8 Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight on Keto

The ketogenic, or keto, diet is a low carb way of eating that has been adopted by many looking to lose weight and improve health. However, to reap the benefits of the keto diet, it must be implemented correctly.

When following a keto diet, carbs are typically reduced to 20 to 50 grams per day. This has been shown to lead to weight loss and may improve heart health and blood sugar control (1, 2).

Here are 8 things that may sabotage your weight loss efforts on a keto diet.

1. You’re eating too many carbs

One of the main reasons people don’t lose weight on the ketogenic diet is that they’re consuming too many carbs.

To reach the state of ketosis — a metabolic state in which your body burns fat for energy instead of glucose — carbohydrate intake must be drastically reduced.

In fact, only around 5% of your total calories should come from carbs (3).

This is in stark contrast to the standard dietary recommendation that 45–65% of calories come from carbs (4).

It’s normal to have a bit of difficulty cutting out carbs when first adjusting to the ketogenic diet.

However, to reach and maintain ketosis, carbs must be decreased to the recommended range.

To help reach your intake goals, consider tracking your macronutrients through an app like MyFitnessPal.

This can help you learn how many servings of carbs you’re allowed to have in a day depending on your calorie needs.

Summary

To lose weight on a ketogenic diet, carbs must be decreased to reach the state of ketosis and induce fat burning.

No matter what dietary plan follow, the key to healthy weight loss is to consume nutritious, whole foods.

Relying on processed foods can put a dent in your weight loss even if they’re keto-friendly.

Adding in foods like snack bars, keto desserts and other packaged foods between meals can derail your weight loss efforts with the extra calories they provide.

Additionally, eating too many convenience-type foods like hot dogs and fast food when you’re on the run can slow weight loss.

These foods are nutrient-poor, meaning they’re high in calories but low in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

To optimize your nutrient intake while losing weight on the keto diet, stick to unprocessed, whole foods.

For example, full-fat dairy products, eggs, fish, pastured meats, poultry and healthy fats like avocado and olive oil are all great choices.

Be sure to add non-starchy vegetables like greens, broccoli, peppers and mushrooms to dishes to add nutrients and fiber.

Summary

To optimize weight loss when following a ketogenic diet, avoid consuming too many processed foods and instead focus on meals and snacks that contain fresh, whole ingredients.

When trying to lose weight, it’s critical to create a calorie deficit.

This can be achieved by either reducing the number of calories that you consume or by expending more calories through increased physical activity.

If you switch to a keto diet and don’t watch your calorie intake, you’re unlikely to drop pounds.

Because many keto-friendly foods, including avocados, olive oil, full-fat dairy and nuts, are high in calories, it’s important not to overdo it.

Most people feel more satisfied after eating ketogenic meals and snacks due to the filling effects of fat and protein.

However, it’s entirely possible to consume too many calories on a ketogenic diet by eating portions that are too large or by snacking on high-calorie foods throughout the day.

Paying attention to portion size, increasing physical activity and snacking in moderation between meals can help create the calorie deficit needed to lose weight.

Summary

When following any diet, it’s important to create a calorie deficit to promote weight loss. Curbing portion sizes, limiting snacks between meals and being more active can help you drop excess pounds.

The ketogenic diet is an effective weight loss tool.

However, if you’re having a difficult time losing weight even though you’re doing everything right, it’s a good idea to rule out any medical issues that may be preventing weight loss success.

Hypothyroidism, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), Cushing’s syndrome, depression and hyperinsulinemia (high insulin levels) are medical issues that can cause weight gain and make it difficult to lose weight (5, 6, 7, 8).

These conditions can be ruled out by your doctor through a series of tests.

If you have one of the conditions listed above, don’t despair.

Through proper management, including medication if necessary and lifestyle and dietary modifications, you can achieve and maintain healthy weight loss.

Summary

Certain medical conditions, such as hypothyroidism and depression, can make it hard to lose weight. Consult your doctor to rule out an underlying medical issue if you’re having a particularly hard time dropping the pounds.

It’s normal to want fast results when following a new diet plan, but it’s important to remember that weight loss can vary from person to person.

