KETO

CICO VS KETO [Which Is Best?] The Shocking Truth

Here’s the thing about diets; everyone has their opinion on what works best. The truth is, any and every diet can work IF you can stick to it.

Studies show that neither Calories In Calories Out (CICO) or a keto diet is superior for weight loss. In the case of CICO vs. Keto, neither is superior to the other. The best diet is the one that a person can adhere to, as adherence is the best predictor of weight loss success.

A lot of what I see around the ketogenic community is whether CICO, which stands for calories in vs. calories out works compared to Keto. Well, the answer may come as a shock, but they are essentially the same, or rather, work in the same way.

But I’ll get to that.

In this article, I’m going to explain how people misinterpret CICO, why it may work for some people and not for others, how CICO and Keto can work together, and much more.

How Does CICO work?

What does CICO mean? CICO, which is short for calories in vs. calories out works on the premise of calorie balance.

The following equation can define calorie balance:

Calories In – Calories Out = Net Weight
Calories In = The calories from the foods you eat
Calories Out = The number of calories you burn

Think of calories like your bank account.

Money In – Money Out = Net Balance

If you put more money in the bank then you take out, your bank account grows bigger. On the opposite end, if you take more money out then you put in, your bank account becomes smaller (or negative).

Therefore, if you eat more calories (calories in) then you expend (calories out), you will gain weight. On the opposite end of that, if you eat fewer calories (calories in) then you expend (calories out), you will lose weight.

That’s CICO in a nutshell, but we’ll expand upon this in a little bit.

How Does Keto Work?

Now that we know how CICO works, how does Keto work?

Well, Keto works on the same premise, except we’re restricting the foods that come from carbohydrates.

In the calories in part of the equation, the foods we eat consist of calories from protein, carbohydrates, and fat.

On a ketogenic diet, we’re nearly eliminating the calories that come from carbohydrates, which puts us in a metabolic state known as ketosis.

However, to lose weight on Keto, the same equation holds. We must have more calories going out than calories going in; there’s no way around it.

Whether you don’t believe it, tracked calories, didn’t track calories, or ate until you were full each day and still lost weight.

How Keto Causes Weight Loss

With adherence being the most significant predictor of successful weight loss, 1 there are reasons why following a ketogenic diet make it easier for individuals to adhere to a diet versus a diet mixed with carbohydrates, protein, and fat.

One of the biggest reasons people end up losing weight on a ketogenic diet is because ketogenic diets have been shown to reduce appetite. 2 3 4 5

As anyone can attest to being on a weight loss diet, hanger is a real issue. Any diet that helps you feel less hungry is most welcomed.

Additionally, in a study done on athletes to assess strength and performance, the athletes following a ketogenic diet lost fat, and this was WITHOUT trying to lose weight. 6

A major contributing factor, maybe the biggest one, is that people simply can stick to a ketogenic diet better than other diets.

Many people who stick with a ketogenic diet feel as if they have more steady energy, less hunger, and find they enjoy lower carb/higher fat food options.

So in the end, weight loss occurs on Keto the same way the CICO model does, by expending more calories than you’re taking in (eating).

While we can somewhat accurately measure food coming in, energy out is quite tricky.

How Energy Out Is Measured (Metabolism)

Energy out is more tricky because four main processes burn calories:

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR or RMR). Most of the calories you burn daily come from sustaining essential human functions, such as your heart, fueling your brain, and everything else keeping you alive and ticking.

Thermic Effect Of Food (TEF), a.k.a. Digestion. You may not realize it, but it takes calories to digest calories. You heard that correctly, you burn calories digesting what you ate, and the amount will vary depending on what you eat.

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT). NEAT is an interesting subject, and that’s because this is the most significant variable seen among studies. NEAT may vary by as much as 2,000 calories per day in two people of the same height and weight.

For reference: a pound of fat has ~3,500 calories.

NEAT is all of the activity that you do throughout your day that ISN’T formal exercise. NEAT may include doing your laundry, washing the dishes, heck… even sex would count as NEAT (unless you do it to try and burn calories, LOL)

Physical Activity (PA). I think physical activity is self-explanatory, but it’s everything you do that you would generally consider “working out.” Physical activity would be things like going for a run, lifting weights at the gym, playing basketball, etc.

As you can see, so many things may affect the calories out portion of the equation, but you can generally get an average of how much we burn if you routinely do the same things daily.

Does CICO Work?

First, let’s not confuse health and weight loss.

Calories in versus calories out does hold for weight loss, but, not all calories are created equal.

So yes, CICO does work, but it’s not as simple as it may sound.

Take, for instance, protein, due to digestion, eating a more substantial proportion of your calories from protein would result in more calories burned during digestion.

Also, different foods may affect your hormones in different ways.

Again, let’s not confuse this with only insulin and hormones matter; it all matters.

Even with the “most optimized” hormones, you STILL need to eat less than you burn to lose weight… you just may be able to eat a little more than the next person and achieve the same results.

