calories, or restricting calories is not necessary.
However, it is still important that you eat nutritionally dense whole foods.
It is not enough to just meet your macros. You must also make sure that you’re meeting all your micro nutrients such as vitamins and minerals.
One of the easiest ways to derail your keto diet is to eat ready-made foods, snack bars and anything labeled as “keto friendly”.
These foods will push up your carb intake (and overall food intake) for the day without offering you much in the way of nutrition.
Always choose nutritious whole foods over anything store bought.
You’re eating too many keto foods
Some foods on the keto diet list are nutritional power houses and are great for including in your diet frequently.
However, even the super healthy foods will need to be eaten only until you’re feeling full.
The keto diet will not restrict your eating but nor is it an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Make sure that you’re eating enough but just because a food is keto friendly and nutritious, it still has to be eaten in reasonable quantities.
By eating until you’re full, high fat foods such as avocado will help you to feel less hungry. Most people find that their appetite reduces after being on a keto diet for a week or so.
Avoid snacking, as this is an all too easy way to increase your daily food consumption.
If the lack of weight loss still remains a problem then reduce your personal fat macros. Don’t reduce your protein or carb macros.
Weigh yourself after a week to see if weight loss has occurred and adjust accordingly.
Remember, eat a reasonable portion size, concentrate on nutritional whole foods and don’t snack.
You’ve started at the gym
Adding exercise, especially resistance training to your keto diet has many health benefits. It will also help you to burn fat.
With resistance training you will be swapping out some of your fat for extra muscle mass.
As great as this is, it’s a fact that muscle weighs more than fat.
So, you may be losing the unhealthy fat, but due to extra muscle the scales are staying the same.
If you’ve been putting in some serious gym time try ditching the scales for a while. It would be better for you to measure your arms, legs and waist once a week instead.
You’ll see that although the scales haven’t budged, your total body mass has gone down. (1)
You’re not getting enough sleep; the surprising reason for why you can’t lose weight
Most people know that a good nights sleep is essential for health.
However, what is not so widely recognized is the fact that sleep is necessary for the maintenance of a normal body weight too.
Chronic lack of sleep is very stressful. In response to this stress your body will produce a hormone called cortisol.
This is known as the stress hormone, and high levels of cortisol will cause your body to store extra fat. It is also a cause of dangerous visceral fat.
Visceral fat is metabolically active and can increase levels of inflammation in the body which will in itself cause many diseases.
Further, lack of sleep appears to cause you to feel hungrier than normal. Hunger signaling hormones such as leptin and ghrelin are increased.
You need to be more physically active
There is a saying ” you can’t outrun a bad diet” and this is 100% true.
No matter how much exercise you do, it will not make up for, or “work off”, excess carbs or a nutritionally poor diet.
However, exercise definitely has a place alongside the keto diet.
As mentioned, resistance training is especially useful and will super charge your diet by increasing your metabolic rate.
When you carry more muscle mass your metabolic rate will increase.
So, although resistance training is the best, any amount of muscle building exercise will give your fat burning capabilities a boost.
Try to choose an activity that will help you to gain muscle and make sure you spend an hour and a half with it, at least twice or three times a week.
Moving more is also good for your mood, and once you’re feeling happier you are more likely to adhere to your diet and avoid snacking.
Underlying medical conditions can stop you losing weight on the keto diet
You may have an undiagnosed medical condition, or are taking a medication that is interfering with your ability to get the most out of the keto diet.
These conditions include:
-
- hypothyroidism
- Cushing’s syndrome
- polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
If you believe that this may be an issue for you, see your medical adviser.
Very often with careful adjustment of your medication and/or management of your condition you will still be able to lose weight with the keto diet.
You’re not drinking enough water
Feeling thirsty can often be mistaken for being hungry.
Make sure that you’re getting enough water each day. Don’t drink sodas and check for hidden carbs in any “diet” drinks.
As a general rule women should aim to drink about 2.7 liters a day, while men need 3.7 liters.
You will need to take into account your activity level and your local climate.
There is also some evidence that increasing the amount of water you drink will help with your weight loss goals.
This study of middle-aged men and women demonstrated a weight loss that was ~2 kg greater in the water group than in the non water group. The only difference was that the water group were given an extra 500ml water with each meal.
The keto diet, as with any other diet, does have some rules that need to be kept to in order to fully benefit from this way of eating.
Fortunately, there are several easy-to-fix errors that could be the reason for why you can’t lose weight on the keto diet.
The keto diet restricts carbs, and although this is difficult at first it does become easier with time.
Once you know which sort of carbs to eat, weigh and track your daily intake to ensure that you don’t accidently go over your carb allowance.
Make sure that you’re using your carb allowance on whole nutritional foods, and don’t snack.
Take up resistance training which has been shown to boost the keto diet.
However, if the gym isn’t your thing, find a way of exercising that will help you to develop muscles.
Muscles will increase your metabolic rate and help you to achieve weight loss.
However, bear in mind that initially you will not see the benefit on the scale as muscle weighs more than fat. You will still see the health benefits.
Make sure you’re having enough to drink each day, and find ways to improve the quality of your sleep.
You should consider walking or yoga to deal with any underlying stress that may be interfering with your sleep.
For full details of how to deal with sleep issues visit:
Natural sleep aids that work and are backed by science
Finally, don’t give up on your keto diet. Work your way down this list, and change the areas that may be causing your lack of weight loss.
Take heart, the keto diet always works when it is properly done. You’ll be meeting your weight loss and health goal sooner than you think.
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