Although the ketogenic diet can promote weight loss if properly followed, the rate at which you lose may not be rapid — and that’s okay.

Small, consistent change is the key to losing and maintaining weight the healthy way.

While it may be tempting to aim for lofty weight loss goals, most experts recommend that losing 1–3 pounds or about 0.5–1 kg per week (depending on weight) is best (9).

Not to mention, if you adopt a new workout routine that involves weight lifting, you may gain muscle while losing fat.

Though this can lead to slower weight loss, putting on muscle mass and decreasing fat mass benefits health in many ways. It can reduce your risk of heart disease and improve bone health (10, 11).

Instead of relying solely on the scale, take weekly measurements of your arms, thighs and midsection to track your progress.

Summary

A healthy weight loss of 1–3 pounds or about 0.5–1 kg per week can help you stay on track and maintain weight loss over time.

Snacking on healthy food can be an effective way to prevent hunger between meals and overeating.

Yet, consuming too many high-calorie ketogenic snacks like nuts, nut butter, fat bombs, cheese and jerky may cause your weight loss to plateau.

Though these snacks are healthy in moderation, it’s best to choose lower-calorie options if you’re having more than one snack session per day.

Foods like non-starchy vegetables or proteins can keep you feeling full without the calories.

Flavorful snacks like celery sticks and cherry tomatoes dipped in guacamole or a hard-boiled egg with some cut up veggies are smart choices for those following ketogenic diets.

Plus, adding extra non-starchy vegetables to your diet adds a dose of fiber that can help keep your digestive system regular, which can be especially helpful for those first transitioning to a keto diet.

Summary

Choose keto-friendly, lower-calorie foods for satisfying snacks that won’t cause you to pack on pounds.

Research shows that stress, especially chronic stress, and lack of sleep can negatively impact weight loss (12).

When your body is stressed, it produces excess amounts of a hormone called cortisol.

Elevated levels of cortisol, commonly known as the stress hormone, can encourage your body to store fat, especially in the belly area (13).

Additionally, those who are chronically stressed are often sleep deprived, which has also been linked to weight gain.

Studies suggest that a lack of sleep negatively impacts hunger-regulating hormones, such as leptin and ghrelin, causing increased appetite (14).

You can lower stress and improve sleep by trying techniques like meditation or yoga and spending less time on electronic devices (15).

Summary

Stress and lack of sleep can negatively impact weight loss. Do your best to reduce stress and get enough sleep.

Incorporating more physical activity into your lifestyle is vital when trying to lose weight on a ketogenic diet.

Aside from stimulating fat loss, adopting an exercise routine benefits health in countless ways.

For example, exercise lowers your risk of chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, depression, anxiety and obesity (16).

Not only does engaging in physical activity burn calories, but it also helps build muscle, which can give your metabolism a boost by increasing the amount of energy burned at rest (17).

Though starting an exercise routine can be difficult — particularly for those new to working out — there are ways to make it easier.

Creating a workout schedule and sticking to it is the best way to bolster a healthy exercise habit.

Set a goal of three to four days a week and choose a time that’s most convenient for your schedule.

Keep yourself motivated by storing a gym bag in your car for after work or by laying out exercise clothes before bed to keep you on task for early morning workouts.

Summary

Exercise benefits health in many ways and stimulates weight loss. Make exercise a habit by setting aside time for a few workouts a week.

Along with other healthy lifestyle changes, the ketogenic diet can be an effective weight loss tool.

However, there are various reasons why some people may fail to see the results they desire.

Eating too many calories, lack of activity, chronic stress, underlying medical issues and not following the recommended macronutrient ranges can all negatively impact weight loss.

To maximize weight loss on a ketogenic diet, get adequate sleep, reduce stress, be more active and consume whole, nutritious, low-carb foods whenever possible.

Do Calories Matter On The Keto Diet? Both Arguments Analyzed

Of the many approaches to dieting, the ketogenic diet, typically referred to as just the keto diet, has certainly become one of the most popular, or at least most highly discussed diets.

It seems like there’s always another keto diet product coming out, with everything from cereals and bars to pancake syrup substitutes and entire meal kit delivery service boxes.

The keto diet is a very low-carbohydrate diet that focuses primarily on eating fat, with some contribution from protein as well.

