Keto weight loss

Why You Should Still Eat If You’re Not Hungry On Keto

Not being on hungry on keto is probably the best thing that can happen, unless you're trying to gain weight. Most people inevitably fail their weight loss diets because constant hunger inevitably prevails over willpower in the long-term.

If you're not hungry on keto, should you eat more? If you're not hungry and weight loss Is your primary goal, it's ok to wait till you're hungry before eating. When muscle gain is your primary goal, you may need to eat at times despite being hungry or not.

In this article, I'll go over why you're not hungry while following a ketogenic diet, why you may want to eat, and the other times you should skip a meal.

Why You Have No Appetite On Keto

Weight-loss diets are notorious for increasing appetites and causing physiological adaptations, which inevitably leads to regaining the lost weight.1

Studies suggest that ketogenic diets affect appetite, which is great if your goal is to lose weight. Multiple studies show that even without being asked to restrict calories subjects following a ketogenic diet were less hungry and had less of a desire to eat.23

In another study, a ketogenic diet suppressed appetite more than a ‘balanced diet' EVEN when the balanced dieters were given an appetite suppressant.4 As you see, a ketogenic diet is perfect for suppressing appetite, but why is that?

How Ketosis Affects Satiety

Increased protein

Protein has been shown in studies to be the most satiating macronutrient.56 Additionally, the ingestion of amino acids (protein) is a significant stimulant of cholecystokinin (CCK) which affects satiety.

The protein leverage hypothesis is a hypothesis (PLH) that humans prioritize protein intake when regulating total calories. The PLH states that you will keep eating until protein needs are met, whether that takes 1,000 calories or 3,000 calories.

Therefore, increasing protein may lead to satiation more quickly once your body senses enough protein. Consequently, the hypothesis also states that your body will remain hungry until it meets its protein requirements.

Ketones suppress appetite

Certain studies suggest ketones themselves influence appetite regulation and induce satiety7. Although, ketones role in suppressing appetite still needs further researching before making any claims.

Fat slows digestion

By nature, a ketogenic diet is high in fat. On a ketogenic diet, carbohydrates are severely restricted. Calories must come from somewhere after protein is calculated. Once carbs are restricted and protein is accounted for, this leaves fat as a buffer and primary fuel source.

Like fiber, fat in the diet slows digestion and delays gastric emptying8How quickly food leaves the stomach. This delayed emptying of the stomach would be expected to increase fullness and flatten the blood glucose levels and insulin rise from the meal.9

A flattening of blood glucose levels may lead to better signaling of satiety and hunger.10 Such is the case in a state of ketosis where the body does not experience fluctuations throughout the day like you would on a carbohydrate-based diet.

Leptin and Ghrelin

Leptin and ghrelin are commonly referred to as the hunger hormones. Leptin is responsible for signaling your body when it's full, and ghrelin is responsible for signaling your body that it's time to eat.

You can think of leptin like a thermostat that's stored in your fat cells. Everyone's thermostat is believed to be set at a different temperature. This point in which your thermostat is set is referred to as your body fat setpoint.

As you stray away from your set point in either direction, leptin and/or ghrelin is released to bring you back to homeostasis. This body fat setpoint is thought to be why it's not only hard to lose weight, but especially to maintain the lost weight.

Leptin is produced by your body's fat cells and carried by the bloodstream into your brain. Leptin gives the signal whether you have enough fat stored and to stop eating, or if levels are low and you need to eat.11

As you diet and begin losing fat, leptin goes down, and ghrelin (the hunger hormone) increases. In the case of weight loss, you want LESS ghrelin, not more.

Both ghrelin and leptin are important regulators of satiety and appetite. In a state of ketosis, studies have shown an association between being in a ketotic state and suppression of ghrelin, which can reduce feelings of hunger.12

This may be why ketogenic dieters don’t feel as hungry on keto compared to other diets.

Skipping Meals On Keto

So now that you know why you may not be as hungry after starting keto should or shouldn't you eat when you have no appetite?

It depends.

Here are a few reasons why you might want to eat still even if you have trouble eating enough calories on a keto diet.

Why You Should Eat When Not Hungry On Keto

Prevent overeating at later meals

While not the case with everyone, skipping meals may lead you to become more ravenous later in the day or the following day. Many individuals, including myself, found intermittent fasting wasn't for them.

By skipping meals earlier in the day, they would end up overeating and overcompensating later on, which eventually led to sudden weight gain instead.

Prevent under-eating

There is such a thing as eating too little and losing weight too fast. Unless you're incredibly overweight, dieting at a more reasonable rate per week will lead to higher muscle retention and a more sustainable diet.

Skipping meals can also affect energy levels, which may cause you to move less, resulting in burning fewer calories. Reductions in non-exercise-activity-thermogenesis (NEAT) is an essential factor why it becomes harder and harder to lose weight as you diet.

NEAT is energy that you expend doing anything that isn't physical exercise. Neat includes things like walking the dog, doing the laundry, and even grocery shopping. NEAT can vary by 2,000 calories between people of similar sizes, which is why it may be easier for some individuals to lose weight or stay thin.13

As we begin to diet, energy levels start to dwindle, and naturally, NEAT decreases. Always under-eating may affect your energy levels to the point that weight loss slows or stops altogether despite eating less.

You may subconsciously begin to move less and less over time, resulting in slower or stalled weight loss.

How fast should you lose weight? I recommend losing between 0.5% to 1% of body weight per week. For individuals that have significant fat to lose, this number can be between 1% to 2% of body weight per week.

Your goal is building muscle

If your goal is to build muscle, not being hungry isn't an excuse to skip meals. There comes the point in time when you won't be hungry.

Similar to losing weight, hormones are released to maintain homeostasis in both directions. Once your body recognizes that it has enough fat stores, hunger decreases.

You have to suck it up and eat if your goal is to grow.

Provide energy for your day and workout

Skipping a meal once may not have a negative effect, but under-eating constantly may interfere with your energy levels. If you find yourself getting tired quickly and more easily, maybe it's best to have a little substance instead of none at all.

Why you Should NOT Eat When Not Hungry On Keto

Assuming none of the reasons above applies to you, skipping meals on keto when you aren't hungry can be a good thing.

Quicker Weight Loss

If your energy is good and you don't feel like eating, then naturally eating less will lead to more rapid weight loss. As long as you don't find your energy dwindling or overcompensating in subsequent meals and days, skipping meals is completely fine.

Learn to eat intuitively

Learning when and how much to eat is half the battle when it comes to weight loss and managing hunger. There are plenty of times that we think we're hungry, but the desire is just boredom, stress, or any other trigger you may have.

Skipping a meal when you're not hungry and allowing your hunger cues to dictate your food intake is something we all should eventually strive for.

If allowing yourself to skip meals, I would still suggest that you hit your daily protein intake to help spare lean tissue while dieting.

Tips To Help Suppress Hunger On Keto

If you find yourself always hungry and seeking ways to suppress hunger on keto, here are a few tips.

Eat less calorie-dense foods

Calorie density is a measure for how much energy (calories) there is per unit measure of food. For example, a 4-oz piece of chicken breast has ~100 calories, while five macadamia nuts also have ~100 calories.

I'm almost sure that the chicken breast would be more satiating than the five macadamia nuts.

High-fat foods, in general, are the most calorically dense foods you can eat. While you shouldn't go out of your way to eliminate all fats, making smarter substitutions when it makes sense can go a long way to keep you satisfied.

Eat more protein

More protein in the diet can increase feelings of fullness.14 You might even want to exchange some of your fat macros for protein.

Most people on a ketogenic diet are under-consuming protein due to misinformation. People are dead-set on sticking to certain percentage based macronutrients.

Think about it, if a 200-pound male is eating 2,000 calories and a 120-pound woman is eating 2,000 calories, do you think their protein requirements would be the same?

How much protein on keto is relative to your lean body weight, not a percentage of your calories. https://www.theartofketo.com/how-much-protein-on-keto/

It's better to each too much protein than too little.

Increase fiber

Increase your intake of cruciferous vegetables and leafy greens. Foods that are high in fiber delay gastric emptying and help stretch the stomach, leading to feelings of fullness.

There's no need to be scared of carbohydrates from vegetables as most come from dietary fiber. On a ketogenic diet, you're most concerned with keeping your net carbs under a certain amount.15

Drink water

There are times we can mistake hunger for thirst.

Additionally, drinking water can also provide the same stretch to the stomach that a belly full of food offers, sending signals of fullness to the brain.

One study showed that drinking two glasses of water before a meal led to eating 22% less than those who didn't drink any water.16

Drink coffee

Aside from the many health and sports performance benefits, coffee has been shown to increase the release of peptide YY (PYY). PYY is a hormone produced in the gut as a response to eating and promoting a feeling of fullness. 17

Interesting enough, decaffeinated coffee seems to promote the same appetite-suppressing effects.

To save on calories, skip the bulletproof or keto coffee and stick with black coffee. You can use a little sugar-free sweetener in your coffee if you prefer.

Eat mindfully

How many times have you ate in front of the T.V. screen or flipping through your Instagram only to feel like you never ate? Practicing mindfulness and eliminating distractions while you eat can help you experience more pleasure while eating.

Get more sleep

Not only will you have more time to think about food if you don't get enough sleep, studies show that not getting enough can decrease satiety and increase hunger.18

Aim for ~7 to 8+ hours of sleep per night as a useful measure when possible.

Reduce your stress

If you're like me, you might resort to eating in times of stress. For others, stress can eliminate their appetites.

Stress raises levels of the hormone cortisol, which is thought to increase food cravings.19 Stress may also decrease the levels of PYY, a hormone that helps promote the feeling of fullness after a meal.20

Trouble Eating Enough Calories On Keto?

If you find yourself continually having trouble eating enough calories following a ketogenic diet, stick to more calorie-dense foods. Eat fattier cuts of meat and fish in addition to higher-fat dairy. Nuts are also a good option if you find yourself regularly not meeting macros on keto.

