Keto Diet Stall – Top Reasons Why

Like any diet or lifestyle change, there are bound to be times where we face little hiccups. There will be times that we fall off the wagon or make a conscious decision to take a break. It’s totally normal. It happens. What happens after those moments is what matters. Both my husband and I have been following the Keto lifestyle for well over two years now. We’ve had our fair share if ups and downs. For me, dealing with my gallbladder issues and then recovering from surgery, was a bit of a hiccup for me, but I am bouncing back. For some of you just starting the Keto diet or looking to start it, you may be wondering what the top reasons why people experience a Keto diet stall are. Lucky for you, I’m going to tell you!!

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So…as I said, with any diet or lifestyle change, there will be things that cause us to stall, fall off the wagon, etc. For me, I didn’t make a decision to step away from the diet. I, more or less, couldn’t cope with feeling so horrible from my gallbladder AND sticking 100% to the Keto diet. Instead, I was in survival mode. I ate mostly Keto, but also ate what would agree with me. Prior to all my gallbladder issues, I was in a horrible keto diet stall. I hadn’t gained or lost any weight for at least six months, but I think it was even longer than that. So what happened?

Keto Diet Stall – Top Reasons Why

• You’re not actually in ketosis 

If you’ve been reading up on Keto, you will see that there are a couple schools of thought. There are some people that follow “strict Keto” and they track everything. On the other hand, there are people that follow what they call “lazy Keto” and they don’t track anything and just eat Keto approved foods. I’ve always followed strict Keto. I track every single thing I eat. By doing this, I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I am in ketosis. There is no fear of hidden carbs when I’m tracking. These ketone strips can definitely help you determine if you are in ketosis or not.

• You’re not drinking enough water

I know, I know. It seems like everyone is always harping on water intake. That’s because it’s SO IMPORTANT! Our body needs water to function properly. Beside that, drinking enough water while following the Keto diet helps with the dreaded “Keto breath”, it helps replace water that is lost throughout the day, water helps suppress your appetite, and most importantly (in my opinion), water helps to take stress off your kidneys. I once read to think of water as a lubricant for your kidneys to help them function properly. This 32 oz. water bottle or my 30 oz. Yeti cup is always with me and filled with ice and water!

• Hidden carbs are making their way in

Hidden carbs can happen in a couple ways. First, you aren’t measuring your food. Measuring your food is so important. Eventually you can eyeball it, if need be, but even after over two years of being on the Keto diet, I still measure everything. I joke that it’s because my personality will not let me eyeball things, but truth be told, when I have no choice, but to eyeball it, it does stress me out! The second way hidden carbs make their way in, is by taking a bite of this and a bite of that. You know what I’m referring to. You may think those little bites don’t mean anything, but they do. That’s why you need to measure and track EVERYTHING! Pick up a food scale and get started with weighing your foods!

• You’re dealing with too much stress

You’re probably thinking, “what in the world does stress have to do with it?” but believe me, it has a lot to do with it. You see, when we are experiencing stress, our body releases a hormone called cortisol. When we are constantly feeling stressed and the cortisol is constantly being released, we start experiencing negative affects, such as weight gain. Learning how to deal with stressful situations is so important. For me, I like to listen to the Classical Goes Pop Pandora station while I read. The music is soothing and reading is my favorite thing to do (besides be with my family).

• You’re consuming too much diet drinks

Now I am going to be 100% completely honest here. I do drink diet pop. Is it Keto? Not really since it does have artificial sweeteners. However, so long as I drink my water each day, I allow myself to have diet pop. I don’t like coffee and with as crazy as my schedule is each day, there is no way I would survive without caffeine! With that being said…READ THE LABELS and Google what you are drinking. Just because it’s “diet” or “sugar free”, that does not mean it’s always carb free. Case in point, I love diet Mt. Dew. However, did you know that technically diet Mt. Dew still has a little sugar in it because it is made with orange juice? Yep. I didn’t either until a few weeks ago. There’s another example of those hidden carbs I mentioned earlier. They add up.

• You’re eating too much/not enough

You’ve heard it before, you need to eat to lose weight and it’s so true. However, if you are eating too much, even if it is Keto approved foods, you’re not going to lose the way you want to. You still have to eat at a calorie deficit to lose weight. On the same token, if you are not eating enough, your body will freak out and try to hold on to every little bitty thing it can so it can properly fuel your body. Again, I know I sound like a broken record, but this is why it’s so important to properly track your food intake so you know you are getting what you need!

• You’re not getting enough sleep

Not too long ago, I read that your body does it’s best work when it’s sleeping. That statement says so much to me. Before, when someone would tell me that I need to sleep more to lose weight, I laughed them. Not even joking. However, it’s so true. If the fact that our body does it’s best work when we are sleeping, then we need to make sure we are getting adequate amounts of sleep a night, each and every night to insure that our body can do what it needs to do to lose weight (and everything else it needs to do).

There you have it, the top reasons why you may be experiencing a Keto diet stall. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about the keto diet or the keto diet stall you may be experiencing. I would be more than happy to help you break that keto diet stall, if I can!