An important part of a weight loss journey is realizing that it won’t happen overnight as it requires dedication, motivation, and effort.
But, after a few weeks of months of sticking to a healthy low carb/ keto diet your scale decides to stop moving. Not seeing results may become frustrating and overwhelming.
- 1. You’re Eating Too Many Sweeteners
- 2. You’re Eating Too Many Calories
- 3. You are Having Too Much Protein
- 4. You’re Eating Too Many Carbs
- 5. You’re Having Too Many Cheat Meals
- 6. You’re Eating Too Many Keto Desserts or Low Carb Treats
- 7. You’re Overeating Nuts and Dairy
- 8: You’re Close to Your Goal Weight
- 9. Your Stress Levels are High
- 10. You’re Not Getting Enough Sleep
- 11. You’re Drinking Bulletproof Coffee Too Often
This article lists 11 common reasons why you’re not losing weight on keto.
It also contains a few tips on how to break the plateau and enjoying the results.
1. You’re Eating Too Many Sweeteners
It’s fantastic to treat yourself to something sweet now and then. Sweeteners are safe to use for most of the people, but for some, it causes intense cravings for real sugar.
As I love to experiment on myself first and then show my results, along with following strict ketogenic macros, I ditched all the artificial sweeteners from my diet for a few weeks (including diet sodas, which yeah I know contain aspartame that’s very harmful, but oh well, we’re humans).
I can relate that I didn’t have sugar cravings anymore, my headaches were gone, and I dropped a few pounds even I didn’t want to. Every person reacts different to sweeteners, and I recommend you to limit your daily consumption and focus on real food.
2. You’re Eating Too Many Calories
I know you’ve heard that on a low carb way of eating such as the ketogenic diet or Atkins diet you only have to stay under the daily limit of carbs and eat as much protein and fat as you can and still lose tons of weight.
Fat is twice more dense caloric than carbs, so therefore the calories add up quickly.
No diet in the world recommends unlimited calories for weight loss.
So if you are not losing weight, you should consider finding your ideal macronutrients (here’s the best keto calculator) and stick with them, because calories matter even on a low carb diet.
Some studies show that tracking food intake helps with weight loss. It’s shown that people who keep a food diary tend to lose more weight than those who don’t. People who use food diaries or photograph their meals consistently lose more weight than people who don’t. (1)
3. You are Having Too Much Protein
In the book “The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living,” Dr. Phinney and Volek recommend eating 0.6 – 1 gram of protein per a pound of lean mass and 1.3 – 2.2 grams of protein per a kilogram of lean mass every day (lean mass = total body weight without fat).
Be sure you are eating enough protein because it will make you feel satiated.
Load up your breakfast on protein because studies show that people who eat a high-protein breakfast tend to be less hungry and have fewer cravings throughout the day (2).
In keto, reaching your protein macro is a goal.
4. You’re Eating Too Many Carbs
Every person has a different level of carb tolerance. Try to eat fewer carbs than you are already eating.
For example, if you are eating 30-40g carbs, go for 20-25 for a while and see how your body reacts.
Also, be aware of the hidden carbs in sauces and processed products that can sabotage your carb counting.
Use an online macros calculator, like myfitnesspal.com and track all your foods to make sure you are getting enough of the other nutrients.
If you are eating fruits like berries, try to eliminate them for a while and see how your body reacts.
5. You’re Having Too Many Cheat Meals
Cheating on a ketogenic diet will take you out of ketosis and cause severe sugar & processed food cravings.
A cheat meal can turn into cheat days fast.
Going back on the track brings the keto flu symptoms which are not that pleasant. Some of the symptoms include headache, dizziness, and low energy levels.
It will take longer to become fat-adapted and to enjoy all the real benefits of this way of eating.
6. You’re Eating Too Many Keto Desserts or Low Carb Treats
Protein bars, shakes, ice-cream, sauces, and most pre-packed foods should be used in moderation, as a treat.
More and more products appear under the label of “keto-friendly,” “low-carb”, “paleo”, but if you take a look at the ingredients list, you will notice that most of them aren’t allowed on a keto diet.
Eating them on a daily basis can cause cravings. It would be an impressive thing if you could try to stay away from this kind of snacks and focus on eating real foods like high-quality meats, healthy sources of fat and green vegetables.
Also, take a look at how much you indulge in homemade sweets like low carb pancakes, brownies, cookies, etc.
7. You’re Overeating Nuts and Dairy
Nuts are packed with a lot of healthy fats and nutrients, for sure.
Nuts taste great, are crunchy, and you may eat a large amount of them without even notice.
The best example it’s myself because I can empty a bag of almonds or hazelnuts in no time. And there are more calories and carbs that I would allow myself getting in one day.
Let’s not forget to mention how much I love Nut Butters which are easier to overeat too, and they are very calorie-dense. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about, we’re all been there.
