When I started Keto for the first time in a long time, I had hope that this was the one diet that would work. After having tried various workout plans and diets – some of which I paid for nothing had worked. It is so frustrating when you try to lose weight but you keep hitting a wall. As with most diets I started off great, but I hit a plateau. That’s the reason why I have written about these keto mistakes that are slowing down your progress and how you can void them.
Keto is a diet plan that is mostly low carb and if you want to start keto you can read my guide here. I did keto and succeeded. My guide goes into all the things you need to know. I made some mistakes here and there but with these pointers you can avoid them.
A rule of thumb is to eat high quality food such as grass-fed meat, organic meat, avocado over bacon and coconut oil. The keto diet favors quality over quantity and your goal is to eat until you are full and no more.
Table of Contents
Signs That You Are in Ketosis:
- Bad breath
- Keto strips
- Smelly urine
- Weight loss
- Increased thirst
- Keto flu
- Insomnia
- Increased energy and focus
- Reduced hunger
- Constipation
Keto Mistakes That Are Slowing Down Your Progress
Eating Too Little
One of the biggest mistakes I made when I started my keto plan was not eating enough. By default, we always associate eating with gaining weight and subconsciously we eat too little. This is one of the worst mistakes you can make while on keto. Your body needs enough sustenance especially because your carb intake is greatly limited.
I lost weight for a while and then I plateaued because my body went into starvation mode. It would store food because I wasn’t giving it what it needed which slowed down metabolism. You should be very careful about food intake when you start keto to ensure that you remain healthy. Consult a doctor or dietician if you are ever in doubt. Keto works because you eat enough, or you eat until you are full. You should never eat too little or too much.
You should always eat high quality food and in the right quantity. Use a calorie counter to track your macros so that you keep within a healthy limit.
Snacking Because You Always Feel Hungry
At some point on my weight loss journey when I realized my weight loss had stagnated, I noticed that I was snacking too much. As you’ve probably guessed it was because I always felt hungry. The number one rule in keto is not to starve yourself.
In the afternoon the hunger pangs would hit so hard. I would snack on keto approved snacks not thinking that if I ate too much it would be counterproductive. Remember that just because something is good doesn’t mean that you should over eat it. These snacks would make me go over my macros and I would end up eating more carbs than I was allowed.
Consuming More Dairy Than You Realize
When I discover bullet proof coffee I was sold. The problem was I over sold. I would drink way too much coffee with its MCT oil, heavy cream and butter. The results were not so good. I didn’t realize how much I had stalled in my weight loss until I counted my macros and realized I was way over on my dairy.
As with snacking even the consumption of dairy should be tracked carefully. With this it is also important to find out if your body can handle dairy. If you are intolerant this could slow down your weight loss due to inflammation. Find out if your body handles dairy well by cutting it out and slowly reintroducing it to see how your body reacts.
Not Eating Enough Fat
Ever since I was a child it had been drilled into me that fat was the enemy then here comes a diet that requires 70% of the food, I ate be fat. To lose weight with keto fats are necessary. However, you have to be careful about the types of fat you eat.
Eating fats in avocados for example is good for you. I didn’t even like avocados when I started this diet but over time, they became my best food especially when I lost weight. Every time I would fall off the wagon, I would eat an avocado and somehow my body would get back into ketosis.
Fats are good because they give you that ‘full’ feeling which helps in avoiding snacking between meals. Do not be shy about the fats. Heavy cream in your coffee, coconut oil and avocados are great options for healthy fats.
Conversely be careful that you don’t eat too much fat because you’ll gain weight and get other health problems.
Eating Too Much Protein
One of biggest mistakes was eating way more meat than I should have. I love meat like really love meat, but I was eating way more than is allowed. At 25% of your calorie intake proteins should be consumed moderately. If you eat too much protein you will be kicked out of ketosis. So, the next time you try a rib-eye make sure that you keep within your macros.
Remember that if you eat too much protein it will be converted to glucose. This means that you will no longer be burning fat for energy. If that happens often you will definitely see a slow down in weight loss. You should consume 0.4 to 0.8 grams of protein for every pound of lean body mass depending on if you are maintaining body weight or trying to lose weight.
