The ketogenic diet has exploded its popularity and created a huge fanbase. This diet has taken off the internet with tons of positive and negative buzz. However, a well-formulated keto diet can indeed help you to trim down excess fats.
Like, every coin has two sides – gaining weight first week of keto is that negative side I just mentioned. Unfortunately, this unintentional weight gain can overshadow the beneficial aspects of the keto diet.
Are you going through the same issue? You just started the keto diet, and your scale shows you the worst truth! Don’t be sad! I did thorough research and found out the possible causes that contribute to weight gain. Also, you will get to know some easy-peasy tips to boost up the weight loss again.
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Why are You Gaining Weight First week of Keto?
Moving on to a keto diet is like getting married; if you cheat, it will not work for sure. I know it’s a tough challenge to follow a low-carb diet strictly.
Suppose you are dedicated enough and cut down on high carbs. Still, there is a list of factors that can contribute to weight gain.
Underneath here, you will get to know all the factors that can impede your weight loss journey.
Fail to Enter Into Ketosis
In a keto diet, you are only allowed to take 5-10% of carbohydrates. Cutting down the carbs leads your body to burn the fats for getting energy.
This ketosis condition is marked by increasing the ketone body in circulation. These ketone bodies act as a source of fuel in your system. This entire framework is known as ketosis.
If you cannot lose weight, the first thing to blame is the inability to achieve ketosis. And the most common reason behind this is not cutting back enough carbs from the diet routine.
People sometimes think that they have reduced the carbs intake drastically – in reality, this might not be the case. However, they can do simple home tests to get confirmed whether they reach ketosis or not.
Firstly, you may get the confirmation using a home testing kit. These kits usually come with strips that you need to dip into your urine. If the results come positive, that means there are ketones in your urine. And you have entered into ketosis.
Secondly, a tiny machine called a ketone breath analyzer is available in the market, which can detect ketone in your breath.
Doing either of these tests, you can also exclude this point if the results come positive. Then, you should consider other points which may contribute to gaining weight first week of keto.
High Protein Intake
People often mistake low carbs high protein with low carbs high fats. This high protein will never let your body enter into full-blown ketosis.
Your body’s primary mechanism breaks down the protein into amino acids via gluconeogenesis. Later, it turns into sugar. So, you should aim at keeping the protein intake within .5–2.0 grams per kg body weight.
Excess Intake of the Acceptable Carbs
My friends started the keto diet last year but ended up gaining body fat on keto. After evaluating her diet routine, the nutritionist told her that she was taking excessive amounts of nuts and diaries. Though these are some of the acceptable carbs sources, they may keep you from losing weight.
Hormonal Fluctuation
The hormonal function makes it challenging for women to lose weight on keto. If you’re female and just started the keto diet, the hormonal factors may be to blame.
Slower Fat Adaptation
Our body tends to break down glucose to produce energy. When you are on the keto diet, your body becomes deficient in glucose—that is, time your muscles choose to burn fatty acid instead of glucose and even ketones to elicit fuels.
These are the times when your stored fat starts to melt off. As per the expert’s opinion, this fat-adaptation takes up to eight-week to come into action. You can simply ignore those things happening in the first week.
Little to No Workout
If you are gaining weight first week of keto, then maybe you’re not exercising enough.
For any dieter, exercise is the key tool to achieve their fat loss goal. Besides, it keeps you fit and healthy. Especially when you are on the keto diet, you are inputting high fatty foods. So, it becomes imperative to do exercise to burn out those calories.
Maltitol Intake
People who are on a keto diet are allowed to take sugary alcohol. It provides sweetness without alleviating the carbs level. But not all sugary alcohol is keto-friendly. For example, if you are taking Maltitol, it will affect the sugar level of your body. Ultimately, you will never reach ketosis.
For safe going, you should cut off taking all kinds of beverages. Although some of them(gin, vodka) come with low GI, they are calorie-dense. They don’t provide your body with high-quality nutrients but increase the calories.
Frequent Snacking
Do you succumb to continual snacking? You may be doing so to reduce your hunger pangs. But the sad thing is it will sabotage your fat loss goal.
Underlying Health Issues
You may not be doing all the above-mentioned things and still gaining weight first week of keto. It happens when you have underlying health conditions. Sometimes, the medication you’re taking for treating any medical illness may contribute to sudden weight gain on keto.
Here are some medical conditions that contribute to gaining weight after first week of keto:
- hypothyroidism
- depression
- high insulin levels
- Cushing’s syndrome
- polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
So, these are the most common facts to consider when you cannot shed pounds on a keto diet. The good news is you can resolve it by following some easy tips given below.
Tips to Follow
The first thing you should know is- how much weight can you lose in a week on keto? Because people often set unrealistic goals and fail to achieve as they hoped – they give up!
You can expect to lose around .5-5 kg in the first week on keto. It depends mainly on how much water weight you’re carrying. For now, you may get to figure out what contributes to your weight gain. The first task you have to do is avoiding the thing that makes you gain weight.
You will see the difference on the scale and the impact of gaining weight first week of keto!
However, how much you will rip out of the keto diet largely depends on how good you are following the essential keto diet tips. In the initial period, people often overlook that and end up with unintentional weight gain. Don’t worry.
You will get to know them below here:
Consume Only Keto Foods
The fundamental process to enter into ketosis is eating only protein-enriched and fiber-dense foods. At the same time, you should cut off all the calorie reached foods from your diet. Most people interpret the keto diet as giving up their favorite meal. The good news is there are still plenty of foods available to serve your desire and nutritional needs.
Track Your Macros
It sometimes happens that you eat minimal carbs compared to before you put on weight. The reason behind it is you are probably unable to calculate the actual calorie level.
One of the best ways to estimate the accurate calorie status is using calorie-tracking apps like MyFitnessPal.
You can also use a chronometer for tracking calories, biometrics, exercise, and health data. Keeping a food journal is another great idea to identify the weight gain or weight loss triggering foods.
Adequate Water Intake
No matter which diet you are on, drinking plenty of water is very important. And when it comes to the keto diet, the clock gives it the supreme priority. Your keto diet success also largely depends on this. It keeps you away from overeating or snacking.
Conclusion
For now, you have got pretty clear why you’re gaining weight first week of keto. In short, it happens when you are unable to obtain ketosis or fail to maintain some basic rules of the keto diet.
Whatever the reason is, following the tips above may help you to shed your weight. If you are still unable to lose pounds, it would be better to see a doctor. Sometimes underlying health issues can cause weight gain.
The FAQs About Gaining Weight At Earlier Stage of Keto
a) Why Did I Gain Weight My First Week of Keto?
The Keto diet is filled with high-quality protein and good fat. Both of these food compounds are the primary building blocks of muscle gain. Moreover, you stock up some fat in different parts of the body in the first few weeks.
So the higher quantity of protein and fat makes you gain weight quickly in the first few weeks of a keto diet.
b) Is it Normal Not to Lose Weight in the First Week of Keto?
It happens invariably when your body is unable to burn the consumed calories. In this state, if you continue taking excess calories even when you are on ketosis, you may gain weight.
c) How do you know if Keto is Working?
There are some conformity signs based on which you may get to know this.FOr example, finding ketones on the blood tests, seeing differences in scale by reducing weight, changes in sleep, etc.
d) Does Exercise Speed up Weight Loss in Ketosis?
Yes, having a keto diet and doing regular exercise is the best way to speed up your weight loss. You can also do joking, Jogging, rowing, biking, and swimming side by side with a keto diet to maximize results.
