So you finally decided to take a leap of faith and start a commitment with Keto. You prepared yourself, took all the necessary adjustments and did your best to stay loyal, fighting the temptation to cheat all the time. But it seems like you are not getting anywhere with this guy. You start to wonder, what is going on? Why is it not working out?
Relax, it’s perfectly understandable. Any normal relationship goes through that process of adjustment and getting-to know. Sometimes, it can really be confusing and even disappointing when it doesn’t seem to work out just like with Keto. When you become too clingy to see results, it could get frustrating to constantly check yourself out in the mirror or harass the weighing scale and not see any improvement or positive changes. Do not be discouraged. Do not consider breaking up with Keto just yet. It doesn’t necessarily mean that Keto doesn’t like you back. Maybe there are just some things that we need to check out and reconsider just to be sure that you are doing Keto right. Here are some possible reasons why your relationship with Keto is not working out just yet:
- You are too Dry…
- Two words, Drink Water! Lots and lots of water. No matter how basic this might sound, it is still worth looking into. After all, it is so easy to overlook the fact that drinking enough water is very important for our over-all optimum health especially when you are in a relationship with Keto. When you’re under ketosis, the body tends to retain less water due to the low amount of carbs in our body. Thus, the body is prone to dehydration when your water intake is not enough to satiate the body. This leads to hunger pangs and sugar cravings which may make it even harder for you to control your carb intake.
- You have not moved on yet…
With carbs, that is. You may feel like you have drastically reduced your carb intake by cutting out rice and bread from your diet but sometimes this may not be enough. Since we need to limit our carb intake between 20 to 50 grams each day, it’s important for us to be mindful of the food that we eat and its carb content. Carbs can be really tricky since they are unexpectedly present in some common foods like green beans, dairy and nuts. In addition to that, they are also highly present in other vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower so you also need to be mindful of your veggie choices and the portion you eat when preparing your Keto meal. For all you know, you might still be eating enough carbs to fuel your body which prevents you from achieving ketosis and losing weight. If you are quite doubtful whether you are achieving ketosis or not, you may purchase a home testing kit which contains test strips that can check for the presence of ketones in your urine.
- You’re too eager…
- With protein! It’s a common misconception for Keto newbies that it is okay to prioritize eating protein and meat when you are on Keto diet. I was guilty of that too when I first started since I love eating meat so much. After all, ALL that protein will be burned by the body through ketosis right? Wrong! Please remember, Keto is a high-fat, moderate protein, low carb diet. To be more specific about it, your diet should be made up of about 70-80% Fat, 20-25% Protein, 5-10% Carbs. This means that we should still be mindful and careful of the amount of protein we eat in a day. If we intake more amount of protein than we should, your body will convert that extra protein into sugar and yes, your body will choose to burn the glucose first instead of fat, kicking you out of ketosis in the process. Ergo, your body’s fat-burning machine function may be interrupted.
- You are not Fully-Committed…
- I’m not here to judge. By experience, Keto can be really hard to stick to especially if you are into carbs, sodas and sweets. If you started doing the Keto Diet drastically, your cravings may prove to be too difficult to overcome thus, making you reach for that donut or slice of cake from time to time. If you do this constantly, getting on Keto and then quitting it for a day before getting on it again, you will never achieve the results that you want. Yo-yo and Keto just don’t mix. If you’re struggling to stay faithful with Keto long enough to even see results, try shifting
into a low carb diet first. Allow a bit of carbs on your diet for some time then gradually reduce the amount of carbs you eat gradually until you reach the 20 to 50 grams a day range. This may help you stick to the Keto diet for much longer.
- You are Losing Sleep over it…
- Getting a long, quality sleep is an important factor of weight loss. Studies have shown that not getting enough sleep can cause increased appetite. This is attributed to our 2 hunger hormones, namely ghrelin and leptin, which are evidently affected by our sleep. Ghrelin is a hormone that signals hunger in the brain. On the other hand, leptin functions the opposite way as it suppresses hunger and signals fullness to the brain. When our body is deprived of sleep, the body makes more ghrelin and less leptin, making you feel hungrier than you should. Moreover, sleep deprivation can also increase insulin resistance which is a known precursor for weight gain.
So, there you have it. All of the love advice that I can come up with which made Keto and I so much stronger than ever. It may be true that there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to dieting and nutrition but as for Keto, I believe getting committed to it is worth trying and fighting for. After all, it can never be such a bad thing to go all in when you are striving to be the best version of yourself from inside and out.