Skipping meals on keto once in a while is ok, but if you're continually underrating, you may:

Lose more muscle
Lack of energy
Not eating enough nutrients (vitamins and minerals)

The truth is, if you're starting your weight loss journey, you may not be hungry, which is a good thing. Not being hungry is an ideal situation when it comes to losing weight on keto.

However, as you lose weight, appetite is will likely pick back up. You can revisit the section on how to help suppress your appetite when you find yourself not feeling as full as you once were.

THE HIDDEN TRUTH BEHIND LAZY KETO VS STRICT KETO

Lazy keto (or dirty keto) is often a term thrown out there in the keto community, but what exactly is it? Everyone has their own definition, myself included.

While I think most others tend to agree with one another on the meaning, I think I am an outlier on my approach. After all, I've been in this game for nearly 20 years and I think I may have learned a thing or two about getting results.

… but of course, I always keep an open mind and look to expand my knowledge. As the saying goes …

What gets measured gets managed

But does this apply to your weight loss and diet?

What is lazy keto?

Lazy keto is when the only measurable factor of your ketogenic diet is keeping your carbohydrates under a certain amount, usually around 20g or less.

To expand lazy keto a bit more, it’s eating “keto-friendly” foods ad libitum. 21Basically as much as you want.

But is this method of keto ideal? I’ll admit, It can work for many, but will it work for you?

Let’s dive into who lazy keto might work for, when “strict” keto may be more appropriate, and some best strategies moving forward shall we?

Information overload

One major hurdle most beginners face when starting a ketogenic diet is over analyzing everything. I often ask individuals what’s stopping them from getting started on their diet and usually the response is something like…

I’m getting ready to start, but I want to get all the information before doing so.

Inevitably, half or more of those same individuals likely haven’t started their ketogenic lifestyle to this day. If you’re waiting for the right time or until you have all the information, then you’ve waited too long.

And for these individuals, lazy keto might be a great tool. Why? Because it will help them to just START, but with one caveat.

Knowing which foods to stay away from. 2

Why it’s so complicated

Most people have it wrong, even the “gurus”

At the foundation of establishing and maintaining a state of ketosis is low to no carbohydrates.

Meaning, the ONLY pre-requisite to getting into ketosis is limiting your carbohydrates.

Yup, that is the ONLY requirement.

99% of websites and “gurus” tell you there is a magical percentage you have to stick to, fat intake has to be this high, protein has to be this low, yada yada yada.

WRONG.

Percentages for a ketogenic diet were originally laid out as a guideline for individuals who suffered from epilepsy to keep ketone levels high. 3

If you suffer from epilepsy or another neurodegenerative disorder, then stick to the percentages. 4

If you’re after losing weight and looking good naked, throw those percentages out the door, we’re not concerned with them.

We can worry about dialing in macros once you get started. And even these will be based on YOUR weight, not a random percentage.

3 Reasons why I don’t think lazy keto is ideal for most people

#1 It requires you eat to satiety

Let’s face it, most people don’t know when they’re “really” full. It’s part of the reason most of us are trying to lose weight.

Combined with the fact we eat not only out of hunger. We are social and emotional beings… and we eat because:

How we feel
It’s a certain time of the day
A vacation, etc.

#2 Most people don’t know food composition

The only requirement to establish ketosis is restricting carbohydrate-rich foods, but most people don’t possess certain fundamental skills when starting a ketogenic diet.

Most people don’t know which foods contain what macronutrients (protein, fats, and carbohydrates), what a portion size really looks like, and how much food they need to eat.

… But if you do, then you’re ahead of the game!

Sometimes lazy keto is a good idea, but only once you’ve mastered the basics and have the swing of things.

#3 What happens when you stop losing weight?

If you haven’t achieved your goal look, weight, body fat percentage, [insert metric you are aiming for], and you implement lazy keto, what do you do when you inevitably stall?

Because IT WILL happen.

Now you have nothing to look back upon or manipulate because…

well…

You’ve been lazy keto’ing it up.

If you’ve hit your goal and want to take your break off the gas and do a version of lazy keto, then, by all means, you’ve earned it!

Or have you?

Just saying…

If you hit your goal and want to just take it easy, then keep doing what you’re doing.

If you’re still in pursuit of your goal and thinking if you should just do “lazy keto” then here’s what I think you may want to consider.

It is of my opinion that to successfully implement lazy keto to manipulate body composition 5to lose fat and/or gain muscle one must generally know a few things:

Food composition: What macros a food contains (carbs, fats, and proteins)
Food portion: How many calories a given food has
Maintenance calories: How much you need to eat to “maintain” weight

So while I don’t think it’s 100% necessary to weigh and track your foods, I think it is a great skill to acquire.

I recommend people track their food intake, if at least for a few weeks (3-4 weeks) to get the hang of things. This will allow you to learn what’s in certain foods, and have a good idea about what a portion size really looks like.

Maybe then you can lazy keto it up.

Lazy keto vs. strict keto

So what should you do? Lazy keto or strict keto?

To me, lazy keto is just eating what you want when you want without tracking.

So long as your carbs are low that is.

Strict keto is when you’re tracking what you’re eating and making adjustments based on the feedback you’re receiving (weight, pictures, how clothes fit, your energy, etc.)

How do you know which method is for you?

It all boils down to your current starting point and what your goals are.

Depending on how much weight you want to lose and how lean you want to get will dictate how much it will “cost” you. When I say cost, it’s because different levels of leanness will cost you certain things.

Now, it’s a matter of asking yourself if the cost is too high for what you think you want as the result.

i.e. Is the tradeoff of getting super shredded worth the effort?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Basically, the leaner you wish to be, the more trade-offs you must be willing to make. The methods you used to get the first ’10 pounds’ won't be the same methods it will take to lose the last ’10 pounds.’

Here’s how I would categorize different levels and who lazy keto vs. strict keto would be good for.

Hit your goals already. lazy keto

Trying to get from:

Very overweight to overweight. lazy keto
Overweight to not overweight. lazy keto
Not overweight to lean. strict keto
Lean to leaner. very strict keto
Leaner to shredded. super strict keto

Can lazy keto work?

Lazy keto can work, and it has for many individuals. A ketogenic diet has a lot of benefits that make it easier for the dieter to maintain a caloric deficit and thus lose weight.

Studies even show that when putting participants on a ketogenic diet and told to eat ad libitum, they lost weight. Basically, they could eat however much they wanted as long as they restricted carbohydrates and lost weight without tracking.

Why lazy keto can work

A ketogenic diet by nature has been shown to reduce appetite, thus causing many to naturally eat less.
You’re eliminating an entire macronutrient (carbohydrates).
Most guilty pleasures and trigger foods that many of us easily OVERconsume are high carb AND high fat. (Pizza, chips, cookies, ice cream, etc.)

3 people who should not use lazy keto

While lazy keto might work for anyone, there are people I would NOT recommend it to.

#1 You do not understand what a macronutrient is

If you have no idea what a macronutrient is, you also probably don’t have a firm grasp of what foods you should and shouldn’t eat to establish and maintain a state of ketosis.

First, learn the fundamentals of calories and macros. Second, track your diet using an app like MyFitnessPal to get a hang of things and learn about what’s in different foods you enjoy.

Last, give my keto foods list a read to have a general idea of what to eat and what not to eat on a ketogenic diet.

#2 You want to look really ‘fit’

Again, there is a ‘cost’ to getting lean. If you are looking to get lean or even VERY lean, you have to make the tradeoff of being a little more strict with your diet.

If you’re trying to see your abs for the very first time since you were five or look like the cover model of a fitness magazine, you best believe you need to be strict with your diet.

Lazy keto simply won’t cut it.

You don’t have a good sense of when you’re ‘full’

Sometimes lazy keto is just a bad idea for those of us who seem to want to eat any and everything, myself included. If I didn’t track what I ate, then I would almost inevitably gain weight.

Tracking for me is an accountability tool. It’s also a great way to make adjustments when things hit a plateau. It’s so easy once you’ve been doing it awhile that it becomes second nature.

There is even a study that shows that keeping a food diary can double a person’s weight loss.6

Lazy keto recipes

Even if you choose the lazy keto route, I would be mindful to make ‘sensible’ decisions with food choices.

Don’t look to “ketofy” all your old comfort foods. Instead, stick to whole nutrient-dense foods and you can definitely get away with doing lazy keto.

Below are just some of my favorite lazy keto meals quick to prepare with little effort. I also wrote about some of my favorite keto snacks and expand more on things you can quickly grab on the go.

Breakfast staple: Bacon, eggs, and half an avocado

Do you think there would be something else for breakfast besides some bacon and eggs? Just don’t go crazy on the bacon.

Lunch staple: Ground beef and cauliflower rice

While I recommend sticking to grass-fed beef, ground beef is more cost effective and easy to toss in a pan and stir-fry for a quick meal.

You can either toss in the cauliflower rice with the ground beef or cook it separately and throw the ground beef up top.

Can’t get any more simple than that.

If you want to get a little fancier, blend up the cauliflower rice with grass-fed butter and a splash of heavy whipping cream for caulimash.

Dinner staple: Ribeye (or other protein) and veggies

Ribeye is my favorite cut of beef, but you can have whatever cut of beef or other protein (pork, chicken, fish) you fancy. Pair your protein with a side of veggies and you’re good to go.

There also might be a glass of wine next to my plate now and then.

So technically these aren’t recipes, but if lazy keto is really what you’re looking for then why are you looking to complicate things?

These meals are really an example of how simple I make it. I’ll save all those
fancy keto recipes for special occasions or once in a while treats.

Not only will you save time, but it’s one less thing for you to have to worry or think about.

Lazy keto meal prep

If you want to make life even more simple, I would suggest choosing one or two days and meal prepping for the upcoming few days.

