You should know, however, that most medical professionals discourage following the keto diet for longer than six months [1], so you will eventually have to transition to a less-restrictive form of healthy eating. Unfortunately, because keto is such a restrictive diet, many people gain weight once they stop it.
It is normal to gain back some weight after stopping a particular diet – sometimes as much as 5-10 pounds, immediately. You should not worry too much about this, as it is not fat that you are regaining that quickly. In the case of the Keto diet, this will be primarily due to water weight.
Gaining Back Some Water Weight
Each gram of glycogen requries several grams of water to store, so using that glycogen flushes the additional water from your system. Replenishing these glycogen stores by eating high carb foods will cause your body to gain that water weight back.
Going off keto may lead to gains in muscle mass. And that's especially good news if you're over 30 years; as we age, muscle synthesis begins to decrease. Less overall muscle mass means we burn fewer calories at rest and can eventually lose strength and mobility.
More often than not, it's not sustainable. Oftentimes weight gain may come back, and you'll gain more than what you lost. The keto diet could cause low blood pressure, kidney stones, constipation, nutrient deficiencies, and an increased risk of heart disease.
“As you transition off the ketogenic diet, start to slowly decrease your fat intake while upping your intake of lean proteins, vegetables, and wholesome carbohydrates, like fresh fruit, whole grains, and beans,” she says. White refined grains and sugars should still be limited.
Keto cycling doesn't have a strict definition. Some people choose to have five or six days on keto followed by a day or two off. Others will do keto for 10 to 12 days followed by three to four days off. Devine typically doesn't recommend taking more than two days off keto.
When you want to add carbohydrates back into your diet after following keto, it's important to allow your body to adjust over time. Remember that this is a slow transition (just like starting keto was!), so be patient and keep track of how you feel.
Because it's not a forever diet, there will be life after keto. But even when you go off it, you can expect that your taste preferences will have changed. “You likely won't want as many carbs, and things will taste extremely sweet,” she says.
“Few people have the ability to go on and off keto successfully,” she says, explaining that the main challenge is intense cravings for carbs and sugar, which come back once you reintroduce these foods. In Devine's experience, this is true whether you take a break for say, a holiday weekend, or even just a meal.
Some people report short-term weight loss on the keto diet, similar to many other popular diets. However, restrictive diets can be challenging to keep up long term, and many people put the weight back on.
If you eat more than 50 grams of carbs in a day, you'll throw your body out of ketosis. As a result, you'll stop burning that belly fat and converting it into energy. Even worse, you'll have to go through the whole process of getting back into ketosis, which can take up to a week or more.
Excess carbs
If you're not losing weight on keto, one of the main causes is consuming too many carbs. The keto diet limits you to only 30-50 grams of total carbs or net carbs (if you're eating veggies and fruits, which have fiber) per day.
Keto cycling is also likely to make people's weight fluctuate, especially if they are coming out of several weeks or months of full-on carb restriction. "It doesn't establish a healthy relationship with food, and it can mentally throw people off if they regain all the weight they just lost," Kizer said.
You don't automatically lose weight by being in ketosis all the time. You still need to be in a calorie deficit so your metabolism runs out of dietary fat and starts running on your stored body fat. The good news: ketosis may not make you burn body fat all the time, but it does ramp up your metabolism significantly.
The rate of weight loss on the keto diet without exercise ranges from 1-2 pounds per week. Therefore, if you want to lose significant weight, reaching your goals may take a few months. Exercise is essential to any weight loss plan, as it helps burn calories, build muscle, and improve overall health.
Following the keto diet for an extended period of time can be difficult, and even some of its top proponents warn against sticking to its strict guidelines. This includes cutting back carbohydrates to 50 grams a day or less, for at least two to three weeks up to six to 12 months, per the National Library of Medicine.
It varies from person to person, depending on their overall health, diet, hydration levels, and physical activity. Some can stay in ketosis for months without any problems, and others may start to experience bad effects within weeks.
"When transitioning off keto, one should slowly add carbohydrates," Franco said, advising that you should only add one serving of carbohydrates per day the first week, then two servings of carbs per day on week two. "The body needs to slowly adjust," said Franco.
You might also want to plan smaller cheats around exercise to help keep you in ketosis since you are using up the extra carbs quickly. If your goal is calorie control, aim to cheat no more than once or twice a week. But if ketosis is important for your progress, consider cheating much less often, like once a month.
Yes, even just one carb-rich meal can quickly get you out of ketosis. The carbs eaten on a cheat day will halt the production of ketones immediately until they are all metabolized by the body.