Why CICO Doesn’t Work

There are various reasons why calories in versus calories out may not have worked for you, some of the main reasons I’ve outlined below.

Bad estimation

CICO doesn’t work, because most people, not you, of course, are notorious for overestimating how much they exercise and underestimating how much they consume. 7

Along with that, how much we eat and how many calories we burn daily can be an always changing value.

However, the law of averages always holds, and if you were to do something over a long period consistently, you would achieve results.

But most people are impatient; I get it, so am I.

The margin of error on labels

What’s even more shocking is that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows food companies a margin of error in the accuracy of the calories listed on nutrition labels.

How much is this margin, you ask? A whopping 20 percent in either direction.

This means you could be eating 20 percent more or 20 percent less than you think you are. However, in this study, done on common snack foods, there was only about a 4 percent margin of error. The calories were found to be higher than what the label had claimed. 8

However, again, the law of averages holds true. If you stuck to the same foods, you would be able to adjust for this error over time.

But most people like to eat different things for every meal every day. Again, I get it; I do too!

Thermic effect of food

As you’ve read earlier, your body burns calories by digesting the food you’ve eaten. This is one of those examples where not all calories are created equal.

Relative to the other macronutrients, protein has the highest thermic effect, with 20 – 30% of it being used just to digest it!

Compare protein with fat, which has 0-3% and carbohydrates at 5-10%.

By eating a more significant proportion of your calories from protein, you’ll be burning more calories by simply changing your food choices.

As you see, there is al little more nuance to CICO, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work.

How Many Calories Following CICO?

How many calories you should eat while following Keto or CICO will vary, but a good rule of thumb for weight loss is to multiply your body weight in pounds by 10 – 12.

The smaller and/or more sedentary you are, the more toward, the lower end you would gravitate towards. The more muscle and activity you do, the higher you can generally go and still lose weight.

Again, these would just be starting points in which you would use and then adjust as necessary.

If you are not losing weight, you would gradually decrease your calories. If you are losing too much weight too quickly, you would slightly increase your calories.

I like to aim for between 0.5 – 1.5% of body weight loss per week, with leaner individuals sticking toward the lower end and larger individuals toward the higher end.

How To Calculate CICO?

The best way to calculate CICO is by monitoring your food intake (calories in) with a food journal or an app like My Fitness Pal.

Alongside your calorie intake, you would monitor your weight to receive an estimate of what your calorie expenditure (calorie out) is.

Based on your weight change, you would be able to have a general idea of how many calories it takes to maintain your weight.

As an example, let’s say you tracked your daily calories for seven days and averaged 2,000 calories per day.

If at the start you weighed 150 lbs, and at the end of the seven days you weighed 149 lbs, then we can assume you would maintain your weight with ~2,500 calories.

This is because there are ~3,500 calories in one pound of fat. If you lost one pound, we could assume you were averaging a ~500 calorie deficit per day.

3500 / 7 = 500

If you ate 2,000 calories per day and didn’t lose any weight, we might say that 2,000 calories are what it takes to maintain your current weight.

To lose weight, you would need to average less than 2,000 calories per day OR increase exercise if you don’t want to eat less.

While not a 100% fool-proof method, this is the general premise on how to calculate and use CICO to maintain, lose, or gain weight.

Keto Plus CICO

Now that we’ve learned that both CICO and Keto work for weight loss, and primarily through the same means…

A caloric deficit.

You now just need to combine the two to achieve the results you want.

That being said, it may not always be necessary to track calories, though it can be a great tool to have when things aren’t going as you planned.

As I’ve said before, If you’re following a ketogenic diet, there’s a good chance you may be able to lose weight without tracking. Ketogenic diets are notorious for causing people to feel satiated, thus causing them to eat less overall, and as a result, lose weight.

There’s a cost with everything, including weight loss.

Even with the “most optimized” hormones, you STILL need to eat less than you burn to lose weight… you just may be able to eat a little more than the next person and achieve the same results.

You just have to weigh the pros and cons, and then decide if it’s worth it to you.

The Takeaway

Calories in versus calories out (CICO) and ketogenic diets cause weight loss through the same mechanism.

A caloric deficit.

However, ketogenic diets are notorious for appetite suppression, thus leading people to eat less and lose weight naturally.

While counting calories isn’t necessary to lose weight, that’s not to be mistaken with calories don’t matter when it comes to losing weight.

CICO and Keto can work together to give you the best of both worlds.

At the end of the day, CICO still holds to be accurate, but many variables make it difficult for many to implement successfully.

The Secret Behind Kefir And Ketosis

Kefir is growing in popularity, popping up in almost every grocery store. If you’re not familiar with kefir, it’s a fermented drink that contains a symbiotic culture of yeast and bacteria, similar to how you would make sourdough bread. However, it does contain a fair amount of carbs for those following a low carb or keto diet.