What I like to do is pan fry a bunch of ground beef, oven roast different veggies, and hard-boil tons of eggs to have 3 to 4 days' worth. I simply toss them in Tupperware and pull them out when it’s time to eat.

Lazy keto meal prep pays for itself in saving you time and money in the long run. It’s also convenient for those times when someone or something tempts you to eat off plan due to being tired, super lazy, or perhaps a little tipsy…

… or drunk

Lazy keto grocery list

Just a small example of a simple lazy keto food list you could stick to.

Ground beef
Eggs
Bacon
Non-starchy vegetables of your choosing
Sardines
Chicken
Pork
Fish
Sausages (watch out for hidden carbs)
Grass-fed butter
Heavy whipping cream

Lazy keto closing thoughts

Lazy keto is definitely a viable option for you if you have a basic fundamental understanding of what to eat and what to avoid.

For many, lazy keto is something they end up switching to once they’ve hit their goals or want to take their foot off the gas pedal before returning to a more strict keto approach.

If lazy keto is something you want to try, I believe the more simple your food choices, the higher likelihood that a lazy keto approach can be effective without tracking every bite you put in your mouth.

In the end, it will come down to your goals.

Just remember, the more ambitious your goal the more trade-offs you have to make.

Do you do lazy Keto? Why or why not? Let me know in the comments down below.

CAN YOU HAVE A CHEAT DAY ON KETO?

With almost any weight-loss diet, the inevitable question of whether you can have a cheat day comes up. A ketogenic diet makes it more complicated as it eliminates most of the foods that people would find themselves “cheating” with.

Which I guess is a good thing since they are typically calorie rich, but nutrient poor food choices that led to the extra weight in the first place.

Which still begs the question…

Can you have a cheat day on keto?

The answer is yes and no. It‘s not such a black and white subject no matter what diet you‘re on, keto or not. In fact, there are certain things at play even more so on a ketogenic diet you should be mindful of.

As with most answers, it usually depends…

Context is everything.

I‘ll preface this by saying I’m not a fan of cheat days on keto.

Let me rephrase that, I’m not a fan of cheat days on any “diet“ so I may be a little biased.

What‘s wrong with a keto cheat day you ask?

Personally, I think having a designated “cheat day” sets you up in the wrong mental space. Every day is inevitably spent looking forward to the infamous “cheat day.” Instead, live in the present and worry about what you should do THAT day to ensure you hit your goals.

Second, it leads down a rabbit hole of re-enforcing bad habits, possibly old ones that led you to gain weight in the first place, and binge cycles.

Can you have a cheat day on the keto diet?

There are certain named diets that allow for a “cheat day,” typically one day per week in which you‘re allowed to eat anything and everything. The thinking being, if you eat well on your diet six out of seven days a week, you‘re still ahead.

At first, this MAY sound like a good idea, but if you‘re like me and have fallen prey to this, then you know the truth.

Let me paint a picture for you.

Steven decides he wants to lose weight and goes on a diet. He sticks to the plan Monday thru Saturday and on Sunday he allows himself to eat whatever he‘s been craving all week.

Each cheat day he eats all the food he‘s been “missing out on,” and ends up eating himself sick and leading him to hating himself afterward. Eventually, he willingly abstains from cheating at all because he realized he didn‘t need it.

Yes, the Steven in the story is me, and yes… this is actually what I used to do.

Talk about insanity right? but I know many other people do this too, and it’s definitely not healthy. Not only is it not healthy physically, but mentally and emotionally it takes a toll.

But maybe you‘re not like me and can exercise a little restraint. For myself, and MANY others, once the floodgates have opened it’s game over.

You can undo a whole week of dieting, possibly even more, in a single day.

BELIEVE ME

This leads me to how I typically like to characterize different individuals, You are an abstainer (like me) or a moderator.

Abstainer Vs. Moderator

The Abstainer

The classic abstainer will usually have an all-or-nothing mentality. It’s far easier for these individuals to give something up altogether than to indulge moderately.

Trying to moderate for these individuals becomes an internal struggle of:

Should I?

How much?

When can I?

It requires no self-control if you already know it‘s not a choice, whereas if you can do it sometimes… well that requires ENORMOUS self-control.

It might sound crazy on the surface, but it would surprise you how many individuals fit this mold…

You may be one.

ESPECIALLY since many of them resort to ketogenic diets.

The Moderator

Moderators do better when they avoid absolutes or strict rules. Having these black and white lines makes them feel trapped inside a box (metaphorically speaking).

These are your individuals that can take out a pint of ice cream and have one or two spoons before putting it back in. Those crazy guys and girls that can open a bag of Oreos and take out just one cookie instead of eating the whole sleeve.

Crazy right?!

3 things I recommend instead of having a cheat day on keto

While I wouldn’t recommend “cheat days” for the majority of people, I suggest some of the following instead:

Free meals (special occasions)

As the name implies, a free meal is a SINGLE meal of whatever you want, NOT an entire day. I would normally opt to save these for special occasions, 7 but you can also use it on your weekly date with the significant other.

Even better if you can keep it keto or save all those “keto friendly ketofied junk food” treats for your free meal.

I almost guarantee you’ll feel better both physically and mentally by using this versus an all-out cheat day.

Refeed (cyclical ketogenic diet)

For the athletically inclined, a keto carb cycling approach or cyclical ketogenic diet may suit you both physically and mentally. This cyclical approach typically has you alternating between periods of strict keto days and days with a higher amount of carbs “refeed” days to help maximize performance.

Example: 5 – 6 days in ketosis alternated by 1 – 2 of higher carbs

I would reserve this method for those of you who are highly active and also are keto-adapted. 2

Remember, this isn’t a protocol to be used as an excuse to eat everything you want. There is still a strategic component to implementing a cyclical ketogenic diet, but it sure helps with carb cravings.

Diet break (1-2 week break periodically)

This is where I differ from the crowd, but sometimes I think it‘s good to actually take a break from dieting and/or being in ketosis.

Recent research suggests that alternating periods of dieting (calorie restriction) with periods of maintenance (eating enough to maintain weight) has been shown to benefit fat loss both physically and psychologically.

As we diet, our body begins to downregulate certain hormones in an attempt to preserve itself. Taking a diet break allows these hormones to recoup, making subsequent dieting weeks more fruitful.

How often and for how long you should take a break will largely depend on how much fat you have to lose and how long you’ve been dieting. The above is typically how often I would recommend taking diet breaks based on your body fat percentage. 3

For most people looking to lose weight, a cheat day sounds alluring, but the benefits are small if any.

Reasons you SHOULDN’T have a keto cheat day

Can easy sabotage your efforts, 1 step forward 1 step backward.

If keto weight loss is your goal, you might set yourself up to undo all the progress you made throughout the week, even if you were good 6 out of 7 days.

Just remember weight gain and weight loss results from how many calories you do or don‘t eat over time. You can easily eat so much in one day you erase all the progress from the previous 6 days.

Just have a look at the graphic below to get a visual of what might happen

You’ll feel horrible afterward

If you have a carb heavy cheat meal or day, you might set yourself up to those dreaded feelings you had when first starting a ketogenic diet, AKA the keto flu.

After being on a ketogenic diet for some time, it dampens your ability to process sugar. It’s like when you first started a ketogenic diet, it required your body to get used to burning ketones.

If your cheat day consists of high carb foods, it’ll likely kick you out of ketosis, raise your blood sugar, and possibly lead to sugar cravings.

Does nothing physically

There really is no benefit to a cheat meal or cheat day besides the psychological break it gives you from dieting. You might have heard cheat days kickstart your metabolism or trick your body into burning fat, but there is literally no scientific evidence to support a single meal or day is enough to do anything.

*Don’t get me wrong… a psychological break is needed as much as a physical one.

This is also why I recommend longer breaks above of 1-2 weeks. One day is not long enough to do anything besides give yourself a mental break and maybe enough energy to hit another workout.

Instead, I would suggest strategic refeeds almost like keto carb cycling (cyclical ketogenic diet) or better yet, complete diet breaks where your goal is to simply maintain your weight for a period of time by raising calories back up to a level that is appropriate to maintain your weight.

Bad relationship with food

By having “cheat” days or meals you‘re reinforcing a bad relationship with food. There are no foods inherently good or bad (unless you have an allergy).

And if you feel the need to cheat, maybe it‘s time to rethink whether a ketogenic lifestyle is for you.

The best diet will be the one you‘re satisfied on and can adhere to over the long term.

Pigging out “just because”

Maybe you would have been fine continuing your fat loss journey, but instead of staying on track you decided to have a cheat day just because it’s Sunday (or whatever day you make it). Again, sometimes it’s best to just go about your routine and save those “cheats” for special occasions instead of reoccurring scheduled days.

So if all of that above wasn’t enough to stop you then keep on reading for why you may want to incorporate them and what to do if you decide to…

Reasons you SHOULD have a keto cheat day

Psychological break

Again, a cheat “meal” can be a good psychological break from dieting.

Let’s face it, dieting is stressful and can take a mental toll. Allowing oneself to mentally clock out for a meal without thinking about it can be liberating and undo some stress.

Therefore, sometimes people drop a pound or two after going off plan, not because of some magical fat burning that happens after a cheat day… but rather the mental break was enough to stimulate the release of some of the water weight masking weight loss on the scale from being too stressed.

Can “temporarily” increase performance

Sometimes a day with extra calories is enough to give you a little pep in your step for the next training session. Having enough energy to hit the gym hard can go a long way in helping preserve or even gain muscle.

Our goal when we lose weight is not to simply lose weight, but maintain our muscle and lose fat. If you‘re not doing any resistance training, I would highly reconsider.

What to do if you have a cheat day on keto

So you have a free meal, a “cheat meal,” or at worst go off the rail for an entire day what should you do?

Jump back to what you were doing

Nothing. Just move on and continue your diet and training like normal. Don‘t feel the need to starve yourself or add in an “extra” cardio session.

