How to Speed Up Weight Loss in Ketosis?
Finding it hard to lose weight on keto? The simple tips outlined in this article will get you back on track to reach all of your weight loss goals.
Ketosis, the goal of the ketogenic diet, is a state in which the body uses fat for fuel instead of the usual carbohydrates.
This simple switch makes losing weight, especially in the form of stubborn body fat, significantly easier – enticing many people to try the keto diet for themselves.
If you’re considering starting the keto diet or have already done so and want to fast-track your results, you’re in the right place!
Keep reading for 10 easy lifestyle changes you can make on the ketogenic diet to help you reach your unique weight loss goals.
5 Tips for How to Speed Up Weight Loss in Ketosis
Trying to lose weight using a high-fat diet like the keto diet can be very effective yet challenging if you don’t know what you’re doing.
To maximize the potential benefits of your new eating style, you might try incorporating other weight loss practices like intermittent fasting, along with some of the other tips outlined in this section, to help.
#1 Exercise
Combining the ketogenic diet with exercise is one of the best ways to boost the weight loss potential for several reasons. Namely, regular exercise increases your potential of being in a calorie deficit, which is debatably the most important factor in losing weight.
Simply put, a calorie deficit is when you eat fewer calories than you consume. When this happens, your body turns to stored fat as a force of fuel for the body, much the same as it does when following a ketogenic diet.
It’s also worth mentioning that exercise, a ketogenic diet, and fasting are the best ways to increase the production of ketones in the body.
Ketones, created by the liver, are an energy source that is a byproduct of the breakdown of fats. Having more ketones in the body will help suppress your appetite and can even make the body’s switch to ketosis easier.
#2 Consider fasting
Intermittent fasting provides many of the same benefits to the ketogenic diet as exercise, like increasing the number of ketones in the body, easing the transition into ketosis, and making it easier to hit a calorie deficit.
But one of the biggest benefits of using intermittent fasting in addition to keto is the success it has in breaking a weight loss plateau. If, at any point during your weight loss on keto, you find that results start to stall, implementing intermittent fasting can help get you back on track.
Intermittent fasting, either on your own or as directed by a fasting app, can be a helpful resource you can implement at the beginning of your weight loss journey or just when you stop losing weight.
#3 Avoid snacking
Weight loss on keto mostly revolves around getting the body into ketosis – the state in which your body begins burning fat instead of carbohydrates. Getting into ketosis requires lowering and stabilizing blood sugar levels, which cannot happen if you are constantly snacking.
Every time you eat, your blood glucose levels spike, and your body responds by releasing the hormone insulin.
Since insulin is the hormone that causes sugar to enter your cells, if you have too much, your body will continue to use sugars (which are derived from carbohydrates) as fuel, never allowing you to make the switch to a fat-burning state.
For this reason, getting into a regular eating routine and sticking to it – with no snacks in between – will be essential.
#4 Try to stick with clean keto
Because keto is a high-fat, high-protein diet, many people use following a ketogenic diet as an excuse to eat processed meats, high-sodium fast food, and foods high in unhealthy trans fats.
Generally, these people are more concerned with hitting their daily macros than changing their lifestyle for the better and are working under time constraints that prevent them from cooking healthy meals at home.
Although a dirty keto diet might still be considered keto, it won’t provide the same health benefits and can even lead to heart disease or obesity. Not to mention that indulging in unhealthy eating habits make it more difficult to achieve ketosis.
Instead, try following what is called clean keto. This style of eating involves more meals being cooked from home using foods like grass-fed beef, nuts and seeds, avocados, and low-starch veggies like cauliflower and asparagus.
#5 Reduce calorie intake
Regardless of whether or not you’re on a ketogenic diet, reducing your calorie intake to reach a daily calorie deficit will always be the best way to lose weight. When you eat in a calorie deficit, your body naturally targets glycogen reserves and stored body fat for fuel.
The old saying “abs are made in the kitchen” has a lot of truth. Though regular exercise will help you increase the number of calories you burn daily, eating fewer calories daily in combination with exercise will help you lose weight significantly more easily and faster.
As mentioned previously, one easy way to reduce the number of calories you eat per day and maximize your weight loss on keto is to practice intermittent fasting. You will naturally consume fewer calories when your eating window is restricted to 4–6 hours each day.
Other Additional Tips
Are you serious about losing weight on keto and want to maximize the weight loss potential of your new diet? Here are 5 more tips to help you get the most out of the ketogenic diet.
#1 Reduce alcohol consumption
Reducing or even eliminating your alcohol consumption is a must. Alcohol can affect your ability to lose weight for several reasons.