Some proponents of the ketogenic diet say you don’t need to count calories on the keto diet, and you can still lose weight. But is this true? Do calories matter on the keto diet, or can you eat as much as you want on keto and still lose weight?

In this article, we will discuss if calories matter on the keto diet or if you can just use intuitive eating and still lose weight. 

We will cover: 

• What Is the Keto Diet?

• Do Calories Matter On The Keto Diet?

Let’s dive in! 

What Is the Keto Diet?

The keto diet, which is technically called the ketogenic diet, is a high-fat diet that’s very low in carbohydrates and contains a moderate amount of protein. 

Although there is some flexibility and variations in the specific macronutrient ratios on the keto diet, experts suggest that most ketogenic diets involve consuming 70–75% of your calories from fat, 20-25% of your calories from protein, and 5–10% of your calories from carbohydrates.  

Other people following the keto diet are advised to stick with specific limits in terms of grams of carbohydrates. For example, some keto experts say that you should consume a maximum of 20 grams of carbohydrates per day, which is extremely low. 

A maximum of 50 grams of carbohydrates per day is more standard or capping carb intake at 5% of your total daily caloric intake. So, for example, if you eat 2,000 calories a day, you could eat 100 grams of carbohydrates per day on the ketogenic diet.

Keto diet meals are built around healthy fats and typically animal proteins, including foods like fatty fish, meat, nuts, cheese, avocados, coconut, seeds, and oils. 

The purpose of the keto diet is to bring the body into a state of ketosis, which occurs in a metabolic state where the body is burning only fat for fuel rather than carbohydrates.

Ketosis is thought to not only promote weight loss and fat loss but also provide additional health benefits, such as providing a neuroprotective function and increasing insulin sensitivity.

So, do you count calories on Keto, or can you eat as much as you want on Keto? Let’s see!

Do Calories Matter On The Keto Diet?

If you’ve ever adopted any type of diet in an effort to lose weight, you’ve likely received the advice to count calories. 

The concept that you don’t need to count calories on the keto diet stems from the idea that “not all calories are created equally” and that the calories in the foods you eat on the keto diet are metabolized differently and not as much of the “net” energy is absorbed by the body. 

This can be somewhat controversial. Let’s take a look at a few of the main arguments:

Although it is true, in theory, that certain foods affect the body differently, the differences in the amount of net energy various macronutrients provide are typically not significant enough to fully eliminate the need to be mindful of your caloric balance. 

The thermic effect of food (TEF) refers to how much energy it takes for your body to break down the nutrients in the foods you eat, and it’s one of the constituents of your total daily energy expenditure.

For example, it takes more energy, or caloric expenditure, to break down protein than it does carbohydrates, so the thermic effect of food for protein is greater than it is for carbs. In fact, about 25% of the calories in protein are used up in the process of digesting the protein, while the TEF of carbohydrates is around 8%. 

This means that if you eat 100 calories of protein, you theoretically only yield a net of 75 calories, whereas you’d get 92 calories out of the carbohydrates.

With that said, most research suggests that proteins actually contain about 5.2 calories per gram and the 4 calories per gram nutrition labeling used already takes into account the energy lost through the thermic effect of food.

Therefore, this is something to be mindful of when you are following the keto diet. Don’t automatically assume that you are only absorbing some of the calories in the foods that you’re eating. 

Moreover, one of the common mistakes that people make when following the keto diet is consuming too much protein.  

The keto diet is really a fat-focused diet. You should only be consuming about 20 to 25% of your total daily caloric intake from proteins, so even if protein is metabolized in a more energy-demanding process than carbohydrates and fats, only about one-quarter of your daily caloric intake is coming from proteins anyway.

Some studies suggest that you might burn an additional 300 calories a day on the keto diet due to the thermic effect of food, so while this isn’t insignificant, it’s also not massive.

Finally, the other reason that people say that you do not need to count calories on the keto diet is that proteins and fats are much more satiating, and if you just listen to your hunger cues, you won’t end up overeating.

This speaks to the concept of intuitive eating, which basically just states that you can let your hunger cues and cravings guide your eating choices, and this should naturally bring your body to a healthy weight.