Believe me, I used to do that all the time.

Exercising yourself to death to burn fat and calories is just another form of purging.4

Fast/Intermittent Fast (if jumping back into ketosis is a priority)

I know I said not to starve yourself the next day, but sometimes fasting or intermittent fasting is a good idea if you feel less than optimal. Doing so may allow you to enter back into ketosis and reap the benefits of reduced hunger and mental clarity once again.

How to best incorporate a cheat day on keto

Don‘t make it a day, make it a meal

Don’t have a keto cheat day, instead have a cheat meal, or what I commonly refer to as a “free” meal.

I don’t know about you, but a whole day of reckless eating is asking for trouble. Try to limit yourself to one meal where you let yourself have whatever you want.

Preferably have this meal at dinner so it can’t easily turn into a whole day of bingeing.

Don’t stress

Don‘t feel the need to “pre-compensate” cheat days/meals.

What do I mean by pre-compensate? Don‘t starve yourself or run yourself into the ground with exercise (before or after) to offset the meal.

One of the main reasons traditional exercise doesn’t always translate to what we would hope for in terms of weight loss can be explained by this theory of calorie compensation.

Somehow, if we add in exercise or overly restrict ourselves we gain this mindset we can eat more. While this is true, how much more we eat vs how much we ACTUALLY eat are two entirely different things.

This might explain why you would normally never eat a pint of ice cream, but now that it‘s “lower calorie” you might find yourself eating the whole pint… maybe even two.

Before you might have had a scoop and put the ice cream away, but since it’s low calories you justify eating more.

Create a calorie buffer

Going off the previous tip, while I don’t recommend starving yourself or fasting before your free meal, you could potentially make those meals smaller than usual.

If I ever want to create a “buffer” I’ll stick to protein and veggies with minimal carbs or fat throughout the day.

If you usually combine keto and intermittent fasting, then you‘ve already created your “buffer.”

Have a plan / plan ahead

“Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.”

Sometimes the best strategy is to get ahead of it. If you plan to dine out for your free meal, try looking up the menu on their website and choosing what you will eat beforehand.

… and stick to it.

If no website exists, try looking up the menu photos on Yelp.

Prioritize protein

The way I like to think about a cheat meal is protein first, carbs and fat for taste. Focus on protein, fat, and veggie intake first to maximize satiety and reduce the chance of going of the rails.

This is a great strategy to use at a buffet or even those holiday potlucks where you tend to indulge a bit much.

Limit choices, not amounts

When people are presented with too many choices, like a buffet, they tend to eat more. Not only do more choices lead to eating more, but it also lends itself to less satisfaction overall.

FOMO is real.

Think about it… if you were to limit yourself to prime rib and chocolate cake, you would eat only so much of it before being full and satisfied.

But if I now offer you potatoes and ice cream, you’ll end up eating a lot more than had you stuck to only a couple items.

Remember, you don’t have to sample EVERYTHING on the menu.

It’ll be there the next time you visit, trust me.

Pick your favorite thing on the menu or the food you‘ve been craving most and stay the course.

Keep them “keto-friendly”

With the myriad of “keto treats” and recipes floating around on Pinterest, you can literally recreate your old favorites and have them as your keto cheat.

Not only will you not feel as guilty, but you‘ll avoid the possibility of re going through the keto flu from knocking yourself out of ketosis.

Try not to have them too frequently

If you‘re going to indulge, definitely try not to do it too often. I usually suggest people save these for special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, or a vacation.

Having them too often may lead you on a roller coaster of highs and lows.

Even worse is if you let a cheat meal turn into a cheat week.

Final thoughts about if you can you have cheat days on keto

There is no need to beat yourself up or feel bad if you accidentally fall off track because it happens to EVERYONE. It’s when you fall off for one day and that day turns into days or longer where you’ll run into problems.

Progress isn‘t dictated by what you do once in a while, it’s dictated by what you do MOST of the time.

First, ask yourself why you “need” a cheat day. Do you need one because you need a mental break from dieting? Do you feel TOO restricted on a ketogenic diet?

While I wouldn’t recommend an entire day, a meal once in a while can definitely provide a nice psychological break. If having a “cheat meal” once a week or however often is what it takes to keep you adherent (consistent) with your diet, then I’m all for it.

Or perhaps it’s time to take a break from dieting altogether for a period, usually a week or two before continuing your fat loss efforts.

Just don’t be fooled or fool yourself into thinking that having a cheat day is “stoking” your metabolism.

THE BIGGEST LIE ABOUT KETO AND INTERMITTENT FASTING

Keto and intermittent fasting are all the rage these days. I mean, you usually don't hear about one without eventually hearing about the other.

But is there any benefit in combining the two for the purposes of weight loss?

There may be other benefits, weight loss aside, to combine keto and intermittent fasting, but is there any inherent fat loss benefit?

Can you combine keto and intermittent fasting?

Of course, you can combine keto and intermittent fasting, they go together like peanut butter and jelly. However, know that one also doesn’t require the other, and most people find it easier to implement intermittent fasting on a ketogenic based diet than a carb based one.

But we’ll get to that.

I am going to assume you know what keto is already, so we won't be doing an entire keto 101 in this article. If not, give my ketogenic diet guide a read through, but in general…

What is Keto?

Most websites and people would have you believe that keto is a “diet” or a certain type of “food,” and they would be right… to an extent.

In reality, ketosis is a metabolic state where your body essentially runs on ketones (fat) instead of glucose (sugar).

When you limit or eliminate your carbohydrates, your body has no choice but to break down the fat from the food you eat AND the fat on your body to create energy for your body and your brain.

It’s kind of like when you have a hankering for cereal and you run out of milk… so what do you do? You have to use water instead.

Basically, your body ends up running out of sugar and it’s forced to use what’s left… your fat stores.

Blasphemy, I know… but don’t pretend like you’ve never done that in your lifetime. Besides, you’re on a keto diet now so you ain’t about that cereal life anymore.

What is intermittent fasting?

In the most general of cases, intermittent fasting is combining periods of eating with periods without eating. Therefore, Intermittent fasting is not a diet per se; instead it's a pattern or schedule of eating.

When I say intermittent fasting is not a diet it's because IF doesn't change what you eat, it changes when you eat. That said, weight loss is the most common reason people give intermittent fasting a shot.

Examples of different intermittent fasting schedules

There is no one way to implement intermittent fasting, so I've outlined a few popular methods down below.

DAILY

One of the most popular ways to implement intermittent fasting is a daily fast of 16 hours followed by an 8-hour eating window. It really doesn't matter when you start your eight-hour eating window, but most people tend to start it around noon or early afternoon.

The reason most people have their feeding window in the afternoon is that, in general, people find it easier to skip breakfast, rather than dinner. Besides, if you went 16 hours without food and you can spend the first eight hours or so asleep… you would probably find it easier too.

On top of that, allowing for dinner makes it more convenient from a schedule standpoint. You can eat with your family or go out during social events and not be the only person in the room not eating

… because you're fasting.

Personally, I prefer this schedule because I like to go to bed on a full stomach.

As far as daily scheduled intermittent fasts go, people start to either shorten the eating window or even lengthen it slightly. Some might even go as far as to take all the calories for the day and eat it in one big meal.5

Remember, there are no hard or fast rules… if you find yourself slightly hungry before your “eating window,” then go ahead and eat. Vice versa, if you aren’t hungry and want to remain fasted, then remain fasted.

I’ve used this method of intermittent fasting on and off for over 10 years now, but I’m not fanatic about it to the point that it runs my day. If my friends or family go out to breakfast or some friends invite me over to watch the game and nosh on some wings, guess what? I don’t care that it’s outside of my “feeding window.”

WEEKLY

This schedule of intermittent fasting is generally a good way to introduce yourself to intermittent fasting. You pick one day out of the week and simply don’t eat.

It’s really that easy.

If going an entire day from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed seems daunting, try fasting after dinner (6pm for example) from the previous night until dinner (6pm) the following night. In the end, you still technically will have fasted for at least 24 hours and ends up like the (OMAD) one meal a day mentioned in the daily section.

Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of doing a weekly fast is getting over that mental barrier of fasting in the first place. If you’ve never fasted before, this may seem like a daunting task, but successfully completing your first 24-hour fast can help you realize it isn’t as frightening as your head makes it out to be.

ALTERNATE DAY

Alternate day fasting may be the most challenging schedule from a mental standpoint since you will be going without food for about ~36-hours at a time.

For example, you would eat normally on Monday until dinner, then begin your fast until Wednesday morning. Then, you would repeat the process by eating normally Wednesday and beginning your fast Wednesday after dinner and not eating until Friday morning.

Hypothetically, this would yield the most benefits since you are going long periods without food more frequently. Alternate day fasting would likely yield the most weight loss as well since you are going longer periods without food and more likely to have greater caloric deficit.

Assuming you don’t eat like an asshole on the days you do eat.

As I said, myself and many other much prefer the 18-hour daily fasts since it’s typically much easier to simply skip breakfast most days. If you do choose to combine keto and intermittent fasting then experiment with the different schedules and see how you feel.

Intermittent fasting. Not to be confused with intermittent dieting or intermittent energy restriction.

In short, intermittent dieting or intermittent energy restriction is NOT the same as intermittent fasting. Intermittent dieting is when you include brief periods, typically days or weeks, where you intentionally aim to MAINTAIN weight between periods of weight loss dieting.

These may be commonly referred to as refeeds or diet breaks.

But we’ll cover that in another article on why it may benefit you in the long run when it comes to losing weight.

Keto and intermittent fasting – They go to gather like peanut butter and jelly.

Keto and intermittent fasting for weight loss.

You may want to combine keto with intermittent fasting to accelerate your weight loss, but probably not for reasons you may have been led to believe. Research suggest that an 8 hour feeding window produces mild caloric restriction and weight loss, without calorie counting. 2

In layman's terms, it caused people to eat less overall. I mean, it makes sense right? You are essentially giving yourself less time to eat.

