If you’ve been following a ketogenic diet but not losing weight after a few weeks, you may start asking: why am I not losing weight on keto? It can be defeating to see the scale stay the same week after week when you feel like you’re working hard on your diet. Some not only struggle to lose stubborn pounds, but may even end up gaining weight when eating keto.
Here are a 5 of the most common mistakes I see people making in their ketogenic weight loss journey when they come to see me as a client. You may want to look at your own journey to see if you have been making any of these mistakes:
1. Your Carb Consumption Is Too High
Restricting carbs is an essential part of the ketogenic diet. If you’re eating too many carbs, it can prevent you from reaching ketosis all together. A good range to stay in is eating 30 to 50 grams Net Carbs per day, and choose nutrient rich, high fiber carbohydrates, such as dark green and leafy veggies, to keep carb consumption to a minimum.
2. You’re Eating Too Many Calories
Although you may not need to count calories on the ketogenic diet, routinely filling up on the high-calorie snacks can slow keto diet weight loss and hinder your progress. While enjoying a serving or two of keto fat bombs or other calorie-dense treats every day is fine, be sure to balance it out with low-calorie snacks such as non-starchy veggies or low carb fruit. As a client, I will work on this with you 1-on-1 to find your “sweet spot” to balance calories with macros in order to maximize your results.
3. You Aren’t in Ketosis
Reaching ketosis is the key to keto weight loss. In fact, it can be next to impossible to drop extra pounds without it. As I always say, we should test, not guess. You can find out if you are in ketosis by testing your blood, urine or breath for ketones. Ketones are a byproduct of fatty acid breakdown. I like the blood ketone meter as it is most accurate in measuring real time ketosis. Taking the time to test yourself will help you know whether or not your body has reached ketosis. If you’re not quite there yet, it may be best to cut back on carbs even more to help speed up the process.
4. You’re Eating Too Much Protein
Protein is absolutely essential to several aspects of health. However, if you’re eating too much protein, it can actually be converted into glucose in the body and keep you from reaching ketosis. Aim to get about 15–20 percent of total daily calories from protein and stick to nutrient-rich, high-quality protein foods like meat, poultry, seafood and eggs.
5. You Need to Look Beyond Your Diet
Weight loss goes way beyond what you’re putting on your plate. In fact, other factors like sleep deprivation, physical inactivity and even stress can actually hold you back from reaching your weight loss goals.
If you’ve gained weight on keto and nothing seems to be working, you may also want to consider consulting your doctor or working with me to see if other underlying factors may be at play. Medical issues like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), hypothyroidism and insulin resistance, for example, can all contribute to weight gain and weight loss resistance.
Learn More at Our Next Seminar!
If you’re ready to take charge of your health and boost fat burning through easy, supportive nutrition, you’ll want to join us at our next seminar: KETO for Weight Loss. I’ll be discussing these avoidable mistakes in depth so you’ll become empowered and knowledgable to prevent them from happening to you!
At KETO for Weight Loss, we’ll also be covering:
- Keto diet basics
- How to use Keto for Rapid Weight Loss
- Carb Counting, Macros and Ratios
- Intermittent Fasting How-To
- Diet Variation and Keto Cycling
- How Keto is Different for Women than Men
Tickets are available now — and thanks to our partnership with Summerfield Farms, they’re FREE!
If you’ve been to our events in the past, you know tickets go quickly. CLICK HERE to reserve yours! We encourage you to reserve early ((now!!)) before they’re gone! Seating is limited to the first 200 tickets reserved!