At any point if you start noticing that you crave sugar reduce your protein intake. This is one of the multiple keto mistakes that are slowing down your progress that you can easily ignore witjout knowing.
Starting Intermittent Fasting Later
I kicked myself over this a few times. I should have started intermittent fasting right at the beginning. Instead I started when I noticed that I was stalling. Intermittent fasting is great for accelerated weight loss and I practiced the 16:8 rule.
I would fast for 16 hours and then eat for 8 hours. I made sure that my fasting hours were mostly at night when I was asleep. When I started fasting, I saw a huge change in my weight loss. If you cheat intermittent fasting helps you to get in ketosis faster. Find a fasting rule that works for you and follow it. Always eat until you are full you should never eat beyond that.
Not Prioritizing Sleep
How many times have you heard someone say, “You need sleep to lose weight”? If your body is as stressed as mine was with this shock in my eating habits it needs rest. If you don’t sleep enough your body’s stress levels increase which slows down weight loss.
The recommended sleeping time is 7-8 hours and if you notice that your weight isn’t decreasing try to sleep at least 7 hours. Avoid stressful situations is possible because these can lead to stress eating where you binge on food that your body doesn’t need. I also noticed that when I didn’t sleep enough my energy levels decreased and I was extremely lethargic which also slows down weight loss.
Over Celebrating Gains
If I lost a good amount of weight over a week or two, I felt like I had to celebrate my gains. This of course led me to gaining weight (pun intended). You are allowed to celebrate your weight loss but you need to be careful that you don’t undo all your hard work. Even though you will be kicked out of ketosis it will be easy to get back into ketosis if you don’t cheat for a prolonged period.
A glass of wine, a slice of pizza or even a night out with Chinese food and the works is allowed over the weekend. Just makes sure that you don’t slip into your old eating habits. If you have a cheat meal over the weekend you may gain some water weight, but this will come off. If you cheat for three days during the week and on Saturday, then the weight will start piling on.
In the initial stages I would not recommend cheating at all. I started cheating 3 months into keto because I wanted to achieve great results. So stay away from those cheat meals until you reach your weight goal. As you try to avoid keto mistakes that are slowing down your progress pay attention to old habits that you could be repeating.
Not Using Enough Salt
When I got my first keto flu I was so excited. I thought look I am in ketosis and I am about to drop pounds like crazy. I didn’t realize that the keto flu was a sign that I was losing too many electrolytes especially when I lost that initial water weight.
As you use more fat/ketones for energy you stop retaining as much water as you normally would. Consuming salt helps to retain water that your body needs. I use Himalayan salt especially when I feel the beginnings of the keto flu. Always maintain a healthy level of water to ensure that you are healthy and you continue losing weight.
Trying Too Many Things Together
When I started keto I forgot to keep things simple. I found myself overwhelmed trying to eat all kinds of fancy meals, track macros and document the process. It proved to be too much and as a consequence I found myself not cooking enough meals to keep eating within the keto restrictions.
This meant that I would sneak in too many carbs or skip meals which is not good. There are days I would over eat to compensate for skipped meals which made me so uncomfortable in terms of digestion. This meant that I jeopardized my weight loss for multiple days.
I started meal planning and I kept my meals super simple. Make sure you check out my recipes and meal planning ideas. If you want to succeed avoid trying too many things at the same time. Plan easy and tasty recipes to stay motivated.
Underestimating Light Exercises
I didn’t exercise at all and as an active person prior to keto my body went into a bit of a shock. As an active person I needed movement for my to perform well. I didn’t connect how lethargic I felt with my lack of exercise which also impacted my weight loss.
While I cannot advice personally on exercising while on keto (you should consult a doctor) I run at least 3 miles 3-4 days a week. We started the keto diet with my friend and I saw faster results. I also felt great especially as the pounds fell off and I could feel my body lighten up.
In conclusion try to pinpoint where you could be going wrong. Correct where you need to correct and keep going! Try to avoid keto mistakes that are slowing down your progress. Everyday is a fresh start and if you keep at it you will see results.