Which leads me to my second point…

Calories still matter. On a keto diet, when intermittent fasting, or combining keto and intermittent fasting… calories still matter. BUT, as the study suggested, intermittent fasting MAY be a way for you to eat less without really having to count calories.

AGAIN, as long as you don’t eat like an asshole during your 8-hour or however long eating window.

Personally, I can still easily manage to overeat in such a short time frame. However, I am an endless pit, and most normal people will find it difficult to cram too much food in such a short period of time

Thus making it a viable option if you can eat “sensibly” during your feeding window.

Reasons why keto and intermittent fasting work well together.

People are more satiated on a ketogenic diet

People tend to eat fewer calories on a ketogenic diet… SPONTANEOUSLY, as in without trying to restrict calories.3 This is important to note since hunger is a primary reasons people fall off most weight loss diets.

There is no conclusive reason to as why this occurs, but one theory is that ketone bodies (our primary fuel source on a ketogenic diet) may suppress appetite.4Sumithran et al., 2013

Pair intermittent fasting with keto and you have the benefit of:

Less or no hunger during your fasting window
Increased chance of weight loss without counting calories

On the flip side…

IF may ease your transition to a ketogenic diet

Intermittent fasting may help transition your body into a state of ketosis over doing a ketogenic diet alone.

During your fasting window, insulin and glycogen decrease, 5 naturally leading your body to start burning fat for fuel. This is one of the driving reasons people even on a carbohydrate-based diet implement intermittent fasting.

I also mention in my article How long does it take to get into ketosis? that intermittent fasting or just plain fasting will help speed up your transition into ketosis.

Intermittent fasting and Keto – Weight loss aside, here are some benefits.

You can type in intermittent fasting in google or your favorite social media platform and you’ll hear things like “autophagy” and IF made me poop rainbows and dream about unicorns.

Don’t get me wrong, you do you… and if you love doing it and you see results, then, by all means, keep doing it!

But if there comes a point where you’re stressing out about if you should eat, what can you eat, can you drink this, but I want this for breakfast, then you’re just better off not worrying about it. In the end, there’re bigger things you can focus on instead of watching the clock for when you can eat.

Up until recently, many of the intermittent fasting benefits you’ve heard (or haven’t heard) were weak at best. Many of the studies which reported benefits could easily be attributed to the weight loss participants experienced versus the actual intermittent fasting.

However, there are recent findings that may suggest intermittent fasting (also known as time-restricted feeding) does have benefits even WITHOUT weight loss.6Sutton et al., 2018

The only caveat, the feeding window would be more in line with your circadian rhythm. Meaning, you would eat according to your internal clock.

To simplify, you would have your FASTING window in the evening. Basically, eat during the first 8 hours of the day, generally when the suns out.

Which is probably the opposite of what most people are doing.

This schedule of eating is referred to as Early time-restricted feeding (eTRF) and has been shown to:

Increase insulin sensitivity
Lower blood pressure and oxidative stress
Lower the desire to eat in the evening (so maybe skipping dinner or making it super early might not be as bad as you might think)
Improve health EVEN in the absence of weight loss

The only problem with this is people are social beings and we eat for reasons beyond hunger, which is a problem it and of itself. It’s also much easier to fast during the day because people are typically busy at work and can focus on other things besides food.

It’s also just my humble opinion, but I think most of the benefits of eTRF stem from the fact that you’re eating earlier in the day versus the actual time restriction.

A large majority of the population suffer from circadian arrhythmia. 7 In today’s society, we tend to stay out (or just up) late, drink alcohol, expose our eyes to artificial light in the evenings, etc. Eating earlier may be a way to re-align our circadian rhythms.

If eTRF sounds like something you want to give a shot, you have my blessing.

Not that you needed it.

That said, intermittent fasting for me makes my day simpler.

Intermittent fasting allows me to eat one less meal, which also means cooking one less meal and therefore stressing about one less meal. When I wake up, I don’t have to worry about breakfast, but can get to other more important tasks at hand.

Like coffee. 😉

I also like to eat more substantial meals.

I’m the type of person that likes to eat HUGE meals and go to bed on a full stomach, whether that’s good or bad is a whole other topic of discussion we’ll save for another day. I’m not advocating you eat huge meals or go to bed on a full stomach, it’s just my preference and what works to keep me adherent to a caloric deficit.

… and remember, in the end a caloric deficit IS required to lose weight. Intermittent fasting can be used as a tool to achieve a caloric deficit whether you want to count calories or not.

Who should try an intermittent fasting Keto approach?

The jury is still out on whether there is an INCREASE in fat loss by using intermittent fasting versus traditional caloric restriction. A systematic review 8 was published in December of 20189Cioffi et al., 2018 that found no difference.

Both intermittent and continuous energy restriction achieved a comparable effect in promoting weight-loss and metabolic improvements.
– Cioffi et al., 2018

So the jury is still out on whether or not intermittent fasting is MORE effective than if you were to spread your meals throughout the day. This is also assuming you ate the same amount in the ~8-hour window or ~16-hour window.

That said, I would try intermittent fasting if:

You enjoy less frequent but LARGER meals
You don’t necessarily find yourself that hungry in the mornings (or evenings)
It allows you to adhere to your diet over the long term
You simply want to experiment

The bottom line on Keto and intermittent fasting

You need to be up front and honest with yourself if choosing to utilize intermittent fasting because context is everything. Don’t say that you’re doing it for health, autophagy, [insert reason you give your friends], when in reality it's that you think it burns more fat.

I do believe there are health benefits to intermittent fasting and fasting in general, but I’d be skeptical to assume there is any inherent fat loss benefit to restricting your eating window.

At the end of the day, intermittent fasting isn't magic when it comes to weight loss. If combining keto and intermittent fasting works for you and fits your lifestyle, then by all means…

Implement it.

However, if trying to implement keto and intermittent fasting makes everything much harder, stresses you out, or makes adhering to your diet more difficult, then it's not a worthwhile trade-off.

Keto and intermittent fasting F.A.Q.

Can you do keto and intermittent fasting together?

You can definitely do keto and intermittent fasting together. In fact, keto will make intermittent fasting much easier to adhere to due to its satiating nature.

Do I have to eat keto while intermittent fasting?

No, you do not have to eat keto while intermittent fasting.

Does intermittent fasting cause ketosis?

Intermittent doesn't directly cause someone to go into ketosis. That said, During the tail end of longer fasts it is highly likely that the body is beginning to produce ketones.

Do you fast on a keto diet?

Fasting is up to you whether or not you want to include it for the health benefits or diet adherence.

Is Intermittent Fasting better than Keto?

Intermittent fasting and keto are two entirely separate things. Intermittent fasting is a schedule of when to eat. Keto is a metabolic state achieved by what you eat.

Can I drink coffee during intermittent fasting?

Yes, you can drink coffee or any non caloric beverage during your fasting window.

How often should you intermittent fast on keto?

How often you intermittent fast on keto is dependent on your preference.

How much weight can you lose with intermittent fasting?

How much weight you can lose while intermittent fasting is dependent on your total caloric deficit. The recommendation is to lose between 0.5 – 1.5% of your total bodyweight per week. The more fat you have to lose the more you can expect to lose without risk of losing lean body mass.

How long is intermittent fasting?

The duration in which you intermittent fast is dependent on the method you choose to implement whether that's daily, weekly, or alternate day fasting.

How long does it take to get into ketosis while fasting?

From my experience, it typically takes between 24-48 hours to get into ketosis if completely fasting.

How long does it take for your body to go into ketosis?

How long it tales your body to go into ketosis depends on your previous diet, your activity levels, and what you are currently eating.

Can you go into ketosis in 24 hours?

Yes, it is possible to go into ketosis within 24 hours by fasting. While not always the case, you can typically start seeing low levels of ketones between 24 – 36 hours after starting a fast.

What is a fat fast?

People commonly refer to a fat fast as eating a diet composed of 80 – 90% fat for 4-5 days and limited to 1000-1200 calories broken down in 3-4 meals.

11 REASONS WHY YOU’RE NOT LOSING WEIGHT ON KETO

Just looking at the top 3 articles that come up when I search ‘not losing weight on keto’ makes me cringe.

So, this is my attempt to clear up much of the misinformation that many individuals and websites are spewing.

If you’re not losing weight on keto, this one’s for you.

If I had to give you the top 3 reasons why most people are not losing weight on keto right off the bat from my 15+ years of experience, I’d say (in no particular order):

Not losing weight on keto is most typically a result of…

Eating too much. Eating more than you think.
Impatience/Comparing your progress to others.
Metabolic adaptation. Not adjusting your diet or activity as you lose weight.

Ok, technically that was 4.

Don't have time to read all 6,000+ words? Download a PDF to read offline at a later time.

That said, let’s dive in.

not losing weight on keto pinterest cover

One of the most common questions I get emailed or DM’d about is people asking why they’re not losing weight on keto.

Actually, it’s the number one question I get asked.

As much as I wish there was ONE universal answer to why you’re in ketosis but not losing weight or even in ketosis but gaining weight, there isn’t a one size fits all answer. In fact, I almost inevitably reply with a question of my own such as:

What's your primary goal?
What are you currently eating?
Are you currently tracking your food intake?
How long have you been “stalled?”
Do you have any medical conditions I should be aware of?

I’m sure many of you reading this now can attest to this. 😉

There are simply too many reasons to why you may be experiencing no weight loss on keto and kudos on being proactive and trying to figure out why.

Here’s my attempt to list all the reasons I’ve come across with those I’ve helped, and chances are one or more of these reasons may apply to why YOU are not losing weight on keto. I’m sure I might be leaving something out, but rest assured I’ll keep this updated.

Reason # 1 – You’re IMPATIENT.

It’s not that you’re not losing weight on keto, you’re not losing weight on keto FAST ENOUGH.