Kefir and water kefir can be consumed on a ketogenic diet within moderation. An average glass (8 oz) of kefir has the same amount of carbs as a glass of milk with 10 grams of net carbohydrates. However, this amount is reduced further through longer fermentation.

In this article, I’ll go over what kefir is and its health benefits, how to reduce the number of carbs, and alternatives that are even more keto-friendly.

Is Kefir Keto Friendly?

Keto-friendly is just another way of saying whether or not a food is generally ok to eat because no food is inherently keto or not keto. Foods aren’t “keto” since keto is a metabolic state achieved by limiting carbohydrates under a certain amount, which is different for everyone.

On average, an 8 oz. serving of kefir from most brands contain ~10 to 13 grams of net carbs. Since most people following a ketogenic diet limit carbohydrates between 20 and 50 grams of net carbs, kefir fits the bill as it falls under that threshold.

The real question is whether using up 10 to 13 grams of your net carbs is worth a glass of kefir. Of course, you can get the health benefits of kefir without drinking a full 8 oz. serving. For example, consuming 4 oz. of kefir only has ~6 grams of net carbs.

While I would suggest getting the majority of your carbohydrates from non-starchy vegetables such as broccoli, cactus, and spinach, you can enjoy treats that aren’t exactly seen as “keto” while staying in ketosis.

I wouldn’t make it a point to try to fit in treats every day, but if it makes you diet more enjoyable and allows you to stick to it, then who am I or anyone to stop you.

You do you.

What Is Kefir

So what exactly is kefir? It’s a cultured, fermented beverage similar to kombucha. Kefir is made similarly to sourdough bread, where a “starter” consisting of yeast and bacteria is used to ferment dairy milk, though other alternative milks may be used.

Kefir is almost like a yogurt drink, it’s not as runny as milk, but it’s not as thick as yogurt. Since kefir is fermented, individuals who may be lactose intolerant don’t seem to have the same reaction with kefir.

If you’ve never seen kefir, you’ll likely find it in the dairy section or lumped in with the yogurts.

Health Benefits of Kefir

Kefir is rich in nutrients, B vitamins, potassium, calcium, and a good source of high-quality protein. However, most people choose to consume kefir for its probiotics.

Other great keto-friendly sources of probiotics include kimchi and sauerkraut.

Probiotics are live organisms consumed through fermented foods or supplements such as kimchi, sauerkraut, and kombucha. Additionally, probiotics are thought to help promote a healthy balance of gut bacteria and linked to a variety of health benefits.

Aside from being rich in nutrients, 5 health benefits of kefir include:

How To Make Kefir More Keto Friendly

By making your kefir, you’ll have full control of making a lower carb version than the ones found on the store shelves.

First, decide which type of dairy or non-dairy base you would like to use. Popular non-dairy alternatives include:

Coconut milk
Goats milk
Rice milk
Almond milk
Macadamia nut milk

Easy ways to make kefir more keto-friendly…

Use coconut milk or another dairy alternative

Make kefir with coconut milk, not to be confused with coconut water, or another non-dairy milk lower in carbohydrates. Using something other than cows milk is an easy way to slash carbs from your kefir.

For example, this recipe from KetoDietApp uses coconut milk and has only ~4 grams of net carbs per 8 oz. serving.

HomemadeCoconutMilkKefir1 — Recipe and image from ketodietapp

Reduce the serving size

Reducing your kefir serving from 8 oz to 4 oz is a way to take in fewer carbohydrates, but still, get the health benefits of kefir and probiotics.

Just because the nutrition label says 8 oz. or 1 cup equals a serving, doesn’t mean that you have to drink that much in one sitting.

Ferment kefir longer than 24-hours

Ferment your kefir longer than 24 hours. Typically, kefir is fermented for 24 hours, but fermenting kefir for 48 to 72 hours will help further reduce the carb count.

Bear in mind, the longer you ferment your kefir, the sourer it becomes, but this is easily remedied by mixing in your favorite zero-calorie sweetener such as stevia or monk fruit.

Or, if you enjoy the sourness, then leave it be.

Drink water kefir

Yepp, that’s not a typo.

You can make kefir from water the same way you can from dairy and other milk. Water kefir is easy to make at home as all you need is water, sugar, and water kefir grains.

The fermentation process is what reduces the sugar content, so using less sugar and increasing the fermentation are perfect ways to reap the benefits of kefir with even less sugar.

Here’s a natural water kefir recipe from Kombucha Kamp.

Image and recipe from Kombucha Kamp

The Takeaway… Is Kefir Keto?

Kefir can most certainly fit into a ketogenic diet as a single serving has ~10 grams of net carbs and a half serving only ~5 grams. However, you’ll get more bang for your buck by making your kefir with non-dairy milk or fermenting dairy for longer than 48 hours.

Kefir is rich in probiotics that have been shown to have a multitude of health benefits, including digestion health and improved bone health, making it worth consideration as part of a healthy diet.

