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How Much Weight Can You Lose on Keto? All the Facts
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The ketogenic diet is a great eating plan that supports weight loss. You might be wondering: how much will this diet progress my long-term results? We explain how much weight you might lose on keto, how quick this process is, and the ideal length of a keto diet.
Eating low-carb, high-fat foods is one way to lose weight.
You can achieve this by following the ketogenic diet. It focuses on pushing your body into a state of ketosis and using those ketones for energy sources. A low-carb diet like this one may boost weight loss results, further lowering your body fat percentage over time.
People might wonder how much weight they can lose while dieting. Results are unique for everyone, but fat loss is a huge benefit of following the keto diet. From eating fewer calories to cutting out processed foods, you’re bound to see physical progress quickly.
In this article, you’ll discover how much weight you may lose on the ketogenic diet.
How Much Weight Can You Lose on Keto?
You can expect to lose 1–2 pounds a week on the keto diet. Some people might lose 3–5 pounds of just water weight in the first 7 days. This weight loss figure can depend on your gender, exercise routine, low-carb meal plan, calorie intake, and current weight.
One month of being on the keto diet can help you drop 8–10 pounds. You might lose more when you first start this diet, as your body needs time to adjust. Most of that weight could be excess water that escapes through sweating, breathing, water intake, and frequent urination.
If you want to continue this diet for 6 months, expect to lose around 50 pounds. A slower weight loss pace of 1–2 pounds a week is completely safe. People who start losing more than that every 7 days could face nutritional deficiencies, starvation, and a slower metabolic rate.
The keto diet is a short-term diet plan that shouldn’t exceed six months. This means you can only lose up to 50 pounds when performing exercise and sticking to low-carb meals. Losing weight depends on your lean body mass and whether you plan on gaining muscle.
Just remember that rapid weight loss methods are extremely unhealthy. It’s better to wait for your results, even if that takes a long time. Aim to eat around 1.500 calories or more on the keto diet, as this amount can fuel your body during exercise and speed up the fat-burning process.
How Quickly Do You Lose Weight on Keto?
You can start losing weight within the first week of following keto. However, this weight loss won’t be noticeable, as you’ll only be dropping water weight. The body is getting rid of excess weight, adjusting to ketone production, and switching energy sources.
Losing body fat isn’t something that can happen in just 7 days. The body burns fat once it can’t use glucose or carbs for energy. You might notice physical results in just a few days of cutting out junk food, but that might be lost water weight that has disappeared from your stomach.
People may experience fat loss in just over two weeks. This is when your body can sufficiently use fat stores for energy instead of sugar from highly processed foods. The process may be sped up if you follow a one-meal-a-day keto plan. Doing cardio-based exercise and performing weight lifting, will also burn more calories during the day.
Those with a higher body fat percentage might also lose weight faster. More water is lost through daily activities and intense exercise, as the body requires extra calories to function. Once the body switches to ketosis, it can immediately start burning both hard and soft fat.
When Do You Start Losing Weight in Ketosis?
People might start losing stubborn weight after one week of being in ketosis. This depends on their calorie deficit, current fat mass, and carb intake on the diet. For example, if you eat too many carbs, your body uses them for energy instead of fat.
The keto diet can sometimes take a few weeks to work. Everyone has different goals when reducing their body weight, so you can’t always expect quick keto weight loss. If you continue to eat healthy fats and other low-calorie foods, you might transition into ketosis within 24 hours.
Ketogenic diets require you to eat no more than 50 grams of carbs per day. Cutting out high-carb foods from your meals will encourage the body to burn through any remaining glycogen stores. Once it has, you’ll start losing fat after entering the ketosis state.
Now, this process can take one week or one month for people. Those who immediately cut out carbs may notice quick results, but that’s only because they didn’t slowly transition into the keto diet. To prevent harsh keto flu symptoms, carefully introduce a higher fat and protein intake.