Seriously, most of the time people start a conversation telling me that they’ve been on a ketogenic diet for a whopping 5 days, or MAYBE… it has been a whole month.

So, here’s the thing, when you first hop on a ketogenic diet you begin to see quick results, as a result, you become more motivated to continue. After all, it’s not unheard of for people to drop anywhere from 5 to 10 pounds within the first week.

But here’s the rub.

Even though these initial results motivate you to continue, it leaves many with a false sense of what the process will actually be like.

Progress inevitably slows down after that initial drop in weight and you enter into what I refer to as “the suck.”

Yes, you read that correctly.

Basically, “the suck” is this period of time where you may be doing everything correctly, but no progress is, seemingly, being made.

This is the part that people throw their hands up in frustration, break their keyboards, seek help, or give up altogether. This is why I typically recommend people dismiss scale readings during the first four weeks on any weight loss diet.

You’re here though because YOU are one of the few that didn’t give up and are wondering why you’re experiencing no weight loss on keto, so this doesn’t apply to you.

For all the people that did give up and had given it time, this is likely what would have happened.

weight loss vs fat loss — The realities of fat loss vs. what the mind games the scale will play on you.

SOLUTION

So here is what you’re going to do now that you know about the suck.

YOU are going to calm down and be patient. Ask yourself, years from now after you’ve lost the weight, will you even care or remember if it took you a week or a year to lose the weight? Heck no.

You’ll just be glad you built the habits that allowed you to lose weight and maintain it for the rest of your life.

Usually, it’s the people who have the quick fat loss mentality that end up regaining all their lost weight plus more.

Not that aggressive dieting doesn’t work, because it most certainly does, but because a quick fat loss mentality usually leads people to extremely low-calorie levels and trying all sorts of crazy unsustainable gimmicks and protocols.

We’re after a lifestyle change, not a quick-fix.

So just how fast should you be expecting to lose fat?

How fast or slow you lose depends on where you are in your journey.

The more body fat you have to lose, the faster you can expect to lose; conversely, the leaner you are, a slower rate of loss is preferred as to minimize any muscle and/or strength loss.

That said: I like to set fat loss targets between 0.5 – 1% of your total body weight per week. If you're very overweight you can even get away with upwards of ~1.5% weight loss per week.

What’s great about using percentages is the rate of loss autoregulates itself as your bodyweight decreases.

For example.

Let’s look at Sara and Sam in the image below.

Sara weights 250 lbs so she can expect to lose about 1.25 – 2.5 pounds per week. On the other hand, Sam weights 150 lbs so she can expect to lose about .75 – 1.5 pounds per week.

not losing weight on keto rate of fat loss expectations — Remember, it's not about how fast you get there… it's that you get there AND stay there.

Reason # 2 – You're comparing yourself to others

Let’s be real, it’s just human nature for us to compare ourselves to others. I do it, you do it, Barbara Ann does it, and so does Bobby Lee. It’s bad when comparing yourself turns to insecurity, envy, and discontent with yourself.

You can only control one person’s progress, and that’s your own.

The comparison trap is as old as humans have walked the earth. It’s even worse now with social media and having easy access to compare yourself with millions of others at the tip of your fingers.

I’ve literally come across studies that show a correlation with how much time is spent on social media with a rise in depression and envy.

Think about it, nobody posts their struggles, failures, spousal arguments, or kids acting out and being grounded.

People post made up photos of themselves, their kid receiving awards, and the best family vacation photos they could muster out of the whole vacation.

Heck, I even wonder if some of my friends work since the only thing they post on Facebook is pictures on vacation along some beach drinking a pina colada.

Nobody knows what good is anymore because perfect became the new normal.
– Me

But I digress…

What I was trying to get at before getting sidetracked is the more you look and compare yourself to others, the more you are likely to feel discontent with your own progress and jump from one diet to the next

Truth is, you don’t know what Peggy Sue’s circumstances were. Maybe she’s just genetically superior, maybe she’s worked out consistently for the last 20 years, and who knows, maybe she simply has an easier time losing weight than you or I.

SOLUTION

Be aware of the situations that you find yourself playing the comparison game, social media is probably the biggest culprit of them all. Since I know you’ll do it anyway, use it as MOTIVATION instead of a way to nitpick at yourself.

And lastly, seek out advice and ask questions. The most successful people, dieting or not, are the ones who know how to ask the right questions and seek the correct answers.

There’s only one thing within your control, and that’s what you do. So practice some patience, give the diet some time, and focus on you, not what everyone else is doing.

Reason #3 – You’re eating too damn much.

I don’t know who started it, but I get a comment nearly every day about it, can you guess what “it” is? The “it” I’m referring to is that calories don’t matter. They usually comment something along the lines of one of these:

It's a hormonal problem
It's due to insulin (which is a hormone btw)
It's about the correct macros

Inevitably followed up by:

Look up Dr. Fung
Look up Dr. Berg
Etc. etc. etc.

And yes, all of that may be true… up to a certain extent.

Can hormones make a difference in energy balance? Yes.

Will a hormonal response ever supersede an energy deficit? No.

Everything listed above does play a factor in weight loss AND those people they mention are indeed some smart individuals.

However, they take everything out of context and I’m almost certain if they asked their “gurus” if calories mattered they would tell them that they do, but of course, in addition to all of the other factors.

These zealots preaching it’s all about hormones or it’s all about controlling insulin totally miss the boat.

They’ve become so dogmatic in their approach that they mislead many people to believe they can eat however much they want as long as they eat some magical percentage of protein, carbs, and fats.

In a perfect world, controlling insulin would control your hunger, and thus prevent you from overeating, possibly even undereating, thereby causing weight loss. This, along with making better food choices, is typically the case with all these said individuals along with fixing their previously poor diets.

What they’re failing to realize is that they’re in a calorie deficit, whether they believe it or not.

But this is far from a perfect world… and eating is as much a psychological thing as it is a physiological one. To tell someone they can eat all they want as long as they eat x or y percentage of fat or don’t eat any carbs and lose weight is ludicrous.

It’s much like the person who previously ate a relatively poor diet and decided to give veganism a try. They to, began to see some weight loss, maybe even lost all the weight they wanted.

Now they firmly believe a vegan diet is the only way to lose weight. Correlation does not equal causation.

Calories in vs. calories out is a myth. I've lost fat without being in a caloric deficit.
– Person who was unknowingly in a calorie deficit

Just because they don’t believe that calories matter nor counted them, AND also happened to lose weight does it make it any truer. I also believed in the tooth fairy and found a dollar under my pillow every time.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to count calories. Many individuals lose large amounts of weight switching to a ketogenic diet and not counting calories AT ALL.

However, chances are you landed here because you are not one of those lucky individuals.

SOLUTION

If you’ve never tracked calories before, I would highly encourage you to do so, If at least for a short while (3-4 weeks).

This means weighing and portioning out your food. Doing so will give you a better understanding of exactly how much you are eating and how it effects your progress.

NOTICE that I said for a short while… You don't have to track calories forever, but I think it's a VALUABLE skill that generates more awareness and makes you more conscious about food.

Granted, if you think this may make you neurotic about food then perhaps you shouldn't.

During this period, I encourage people to use an actual kitchen scale in addition to their measuring cups and spoons. Using an actual scale may paint a clearer picture of what exactly a serving of a particular food looks like in actuality.

A classic example here is of a tablespoon of peanut butter which when weighed comes out to 16 grams (and about 100 calories).

If you were to “eyeball” and measure out a tablespoon of peanut butter then place it on the scale, it will invariably be more than 16 grams.

Combine the fact that the spoon is overfilled with licking the sides and underside of the spoon (cause hey… it’s on the tablespoon) it’s easy to get quite a bit more calories than you’re actually writing in your journal.

not losing weight PEANUT BUTTER difference — Over time this can easily add up to A LOT

Can you see how this would begin to add up with multiple spoonful’s a day and over the course of days, weeks, and months?

Sadly, even vegetables, which are often encouraged and considered ‘free foods’ on most diets, can be a problem. Due to hunger, some dieters eat enormous amounts of vegetables to fill themselves up, but that too can begin to add up.

There’s inevitably a few of you who will take this out of context and say I’m now advocating that vegetables are bad for you. Really guys?

As you can begin to see, it’s quite possible for smaller dieters, and especially females who may not have as much wiggle room in the calorie department to completely eliminate the deficit they assumed they were in.

Is weighing and measuring your food a pain in the ass? You bet.

Will this lead certain individuals to become obsessive and neurotic about food? Quite possiblly.

Just remember, what gets measured gets managed. If you’re not losing weight on keto as it is, what do you have to lose by weighing and measuring your food intake?

In some cases, it’s absolutely necessary to make sure how much you think you’re eating is in fact how much you are actually eating.

Now, assuming you are properly measuring and weighing your food and still not seeing any progress, try increasing your deficit by another 10%, whether through diet, exercise, or a combination of both.

Give this calorie level a go for a good 4 weeks or so before assuming it’s a bust. If there is still no progress to be had, try dropping another 10% and reassessing after 4 more weeks.

If there’s still no progress, then I would highly recommend you get some blood work done as there is likely some underlying issue or even take a break from dieting altogether if you've been at it for a LONG time.

That said, here are some resources to track and measure down below.

Websites for tracking

Apps for your mobile device

MyFitnessPal iPhone | Android *What I personally use
Carb Manager iPhone | Android
My Macros+ iPhone | Android

Recommended kitchen scales

OXO Stainless Steel Kitchen Scale * What I personally use due to the large weight capacity. The display also pulls out for when you have a big plate sitting on top that would normally hide the display on other scales.
Ozeri food scale – Bit more simple than the one above, but gets the job done.

Reason # 4 – You're not eating enough!

Now you’re thinking…

Wait a minute…

You just finished telling me I may be eating TOO much and now you’re telling me I may not be eating enough? What gives Steven?