Since kefir is a fermented beverage, the sugar is significantly reduced during the fermentation process. Still, if you ferment it even further, you can reduce the overall net carbs even more.

How Glucosamine Affects The Ketogenic Diet Or Does It?

I used to take glucosamine at one point in time. During my previous days as an endurance athlete, I would use glucosamine as a little insurance policy for my joints, especially my knees. However, I can't say without a doubt whether I found it useful or not.

Can I take glucosamine on keto? Glucosamine may be taken on a ketogenic diet without kicking you out of ketosis.

In the article I’ll go over whether glucosamine affects ketosis and weight gain, if it’s even worth using, and possibly a better alternative.

Does Glucosamine Affect Ketosis?

Understandably, you're wondering whether or not glucosamine affects ketosis. After all, glucosamine is technically an amino sugar, hence the word ‘glucos' in the name, which is another word for sugar.

Early research even suggested that glucosamine could cause insulin resistance. Rest assured, follow up studies cleared glucosamine supplementation and any effect on blood glucose levels, glucose metabolism, or insulin sensitivity.6

As long as you're not consuming glucosamine in a form that contains additional added sugars, such as gummy form or in a ready to drink (RTD) mix, you should generally be ok.

However, glucosamine does contain calories, and they do come from carbohydrates. On average, a serving of glucosamine sulfate from most brands lists each serving as having ten calories and 2g of carbs, which isn't enough to knock you out of ketosis.

While there doesn't appear to be any adverse reaction between glucosamine and insulin, you should consult a medical doctor if you're pre-diabetic or diabetic before supplementing with glucosamine.

Also, since glucosamine is derived from shellfish, those with shellfish allergies should take caution if supplementing with glucosamine.

Things That Knock You Out Of Ketosis

While a single serving of glucosamine isn't enough to knock you out of ketosis, the 2 grams of carbohydrates should be added to your daily carb total if you want to play it safe.

The determining factor whether or not you'll achieve or maintain a state of ketosis is the TOTAL amount of carbohydrates you consume over the day. Ketosis is a metabolic state established by eliminating or restricting carbohydrates under a certain amount.

i.e., If you can eat 50 grams of net carbs per day and maintain a level of ketosis, by which you've tested by measured ketone levels, even eating a small bowl of oatmeal wouldn't necessarily knock you out of ketosis.

How many carbohydrates you can consume in a given period without being knocked out of ketosis is individual, but 20 – 50 grams of net carbs seems to be safe for most people generally.2

Factors that influence how many carbohydrates you can “get away with” include:

Overall body size
Muscle mass
Activity levels (the most prominent factor)

In essence, the more active you are, the more carbohydrates you can consume and maintain a state of ketosis. Athletes and highly active individuals may be able to get away with upwards of ~100 to 200 grams of carbohydrates and still achieve and maintain a state of ketosis.

If you have more questions about what will or won't kick you out of ketosis, I've compiled some of the most common questions people have and wrote the truth about what really kicks you out of ketosis.

Benefits of Glucosamine

Most people supplement with glucosamine for joint health. Studies show that supplementing glucosamine sulfate reduces the rate of collagen degradation and symptoms of osteoarthritis.34

Studies on athletes suggest doses as high as 3,000mg of glucosamine sulfate may be able to slow joint degradation. If you're an athlete participating in high impact sports, glucosamine may be worth considering.5

Also, glucosamine has even been used to treat conditions due to inflammation. One study found a 28 percent and 24 percent reduction in two markers of inflammation, CRP and PGE.6

While these numbers aren't statistically significant, it does show there is potentially something happening, but further research must happen before any reliable conclusions.

Typical glucosamine dosage is about 1,500 mg per day, with studies going as high as 2,000 – 3,000mg per day. To supplement glucosamine, 300 – 500mg, three times per day with food seems best.

Glucosamine sulfate salts followed by glucosamine sulfate are the best way to supplement glucosamine, as shown by the research.

Glucosamine side effects and weight gain

For the most part, glucosamine seems to be safe for most people. Aside from the shellfish allergy, some experience taking glucosamine, possible adverse reaction include7:

Heartburn
Headaches
Drowsiness
Abdominal pain
Nausea

Also, a study in 2013 found glucosamine may increase the risk of glaucoma, a condition that damages your eye's optic nerve.8 Again though, there's nothing definitive about the adverse side effects.

Then, there's the issue of weight gain. Glucosamine will NOT cause you to gain weight. No supplement will inherently cause you to gain weight unless the supplement causes you to overeat.

The only way to gain weight is by eating more calories than you burn. Likewise, the only way to lose weight is to eat fewer calories than you burn.

Therefore, the only way glucosamine would be able to cause weight gain would be if it stimulated your appetite, causing you to overeat.