This argument against the need to count calories on the keto diet holds a lot of water.  

Numerous studies have demonstrated that both protein and fat are more satiating than carbohydrates. 

This can mean that if you listen to your hunger cues, rather than just eating because it’s “meal time” or you emotionally want to eat, you won’t consume as many calories on the keto diet because you won’t be as hungry, and your appetite and energy levels will be more stable. 

Proponents of the keto diet say that what differentiates the keto diet from the Atkins diet or some other low-carb diets is that you don’t need to count calories on the keto diet; you only need to count carbs.

The principle is that you can still lose weight on the keto diet without counting calories because you will naturally become satisfied with much less food/calories, so it’s pretty hard to overeat on the keto diet.

While it is true that protein and fat are more satisfying, and you might even get a metabolic boost eating these macronutrients instead of carbohydrates, it’s arguably shortsighted to assume that everyone can follow the keto diet being totally mindful of their body’s hunger cues and only eating exactly as much as their body ends up needing.

We eat food for many reasons, including emotional ones that have no biochemical connection to how many calories the body needs.

Furthermore, if you are following the keto diet to lose weight, you inherently need to be generating a caloric deficit. This means that you need to be taking in fewer calories than your body is burning in a day.

If your metabolism is working well, your body’s hunger cues should be in line with how much energy you actually need in a day to maintain your weight, not lose weight.

Our biological survival mechanisms are designed to support homeostasis, so in most cases, your body wants to maintain the weight that you are currently at unless you are significantly under or overweight.

Thus, just relying on eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are satisfied may not yield enough of a caloric deficit to actually lose weight.

Overall, the keto diet can definitely be an effective weight loss diet, but how much weight you lose on keto really does come down to how many calories you are eating versus how many calories you are burning, even if you aren’t counting them.

What have you decided? Do you count calories on Keto?

Whether or not you should count calories on the keto diet really comes down to your goals and how dialed in you are to your appetite.

If you want to ensure significant weight loss, it probably makes sense to count your calories and not just your carbs, and if you tend to overeat or eat just for the sake of eating, counting calories also becomes more important for achieving weight loss on the keto diet.

On the other hand, if you are satisfied with a more natural and gradual body transformation and you tend to only eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full, there is no reason that you need to count calories on the keto diet. Take the stress out of eating and enjoy the nourishing foods you put in your body.

To learn more about the Keto diet and decide if it is right for you, check out our article: Is The Keto Diet Healthy? 5 Common Mistakes While On Keto.

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Do I need to count calories on keto to lose weight?

Most approaches to weight loss are based on calorie restriction. Usually the essence of these approaches is to replace high-calorie foods.
like fatty meats, dairy products, sweets for low-fat options, low-calorie vegetables, leafy greens.

And what about keto? Why do people lose weight when high-calorie fats are the basis of the diet? Why this diet is not necessary
counting and limiting calories specifically? Or is it still necessary?

What are calories?

The caloric content or energy value of a product is the amount of energy that the body will receive when it is fully assimilated.

Energy is stored in the chemical bonds of proteins, fats and carbohydrates that make up foods. When digesting food, large
macronutrient molecules with high energy are broken down into smaller ones with lower energy, namely amino acids, glycerol, fatty
acids, monosaccharides. In this case, part of the energy is released and used by the body for the synthesis of ATP or converted into heat.

To maintain metabolism and basic life functions such as respiration, heartbeat, body temperature, etc. ,
Every person in a state of rest needs a certain amount of energy. This amount is called the basal metabolic rate.
Its value depends on age, gender, weight, physique, genetics and other factors. To determine the level
basal metabolism there are special formulas that allow you to approximately calculate this value by weight, sex, height and age.
Approximately, because these formulas do not take into account individual factors.

The basal metabolic rate does not include the energy that we spend on normal daily activities, walking, playing sports.
The more active a person’s lifestyle is, the more additional calories they need.

A calorie deficit doesn’t always work…

Losing weight based on a calorie deficit is based on burning more calories than you eat. In that
case, in order to obtain the missing energy, the body will expend its reserves, that is, body fat.