Somehow, we’ve gotten it in our heads that if something works, then more is better. This is also the mentality when it comes to dieting. Well, if eating this much makes me lose weight then eating even less will make me lose weight faster.

And this is true, up till a certain point.

Studies support the idea that there is a threshold deficit allowing for maximum fat loss to occur with minimal side effects. Meaning, there is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to dieting.

At a certain point, for some individuals, you are actually causing more harm than good.

What is the point of diminishing returns?

It seems as deficits greater than ~25%, while leading to greater fat loss, is unsustainable for MOST individuals.

A few drawbacks to a large calorie deficit include:

Increased potential for muscle loss
Increased chance for binging
Doesn't teach long-term habits required to keep the weight off
May be hard to sustain due to hunger
Largest drop in energy expenditure *more on this later in the article.

Some pros of a large calorie deficit:

Faster rate of fat loss
Leaves plenty of room for error
Quick initial weight loss can provide positive reinforcement to keep going.

While resting metabolic rate doesn’t drop drastically as one might think when dieting, large deficits ( >25% ) usually lead to a decrease in a person’s daily activity, mainly due to fatigue and lethargy.

When people think their metabolism has somehow slowed down to that of a snail’s pace, it’s usually that they offset much of their supposed deficit with the fact that they simply aren’t moving as much.

This is a biggie, because what you do the other 23 hours of the day outside of the gym has a bigger impact in how many calories you expend versus the 30 – 60 minutes you spend in the gym.

Not losing weight on keto - exercise vs non exercise — See how this can play a more important role?

SOLUTION

A little caveat to this is that large calorie deficits DO work, I’m in no way saying that they don’t. In fact, there is evidence that suggests quite the opposite, BUT with the following inclusions:

Nutritional education
Behavior modification
Increased physical activity

While large deficits will work if you can sustain it, they likely won’t last unless there is some type of intervention implemented alongside as outlined above.

In the end, cutting calories too much often creates more problems than it solves, but that’s not to say there isn’t a downside to a small deficit either.

Deciding how much of a calorie deficit has a lot of considerations, all of which will depend on your goals, preferences, and tolerances. A deficit that’s appropriate for one person might end up being completely inappropriate for another.

A good rule of thumb is to stick to a deficit that allows you to lose ~ 0.5 – 1% of your bodyweight per week. Bigger individuals with more fat to lose can safely aim for the higher end (sometimes even higher) while leaner folks with less fat to lose should stick to the lower end.

You may give my keto macro calculator a shot for a great starting point with setting up your calorie deficit along with a custom macro breakdown based on your lifestyle and preferences.

If you want my personal take on it, diet aggressively as you can without losing muscle.

Because let’s face it, dieting sucks, and most people are impatient.

I’m of the mindset that one should eat MORE and move MORE versus the old adage of eat less move more.

What you should be aiming for is maximum FAT loss and not simply weight loss. This means you should be eating an adequate amount of protein and including some type of resistance training in addition to your diet.

AND, if you’ve never done any sort of weight / resistance training there’s a good chance you may be able to simultaneously build muscle and lose fat, a dieter’s dream. In which case, you may not even see a change on the scale since you are building muscle and losing fat at the same time.

Of course, if you’re dieting on too low of calories you’ll eliminate almost any chance of this occurring, so be smart.

Reason # 5 – Metabolic adaptation… and you're not moving enough.

I briefly explained this in the last section, but a major reason why people’s fat loss comes to a halt or they hit a plateau is due to metabolic adaptation. NOT DAMAGE.

You see, the body doesn’t like change. In fact, the body will do everything within its power to maintain a level of homeostasis.

What most people don’t realize is that the metabolism or TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is composed of four main components.

Resting metabolic rate (RMR)

Your resting metabolic rate is essentially the number of calories to keep your body functioning at rest. This applies to basic functions like breathing and circulating blood throughout your body.

RMR makes up the majority of calories MOST people burn… unless you’re an ultramarathoner or an ironman triathlete. RMR accounts for around 60 – 70% in your average adult.

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis is all the activity that isn’t intentional. Meaning, everything outside of your gym or CrossFit session.

This includes everything from fidgeting and walking your dog to washing the dishes and walking to your car.

NEAT accounts for somewhere around 30% of your total daily energy expenditure.

Physical Activity (PA)

Physical activity is intentional exercise. This will vary individual to individual depending on the type of exercise you perform and the duration in which you perform it.

For most of us who may exercise 3 – 6x per week for 30 minutes to an hour this accounts for around 10 – 15% of our total daily energy expenditure.

As you can see, this doesn’t make up a huge chunk of your total activity and the reason why you may have heard the phrase “you can’t outrun a bad diet.”

Because you can’t… at least for most people. Again, if you are pounding the pavement as an ultra-marathoner or ironman triathlete, perhaps you can, but that’s not most people.

Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)

Thermic Effect of Food is the number of calories required to digest your food. It surprisingly takes up a good amount of energy to digest that meal, but it only accounts for 5 – 10% of your total daily energy expenditure.

Weight loss will impact each one of these components to a certain degree, but the biggest impacts tend to be on RMR and NEAT.

SOLUTION

RMR: As you lose weight and get smaller, you simply won’t require as many calories as you once did. Makes sense, right? A smaller person requires less calories than a bigger person, even if that bigger person used to be you 15 pounds ago.

This is why, on average, men have an easier time losing weight than women. Not only do they carry more muscle, but they are larger in general.

So what do we do here? Well, we adjust our diet as we lose weight and get leaner. If you’re not losing weight on keto and hit a plateau, you may just need to make an adjustment in how much you’re eating.

There are no hard or fast rules on when to adjust but reassess your caloric needs after every 10 – 15 pounds lost.

However, if you’re still within the first 4 weeks of starting your diet, don’t make any adjustments.

Your body takes some time to ‘catch up’ to the deficit and waiting this amount of time is usually a good time frame to have a clearer picture on what’s really happening.

Just how much should you adjust your diet?

A 5 – 10% reduction in calories is a good starting point. Assuming carbohydrate intake is already really low, and protein is moderately set, I would remove these calories from your fat intake.

If you are still eating a decent amount of net carbohydrates, you can reduce those further or do a combination of carbohydrates and fat.

Remember that carbohydrates are 4 calories per gram while fat is 9 calories per gram.

I wrote all about keto weight loss and how to set up your diet, track progress, and adjust.

NEAT: As you diet, your body senses the change and fights back by decreasing your energy and making you feel more tired. As a result of this tiredness, you begin to move less and less, even without you realizing.

Conversely, NEAT tends to increase as weight does.

Since NEAT makes up nearly 30% of our total calorie expenditure, the second biggest slice of the pie, this can greatly affect weight loss or even stop it dead in its tracks.

To remedy this, I would encourage setting a daily target for movement OUTSIDE of the gym. For this, fitness wearables like a Fitbit or a simple pedometer can be a great tool to track a minimum number of steps per day.

Alternatively, you can do something like choose a length of time.

In practice it may look like:

10,000 steps per day

or

45 minutes of light walking every morning

Just be mindful if you're vegging out on the couch watching Netflix because you're too tired to do anything else.

This is a great time to do all the other stuff you've might been neglecting like mowing your lawn, cleaning the house, or walking your pup.

Physical Activity: As mentioned earlier in the article, I’m of the eat MORE move MORE mentality vs the old adage of eat less move more.

While we can’t outrun a bad diet, feeding your body the right amount and not starving yourself will allow you to train harder and thus preserve or build muscle and burn more calories.

It goes without saying, just like your RMR decreases due to the weight loss and the fact you are now a smaller human being, so does the calorie expenditure when performing the same type of exercise.

Example: Running a mile at 180 pounds burns more calories than running a mile at 160 pounds.

TEF: The thermic effect of food is the amount of energy required to digest the food you eat. It goes without saying that if you eat less food then less calories will be expended.

While this can be influenced only so much on a calorie deficit, the biggest impact on TEF will be your protein intake as it’s the costliest macronutrient to digest.

Studies also suggest that the TEF of highly processed foods is significantly less than their whole-food counterparts.

Another checkmark for adding in more whole foods, especially protein.

To summarize the metabolic adaptation section

Your body begins to downregulate its resting metabolic rate, but probably not as much as most people would think.

The majority of the adaptation comes in the form of reducing your Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) which makes up around ~30% of your daily caloric expenditure and even upwards of 45% in HIGHLY active individuals (think of a construction or farmer heaving heavy things around all day for 8 hours at a time).

Therefore, things you can do to counteract the adaption are as follows:

If fat loss has truly come to a halt after a certain caloric intake has been maintained for ~4 weeks then reduce total calories by 5 – 10% taking them from fat and/or carbohydrate grams
Have a trackable minimum daily activity goal outside of the gym i.e. 10,000 steps
Don’t eat so little as to not have enough energy to train hard in the gym
Eat an adequate amount of protein ~1 gram per pound of lean body mass

Reason #6 – Water retention

THE YAY, OH CRAP MONTH.

This is, in part, the reason many people think they’ve stalled when in reality they are still losing weight, especially within the first month of starting their ketogenic diet.

People often confuse the rapid weight loss during the first week of a ketogenic diet with actual fat loss. While some of it may be fat, the majority of the initial weight loss is really just extra bloat and water being flushed from your body.

During the second, third, and fourth weeks the body inevitably puts back on some of that water weight and masks any real fat loss that you may see on the scale.

This is another reason why using only the scale to measure and track fat loss isn’t the best method and why I say to usually give your body ~4 weeks for the calorie deficit to catch up and your body to level out.

An example of what it may look like:

YAY!

JoAnn weighs 170 pounds when first starting her ketogenic diet. At the end of week 1, JoAnn weighs 163 pounds for a whopping 7 pounds of scale weight lost.

In reality, of the 7 pounds maybe 1 – 1.5 pounds of that was actual fat loss. Meaning, the other 5.5 – 6 pounds was mainly water weight.

