Average Weight Loss on the Keto Diet

How Much Weight Will I Lose on Keto? 

In addition to the factors mentioned above, your average rate of weight loss may be affected by your body composition, your health situation, your state of fat-adaptation, and your daily habits.

Body Composition:

What's your body's weight-to-height ratio (BMI)? How much weight do you want to release? And what's your body's level of muscle mass? Each of the noted factors can contribute to weight loss and require consideration during weight loss.

Your Health Situation:

Are you currently in good health, or are you living with a chronic condition or disorder that negatively impacts your quality of life?

Also, are you currently overweight and experiencing a lack of energy? How's your metabolic health? And do you suffer from common conditions like insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes?

Your state of health, when beginning a ketogenic diet, may impact your results and overall experience on keto.

Level of Fat-adaptation:

The longer you force your body to run on fat and ketones for fuel, by removing carbs and refined sugars from your diet, the more efficient the body becomes at burning fat for fuel (a.k.a., fat-adaptation).

Continue to keep healthy fat levels high, feast on moderate amounts of protein while keeping carbs low, and your body will naturally become a fat-burning machine before long.

Daily Habits:

Choosing to park farther from the store and get in a few extra steps as you run daily errands, carving out time for structured exercise, as well as the quality of your food choices impact the results of your efforts on a ketogenic diet.

Opt for clean, whole foods like dark leafy greens, fatty fish, and low-glycemic veggies over keto-friendly packaged or processed foods.

Also, consider adding healthy fats like MCT oil, ghee, tallow, or avocado to boost your fat macros throughout the day, which will help keep you satiated.

First Week

Switching to a ketogenic diet provides many health benefits. Still, it poses a significant change in the functioning of the body, and an adjustment period is needed to acclimate the body.

Expect to lose between two and seven pounds during your first week on keto, with the variance depending on your metabolic state. Weight is often lost rapidly in this initial phase of fat-adaptation, and a lot of the weight lost at this time is water-based.

Carbs need water to exist in the body. Once we eliminate or drastically reduce intake of carbs and refined sugars, the body automatically releases higher levels of body fluid, as well as vitamins and nutrients—which is why keeping an eye on hydration and nutrition is essential. 

Although pure fat loss is the primary goal, the drastic loss of fluid experienced during the initial phase on keto is a fantastic indication that the body is achieving fat-adaptation and is on pace to enter metabolic ketosis. 

Second Week

Many notice additional rapid weight loss during week two on keto, and it's common to release an additional five or more pounds during this period.

You're probably entering a nice stride in week two. Your body is adjusting to a new-found energy source, and you may even notice a boost in energy, as well as enhanced mental sharpness during this phase. 

First Month

Weight loss tends to slow after the first month on a ketogenic diet, but no worries, despite a change in pace, weight loss tends to remain consistent as long as you curb the carbs.

As you continue along your keto journey, you may experience weeks where your macros are on point, but there's no change on the scale, and then others, you'll see a significant loss.

The key is to stick with the low-carb, high-fat eating protocol, stay patient, and do everything you can (e.g., meal prep or meal plan, etc.) to set yourself up for success. 

If you’re unhappy with your weight loss, be sure to check out our free keto quiz to ensure that you have the right keto meal plan designed and personalized to achieve your goals. 

Setting Healthy Expectations 

The excess weight you're looking to lose didn't amass in a day, and it will take time to lose. Although, as we've mentioned, a ketogenic diet is an excellent eating approach for those who desire to lose body fat, again, the rates of loss will vary.

More than losing all the weight you desire, especially if you have a lot of weight to lose, in a short period, focus on eating quality food and healthy fats to remain satisfied as your body converts to fat-burning mode.

Again, there will be periods of more significant weight loss than others along your keto journey, and that's OK. In contrast, it's equally important to remain steadfast when the scale appears to stall or not decline as rapidly as you'd like. 

First Month

Your body will adjust and become fat-adapted within the first month of eating a ketogenic diet.

Many people lose a significant amount of weight during their initial weeks on keto and then reduce weight consistently with more of a slow burn in later weeks and months. 

Take the initiation phase on the ketogenic diet to experiment with as many delicious and meal-prep worthy dishes as you can. And identify some go-to recipes to help you remain accountable and continue to try new things as you go. 

Mid-to-Long-Term Expectations

It's common to see weight loss slow as you lose more weight and approach your weight-loss goal. However, if you stay the course and continue to cut out the carbs, you'll see ongoing positive results. 

It's exciting to see the number on the scale reduce rapidly. Still, there's also value in the slow and steady weight loss often experienced in the later, fat-adapted, phase of the keto experience.

Positive Ways to Lose Weight on Keto  

There are well-crafted and nutritious keto meal plans comprised of healthy fats and proteins.

Then there's a dirty-style keto diet chuck full of low-quality meal replacements and highly-processed and packaged 'keto-compliant' foods.

Also, along with the vital role of keeping carbs low on a keto diet, there are some other elements to keep in mind if you would like to experience consistent weight loss on a low-carb, high-fat diet. 

Clean Up Your Keto Diet 

Don't be deceived; not all low-carb foods are created equal. Again, as opposed to indulging in packaged, keto-friendly foods that may lack nutrition, always opt to eat fresh whole foods instead.

