This question/comment comes up SO MUCH, especially early on as people are beginning their health or fat loss journey. Many times, it’s our unreasonable expectations that are getting in the way of our success and we need to reset those expectations or mechanisms for viewing “success”.
1.) Body composition – It’s in our nature to obsess over the scale and to want to see immediate and aggressive results. But fat loss does not necessarily work that way. The mistake we make by focusing on a number on the scale is that the scale doesn’t necessarily show the COMPOSITION of the weight being lost. What that means is that you could be losing fat (and inches!) and gaining lean muscle. This is a GREAT thing. The best way to measure success on the ketogenic diet is to focus on how you feel, use a soft measuring tape to track shifts and inches lost, and use clothing to judge how they fit.
Another thing to think about is how fat loss actually works. There’s a bloat/whoosh effect that sometimes take place where your fat cells actually retain water for a few days as a placeholder, and then your body finally flushes them out when they realize they’re not going to be fed with glucose. Fat loss doesn’t always translate to weight loss in the way that we want it to, but if you continue to consistently make better food choices over time, the number on the scale WILL catch up.
2.) You’re stressed! – Stress can hinder weight loss because when you are dealing with extra anxiety or stress, your body reacts by raising glucose and cortisol levels. So start paying attention to what may be going on in your life that is creating additional stress, and know that this could be stalling your weigh loss. Hormones can act in a similar way. Focus on ways to bring more peace and consistency into your life and let go of things or people who are creating more stress than calm! Your health will thank you for it!
3.) You’re not a bodybuilder, but you’re eating like one – We’ve been taught that we have to eat every 2 to 3 hours or it will mess up your metabolism. We’ve been taught that we have to “fuel up” with alllll the carbs and tons of protein. We’ve been taught a lot of things that are proving to not be true at all for most people. You don’t need to eat every 3 hours. Eat when you’re hungry and eat until you’re full. Period. The rest is just unnecessary and is holding you back. You could even try incorporating Intermittent Fasting into your routine. This just means only eating during a specific, smaller window of time and fasting (not eating) the remainder of the time. This allows your body to deplete its glycogen stores and pushes it into that state of ketosis where fat is fueling your brain and body. The most popular IF window is 16:8, eating only between the hours of 12pm-8pm, for example.
4.) You’re taking in more calories than you’re burning – In short, you’re overeating! Calories DO matter, no matter what type of diet or lifestyle you’re leading. If you’re assuming, maybe take a few days and track your intake in an app like Carb Manager, my favorite. If you’re consistently eating more than you are burning, you won’t lose weight.
5.) You’re putting a stick of butter in your morning coffee – I know we hear all about the benefits of bulletproof coffee, but overdoing it on the butter isn’t really a good thing. Focus on clean fuel sources like MCT Oil or collagen. Cook with olive oils and avocado oils, not always butter. And for goodness sake, don’t eat more fat for the sake of your macros numbers if you’re not hungry.
6.) You’re not breaking a sweat! – You don’t have to do a hardcore 2 hour workout every day, but you should be moving SOME. Even if it’s just a 10 or 20 minute walk most days. Nutrition is supremely important but you should also make it a priority to get moving – it helps!
7.) You’re not actually in ketosis – Getting into nutritional ketosis can take time – weeks or even months for some. If you “cheat” a day here or a weekend there, you have to start that process over and it takes time. Think about it – if you’re drinking and eating whatever you want to, you’re never even giving your body the chance to reach that metabolic state of ketosis. Additionally, you may think you’re being extremely diligent, but many foods have hidden carbs in them or many more than you think. I go back to the idea of tracking for a day or two, as a learning tool. Some vegetables have a significant amount of carbs in them. Most fruits are very high on the glycemic index, stick to berries. Nuts are a great snack, in moderation. 4 carbs here and there add up! One final thought I’ll leave you with is not required, but is a great option to augment what you’re already doing nutritionally: exogenous ketones. Not all ketones are created equally, and Pruvit’s ketones are the only ones patented to deliver a therapeutic level of ketones to put your body into that state of ketosis.
Keto Inspo 