5 Reasons You're Not Seeing Results On The Keto Diet & How To Fix Them

Ketogenic diets (lovingly called "keto" by diet devotees) get results…until they don't.

Made popular by the weight loss benefits1, the results don't lie. Studies have shown that during the first three to six months, people on low-carbohydrate diets, like keto, people lose more weight compared to on standard diets1 (read: higher-carbohydrate).

To get those benefits and stay in ketosis, you need to dial down your carbohydrates, way down, moderate protein intake, and step up your dietary fat. This shifts your body to using ketones as fuel rather than carbohydrates.

As with any diet, after the initial weight loss, you may find you hit a frustrating keto plateau. You're feeling great, you're past the keto flu phase, and then bam—the scale stops moving.

On ketogenic diets, you dramatically reduce carbohydrates to less than 50 grams a day. You'll also decrease protein intake. In other words, going keto is incredibly high in dietary fat: Around 70%1, in fact. If you're not meeting your fat quota, your body can't maintain ketosis. And if you aren't in ketosis, you won't reap keto benefits.

There are a lot of "keto" versions of cookies, bread, and other high-carbohydrate foods. Some of them have artificial sweeteners and other foods that you may be sensitive to.

Many keto plans are low in fiber and other gut-supporting nutrients. Over time, these deficiencies adversely affect the gut microbiome2, increasing inflammation and creating dysbiosis or gut imbalances, as well as backing up your system. Constipation leads to toxin overload, which increases body inflammation and stalls your weight loss efforts.

Over time, your body can go into autopilot on a keto diet. Or you get sick of eating bacon and other keto-approved foods. As a result, your weight can stall and you stop seeing results. Boredom can mean you're tempted to eat non-keto foods.

Some "keto-friendly" foods like grain-fed meats, vegetable oils, and cheese are highly inflammatory. Inflammation takes a hit on your gut, and it drives nearly every disease3 on the planet including obesity.

Solution: Increase anti-inflammatory foods. Make an oil change with extra-virgin olive and coconut oils. Choose grass-fed beef, wild-caught cold-water seafood, wild meats, free-range poultry, and pasture-raised organic eggs. Eat walnuts, which are one of my favorite snacks because they contain anti-inflammatory fatty acids. You can also add freshly or pre-ground flax or chia seeds into your smoothies.