How do you know if you’re kicked out of ketosis? Well, many people who start on their keto weight loss plan end up right back where they started. Some of the red flags that indicate you may not be in Ketosis anymore include relentless carb/sugar cravings, diminished energy levels/severe energy fluctuations, headache, fatigue, and more. A sure indication of being out of ketosis occurs when your blood ketone levels drop below 0.5 mg/dl. If you’re keen to learn how to get back into ketosis quickly or avoid falling off it in the first place, our article today has you covered with these tips:
Table of Contents
Be Careful With Your Protein
Why am I falling out of ketosis? We posed this question to an experienced personal training over at Iron0rrFitness, and he suggested that consuming too much protein may be one of the reasons for falling out of ketosis. Most people on a low-carb keto diet tend to make up the calorie deficit via protein, rather than fat.
So how can too much protein prevent ketosis? Here’s what we dug up:
- Glucagon and insulin levels rise with elevated protein consumption
- These hormones then cut off the free fatty acids supply
- They then further get in the way of adipocytes lipolysis
To put it plainly, all of these reactions deter or slow down ketone production. Of course, that’s not to say you should avoid protein altogether. One San Diego fitness expert suggests getting about 10% of your daily calories from protein (20% at most.)
Be Wary Of Your Maltitol Intake
Maltitol is a sugar alcohol and can have an undesirable impact on ketosis. For one, it can cause insulin levels to surge, and this rise can get in the way of ketosis. Because your body has a hard time completely digesting maltitol, it makes up for this by elevating insulin levels to counter high blood sugar.
While maltitol is a low GI sugar- in other words, it doesn’t impact blood sugar levels as much as other sugars- we cannot sweep under the rug the possibility of its effect on insulin levels. However, that doesn’t mean kicking alcohol to the curb as we’ll momentarily discuss some Keto-approved sweeteners (including certain alcohol sugars). Moreover, maltitol isn’t completely off the table if you’re on a Keto weight loss plan. It shouldn’t pose a problem for your Keto diet when you take it in moderation.
Choose Your Sweeteners Wisely
If you’re just starting on Keto, sugar cravings will be something that you’ll struggle with initially as your body comes to terms with the decreased carb intake. With a little patience, perseverance, and a whole lot of discipline, you can make it through this phase as your body adapts.
One way to help your body adapt is by paying attention to some of the best Keto-friendly sweeteners. We talked to some of the best gyms in San Diego, and there seems to be a consensus, greenlighting the following sweeteners for Keto:
- Sucralose
- Xylitol
- Erythritol
- Monk fruit
- Stevia
On the flip side, San Diego fitness experts offered a warning about some sweeteners such as Aspartame, brown sugar, coconut sugar, and maltodextrin.
Count Your Calories
Why am I not losing weight on Keto? Our personal trainer contact also says it could be because you’re consuming too many calories. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume, but many people on a Keto diet are not.
It, therefore, becomes important to count your calories to know for sure. Keto diets conventionally involve tuning down the carbs and pumping up the fat. But fats can sometimes contain more calories than some proteins and carbs, hence the need to keep a close eye on them.
Here’s how to count calories for weight loss:
- Use a calorie counter website
- Rely on a calorie counter app for an on-the-go solution
- Add up calories per serving (food/beverage labels may be helpful)
By tracking your calorie intake, you may be able to know whether you’re balancing the scales right.
Workout To Stay In Ketosis
For the best results on your Keto weight loss journey, you need to work out frequently. Regular exercise can accelerate your body’s metabolism, thus improving the likelihood that your body burns excess calories instead of storing them as fat.
Exercising becomes even more important on a ketogenic diet because you’ll mostly be taking in high-fat foods. In terms of the best exercises on Keto, our fitness trainer suggests prioritizing steady-state, low-intensity options over high-intensity activities since you won’t be fueling up on a lot of carbs.
Here are some recommended workouts when on a keto diet:
- Yoga
- Rowing
- Biking
- Jogging
Furthermore, resistance training is also ideal, as this offers a great way to preserve your lean body mass while burning fat. If you’re on the hunt for a personal trainer near me, possibly to help craft your perfect Keto workout plan, we recommend checking out IronOrrFitness personal trainers.
Get Lots Of Water & Enough Sleep
Some of the major keto mistakes many people make that can compromise ketosis are not getting enough shuteye and not drinking enough water. Many people often experience the Keto flu due to dehydration, which is triggered by the increased water needs of the body as it makes metabolic adjustments to a new diet.
So you want to keep up your water intake, with one gym in San Diego recommending about 1 oz per pound of your weight. Additionally, you’ll know you’re not taking enough water if your urine is dark in color.
In terms of sleep, you should also be shooting for about 7 hours. Skimping on sleep increases sugar cravings, and we’ve already discussed how that can affect insulin and ketosis. What’s more, you need to get a full night’s rest to give your body enough repair time given the restricted carb intake.
Why am I Not Losing Weight on Keto?
If you’ve been on the keto weight loss plan and aren’t really making any progress, it may be that you’re not really in ketosis at all. To speed things up, one personal trainer San Diego we reached out to suggests regular exercise, sleeping more, fasting, and regulating your alcohol intake. Of course, all of these may be easier said than done and it will take time to get all these right. Additionally, the factors that affect ketosis may vary from person to person so you may benefit from working with an expert to get a personalized keto meal plan. Be sure to check out the IronOrrFitness website for more guidance.