Best supplements for a keto diet

If you're looking for effective supplements to optimize your ketogenic diet or contemplating taking fat burners on keto, there are very few that are shown to be effective. For joint health, collagen may be a better option than glucosamine and chondroitin combined according to one study.9https://www.medsci.org/v06p0312.htm

Compared to the glucosamine and chondroitin group, collagen supplementation was found to reduce pain during exercise by 20 percent versus 6 percent.

Another study in persons with knee osteoarthritis either took 1,500mg of glucosamine sulfate or 10g of hydrolyzed collagen per day over 90 days.10 Those that took hydrolyzed collagen had significant improvement in pain scores and quality of life over the glucosamine group.

In a study of subjects with NO history of arthritis reported that supplementation helped improved knee range of motion almost 8 degrees. Subjects taking collagen also experienced a longer time for joint pain to occur during exercise and faster recovery.11

Hydrolyzed collagen protein can be bought in supplement form or obtained in collagen-rich foods like bone broth. A dose of 10 grams per day for skin health and minor joint benefits seems to be the dose most studied.

The Takeaway

Glucosamine naturally occurs within your body, and supplementing with it shouldn't kick you out of ketosis. While it appears to be safe for most people, some individuals may experience an adverse reaction, especially those allergic to shellfish.

Another possible supplement that may be worth considering is hydrolyzed collagen protein, which has shown some benefits to joints, contains no carbohydrates, and is rich in glycine.12

How To Transition Off Keto [Best Way And Alternatives]

So you've reached your weight loss goal using a ketogenic diet, now what?

You're asking yourself how to transition off keto and not balloon back to your old weight right?

And you'd be right in doing so because it's not the fat loss that's hard…

It's keeping the weight off.

6 out of 7 overweight individuals can successfully shed weight during their lifetime.

However, around 90% of those individuals will fail and keeping the weight off over the long term. What's even worse is up to 2/3 of those individuals will gain back MORE weight than they lost.

How to transition off keto? The transition from keto, regardless of which diet you choose afterward, should be made alongside sustainable habits and lifestyle changes.

HOW TO TRANSITION OFF KETO PINTEREST COVER

How to properly come off a keto diet

There are many reasons why people choose to end their ketogenic diet.

You've reached your goal
You miss carbohydrates
You don't feel as good as people said you would
You just want to switch it up

Whichever the reason, I'll cover how you can transition to some other popular “diets” while not ballooning back to your old weight.

Transitioning from keto to paleo

Transitioning from keto to paleo may be one of the most effortless transitions.

If your diet was filled with whole and unprocessed foods, you're basically eating 90% “paleo friendly” foods.

If this is the case, the only difference now is adding in whole and unprocessed carbohydrates.

This includes any and all fruits along with starchy vegetables like potatoes, sweet potato, butternut squash, beets, etc.

It's not that you could not eat these foods before, but you would probably only be able to eat so little of them before going over your carb allotment for the day.

Transition from keto to a “normal diet.”

When someone says they want to transition from keto to a regular diet, you need to realize that “normal” means different things to different people.

Take my girlfriend; for example, she grew up eating home-cooked meals full of lean proteins and vegetables. On the other hand, I grew up eating Costco frozen snacks, spam, and fast food.

So when I say “normal,” I'll assume you want to be able to eat any and everything.
You basically don't want to have any food restriction. If that's the case, you'll have to be more mindful of your food choices.

Reason being, this can open up the flood gates to what landed you in the predicament of trying to lose weight in the first place.

You might find yourself justifying little things here and there until you're eventually back with your old eating habits.

Some simple tips for transitioning to a more “normal” diet include:

Focusing on protein and vegetables first
Not letting one bad meal de-rail you
Planning ahead, especially if eating out
Meal prepping
Exercise, if you're not already doing so.

Switching from keto to weight watchers

If you're looking at switching from keto to weight watchers, you will be introduced into a point system.

Based on your age, weight, height, gender, etc. weight watchers will determine your daily point allowance, similar to how many calories you can eat in a day.

Although, Instead of tracking calories, different foods are assigned a certain amount of points.

Much like a “normal” diet, there are no foods off limits. Every food has a certain amount of points attached to it that you can find on their website or app.

There is no particular way to transition to weight watchers except to follow their plan and make adjustments when necessary.

Switching from keto to vegetarian

Maybe you're doing a complete overhaul and switching from keto to a vegetarian diet.

You could potentially still remain on a keto diet, but you would need to be mindful of your food choices, especially when it comes to protein.

Only protein from animals contain all essential amino acids in the proper amounts needed to thrive, but you can combine things like nuts and seeds or include foods such as Greek yogurt (Fage, Two Good, and Oikos are great brands) and eggs and make do.

Aside from that, if you choose not to stay keto, then simply start incorporating plant-based carbs like potatoes, and even grains if you wish to include them.

Reintroducing carbs after ketosis

No matter which diet you choose to transition to after keto, it's likely to contain a lot more carbs than you've been used to.

Relatively speaking.

I'd recommend introducing carbohydrates slowly and gradually over a month.

