Why does keto work for some and not for others?

Side effects of keto diet first week
Side effects of keto diet first week

Recently, the ketogenic diet is well known for its tremendous success in losing weight. So, thousands around the world choose to switch their lifestyle to match keto and obtain the healthy weight they have always dreamt of. Why does keto work for some and not others? in this article, we will tell you why your keto diet may not help you reach your weight loss goal and what to do to fix it.

As known, it is close to the low-carb diet yet with further carbohydrate limitations. Ketogenic diet depends mainly on replacing carbohydrates with fats and adequate proteins (1), by doing so, the blood glucose circulating in the body drops obligating your body to depend on fats as the main source of energy instead of glucose in a metabolic state called ketosis. Then, after the body reaches the ketosis state which needs weeks to achieve, the body loses weight gradually through burning accumulated fats.

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Why does ketogenic diet work for some and not others?

As mentioned above, the keto diet has shown in several studies a HUGE SUCCESS in weight-reduction. Moreover, it helps in lowering blood glucose and cholesterol levels. Unfortunately, you may not experience any weight loss even after going through the keto diet for a considerable time, and ask Why does keto work for some and not others including yourself?

There are several reasons that can offset your weight loss, which you should solve to enjoy dropping your weight gradually. Those reasons are:

Eating more carbs on keto

Being on the keto diet means that your calories shouldn’t exceed 5% from carbs to reach ketosis, which is only allowed from vegetables. So, having calories from other sources rich in carbs may be the reason that holds your body from losing weight.

Going over calories on keto

Weight loss is achieved when you consume fewer calories than you need. Actually, the keto diet still follows the same rule, as many who are on the keto diet are tricked by the concept of cutting carbs, but on the other hand, they are snacking on fatty foods with high amounts, like nuts, butter, or cheese.

Well, being on a ketogenic diet means that you will reach satiety with small amounts of food. So, you got to avoid overdoing it to keep within the optimal caloric range that will help you lose weight.

Not getting enough sleep

Keep that in mind, you can’t lose weight if you are stressed or can’t sleep and the reason is that staying awake for long periods can mess up your hormones, mainly those which regulate hunger and satiety. So this what happens when you are in stress or deprived of sleep for a long time:

  1. Cortisol hormone levels rise, allowing your body to store fats. (8)
  2. Leptin and ghrelin the appetite-regulating hormone levels change driving you to eat more. (9) 
Why does keto work for some and not others
Why does keto work for some and not others

How many carbs per day on keto

Before knowing which food is keto-friendly and which is not, you have to know how much carb is safe to keep you on ketosis. So it’s not about sticking to foods with extremely low carbs as snacking too much on keto foods is against keto laws and can easily ditch you out of ketosis.

Note also that high protein intake can raise blood sugar levels affecting ketosis negatively. Experts agreed that perfect keto people achieve by eating macronutrients in the following percentages;

  • Fats: 70-75%.
  • Proteins: 20-25%.
  • Carbohydrates: 5-10%.

So eating 20-50g of carbs can be more than enough to design daily meals that contain all the needed nutrients.

The planning part is as important as eating the right food that is good for the keto diet, as messing up these percentages can open the door for hunger to attack you. Then, you have to follow a strict plan that goes along with keto rules and not overlook keto snacks, which are a plan B for hunger until your body gets used to keto.

Health conditions that can benefit from the ketogenic diet

The keto diet has gained a growing interest owing to its incredible results in weight loss, In addition, studies have proven its benefits on various health issues, including:

  1.  Seizures: the keto diet has proven to be more effective in controlling seizures in children than new anticonvulsant drugs. (2)   
  2.  Diabetes type 2: The low consumption of carbs has shown reversing or at least improving diabetes type 2. (3) 
  3.  Cancers: ketogenic diet shows to suppress tumor growth, so studies are dedicated nowadays to approving it as an alternative therapy for malignant tumors. (4) 
  4.  Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases: ketogenic diet offers more amounts of essential fatty acids than normal diets, which delivers a neuroprotective effect that blocks the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. (5)   

Is the ketogenic diet safe for the long term?

Obviously, if you are on the keto diet, then you are trying to lose some pounds to attain the ideal body shape, but can this diet become a lifestyle without going through health issues?

The short answer for that question is YES…… although studies were done on the ketogenic diet that proved its benefits were made over the short term, yet, one study was conducted on 83 obese patients over 24 weeks. Which is a long period and the results were also outstanding:

  1. Patients lost their weight significantly.
  2. HDL cholesterol levels increased.
  3. LDL cholesterol levels decreased.
  4. Most importantly, being on a keto diet for a long period hasn’t caused any serious side effects for any of the participants. (6)   

Side effects of keto diet first week

Now you should be asking, will your body punish you for not giving it the carbs it craves for??

