5 Reasons Why You're Not Losing Weight On Keto

Written by Molly Becker, Director of KetoBars, on January 20th 2021

Not seeing the weight loss results you're looking for on keto? One (or more) of these 5 reasons may be why!

Read Time: 5 min

We've all felt the frustration of starting a new diet. You stick to it for weeks making sure that you eat right, work out, and drink plenty of water. Then, you step on the scale to find... no change at all. You've seen all of the keto success stories, so why haven't YOU started losing weight yet!?

We gathered a list of 5 common reasons why you're not losing weight on keto plus some tips to help get you on track to achieving your goals. Check them out here! 👇

#1 You're not in ketosis yet.

Yes, it's possible that you are not actually be in ketosis yet. The most common reason for not achieving ketosis is not cutting out enough carbs.

You may feel that you've decreased your carb intake enough but you could still be eating enough carbs for your body to produce energy from glucose (instead of fat) preventing your body from burning that fat. Typically, you will have to reduce your carb intake to anywhere between 20-50g per day to achieve ketosis.

Tips:
• Start testing your ketone levels with an at home test kit.
• Keep track of your daily carb intake (net and total) by keeping a food journal.

#2 You're consuming too many or too fewcalories.

No matter what diet you're following, if you want to lose weight it is important to create a calorie deficit. You can achieve a calorie deficit either by reducing the number of calories you consume or by expending more calories through exercise.

On the other hand, eating too few calories could also cause your weight loss to halt. On the keto diet, we often feel much more satiated since we are eating a diet high in fat, making us eat less frequently. You may think that this will, in turn, cause you to lose even more weight. However, this can cause your body to go into "starvation mode", slowing your metabolism and hindering your weight loss efforts.

Tips:
• Keep track of the amount of calories you are taking in.
• Increase your physical activity.
• A decreased appetite should return to normal in a few weeks after starting keto. If it doesn't, talk to your doctor.

#3 You're eating too much protein.

The keto diet allows for a moderate amount of protein. However, some people mistakenly think that a low carb, high protein diet is keto. This type of diet is not considered keto because the body can break down excess proteins into amino acids and convert them into types of sugar.

A person on the keto diet will get about 70-80% of their calories from fat and 10-20% from protein. If protein makes up more of your calorie intake, you may not be able to reach ketosis.

Tips:
• Keep track of exactly how much protein you're eating.
• You can use this guide to calculate your ideal protein needs.

#4 You're stressed / not getting enough sleep.

These days, it's a challenge to NOT be stressed out. But, stress and lack of sleep have a huge impact on your life and can actually negatively impact weight loss, too.

When your body is experiencing stress, it produces excess amounts of a hormone called cortisol (aka the stress hormone). Elevated levels of cortisol can actually encourage your body to store fat, especially in the belly area.

Tips:
• Reduce stress by practicing yoga or meditating.
• Minimize time on electronics & social media.

#5 You have food sensitivities.

Food sensitivities can actually contribute to not losing weight, even if you are following your keto diet perfectly. The most common food sensitivity is to dairy (cheese, cream, butter, etc).

Eating a food that you are sensitive to can cause imbalances in the gut, which leads to overall inflammation in the body. Inflammation will prevent weight loss and increases weight gain.

Tips:
• Pay attention to what foods make you feel worse. Then, try cutting those foods out.
• Talk to your doctor, they may recommend an elimination diet to find the foods that are causing inflammation.

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