Reason being, your body doesn't contain the same digestive enzymes in once had before you going keto.

BUT, that's nothing to worry about.

Once you start reintroducing carbohydrates, the body will up-regulate the enzymes required to digest carbohydrates, similar to the way your body increased enzymes needed to use fats and ketones when switching to a ketogenic diet.

What this looks like in practice:

Week 1: 75g of carbs per day
Week 2: 100g of carbs per day
Week 3: 125g of carbs per day
Week 4: 160g of carbs per day

Of course, this number will vary based on your overall intake and your specific needs.

Realize, that when you do reintroduce carbohydrates after keto, you WILL gain weight.

Again, not to worry, because most… if not all of that weight gain is increased glycogen (stored carbohydrates) and water weight.

Assuming you're not going off the rails with your diet.

For every gram of carbohydrate stored, you will store around 3 grams of water along with it. If your tank is empty and you start filling it up, you can expect to gain anywhere from one to five pounds in just water alone.

Taking a break from keto for vacation

Wanting to take a break from keto for an upcoming vacation?

It may be a good idea to start reintroducing a small number of carbs a week or two before your vacation. We're not talking about massive amounts of carbs, but 50-100 grams may be a good starting point.

For the same reason laid out above, your body simply doesn't have the digestive enzymes to handle a lot of carbohydrates if you've been on a ketogenic diet for some time now.

Introducing a small number of carbohydrates before the vacation should better equip you to handle a less rigid diet.

You may also want to give my other article can you have a cheat day on keto a read.

What happens if you go off keto on weekends or have a keto cheat day once a week

First, if you are going to incorporate days of higher carbohydrates, I would at least spend a minimum of 3 weeks on a strict ketogenic diet before doing so.

In theory, this should allow you to become fat-adapted and make for a smoother transition when you jump back onto a keto diet.

How to get back into ketosis quickly after cheating or vacation

If you're wondering how to get back into ketosis quickly after cheat or a vacation then simply just cut out your carbohydrates.

If you're looking for the absolute quickest way to get into ketosis, then you would simply fast.

I find that regardless of what you do, you'll generally be back into ketosis with 48-72 hours if you're limiting your carbohydrates after a cheat or vacation.

Coming out of ketosis without gaining weight

Sometimes the scale can play tricks on us. Just realize that the scale can't differentiate between muscle, water, fat, or food sitting in your gut.

If you're looking to switch from a ketogenic diet to a diet with more carbohydrates without gaining weight, then you have two ways to go about it.

You don't

Sorry, some weight is inevitable. Remember that for every gram of carbohydrate your body stores you will store an additional three grams of water.

You can expect on average one to five pounds of weight gain, but realize it's not fat and only water, glycogen, and even food in your gut (assuming you're not going crazy eating everything in sight).

Slowly reintroduce carbs

If you want to forego the shock of gaining five pounds overnight, then the best method is to reintroduce carbohydrates SLOWLY.

Again, scroll up for an example of what you can do in terms of reintroducing carbohydrates over 4 weeks.

How to transition off keto wrap up

For many, keto is a lifestyle, and for others, it's just a tool to achieve a certain weight or health outcome.

If you're looking to transition off keto, your best bet is to reintroduce carbohydrates over a month slowly.

I'd suggest adding in 25 to 50 grams of carbohydrates to your daily intake per week.

Realize that some weight gain is inevitable, but it's likely just water weight.

Have you transitioned off keto or still need some pointers? Let me know down in the comments below.

Feeling Tired On Keto? [The REAL Reasons Why]

You might have seen success stories or heard from a friend how amazing they feel on a ketogenic diet. And they weren’t lying. However, there's a point where many are simply feeling tired and exhausted following the keto diet, so what gives?

People find themselves tired and exhausted on a keto diet due to a few reasons. The main reasons people experience low energy on keto are a lack of electrolytes (mainly sodium), which leads to the keto flu, eating too few calories, and not being adapted to using fat for fuel yet.

One of the reasons I love a ketogenic lifestyle is that I feel great.

Steady energy
Clear focus
No dips or crashes
Appetite suppression

So now you’re wondering why YOU are tired and exhausted on the keto diet, and it usually boils down to a few key reasons I will be outlining below and tips to resolve it.

Why am i tired on keto diet pinterest cover

Why You're So Tired, Hungry, And Exhausted On Keto, But First…

Look, I get it… you’re tired and hungry.

While you should expect at least some tiredness or hunger during a fat loss diet, you shouldn’t have to slog throughout the day or daydream about food every waking second.

Unless you’ve dieted down to ultra-low levels of body fat like a bodybuilder that is.

The truth is, if you give it enough time and fix what I’ll cover below you should feel satiated and have plenty of energy.

Burning fat for fuel

Your body can only store upwards of about 2,000 calories of carbohydrates. Compare THAT to even a lean individual who carries at least 30,000 calories of fat available for energy.

