Wondering if the keto diet can help you lose weight? If so, you’re in the right place.
Here’s what we’ll cover in this article:
Table of Contents
Why The Keto Diet Can Help You Lose Weight
Reduce Hunger
Studies (1, 2) have shown that one of the many advantages of the keto diet is that it can help you reduce hunger.
Other studies (3) have shown that the keto diet often leads to lower levels of ghrelin, the hormone that tells your brain that you’re hungry.
Having lower levels of ghrelin can help you eat fewer calories during the day, which can lead to a drop in weight.
This other study (4) showed that people following the keto diet consumed less food and didn’t have as much alcohol cravings.
If you’d like a more in-depth guide, you can check out this article on keto for beginners.
Water Weight
You’ve probably heard people brag about how much weight they lost their first week of keto.
While some of this weight is fat, the majority comes from water weight.
This is because 1 gram of carbs holds about 2-3 grams of water. This means that when you deplete your body from glycogen (the stored form of carbs), the water it was holding also leaves. (5, 6)
But don’t get discouraged, losing water weight during the first few days of keto is a good sign that your body is getting ready to enter ketosis and burn fat for energy.
Here’s an article that goes over how long it takes to see results on keto.
Calorie Deficit
Regardless of which diet you’re on, you still need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight.
Being in a calorie deficit means that you’re eating fewer calories than you burn.
Simply cutting carbs from your diet won’t lead to weight loss if you keep overeating fats and protein.
However, the advantage of the keto diet is that it’s very difficult to overeat fats and protein since these are very filling nutrients.
Carbs and sugars, on the other hand, tend to digest very fast and not keep you full, that’s why it’s so easy to eat more than you need.
Keto Diet and Weight Loss Studies
This study (7) showed that subjects on a keto diet lost 2.2 times more weight than those on a low-fat diet.
These studies (8, 9) found that the keto diet is far better than the typical low-fat diets.
Some people can even lose weight on keto without counting calories, this is because fats and protein are more filling and harder to overeat than carbs and sugars. (10)
In this other study (11), people on a keto diet lost 3 times more weight than those on the diet recommended by Diabetes UK.
Check out the science behind how the ketogenic diet promotes weight loss in this article.
TAKEAWAY
The keto diet can help you lose weight by reducing hunger, eliminating water weight, and making it easier to reach a calorie deficit.
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Things That May Affect Weight Loss During Keto
1. The Number of Carbs You Eat
To get into ketosis you must empty your body from glycogen.
If you’re eating a lot of carbs, your body won’t be able to deplete your glycogen stores and enter ketosis.
It’s recommended to keep your carb intake around 5-10% of your daily calories during keto. (12)
2. How Much Protein You’re Eating
While protein is a nutrient needed to maintain healthy skin, muscle tissues, nails, joints, and hair, too much can prevent you from reaching ketosis.
This is because your liver can turn amino acids from protein into glucose. (13)
It’s recommended to keep your protein intake around 15-25% of your daily calories during keto.
3. How Much Fat You’re Eating
A common mistake people make while on keto is to cut their fat as well as their carbs to lose weight faster.
You still need to maintain a sustainable rate of weight loss, which is typically 1% of your body weight per week.
However, if you’re overweight or obese, losing 1.5-2% of your body weight per week is completely safe.
It’s recommended to keep your fat intake around 70% of your daily calories during keto.
Here are 12 reasons why you might not be losing weight on keto.
4. Underlying Health Condition
If you’re not able to lose weight despite doing everything right, you may want to check for underlying health conditions that could be slowing your weight loss.
For instance, conditions like PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome, hypothyroidism, high insulin levels, and depression can slow weight loss little.
But don’t worry, with proper medication and changes in your lifestyle you can still lose weight. So make sure to talk to your doctor to rule out any medical condition if you’re having a hard time losing weight.
TAKEAWAY
Since several things can affect weight loss during keto, it’s important to follow a well-structured and sustainable keto plan.
What Is The Keto Diet?
The keto diet (short for ketogenic) is a low-carb, high-fat diet that offers several health benefits including fat loss.
On the keto diet, your body enters a state of ketosis where it’s forced to use fat as fuel instead of the glucose that comes from carbohydrates like grains, legumes, and fruits.
TAKEAWAY
The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that forces your body to burn fat instead of glucose for energy.
How To Reach Ketosis
To reach ketosis, you must deplete your body from its glycogen stores (the stored form of carbs).
This is done by cutting your carb and sugar intake.
After you’ve cut carbs from your diet, your blood sugar and insulin levels will decrease and your liver will start producing ketones out of fat to use for energy instead of carbs.
If you’d like to explore more, here are 8 tips to get into ketosis fast.
TAKEAWAY
To reach ketosis, you must significantly reduce your carb intake and deplete your glycogen stores.
What Are Ketones?
Ketones, often referred to as “ketone bodies,” are the metabolic fuel produced by your liver when your body begins using fat as energy.
The body typically produces a small amount of ketones, but the production ramps up when the body is using fat as its primary fuel source.
Ketones and glucose are the only fuel sources used by the brain.
TAKEAWAY
Ketones are your body’s alternate fuel source.
Other Health Benefits of The Keto Diet
1. Reduced inflammation. During keto, your body produces ketone BHB, which has been proven to have a positive effect on oxidative stress. (14)
2. Cancer. The keto diet is actually being used to slow tumor growth and treat different types of cancer. (15, 16)
3. Epilepsy. Studies (17) have shown that the keto diet can help reduce seizures in epileptic children.
4. Alzheimer’s disease. Studies (18, 19) suggest that the keto diet might slow Alzheimer’s progression and reduce its symptoms.
5. PCOS. Research (20) has shown that it can reduce insulin levels, which can positively affect PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome).
6. Acne. Since the keto diet limits sugar and processed foods intake and lowers insulin levels, it might help clear acne. (21)
7. Heart disease. The keto diet can help improve HDL cholesterol levels, blood sugar, and blood pressure. (22)
Here are some other unexpected benefits of the keto diet, if you’d like to explore more.
If you loved this article about why the keto diet can help you lose weight and are ready to start your weight loss journey, the Custom Keto Diet plan is the place to start!
This plan helps men and women lose fat without starving themselves or giving up their favorite foods.