Early weight loss is purely water that changes a typical weighing scale. Some people report feeling less bloated around their stomach, face, arms, and thighs. If you don’t like drinking more water to counteract this weight, consider taking electrolytes to boost your keto diet results.
How Long Should You Do Keto?
It’s recommended that you only follow the keto diet for 3–6 months. This is because eating a high-fat diet won’t be sustainable in the long term. A strict keto diet can actually deprive your body of important nutrients and disrupt healthy weight loss progress.
The keto diet isn’t something you should follow for the rest of your life. You’ll be cutting out certain foods that are actually needed for heart health. For example, sweet potatoes and beets are great for lowering blood pressure, but you can’t eat these while following the ketogenic diet.
You also have to avoid fruits that shouldn’t be forgotten on a standard diet. This might be apples, bananas, grapes, and peaches, which all contribute to strong energy levels. Carbohydrates aren’t always bad for you, so don’t stay on this diet for longer than six months.
If you do go above this time frame, you might experience nutritional deficiencies. The long-term side effects include severe hair loss, bone pain, slow-healing wounds, lack of appetite, and serious constipation. These symptoms will damage any weight loss success and future results.
How Much Weight Can You Lose in a Month on Keto?
You might drop 8–10 pounds of body weight in the first month. Everyone will notice unique results, depending on their high-fat diet and body composition. Just remember to perform regular exercise and eat healthy foods that will benefit your overall health.
Some people could lose 10–12 pounds after 4 weeks. However, you should never lose over 2 pounds per week, as this may throw your body into starvation mode. Achieving fat loss in one month can be a great goal to set on the weight loss journey since it isn’t a long time to wait.
A full month of following the keto weight loss diet could also have other benefits. Eating low-carb foods might protect brain function, decrease the risk of heart disease, and reduce blood sugar levels. People with diabetes can try the keto diet to lose weight safely in just under 30 days.
If you want to lose a good amount of fat in one month, do some intense exercise. This could include going for a long-distance run every day or getting in 10,000 steps. Regular physical activity is very important for steadier weight loss that can prevent weight gain in the future.
FAQs
The ketogenic diet only works properly if your body has entered a ketosis state. Otherwise, you might not see efficient results when following low-carb meal plans. You can buy ketone test strips to see if you’re in that metabolic state, or you can look out for common signs of ketosis.
On average, people will lose 1–2 pounds a week. This is a safe weight loss pace, which means your body is burning fat rather than lean muscle mass. If you’re losing more than that in seven days, eat more nutrient-dense foods and slow down on the intense exercise routine.
It might take around 5–6 months to lose 50 pounds on the ketogenic diet. This means you’re burning fat sustainably and can maintain the weight once you’re done. Just remember that weight loss shouldn’t be a rushed process, so don’t expect quick results when on the keto plan.
A Word From Our MD
The keto diet is great to try if you wish to achieve weight loss.
You can lose up to 50 pounds of fat when removing net carbs and other hidden carbs from the diet. For example, not many people realize that certain vegetables contain too many complex carbohydrates. This may be yellow onions, sweet potatoes, and veggie-based condiments.
To maximize weight loss results, refrain from snacking and perform regular exercise. Both of these changes can help you drop a few pounds safely. People often put on more weight when they don’t eat, so it’s very important that you get plenty of dietary fat, vitamins, and protein.
Speak to a registered dietitian if you’re unsure about starting the ketogenic diet. They can guide you through the reduction of net carbs and other non-keto-friendly foods. It’s always better to gain professional advice when planning to lose fat and increase your daily fat intake.
Conclusion
So, how much weight can you really lose on the keto diet?
People expect to lose around 50 pounds when following the ketogenic diet for 6 months. This is a great goal to have when building a healthy lifestyle. Just remember that your individual fat adaptation period is different for everyone, meaning you might need more time to adjust fully.
You should never focus your weight loss efforts on fad diets. To burn fat, the body requires lots of nutrient-dense foods that help maintain ketosis. It might feel like you’re eating too much protein and fats, but it’s perfectly safe when encouraging strong ketone production.
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