Compared to a carbohydrate-based diet, you are teaching your body to use this fat (both from your food AND your love handles) for fuel while on keto or low carb.

Steady energy levels

You should have steady energy levels on a keto diet because there are no sugar spikes and dips on a ketogenic diet compared to your Standard American Diet (SAD).

If your body needs fuel on , it can easily convert stored body fat (the fat on your body) into ketones and provide that energy.

Compare that to a carb diet… once you’re out of energy, you will have to eat some more carbs to bring yourself back to life.

Talk about being hangry.

Increased Satiety

Keto is appetite suppressing by nature.

A diet high in healthy fats helps delay gastric emptying (basically helps slow digestion of food).

This slowing helps you stay full longer.

Ketones themselves might also promote feelings of satiety, but through what mechanism exactly is still unknown.

Why You're So Tired On A Keto Diet

So let’s get down to it.

Why aren’t you experiencing all this energy you’re supposed to have?

Keto flu

The dreaded “keto flu” is just how it sounds.

You literally feel like you’ve come down with the flu and have no idea what’s going on. Almost everyone suffers a little bit from the keto flu, so you're not alone.

… even during the blazing summer months.

When does keto flu start?

You may notice flu like symptoms within 2-3 days after starting a ketogenic diet.

Keto flu symptoms

Keto flu symptoms include:

Fatigue
Irritability
Headache
Nausea
Dizziness
Brain fog

How long does keto flu last?

The symptoms of keto flu last anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks, but we can generally avoid or shorten that with the tips below.

Keto flu quick tips

A few tips to help minimize or erase the keto flu symptoms you may be experiencing.

Salt everything

Liberally salt ALL of your foods. Salt isn’t the devil here, and may even be more important to be mindful of while on keto. Many of the keto flu symptoms result from an electrolyte imbalance caused by the diuretic nature of a ketogenic diet, this includes sodium, magnesium, and potassium.

If you've noticed that you had to urinate more frequently lately, that's why. The same applies to anyone who's greatly reduced their carb intake.

A good read on salt is the book The Salt Fix.

Salts I recommend using due to increased mineral content (and they taste better), but really any salt will do:

Keep your fats and calories high

When switching to a ketogenic diet, people naturally start to eat even less (which is a good thing).

The problem here is that dieting is a stress that your body doesn’t want. Compound this with making your body switch from burning carbs to burning fat for fuel, and that can be a recipe for disaster.

Keep your calories up, at least in the beginning (1-3 weeks), before dropping them back down for further fat loss.

Keto diet is too low in calories

To expand on the above point, your rate of weight loss is too high.

This is the part where you need to exercise patience and not fall for what you’re seeing on social media or expecting results like Bobby or Sally.

You do you.

I always recommend a weight loss of 0.5% – 1.5% per week. The more fat you have to lose the higher you can generally go, but when you’re down to the last few pounds, you should expect to lose slower as to minimize any muscle loss.

For a 200 pound individual aiming for 1% of weight loss per week, that would translate to a 2 pounds per week weight loss MAX.

Sometimes you didn't even mean to eat so little; the keto diet or a low carb diet can often significantly reduce or eliminate hunger for people, one of the many welcomed side effects.

Why am i so tired on keto diet keto weight loss rate

Keto-adaptation period

Regardless of what you do, the body AND the brain have to go through an adaptation period.

This period is usually referred to as keto-adaptation or fat-adaptation.

Again, this period will last between 1 to 3 weeks for most individuals regardless of whatever preventive measures you may take.

However, some people may feel fine, and some may feel low in energy during this time. The best thing you can do is follow the above tips and remain patient.

5 More Tips If You're Still Fatigued On Keto

If you've addressed the above issues and still experiencing fatigue on the keto diet, here are a few more tips to help boost your energy.

Eat More Frequently

If your body is processing higher fat macros just fine, then another reason to eat more frequently is for the sake of digestion. Some people find that larger meals don't sit well and are hard for the body to process.

Smaller, more frequent meals may be easier for you to digest. This will have you feel less sluggish and a lot lighter than larger, but less frequent, meals (much like those who practice intermittent fasting).

Also, if you're someone who generally suffers from heartburn or acid reflux, you may benefit from a supplement like Betaine HCL. You may lack enough acid in your stomach to help break down the food, and betaine can help.

Purchase Betaine HCL Here.

I would aim for between 3 to 4 meals per day or 3 meals and 1-2 snacks per day.

Clean Up Your Diet

There's a large number of people who subscribe to the “dirty keto” methodology. This can still work from a fat loss perspective, but it misses another big part of the overall picture, health.

Just because you're hitting your macros and losing weight eating pork rinds, bacon, sausages, and an avocado or two doesn't mean it's sustainable. It would be best to still be mindful of getting in an adequate amount of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) through whole “clean” foods.

What are “clean” foods? Probably exactly what you would imagine they were, for example—meats, nuts, seeds, vegetables, and a few berries here and there.