Actually, IT WILL… The good news is that you can manage these side effects just by understanding why and how they can be minimized. Knowing the physical reactions can help avoid the most serious symptoms.

The following figure will describe the ketogenic diet side effects and the main causes for each one.

How to avoid keto side effects?

Now that you begin to understand what is happening to your body when starting the ketogenic diet, put in mind that these symptoms are temporary.

So, by reaching keto-adaptation these symptoms will probably subside, but, until then there are some tricks that will help you ease these symptoms.

  • Weakness, fatigue, and dizziness: consume 2 cups of leafy green vegetables, which is a perfect way to restore lost potassium and vitamin k. Also, adding more protein in your diet can help to avoid an extreme drop in blood sugar levels.
  • Muscle cramps: increase your magnesium intake, preferably through food containing magnesium like spinach, kale, avocados, nuts, fatty fish and broccoli.
  • Keto insomnia: avoid caffeine and exercise before sleep and have a keto-allowed carbohydrate snack before bed.
  • Sugar and carbohydrate craving: this will normally last 21 days from starting keto, however, exercises, glutamine supplements, and protein intake can help.

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5 Things You Shouldn’t Ignore On Ketogenic Diet

Nowadays, it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t know what a keto diet is or at least heard about the success stories it offered for many. So, planning to lose weight makes the keto diet an appealing idea to try just by knowing the main concept. Yet, as a beginner, you may overlook some tiny important details that will definitely help you achieve success with keto and overcome its painful side effects, which are;

Getting enough fat in your meals

Starting with keto might still hold some fear of increasing the fat portion in your meals. But keep in mind that you are cutting many calories that you normally get from carbs and replacing it with calories from fat to optimize your metabolism to burn excess fat in your body.

So, not getting the recommended amount of fats can make you experience hunger throughout the day. Not to mention that it can impair hormonal function in the long term.

Eating the right fats

Being on a keto diet gives you the freedom to consume a large amount of fat on its daily plans. Yet, not all fat types are equal. So, pay attention to the type of fat you are preparing your recipes with, to make sure that it will benefit your health.

Of course, the fats recommended being on your list are the healthy ones, especially the ones that have omega-3. In fact, omega-3 has a strong anti-inflammatory property, which makes it a good choice. Fortunately, most seafood is rich in omega-3 including fish like salmon, tuna, sardines, and mackerel. Also, you shouldn’t overlook the other healthy fat sources like avocado, flaxseed, coconut oil, and olive oil.

Related; 9 keto diet benefits other than weight loss.

Drinking water

Normally, there is no single diet that doesn’t advise to drink enough water. No surprise, as water itself can give you a temporary feeling of fullness by filling your stomach. Aso, you can mistakenly assume that you are hungry when you are thirsty. Besides, several reasons that prove that water supports you perfectly on your weight loss plan.

The ketogenic diet is not an exception, moreover, it’s more recommended to drink water on keto than any other diet. The reason is that cutting carbs results in retaining water in your body. Because of this, you lose a large amount of water along with electrolytes.  

Replacing lost electrolytes

As we mentioned above, the drastic cut of carbs on the keto diet is accompanied by flushing away a huge amount of water. Consequently, electrolytes leave the body along with water mainly sodium. So, the excessive loss of electrolytes may cause electrolyte imbalance.

Then, replacing sodium through increasing salt on your meals is crucial to maintain electrolytes balance again.

Not increasing snacks number or quantity

Being on a ketogenic diet can eliminate hunger from your dictionary if followed correctly. Yet, overlooking the amount of food already allowed on keto like veggies and dairy can cause sugar spikes. Consequently, sugar spikes may easily kick you out of ketosis. 

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Ketogenic accelerators and ketosis:

So, you want to liberate your body from the extra pound you have, but you keep struggling with your keto diet plan. Or maybe you find it challenging to get into ketosis with all these tempting foods surrounding you.

Or maybe you are planning to start a keto diet, but it worries you that ketosis is tough to meet and that it will take weeks to notice any weight loss.

What are the ketogenic accelerators?

Well, ketogenic accelerators are products that contain multiple ingredients, including beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB). Here is a product that guarantees that you will DROP 1 LB OF YOUR BODY FAT EACH DAY, as the ketogenic accelerator pills have the following effects:

  1. Triggers the ketosis metabolic state, so you don’t have to wait for weeks to reach ketosis.
  2. It enhances fat burning.
  3. Supports your keto diet plan to claim the maximal effect.         

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