But in reality it’s not so simple… The body is a very complex system in which all processes are interconnected. And the scarcity method
calories doesn’t always work, especially in the long run.

Many other more important factors influence weight change. That is why some people can eat a lot and not get better, but
others gain extra pounds just by looking at food or do not lose weight even with severe calorie restriction.

What other factors are important for losing weight?

One of them is hormones that regulate the feeling of hunger and satiety, the formation of fat deposits. First of all, insulin
glucagon and leptin:

• Insulin is produced in response to an increase in blood glucose after a meal. Affects the storage and burning of fat reserves.
  It is sometimes referred to as the fat storage hormone because it promotes fat storage and inhibits lipolysis. The more carbohydrates in food,
  the more insulin is released;
• Glucagon is an insulin antagonist hormone. Released when blood glucose levels are low. To maintain homeostasis, triggers
  extracting energy from reserve sources, namely glucose from glycogen or, in case of glycogen deficiency, ketone bodies from fat
  deposits;
• Leptin is an adipose tissue hormone that regulates energy metabolism. Also known as satiety hormone. Suppresses appetite
  promotes fat burning. Leptin signals the abundance of energy resources and the absence of the need to replenish them at the expense of
  food.

Chronic inflammatory processes often become an obstacle to weight loss. Their causes may be untreated infections, stress,
sleep deprivation, smoking. Inflammation affects metabolism, immune and endocrine systems. Promotes development
insulin resistance, fluid retention, impaired absorption of nutrients.

In addition to the above physiological aspects, one should not forget about the psychological and physical comfort of the diet. One of the reasons,
where a calorie deficit doesn’t work is that it’s hard for people to limit themselves all the time. They experience a strong feeling of hunger,
especially at the beginning. Also, weighing everything, writing it down, being afraid to eat a product with an unknown calorie content is not always convenient and possible.

Any method of losing weight will be effective only if a person can easily and without pain adhere to it.
Otherwise, breakdowns are inevitable.

Why not count calories on keto?

Ketogenic diets outperform low-calorie diets in the long run. Even when keto nutrition contains
more calories. Why?

The fact is that low-carbohydrate diets affect the causes of weight gain: eating behavior, metabolism, production
hormones.

You can lose weight on a ketogenic diet without specifically counting calories, because it:

• Eliminates cravings for overeating, sharp spikes in glucose and insulin levels that cause carbohydrates, especially refined ones.
  On keto, the body regulates appetite adequately to energy costs;
• Excludes junk food (fast food, sweets, chips, etc.) specifically designed to cause food addiction
  and stimulate appetite;
• Satisfies more and satisfies the feeling of hunger for a long time, since the diet is based on fats, and they are much more nutritious than
  carbohydrates;
• Helps eliminate inflammation and other factors that cause fat cell dysfunction;
• Affects hormones that regulate appetite and are responsible for burning fat reserves. Especially for people who are overweight
  weight or insulin resistance. Low insulin levels promote the breakdown of fats and prevent their accumulation. In the same
  In the direction of reducing blood glucose levels, glucagon works, since glycogen stores on keto are depleted. ketogenic diet
  also increases the level of the satiety hormone leptin and maintains sensitivity to it;
• Increases resting metabolic rate compared to conventional diets. Due to increased energy expenditure on ketogenic
  diet, you can eat a little more calories without compromising the figure.

Ketogenic nutrition prioritizes food quality over quantity. Thanks to stable glucose and insulin levels, keto is much more
more comfortable and easier to keep the calorie intake. And this happens intuitively, without special calculations. People who adhere
ketos tend to eat significantly less and are in a calorie deficit without even realizing it.

When to count?

Although a ketogenic diet boosts your metabolism and burns more calories, if you stick hard
on fatty high-calorie foods, without listening to the feeling of hunger and the needs of the body, you will not be able to lose weight.

Calorie counting isn’t against keto, it’s just not usually necessary. Counting calories on keto is recommended only in two
cases.