The more fresh and living foods you include in your meal plan, the better. Couple organic produce with ample amounts of healthy fat and quality protein and keto provides a fantastic framework for weight loss on a low-carb, high-fat diet.

Dark leafy greens, fatty fish like mackerel, and hearty vegetables like eggplant are excellent options to include in your keto diet to keep it clean and balanced.

Here are some foods to avoid when focusing on cleaning up your keto diet:

• Low-fat dairy products
• Artificial sweeteners (e.g., aspartame, Splenda, Equal, etc.)
• Diet soda
• Trans fats (e.g., margarine or hydrogenated products like canola oil, peanut oil, soybean oil, etc.)
• Highly-processed low-carb foods (e.g., snack bars, chips, baked goods, etc.)
• Most alcohols, including wine, beer, and sweetened libations; instead, opt for low-sugar options like vodka or gin.

Although there are several foods to avoid, even if they're low-carb, on a ketogenic diet, there are many others that we can enjoy and still keep carbs super-low. 

Keep your carbohydrate intake between 5-10% of your daily dietary intake, and split your fat and protein macros accordingly: protein (10-20%) and (70-80%) of your calories from fat. 

Lean toward the lower range of the percentage intake if the goal is weight loss and increase macros if needed for those who are very active, pregnant, or breastfeeding.

Here are some foods to consider eating on a low-carb, high-fat, diet:

Sources of Fat:

• Olive oil
• Avocado oil
• Olives
• Avocados
• Flaxseeds
• Chia seeds
• Pumpkin seeds
• Sesame seeds
• Hemp hearts
• Coconuts
• Nuts
• Natural, no-sugar-added nut butter

Sources of Protein:

• Chicken, dark meat if possible
• Turkey, dark meat if possible
• Venison
• Beef
• Salmon
• Sardines
• Tuna
• Shrimp
• Pork
• Lamb
• Eggs
• Natural cheeses
• Unsweetened, whole milk plain Greek yogurt
• Whole milk ricotta cheese
• Whole milk cottage cheese

Low-carb Veggies:

• Tomatoes
• Eggplant
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Spinach
• Green Beans
• Cucumber
• Bell peppers
• Kale
• Zucchini
• Celery
• Brussels sprouts

As you can see, there are many more options than restrictions on a ketogenic diet. If you notice a stall in results or a slowing down of weight loss, return to the basics and stick to whole, low-glycemic, foods consistently to jumpstart progress.

Also, a customized meal plan is a handy tool to set the pace for your weight loss and keep you on track along the way.

Take a few moments to answer the targeted questions in our brief quiz to access your personalized keto plan for weight loss today. 

Move More 

Fat and ketones provide a steady stream of consistent, premium energy. While glucose is an excellent source of immediate energy for high-intensity exercise (e.g., HIIT training, circuit training, etc.), ketones are a fantastic source of fuel to support lower impact endurance exercise (e.g., jogging, yoga, pilates, etc.).

Here's some other exercises ideal for anyone following a ketogenic diet:

• Swimming
• Cycling
• Weight lifting (fewer reps with lighter weights)
• Step aerobics
• Rowing
• Walking

There is a variety of low-impact exercises to incorporate into your keto lifestyle. The increased ketones in the system, thanks to nutritional ketosis when eliminating carbs, will act as a significant boon of energy to keep your body fueled during lengthy steady-state workouts.

Plus, adding fitness into your low-carb, high-fat, program provides a compounding thermogenic effect, coupling with the impact of ketosis to facilitate rapid weight loss.

Rest More 

Moving more is an essential element in your weight-loss journey, but resting more is equally valuable.

Adequate sleep aids in maintaining youthful skin, and it also helps keep the hunger hormones, leptin, and ghrelin, at bay, to suppress the appetite and prevent overeating naturally.

Besides, studies monitoring two sets of participants eating the same diet—one set well rested and the other sleep-deprived—and the rested group lost more weight.

Also, a lack of sleep results in several other issues that may make losing weight more difficult.

Here are some additional ways that sleep-deprivation impacts weight loss:

• It causes elevated glucose and insulin levels, with blood level readings resembling that of a person with diabetes.
• Contributes to insulin resistance
• Sleep deprivation increases stress levels and increases a person's propensity to stress-eat.
• A lack of sleep contributes to higher levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, especially making weight loss challenging about the abdomen.
• Skimping on rest can impact performance in the gym as the body uses times of rest to facilitate muscle recovery and development.

Healthy weight loss is a delicate balance of clean nutrition, increased activity, and ample time designated for rest and recovery.

Each person will have a unique experience on a ketogenic diet, and each person's average weight loss on a keto diet will vary.

Focus on following the best practices of the diet, remain consistent and stay the course, and you'll soon notice significant positive changes in the way you look and feel on a ketogenic diet. 

Sources

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3. Evans, E. H., Boothroyd, L. G., Muscariello, E., Stephan, B. C. M., Nasti, G., Colantuoni, A., & Siervo, M. (2015). Lower weight loss expectations and healthier eating attitudes in older overweight and obese women attempting weight loss. Clinical Obesity, 5(3), 136–144. doi: 10.1111/cob.12093
4. Bharucha, B. (2019). Keto is the Hottest Weight Loss Trend this Year! Acta Scientific Nutritional Health, 3(8), 29–30. doi: 10.31080/asnh.2019.03.0362
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