Although some alcohols, like wine, light beer, and spirits, are carb-free, drinking alcohol of any kind creates toxic byproducts, which your body then has to work to burn off. If you drink too much, your body can prioritize processing the alcohol, which can have a negative effect on your ketosis.
Additionally, drinking alcohol can make it harder to follow a low-carb diet. We all know how good it feels to eat a slice of pizza or a burger and fries after a night of drinking. And unfortunately, eating as little as 50 grams of carbs can kick you out of ketosis, effectively stalling your weight loss progress.
#2 Increase healthy fats
Nutritional ketosis involves limiting the number of carbs you eat in order to stabilize your blood sugar, which has several positive benefits on the body, not only related to losing weight.
But if you’ve been eating carbs as your body’s main energy source, it’s important that when you stop, you give your body an adequate replacement. In addition to upping your protein intake, you must consume foods that are full of healthy fats.
Many of us have been taught to fear fatty foods, but not all fat has to be feared! Limiting your intake of trans fats – which can be found in fried foods and baked goods – is a good way to reduce your chances of cardiovascular disease.
But there’s no reason to be afraid of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which are actually great for the heart!
Eating foods high in healthy fats, like olive oil, nuts, avocados, and fatty fish, like salmon, will ensure your body has adequate fuel to keep you feeling your best without sacrificing your cardiovascular health.
#3 Cut the smoking
Studies show that people who smoke heavily are more likely to be overweight. And when it comes to the effect that the keto diet can have on weight loss, smoking can negatively impact many of its benefits.
The reason for this is that your body releases the stress hormone cortisol when you smoke. This release stimulates gluconeogenesis, the process by which your body forms glucose. Glucose, as we know, is the sugar that our body creates from carbohydrates, which is exactly what we are trying to avoid while following the keto diet.
Cutting out smoking is a simple way for you to keep your body in ketosis to enhance your weight loss on keto and make your experience on this diet significantly more enjoyable.
#4 Consider keto supplements
The first few weeks of following the keto diet are always the hardest. Fighting the side effects of keto during this time can be exceptionally challenging as our bodies struggle to make the switch to ketosis.
There are a variety of supplements that can be used to make the transition into ketosis smoother and enhance the weight loss potential of this eating style over the long term. Some of these include electrolytes, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin D.
Selecting individual supplements for the early stages of keto can help make the transition easier. There are also companies that have created keto-specific supplements you might find more useful since they include all of the best vitamins and minerals in the ideal amounts.
#5 Reduce stress
Stress has a similar effect to smoking when it comes to releasing cortisol in the body. Too much stress and the subsequent stress hormones that accompany it can greatly inhibit the fat-burning potential of the keto diet as your body continues to experience spikes in glucose.
If you really want to lose weight on the keto diet, it’s important to practice stress reduction techniques. This might look like meditating, spending more time with your friends, doing yoga, or even aiming for 8 hours of sleep a night instead of 6.
Diet will only get you so far if you want to lose weight. Simple holistic lifestyle changes like the ones mentioned in this section are a necessary addition if you want to experience significant weight loss.
FAQs
Definitely, combining exercise with keto is one of the best ways to boost the weight loss potential of a ketogenic diet. Not only does exercise make it easier to eat within a calorie deficit, but it also makes the transition into ketosis significantly easier.
Absolutely. Fasting while following a low-carb diet go hand-in-hand, providing various weight loss benefits like decreasing calorie intake, easing the transition into ketosis, and suppressing the appetite.
A Word From Our Nutritionist
When it comes to weight loss on the keto diet, everyone’s journey is going to look different. Some people find the switch to ketosis relatively effortless and are able to burn fat quickly and lose weight. But that’s not the case for everyone.
Ensuring you eat a nutritious diet, using supplements, and enlisting practices like fasting can make the switch to ketosis easier and help you lose fat more effectively. But if you notice you are continuing to gain weight or generally feel unwell long into your keto journey, it might not be the right fit for you.
There are plenty of healthy diets you can use to lose weight. If, after giving yourself 4–6 weeks on the keto diet, you still don’t feel your best, it could be time to make the switch to another eating style that’s more suitable to your needs.
Conclusion
At the beginning of your keto journey, using supplements, practicing intermittent fasting, and doing regular exercise can make the transition into ketosis smoother. Meanwhile, things like quitting smoking and eliminating alcohol will make sustaining your new lifestyle feel more accessible in the long run.
If eating a ketogenic diet makes you gain weight or feel lethargic after 4–6 weeks of clean eating and regular exercise, consider speaking to a physician or a dietitian.
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