Search Weight Loss Topics:

Home » Diets that Work » Why you may not be losing weight on the keto diet – Business Insider

captionIf you arent losing weight on the keto diet, you may not be following it correctly.sourceShutterstock

The keto diet has exploded in popularity as a way to lose weight and improve health. But not everyone loses weight on keto, and some stop losing weight after a few months. If you arent meeting your weight goals, you may need to make some adjustments or talk with a registered dietitian.

The main purpose of the keto diet is to send your body into ketosis. In ketosis, your metabolism shifts and starts to burn fat instead of carbohydrates to fuel your body.

However, it can take a lot of careful planning to put your body into ketosis. While on keto, your diet is made up of 60% to 75% fat, 20% to 30% protein, and 5% to 10% carbohydrates. This goes against the usual American diet, which is over 50% carbohydrates.

You can check to see if you are really in ketosis using at-home urine test strips. These strips detect ketones, substances your liver creates when processing fat. However, being in ketosis is not going to make you lose weight if you are still taking in too many calories, says Scott Keatley, RD, a dietitian at Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy.

If people are following the keto diet correctly, its pretty rare to not lose any weight, says Keatley.

But losing weight on the keto diet is like losing weight on any diet you need to burn more calories in the day than you consume. The restriction does not need to be extreme, but you should be at a caloric deficit. Ketosis makes this a little easier since it reduces your appetite so youre less hungry and therefore, less likely to overeat.

However, if you restrict calories too much to less than 1,200 per day for the average adult this can also slow your weight loss goals. Because when you dont eat enough it can send your body into starvation mode, where your metabolism slows down and you may stop losing weight.

Side note: If you are using the keto diet for health reasons and not aiming to lose weight, putting your body into ketosis may help provided youre following the diet in a healthy manner by, for example, minimizing processed and red meats and prioritizing plant-based fats, like avocados, olives, and nuts.

Even if you are keeping your metabolism up, your weight loss may still slow down over time. As you cut calories and lose weight, your body will adapt to the change and start needing fewer calories to keep itself going, says Keatley. In other words, people tend to hit a weight loss plateau.

However, Keatley says that you should not use the scale as your only measure of progress. Lean muscle is denser than fat, so burning fat and building muscle can actually lead to a slight weight increase. The scale may freak you out when the change happening is positive, Keatley says.

Finally, the keto diet can have some extreme restrictions on food. If youre considering trying the keto diet to lose weight, Keatley says, I would advise anyone thinking of a keto diet to talk to their doctor and a dietitian before, during and after.

Continued here:
Why you may not be losing weight on the keto diet - Business Insider

Your Full Name
Your Email
Your Phone Number
Select your age (30+ only)	30313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120
Select Your US State	Select Your StateAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWashington,DCWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming
Program Choice	Select Your ProgramInjectable HGHInjectable TestoteroneInjectable SermorelinInjectable Weight LossInjectable HCG DietInjectable Vitamins
Confirm over 30 years old	Yes
Confirm that you resident in USA	Yes
This is a Serious Inquiry	Yes
Message:

Home » Diets that Work » Why you may not be losing weight on the keto diet – Business Insider