OH CRAP…

During the second week JoAnn’s body begins to normalize and actually regains 2 pounds of water weight back but drops an additional 1 pound of fat.

Now, if we were simply looking at the scale JoAnn would freak out and assume no fat was lost. Not only that, but that some fat was gained. This usually leads someone to drastically cut their intake even more or give up altogether.

OH CRAP

NOT LOSING WEIGHT ON KETO, MAYBE IT’S WATER RETENTION

In addition, diet and exercise act as a form of stress on the body. The longer you diet, the more stress begins to accumulate. As a result, due to a myriad of factors including a rise in cortisol, people start retaining more water,

ESPECIALLY women.

WEIGHT LOSS VS FAT LOSS GRAPHIC

Also, there is this phenomenon known as the “Whoosh” effect. As you start to lose fat, your fat cells begin to fill up with water as a ‘placeholder’ waiting for the cell to fill up with fat again. Fat cells can hold onto this water for days… maybe even weeks. Then, boom, almost overnight, you drop 4 pounds and look leaner in the mirror.

not losing weight on keto whoosh — Not always the case, but definitely happens more often than you think

SOLUTION

Chill out
Be Patient
De-stress yourself

Meditate

I know what you’re thinking, but don’t knock it till you try it. There is proven research on the benefits of meditation for health, especially stress and stress related conditions like IBS, PTSD, and fibromyalgia.

Hang out with friends

When people diet they sometimes start to become a bit antisocial, especially since many social events tend to be centered around eating and drinking.

I get it, I’m right there with you… why put yourself amidst all that temptation as it’s not conducive towards your goals right?

Still, we are social beings at heart. Try to plan an activity that doesn’t revolve around food or use this as an excellent time to practice mindful eating choices when eating out.

Easier said than done, I know.

Go for a walk.

Depending how you go about it, this can be a Zen like meditation as well for people.

Use the walk as a time to reflect, think about life, and enjoy mother nature. This can also double up as part of your 10,000 steps you told yourself you would start doing 😉

Get more sleep

Remember the last time you didn’t get any sleep? Bet you felt like crap, weren’t productive, and felt more stressed.

Journaling

We have so many thoughts that run through our head on a daily basis. I don’t remember where I heard it, but we the average person has somewhere around 70,000 thoughts per day.

Getting your thoughts out of your head and onto paper can free up some of that mental baggage that weighs you down and possibly even affecting your sleep.

Another great journaling technique is to keep a gratitude journal. There is so much to be said for remembering and being grateful for even the little things in life we take for granted on a daily basis.

Also, every time you find yourself saying ‘I have to’ change it to ‘I get to…’. Basically, do whatever makes you happy and helps you de-stress.

Reason #7 – You're putting a stick of butter in your coffee

This goes back to the third reason, you’re simply eating too damn much. If you’re drinking keto coffee, bulletproof coffee, or whatever the cool kids are calling it these days, then this is an easy 200 – 300 calories you can eliminate from your diet.

Often, people use a keto coffee as a meal replacement for breakfast and to help with hunger. Here’s the point everyone who has a counter argument is missing, you’re not losing weight on keto as it is and that’s why you’re here reading this.

Eliminating fat from your morning coffee is a lot easier than reducing your food intake or increasing your activity level for most people.

SOLUTION

I’d like to challenge you, if this applies, to simply drink the coffee black or only with your MCT oil. Just like when you replaced your breakfast with keto coffee, now all you have to do is eliminate some or all of the add-ons you’re dumping into it.

However, if you TRULY believe this keeps you from overeating and is a net positive in your fat loss efforts, by all means you do you.

Of course, you can always keep it in and eat less food later.

Or move more to compensate.

not losing weight on keto burn one bpc — Hey, if you need it then you need it.

Reason #8 – Health conditions and medications

There are certain health conditions and medications that may affect fat loss. Conditions such as:

PCOS
Hypothyroidism
Menopause | Not really a disease or disorder, but it does trigger some profound changes within a woman’s body.

Medications including:

Diabetic drugs like insulin
Antipsychotic drugs
Antidepressant drugs
Drugs for epilepsy
Birth control

Sometimes there are factors beyond our control, at least until we know about them and can be proactive towards it. If you’ve been consistent with your diet, training hard, making the right adjustments, and still not losing fat, it may be time to consult your doctor and get some bloodwork done.

SOLLUTION

I am not a doctor and not qualified to give you any sound medical advice, but you may try the following.

Discuss with your doctor if there are any other options in terms of medications or treatments. There may be an alternative, but that’s not always the case.
You may have to just deal with the cards your dealt, so do your best to control what you can and leave the rest to the powers that be.

If you email or DM me I can give you my opinion, but it would be just that… my opinion.

Reason #9 – You don't need to lose fat

Is it possible that you really don’t have as much fat to lose as you think? We can be our own worst critics at times and I can definitely relate to this.

In fact, as I am writing this I get a message on Instagram from a female telling me she’s stuck and needs to lose more weight to hit her goal. Mind you, she’s 125 pounds currently, down from 160, and she wants to get to 115 pounds.

AND… SHE’S 5’9!

Much of the time, people really need to just add more muscle to their frame rather than try and shed any more weight. The more muscle you have on your frame, the better you’re going to look when you do lose the fat.

You may even simply look better without losing any fat and putting on muscle.

Ladies, I’m talking to you especially!

And you don’t need to worry about getting “bulky” cause guess what… it’s pretty dang hard to put on muscle. Walk into any gym and look at all the guys who actually do want to put on muscle and look big but aren’t.

It’s not as simple as picking up some weights a few times a week.

Take a look at the below photo as an example. Clearly, Bale has a lower body fat percentage and weighs less in The Machinist compared to his role in American Psycho.

But which look do you prefer? Can you see how having some muscle despite having a bit more fat is more aesthetically pleasing? After all, that is the goal correct? To look and feel better?

I can almost guarantee you that he felt better on the right than he did on the left.

Reason #10 – You're gaining muscle

Ok, so if you’re certain you are in a calorie deficit and DEFINITELY not overeating because you’re measuring and weighing food like I asked you to, perhaps there’s a chance you may be gaining muscle.

If you’re not losing weight on keto and doing everything correctly, perhaps somebody is smiling down on you from above.

Gaining muscle is actually a GOOD thing, even if that means your scale weight stays the same or the off chance going up.

Granted, this is usually the case if you’ve just started working out or perhaps switched your diet from one with very little protein to something more moderate.

This is also one of the reasons why using only the scale to track progress will usually lead you astray.

SOLUTION

The scale is only one tool you should be using. Other tools to give you a better picture of your progress are:

Tracking body measurements
Progress photos
Strength in the gym
How clothes fit

All of the above will serve you better in tracking your progress.

Tracking body measurements

If your waist measurement has decreased or stayed the same, but your arms, legs, and/or chest measurements have increased, good job, you’ve gained muscle.

Progress photos

Look slimmer despite the scale having not budged or gone up? Seeing some extra definition or lines that were not there previously? Good job, you’ve gained muscle.

Probably best to compare photos on a bi-monthly or monthly basis to have a better comparison.

Strength in the gym

For beginners, you can do almost ANYthing when first starting and it’s enough stimulus to put on some muscle.

However, there is also a correlation with an increase in strength and an increase in muscle size (not always, but for most beginners and intermediate lifters)

How clothes fit

Not losing weight on keto but your pants are looser in the waist? Well, that’s a good thing.

Reason #11 – You're not a finisher

Are you the person that starts many diets, but you never stick with them? Are you what I like to refer to as a ‘chronic dieter?’

Maybe you’re always dieting for some occasion or perhaps you constantly end your diet only to start it again a week later. Maybe you slip up after a couple days or a couple weeks and figure F*** it I’ll start again on Monday.

After all, diets can only start on Mondays, right? Jk

This state of perpetual dieting is neither healthy or conducive to ever reaching your goals. Quite the opposite, it’s very unhealthy, and leads to a disordered way of eating.

The constant dieting approach is what causes many people to ride the high and low train of calorie restriction followed by binging after you realize that you can’t adhere to it any longer.

As a result, you spin your wheels making no progress over the long term.

SOLUTION

If this resonates with you, perhaps it’s time to stop dieting and give your body AND mind a break from the constant rollercoaster you’ve been on.

Raise your calories back up to maintenance, eat until satiated, and stop worry about dropping weight for once. The goal for you should be trying to find some normalcy with your eating.

Instead, focus on your training and performance. Heck, focus on other parts of your life that you may have been neglecting while trying to lose weight.

Yes, you may put back on some fat during this period, but it’s something that may be necessary to propel future progress over the long-term.

All good things must come to an end

There you have it folks. If you’ve made it this far, then kudos to you. I really hope you’ve been able to pinpoint one, if not a couple of reasons why you may not have had the success you had hoped for.

If you’re not losing weight on keto, I’m almost certain one of these is the culprit.

As I stated in the beginning, there’s just so much nonsense in this space when it comes to fat loss. I’ve literally read reasons on other sites why you’re not losing weight on keto that range from eating too much protein to not actually being in ketosis.

First off:

You don’t HAVE TO be in ketosis to lose weight
It’s not that you’re eating too much protein (or even carbs), you’re eating too much in general. In fact, there are a plethora of studies that show nothing but positives when protein is increased.

You’ll come across these kinds of “tips” on almost every keto site you come across and it’s just plain misleading people, but hopefully not you because you’re here now!

Just know that you don’t have to literally be in ketosis 24/7 or even at all to lose weight.

There are definitely plenty of pros to a ketogenic diet for both health and weight loss, which is why myself and many others choose to adopt the lifestyle.

BUT don’t let anyone tell you that the only way to lose weight is to be in ketosis, or that you’re not losing weight on keto because you’re not really in ketosis, because it’s untrue and very misleading.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this article and found some value in it.

Would love to hear your thoughts or maybe if a lightbulb went off. Simply let me know in the comments down below.