The first is when there is doubt that you are in ketosis. On keto, first of all, the correct ratio of BJU is important, and only then
the number of calories. Carbohydrates should be 5%, proteins 20% and fats 75% of daily calories. If you are not sure that you are following
these proportions, check yourself. Calculate how many calories you eat per day, and estimate the percentage of macronutrients. Usually
such checks are very helpful at the beginning of the transition to keto. It happens that despite the severe restriction of carbohydrates, a person consumes
more protein and less fat than you need. Then, due to gluconeogenesis (the formation of glucose from amino acids), the body exits
from a state of ketosis.

The second case is when you are sure that you are exactly observing the ratio of BJU necessary for keto, but still you are not losing weight. If not
inflammation and hormonal problems are solved, there is a possibility of overeating and eating excess calories. After all, healthy fats (coconut
butter, ghee, olive oil) are still quite high-calorie foods. If, for example, 100 g of an apple contains 50 kcal, then
100 g of coconut oil – 900 kcal. Calculate how many calories you eat per day, and compare this value with
the recommended rate for the keto diet for your parameters. If there is a strong search, then for weight loss the number of calories you need
cut.

Of course, calories are important for weight management, but this is just one of the factors. You also need to take into account the state of the hormonal
background, chronic disease, lifestyle.

Counting calories at the same time as the BJU ratio does not contradict the principles of keto. At first, many even need it, because
that without experience it is impossible to determine “by eye” the amount of BJU. But if you are happy with the results of changing weight on keto, then eaten
calories can’t be counted.

Learn to listen to your body, especially to the feeling of hunger and satiety. Eat consciously, choose
natural products with minimal processing and high nutritional value, rich in healthy fats, high quality protein,
vitamins, minerals. This will help you stay full for a long time, get rid of harmful food addictions, do not overeat and keep
health.

Keto diet for 1545 kcal (BZHU 70/130/20) – Power systems

Ketosis is a natural state of the body in which energy is taken not from glucose, but from processed fat (ketones).

To go into nutritional ketosis, you need:

• a stable low level of sugar, and therefore insulin. As long as there is insulin, it imposes a carbohydrate type of energy production on the cells;
• depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles. On a low-carb diet, it takes 48 hours to deplete glycogen stores.

The most important ingredient for maintaining ketosis is protein. But you should not consume too much protein, as amino acids can be converted into glucose. The essence of the keto diet is the transition of energy exchange in cells and tissues from glycolysis to ketolysis (from the breakdown of glucose, as the main source of energy, to the breakdown of ketones – fats).

When compiling a keto diet, height, weight, and physical activity are taken into account. At 1500 Kcal, the ratio B 70 g / W 130 g / U 20 g will be considered optimal. For all BJU, you can put a range of +/-5 g.

We offer a 3-meal keto diet option.

Breakfast (565 kcal): Bacon and eggs + armored coffee

• Chicken egg – 2 pcs.
• Bacon – 40 gr.
• Cucumber – 60 gr.
• Coffee – 200 ml.
• Coconut oil – 10 gr.
• Ghee butter – 10 gr.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat, fry the bacon. Crack the eggs into the skillet, cover and cook until the eggs are done. Put the bacon and eggs and chopped cucumber on a plate. Bronekofe is also prepared very simply, oil is added to hot coffee, it is well stirred, you can beat it with a cappuccinatore.

Lunch (620 kcal): Warm salad with beef + tea

• Boiled beef – 90 gr.
• Iceberg lettuce – 60 gr.
• Avocado – 85 gr.
• Cucumber – 60 gr.
• Radishes – 40 gr.
• Salt (to taste) – 1 gr.
• Pepper (to taste) – 1 gr.
• Olive oil – 20 gr.
• Lemon juice – 10 gr.
• Chamomile tea – 200 gr.

Cut boiled meat as desired. Cut the rest of the ingredients, tear the salad with your hands. Mix everything in a bowl, add salt and pepper to taste. Fill with olive oil. Add lemon juice to chamomile tea.

Dinner (360 kcal): Chicken liver with broccoli

• Chicken liver – 90 gr.
• Broccoli – 60 gr.
• Garlic – 6 gr.
• Lemon juice – 10 gr.
• Coconut oil – 20 gr.
• Salt – 1 gr.
• Ground pepper – 1 gr.
• Sesame – 5 gr.

Steam the broccoli. Heat the oil in a frying pan, fry the liver for 8-10 minutes until cooked.