Get Some Movement

It may sound counterproductive (move to get more energy), but I assure you it works. There's a reason you feel great after going outside for a walk or getting in a good workout despite having expended additional energy to do so.

Research suggests that regular exercise increased feelings of energy while reducing feelings of fatigue compared with control conditions. 13 The effect of exercise on fatigue was so significant that it outperformed the use of stimulant medications.

Next time you're feeling tired or drowsy, maybe a walk would be better than a nap for boosting your energy.

A worthy goal to strive for is between 8,000 and 10,000 steps per day.

Get Some Rest

Sorry for being Captain Obvious here; many individuals underestimate the real power of sleep. Aside from living like a zombie the next day from a lack of sleep, not getting sufficient rest can also sabotage your weight loss efforts.

Lack of sleep makes both physical exercise and mindful eating less effective. Talk about the two most important factors for shedding those pounds.

Not only does the hormones for stimulating appetite increase from lack of sleep, but research has shown this increased appetite is mainly for what most would call “junk food.”

And to make it even worse, in one study where participants were limited to 5.5 hours of sleep per night, nearly 70 percent of the weight lost came from lean mass/muscle. 2 Meaning, you'll end up as a smaller but just as fat version of yourself, only now with a slower metabolism that makes weight loss harder and weight re-gain much easier.

7-8 hours of quality sleep is best. While not always possible to get this much sleep due to life obligations, you should make it a priority.

Keto and adrenal fatigue

First off, there really is no such thing as “adrenal fatigue.”

It merely is not a real medical condition.

Those who feel they suffer from this condition report one or more of the following:

Persistent fatigue
Depression
Anxiety
Difficulty concentrating and remembering
Insomnia or disturbed sleep

If you’re experiencing any of the following, I find it usually is a result of high stress, excessive exercise, lack of sleep or food, possibly a combination of two or all the above.

The chances keto has anything to do with these symptoms isn’t likely.

Of course, you can also be experiencing the keto flu, and increasing your water and electrolyte intake will help with that.

How much water should I be drinking on keto?

Are you feeling nauseous while on Keto?

Maybe you’re not tired, but you feel a little “off,” possibly a bit nauseous?

This usually is the case for individuals who have a hard time digesting the increased fat from a ketogenic diet.

The body isn’t used to processing high fat

Our gallbladders are responsible for storing and concentrating bile from the liver. This bile is what helps our bodies digest and absorb fats from the food.

For more info about the gallbladder give this a read.

If you’re experiencing problems with digestion, I would recommend one of the following.

Smaller but more frequent meals

A lot of people are on the intermittent fasting and keto bandwagon or even limiting themselves to one meal a day (OMAD)

Instead, try eating smaller but more frequent meals.

This will allow your body sufficient time to process the smaller bolus of fat before you hit it with another one.

Bile salts

You can also try supplementing with these salts which are digestive enzymes that help with fat digestion.

Here is a couple I recommend:

Eat less fat

Ok, I said 2…

But the truth is, you don’t NEED to eat tons of fat to be in ketosis.

You might be thinking that you need X percent of fat, but the truth is the only requirement to be in a state of ketosis Is not going over your carbohydrate threshold a.k.a staying extremely low carb.

Other Supplements That May Help Relieve Lethargy And Tiredness On Keto While Adapting

If you're experiencing tiredness and lethargy when switching to a ketogenic diet, going low carb, or after a “cheat” day, this may be one of the only times I would recommend either a keto salt or a keto ester product.

You're essentially providing your body with exogenous ketones to provide energy while your body adapts.

The benefit of salts over esters is that they generally taste better and are much cheaper. However, ketone esters raise ketones in the blood much quicker and are bio-identical to the ketones we naturally produce.

Perfect Keto BHB Salts (Check Latest Price)

Additionally, if it's electrolytes you're lacking, an excellent electrolyte supplement high in both sodium and potassium can do wonders for your energy levels.

I would say over half of the people who can't seem to find the energy on a keto diet have an electrolyte imbalance and slightly dehydrated.

Perfect Keto Electrolytes Capsules (Check Latest Price)

Wrapping up what to do if you’re in ketosis but have no energy.

One of the benefits of ketosis is high and steady energy.

However, there may be reasons why you haven’t experienced this benefit just yet.

So if you've been in ketosis but have no energy or find yourself sleep on keto:

First, resolve any electrolyte deficiencies that may lead to the keto flu.

Secondly, maintain a reasonable level of weight reduction per week of about 0.5 – 1.5% (with 1.5% reserved for those who are really overweight).

Third, exercise patience and allow for keto-adaptation before you throw in the towel. This usually takes upwards of 3 to 4 weeks.

Lastly, look at how your stress, sleep, and other lifestyle factors are before assuming it’s your diet.

If none of the above helps, a useful experiment may be to increase carb intake a little per day and see if fatigue gets better.