WHY DO YOU STAGNATE WHILE LOSING WEIGHT AND WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT?
Weight loss, the rate of weight loss, and the patterns of weight loss vary from person to person and may even vary in the same person when compared to previous weight loss attempts. Many people experience steady weight loss over a period of time followed by periods of weight stability, and it may not be a real weight loss plateau where the pound loss is stagnant.
We are going to cover this weight loss plateau today and hope to resolve many of your questions and doubts about it.
The first time someone starts a ketogenic diet, there is often dramatic weight loss. Most of the time this is water as the body excretes the fluid that was associated with the carbohydrate stores. But after that, if you actually start losing fat, the weight loss will likely be slower. However, what do you do if the weight loss is not as fast as you would like it to be — or not at all?
A keto diet weight loss plateau can be frustrating, but it’s not a reason to get discouraged or give up. There are some quick ways to break a plateau and take it off again in no time.
Take care of yourself!
When it comes to healthy weight loss, there are other factors to consider beyond diet:
You are too stressed
Stress is common in our modern world, but we don’t need to let it control us. When stress levels are high, our bodies respond by making the hormone cortisol, which can increase fat storage and make it harder to lose weight.
Try to incorporate more mind/body techniques into your life that will help you cope with stress or anxiety, such as meditating daily, not working on the weekend, or, if you can, taking a few days off yourself to move regularly and look forward to every week again.
You’re not getting enough sleep
Weight can stall if we don’t get enough sleep. Regular sleep interruptions that affect our circadian rhythm can also affect health and weight loss. Also, lack of sleep increases cravings for many people because our bodies look for additional sources of energy when we are not getting enough sleep.
Thyroid problems
If you’ve tried everything else and still seem to be holding your weight, speak to your doctor about it. You may be dealing with conditions such as thyroid problems. Getting to the heart of the problem can not only help you achieve the weight you want but also improve your overall health.
Am I Really Stuck On A Weight Loss Plateau?
Your weight fluctuates from day to day — up to several pounds — due to normal fluctuations in body water. So if you look at the weight from one day to another or even from one week to the next, it doesn’t exactly reflect the weight loss. Dietary influences are just a few of the things that can affect the number on the scale, be it a real change in weight or just normal daily fluctuations.
Hormones, medication, exercise, and changes in body composition all have an additional effect on weight. Before the further investigation, it is important to assess whether what you are experiencing is a real plateau or whether the daily fluctuations are more steady, meaning that you are losing weight, possibly just more slowly than you would like would have.
- Consider whether this “plateau” follows a period of significant weight loss. After a period of significant weight loss, have you maintained the same weight for less than 3 months? If the answer is yes, it may not be a real weight loss plateau and it may be part of the normal weight loss process. The weight loss can increase again shortly. It may just be your new stable weight for a period of time before the weight loss continues.
- Do not let the scales be your only measure of progress. It is possible that your body composition changes while the scales do not show any change. Notice how the clothes fit and measure your waist size.
If you found it to be a weight loss plateau, what now? Identifies the source (s) to break a weight loss plateau.
Too many carbohydrates
A general rule of thumb is to start the ketogenic diet on 30 grams of carbohydrates per day and adjust from there. You may just need to lower your daily carbohydrate limit. If you think you have already done this but it doesn’t work, make sure you avoid hidden carbs.
You can also try to avoid snacks, especially after dinner, as this can lead to excess calories throughout the day.
To much fat
Your dietary fat intake can prevent the body from using its own body fat as a source of energy, causing weight loss to stall. The goal is to add enough fat (butter, oil, cream, etc.) to protein and vegetable sources with meals to ensure that you don’t feel hungry between meals.
You may be ingesting too much fat because you are trying to increase your ketone levels. But be careful — sources of fat like coconut oil may not only contain too many calories but also medium-chain triglycerides (MCT). These cannot be stored in body fat, which means that anything that is consumed must be burned immediately for energy. So if you consume these sources in addition to your dietary fat consumption for satiety purposes, that type of fat takes precedence. Often, one falls into the trap of adding coconut oil or MCT oil as a dietary supplement and ends up adding extra calories. Yes, it can increase your ketones, but overall they can affect your weight loss.
- Consider reducing the amount of fat you add to test its effect on your weight. Notice whether you notice any changes in hunger during the experiment. If you’re hungry, you’ve cut your fat intake a little too much. If your hunger remains unchanged, you have either found just the right amount or you can experiment with further reducing your fat intake.
- Assess how much fat you add to meals and beverages. The cream you add to the coffee (s) also counts!
- Think twice before adding more coconut oil or an MCT oil to your daily routine.
You don’t know your ketone levels
This is so important when trying to lose weight on the ketogenic diet. You can’t just adjust the number of carbohydrates or protein and wait and see if it “comes out”. To know if you are successful with keto, you need to check now and then to see if you are still in ketosis. You are welcome to take a look at last week’s article on this.
You are eating too many nuts
Yes, nuts can be part of the ketogenic diet, but we need to be careful with how much of them we eat. Not only are they high in calories, but the carbohydrate levels can knock us out of ketosis.
If you enjoy eating nuts, stick to higher-fat and lower-carbohydrate types of nuts such as pecans, Brazil nuts, and macadamia nuts.
You don’t eat real whole foods
Just because something is high in fat or low in carbohydrates doesn’t mean it’s good. Treat packaged foods and snack recipes for what they are: occasional goodies. Too many of these can prevent ketosis and lead to extra calories.
If you are already doing this and still not shedding the extra weight, try to skip the goodies altogether and focus on eating clean, whole foods.
You do not involve fasting
Fasting, especially intermittent fasting, can be very beneficial for weight loss on the ketogenic diet. Including fasting periods will help you control total calorie intake per day, boost your metabolism, and give the body a break from digestion. This can help speed weight loss or break a weight loss plateau.
Alcohol
For some, just a drink or two can affect weight loss. In addition to just adding calories, alcohol disrupts the digestion and use of other nutrients, including fat. If you hit a weight plateau and enjoy drinking alcohol, you should evaluate alcohol consumption. Take into account the type and amount of alcohol you consume. The carbs and calories can add up quickly, not to mention we sometimes tend to reach for snacks while drinking — whether hungry or not!
- Track what type of alcohol you are drinking and the volume of alcohol for a week to identify patterns, including cravings, that you may experience while drinking.
- If you choose alcohol, make sure that you drink alcohols that are low in carbohydrates, such as dry wines or cocktails that are fortified with sugar-free ingredients.
- Consider reserving certain days of the week for alcohol consumption to limit the total amount consumed.
- For now, renounce him entirely.
Conclusion
As you can see, many factors can affect weight loss and contribute to the frustration of a weight loss plateau. The best way to start is by grooming yourself as best you can, getting enough exercise, and eating whole, healthy, low-carb, ketogenic-friendly foods. Don’t be afraid to try different things, and be patient too. Big changes don’t happen overnight!
