It can be so frustrating when you see everyone else’s results on Keto – you see their progress pictures and may be thinking to yourself “what am I doing wrong”? Let me first remind you that you are NOT alone! It’s so easy for us to see the worst in ourselves and the best in others and wonder why we don’t measure up. But the struggles you may be facing are not unique and others have faced these same challenges. One of those is the question of why you may not be losing on Keto.

Reason #1 – Too Much Protein

It’s actually possible to get too much of a good thing! Especially if you are choosing to transition down from 3 meals a day to 2 meals a day or even 1 meal a day. Your body can only process a finite amount of protein. So remember that your goal is to keep to between 3-6 ounces of protein on average per meal if you’re eating 3 meals a day – that’s 9-18 ounces of protein per day. If you’re doing 2 meals a day that would look like 6-9 ounces of protein per meal per day. And that’s still going to be okay. But if you’re doing 1 meal a day your body simply can’t process 12-18 ounces of protein for that one meal. So if you’re not losing as you think you should, start by checking your protein. 

Reason #2 – Your Carb Count is Off

Carbs are sneaky!!! And sometimes you can “nickel and dime” yourself over your carb limit for the day. This can sometimes happen if you’re not paying attention to your beverage choices. You may think that because a beverage has a low carb count that you don’t need to pay as much attention. But those carbs add up. Especially when you’re just starting it’s really a good idea to track every bit of food AND drink that you’re consuming. That way you can identify areas where carbs may be sneaking into your daily calories. 

Reason #3 – You Are No Longer In Ketosis

A sure fire way to stop losing weight is to drop out of ketosis. One main aspect of Keto is getting your body into ketosis and KEEPING your body in ketosis because when you’re not in ketosis you won’t burn fat at the same rate. If you hit a stall it’s a good idea to go back to basics and track your protein, fat and carbohydrate to insure that you are giving your body the tools it needs to be in ketosis. 

Reason #4 – Stress

So many times we underestimate the power that stress can have – not just on our emotions but on our body. Stress can really cause havoc and can totally lead to a stall in your Keto journey. When we’re stressed our body releases Cortisol which can really make losing weight much more difficult. We tend to retain water and hold on to fat which is opposite of what we’re looking to do. So managing your stress can make a big difference in moving forward with your weight loss goals. 

So if you’re not losing as you think you should, check out any or all of these reasons and kick your body back into gear!

Macronutrients

There are three major macronutrients (macros) that supply your body with energy and those are carbohydrates, protein and fat. Ideally, you’ll want to eat 5% carbs, 20% protein, and 75% fat as part of your total calories for the day. Another way you can work with these numbers is with grams. Don’t get totally stuck on hitting these exact numbers, though. It’s been my experience that the simpler you keep things, especially in the beginning the more success you’ll find with the least amount of stress.

How does it look?

So what does this breakdown look like? Well, it depends a lot on the choices you make when it comes to what TYPE of foods you’re eating. It also depends on whether you’re eating a traditional 3 meals a day or if you are working towards starting Intermittent Fasting and moving towards 2 meals or even 1 meal a day. For example you can eat 7 to 10 CUPS of a good number of vegetables and still be in 5% of your total calories. Or you can eat one slice of bread (don’t do that – this is for example purposes only!). A quick sample of what this would look like for one day, eating 3 meals is as follows:

Breakfast:

1-3 eggs with 1 T of coconut oil

Bell Peppers/Cucumbers/Celery/Cauliflower

Avocado

Almond Milk

Lunch:

5-10 cups mixed greens

Onion/Tomato/Radish/Celery

Red Wine Vinaigrette

3-6 oz Hamburger patty

Keto Peanut Butter Cup

Dinner:

Keto Chicken Wings – 10

Mashed Cauliflower

Brie Cheese – 4 oz

You Can Do This!

I mean now, come on!!! Does this look like a sacrifice? You can eat, and eat really well with adequate food to keep you full and satisfied. These are examples only – you can swap out foods you don’t like and swap in things that you do.  And learning the simple steps to break down how that looks will make your success a reality.

Reason #1 – Eating all of that fat will cause me to have a heart attack

Okay, it’s good to care about your heart health so this is a valid concern. There is often a lot of confusion about eating fat and how eating too much fat can be bad for your heart health, especially as it relates to your cholesterol levels. But did you know that your body makes cholesterol? It actually makes 3000 milligrams. Cholesterol is there to make hormones to help heal the body among other things. All 100 TRILLION cells have a lining around the cell wall that is made from cholesterol, which is a type of fat. So we NEED fat, but we need HEALTHY fat. When eating Keto, fat is also important in allowing you to stay satiated from one meal to the next. And not only that, fat is not going to trigger insulin.

Reason #2 – Keto is a dangerous way to eat

The Ketogenic diet (Keto) became popular in the 1920’s and 1930’s as a way to emulate the success that came from the use of fasting to treat epilepsy. As far back as Ancient Greek cultures have used the theory of restricting parts of your diet and fasting as a way to help with health issues. The first modern study of fasting and how it impacted epilepsy was done in France around 1911. Further studies such as those done by Dr. Wilder at the Mayo Clinic studied how some patients with epilepsy responded positively when their blood sugar was lowered by eating a high-fat, low carb diet. The “classic keto” diet is attributed to Dr. Peterman from the Mayo Clinic and this is one method of Keto still followed today. So the Keto Diet is not a fad diet but is instead a medical approach to eating. In fact, running your body on sugar is what is dangerous. 

Reason #3 – I’m going to get too hungry

While there is a period of adjustment as in all changes you make to your way of eating, it’s actually the exact opposite that occurs when eating Keto. Your first goal is to reach a state of Ketosis (we’ll talk about his more in another article). Ketosis actually changes your metabolism so that you’re burning fat for fuel rather than carbohydrates. And when you’re in Ketosis your appetite is naturally reduced. In addition, when you’re focusing on healthy Keto which is what I recommend, you’ll be eating more than ample amounts of high quality, nutrient dense foods. By eating foods that supply a high level of satisfaction along with the ability to burn at a slower pace, you’re able to avoid feeling hungry. Instead, you feel satisfied and full.