Make sure you portion your nuts & cheeses wisely. If you are like me and have no self-control when it comes to nuts, eliminate them from your diet or eat them only on special occasions like when you are in a hurry, or there’s nothing else to eat.
8: You’re Close to Your Goal Weight
You’ve come a long way, and you are now closer to your goal weight.
Things get harder as you approach your ideal weight because your body tries to keep you at a healthy weight.
I know from my experience that it took forever to lose my last 10 pounds.
Weight loss is generally a very slow process and it’s not a linear process. Don’t lose patience before reaching your end goal.
You should be very careful with your calorie intake so you can create a deficit. Always recalculate your BMR as you are losing weight.
9. Your Stress Levels are High
Stress is well known for causing many illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer. The way you can manage the daily stress can affect your weight loss progress.
To understand how stress is sabotaging your diet we have to learn about cortisol.
10. You’re Not Getting Enough Sleep
Getting enough sleep is a very important factor when it comes to both mental and physical health, as well as your weight.
Poor sleep it’s a major stressor that can cause your weight to stall.
You will maximize your results if you sleep at least 8 hours at night. Studies show that getting more sleep may help you lose weight.
11. You’re Drinking Bulletproof Coffee Too Often
You enjoy your cup of coffee with butter, coconut oil, and cream. I love it too, especially with some cinnamon and vanilla extract. Sounds delicious, right?
This drink is promoted as a breakfast replacement for faster weight-loss. Having multiple cups of keto bulletproof coffee won’t help you through the process.
Ditch the bulletproof coffee and fat bombs for a while and see what happens and how your body reacts!
PS: If you don’t want to get so technical with your macros and are still confused about your daily requirements, but want to achieve excellent results, you can consider joining my program Keto For Fat Loss for expert help & daily motivation. This program is designed to you THE FAST RESULTS YOU WANT, REDUCE YOUR BODY FAT, IMPROVE YOUR OVERALL HEALTH & ENERGY LEVELS.
Hope you enjoyed the article and were able to learn something that you can apply to your life.
Do you have any more tips that I forgot to mention? Leave a comment!
Nice article its very helpfull thanks for sharing
I lost 35 pounds in a reasonable amount of time but stalled several months ago. I still need to lose another 40. I did the macro thing once, and it came out that I should only be eating about 1000 calories a day. That is ridiculous! If I'm going to do that, I might as well go on a low cal diet and enjoy a bowl of Cheerios every now and then.
Second, why do people always say to limit dairy? Hard cheeses have almost no carbs. Is it just the Paleo prejudice against dairy coming through or is there some other reason?
Third, aspartame is not in the least harmful. It's been tested much more than the "natural" sweeteners that people use.
Fourth, so I need to give up sweet-tasting things, artificial sweeteners, and my beloved coffee? If that's what it takes, then I'm doomed. I've already given up most of my favorite foods. If I have to live on meat, eggs, and low-carb veggies, then that's a pretty boring existence.
I know, would I like some cheese with this "whine", but Keto has gotten to be really frustrating for me. I don't know how much more I can give up before I just give up.
Dairy may impact the insulin response despite the low carb content http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/80/5/1246.full.pdf+html79 . In my 60 days of going dairy free (except butter), and following a keto diet, I noticed: reduced bloating and my skin was totally cleared. You should see what works for you. I'd recommend getting only organic cheese because it's hormone free. Dairy's also very easy to overeat. I've never given up coffee. Lately, I've learned to enjoy it black rather than loaded up with HWC and butter. I still love my BPC from time to time. What macro calculator have you used? Your macros seem pretty off to me.
Loana- great info; thanks! 🙂
I am great you found the information great. Hope it helps!
This is a great article thank you. I've been on a perpetual stall after losing 55 lbs. I'd like to lose about 40 more and I'm guilty of all of the above. Especially nuts (I actually developed an intolerance to almonds and Cashews) and dairy. I'm going to take these tips and see if I can break this stall!
I am happy you've found the article helpful. Keep me updated on your progress. I know you'll get the best results. Congrats on the progress you've made so far. It's amazing!
Hello Ioana. My name is Marti. I was just wondering when you said to stay under 20 grams of carb if you meant total carb or net carb? Thank you for the info.
Hello! I use net carbs.
Nice to hear such sage advice from someone in the Keto community. A Keto diet isn’t a magic bullet for weight loss, especially if you’ve done low carb or crash diets before. For many of us it still boils down to calories in, calories out! I follow a Keto diet, but tailored to my body’s requirement, which is much lower in carbs and fats than the traditional Keto diet. Your point is well taken; if what you’re doing isn’t working, try changing it. Great article!
I cannot reach ketosis after 2 months of low carb eating….no cheats…less than 20 g…what do u think the problem could be?
You are definitely in ketosis. How much have you lost so far?