The keto diet has been proven to work time and again. Nearly everyone who stays true to the keto diet will enjoy its benefits and lose weight.
Keto isn’t as strict of a diet as Atkins or the paleo diets. Nor is it as relaxed as the Mediterranean diet. Being somewhere in the middle there are rules to follow, and following the keto rules isn’t such an ordeal.
Most of the time when a “ketoer” isn’t seeing results from the diet it’s because they’re making mistakes without knowing it. It’s much easier to blame the diet than to take ownership of your lack of progress.
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We’ll be talking about the top 4 reasons why you aren’t losing weight on a keto diet and what you can do about it.
1 – You’re not in ketosis
The primary reason for the keto diet is to put your body in a state of ketosis so it will burn fat for its energy needs. A lot of people don’t get this point. If you’re not in ketosis you’re not on the keto diet – hard stop!
In order to see the rapid weight loss the keto diet is known for, you have to be using ketones for energy. Otherwise, your body will continue to use the sugar in your bloodstream for its energy and you won’t see the results you were expecting. Or your results won’t be as significant.
It typically takes a person 4 to 7 days to be fully in ketosis. You have to be patient. The best way to know if you are in ketosis is to use urine test strips or a breathalyzer.
Related reading – 10 Ways To Know You Are In Ketosis |
2 – You’re not at a caloric deficit
The basis for any diet intended for weight loss is to have a caloric deficit. Even with a ketogenic diet, if you’re using fewer calories than you’re consuming you’re not going to lose weight.
For most people, having a ~500 calories deficit translates to about one pound loss per week. Being on a keto diet, and in the state of ketosis, you’ll lose weight much faster because your body will burn stored fat instead of glucose.
3 – You’re not being keto compliant
Being compliant means you’re following the high-fat, low-carb, and medium protein rules.
Most of us are addicted to carbohydrates and we don’t even know it. Switching from a diet based on carbs to one based on fats is challenging because we are used to burning blood sugar for energy. Blood sugar comes from eating carbohydrates.
The craving for carbs at the beginning of a keto diet can be overwhelming. Eating more than the allotted 50g of carbs per day will make it very hard to enter ketosis, if not impossible. Eating carbs will get in the way of your progress.
When it comes to the consumption of macronutrients (fat, protein, and carbs), you have to be compliant to enter ketosis and start losing weight.
Related reading – How To Make A Keto Meal Plan |
4 – You’re leptin resistant
Leptin resistance will hamper your progress.
The keto diet requires you to be patient in the beginning for you to adapt to the diet. You’ll need to have enough sleep, avoid strenuous exercise, and just take it easy during your first week of keto dieting.
By easing into the first week you’ll be able to keep your cortisol levels reduced. This in turn will restore your leptin sensitivity. After your hormones balance out your body will correctly signal how much food it needs, the right amount of fat to burn, and when you get hungry.
The only way to overcome leptin resistance is to give yourself plenty of time to adjust. If you stay compliant with the keto dietary requirements you will enter ketosis and start to burn fat at an accelerated rate that will make up for the time lost in the first week or so.
Whenever you think you’re not getting the results keto promises, it’s probably because of one of these 4 reasons why you aren’t losing weight on a keto diet.
One of the surest ways to stay compliant with keto and remain in a healthy caloric deficit is to have a keto diet specifically customized for you by dietary professionals based on your weight goals, preferred foods, activity level, and other criteria that are unique to you. Click here to learn more about a custom keto diet plan.
