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As part of your keto diet plan, the goal should be to achieve ketosis; that is when your body produces more ketones instead of carbs or sugars for energy production.
Unfortunately, not everyone can sustain such an approach and if your weight has not decreased as planned it might be time to alter your plan.
1. You’re gaining weight
Consuming too many carbohydrates can cause your body to retain water and gain weight. This may occur as a result of eating salty foods, increasing carb intake or dehydration – or during ovulation (the time each month when your body produces hormones to control your menstrual cycle).
Reason #2 for keto weight gain could be overeating fat. Many believe a keto diet contains too many fats; you just need to keep tabs on how much you’re getting from protein and carbs.
Consuming too much protein may prevent your body from entering ketosis. Consuming excessive protein can trigger gluconeogenesis, a process in which excess proteins are converted to glucose by your body and cause its levels of ketone hormones to fluctuate causing you to gain weight while on keto diet.
On a keto diet, it’s ideal to aim for a balance of 70%-80% fats to 20%-5% proteins. Avoid processed foods, sugary beverages and high-fat dairy products in order to control your calorie consumption and stay on track.
2. You’re not losing weight
Keto diets may stop working for those on them for some time; often due to an underlying medical condition.
People suffering from hypothyroidism or PCOS may find it more challenging than normal to lose weight on the keto diet due to an excess production of hormones associated with weight gain and obesity.
If you are having difficulty losing weight, a visit to your physician is absolutely essential. They will be able to rule out an underlying health problem like hypothyroidism and offer recommendations to help achieve your weight loss goals.
Natural supplements like 5-HTP may also help improve metabolism and curb cravings, according to studies. 5-HTP increases satiety while simultaneously curbing food consumption by counteracting hormones that regulate appetite.
Some foods can knock you out of ketosis, including heavy cream, milk and cheese. That is why it is vitally important that keto dieters only consume whole, unprocessed foods on their diets.
3. You’re feeling sluggish
If you’re feeling lethargic, it could be due to not eating enough healthy fats – to ensure maximum benefits from ketosis, make sure you eat enough healthy fats.
Eat enough protein so you don’t run out of energy. Protein provides tons of vitality while helping the body use fat as fuel.
One reason you might feel fatigued on a keto diet may be that your body isn’t receiving enough water or sodium. Carbs store water and salt, and cutting back on carb intake can force it out through urine or sweat as nutrients leave your system more quickly.
A great way to combat dehydration is to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water and replenishing your electrolytes with small amounts of salt or an electrolyte supplement. Doing this will make a major difference and ensure you remain properly hydrated throughout the day.
4. You’re not seeing results
If you have been following a keto diet for some time, you may have noticed that results have stopped coming on the scale. This is normal and usually indicates you have hit a weight loss plateau.
However, it’s essential to distinguish a weight loss plateau from a fat loss plateau. A weight loss plateau occurs when your body stores more fat than it expels; by contrast, fat loss plateaus occur when your body begins shedding unwanted lipids slowly over time.
Your results on a keto diet could be limited due to not eating enough fats. At least 70-80% of your calories should come from fat sources; 10-20% should come from proteins and 5- 10% from carbohydrates.
If you don’t eat enough fats, your body may struggle to convert fat to energy efficiently and burn it for energy, leading to fatigue and sluggishness as well as leaky gut syndrome, inflammation and changes in gut microbiome composition.