A ketogenic diet is a fast approach to losing weight because of its high fat, protein, and low carbohydrate content. Ketogenic diets may be harmful or impractical in the long run; therefore, planning for a successful transition from them is crucial.
Although regaining weight after leaving keto is common, it may be mitigated by gradually moving out of keto and reintroducing carbohydrates in small amounts.
During covid-19, I stayed at home as a precaution. At that time, I did a keto diet to have a balanced diet. However, I stopped the keto diet after the pandemic came into control and could maintain a healthy diet without gaining weight.
Are you worried about how to stop keto diet without gaining weight? Well, relax. I will assist you in solving the problem by discussing the keto diet and weight gain.
Table of Contents
Keto Diet: What Is It?
A ketogenic diet includes few carbs, moderate protein, and high fat. In the keto diet, the body breaks down fat into ketone bodies.
A ketogenic diet allows 20 grams to 50 grams of carbs per day. Some people with particular health conditions may benefit from the diet, but there is little evidence that healthy people should follow it long-term.
Dietician’s Views On Unwanted Keto-rebound
According to several specialists, a high-fat diet should not be followed indefinitely. What happens when one discontinues keto? Follow the instructions to make the switch.
The ketogenic diet can facilitate rapid weight loss by restricting carbohydrate consumption to fewer than 5% of total calories. Rather than glucose, it is a form of sugar that is broken down from the food you eat.
Ketones are produced as a byproduct when the body consumes fat for energy. But quitting the keto diet does not necessarily mean gaining weight, and there are strategies to transition to a more conventional way of eating without giving up the weight you gained on the keto diet.
Is Carbohydrates Unhealthy?
Carbohydrates are not harmful. Carbohydrates are not the devil, I repeat. Current dietary standards suggest getting 65% of your energy from carbs. Four essential food groups contain carbs (fruit, grains, dairy, and some vegetables).
Over Two Weeks, Add Carbohydrates Slowly
One method is to increase your carb consumption by 10 grams (0.35 oz) every day until you reach the quantity recommended by your doctor or dietitian. Instead, you could slowly add more carbs to your diet. For the first week, you could add one serving of carbs per day, and for the second week, you could add two servings per day.
Carbohydrate serving sizes can be assessed with the guidance of a dietician. After you’ve trained your body to work using very few carbs, you have to teach it again to work with carbs. Expect this to take at least two weeks, maybe four or more.
Plan Your Meals To Reintroduce Carbohydrates Slowly
If you have a strategy, increasing carbohydrates by 10 grams (0.35 oz) is much more accessible daily. As you move away from keto, rather than arbitrarily introducing carbohydrates, put down weekly meal plans in which you gradually incorporate foods like the ones listed below into your diet.
- Monday lunch: Boiled lentils (10 grams of carbs per serving)
- Tuesday dinner: Black bean soup (10 grams of carbs per serving)
- Wednesday breakfast: Strawberries (12 grams of carbs per serving)
- Thursday dinner: Baked butternut squash (11 grams of carbs per serving)
- Friday lunch: Add tiny carrots (12 grams of carbs per serving)
- Saturday dinner: Kiwi (12 grams of carbs per serving)
- Sunday breakfast: Oatmeal (14 grams of carbs per serving)
Don’t Add Bread And Other Carbs Immediately
New York City-based registered dietitian nutritionist Reyna Franco advised INSIDER readers to “go off keto” when they stopped losing weight while on a diet. A person’s goals and how long they’ve been trying to achieve them will determine how long they should stay on the ketogenic diet.
Consider Periodic Fasting
Alicia Galvin, a registered dietitian at Sovereign Laboratories, says that moving into intermittent fasting can help people get off of keto. Intermittent fasting is a process when a person doesn’t eat for 12 to 8 hours out of the day.
“It has been demonstrated that intermittent fasting offers weight loss and metabolic benefits, which can help you sustain your weight loss after keto,” explains Galvin.
Keep Carbohydrate Consumption Consistent
You may have learned to weigh your portions while on keto. As you reintroduce carbohydrates, monitor your consumption, so you don’t eat more than on keto. Adding carbohydrates may boost calories and post keto weight gain.
1. On the ketogenic diet, you shouldn’t eat a baked potato with the same size steak as you would. When you add the pasta, reduce the amount of protein you use (steak).
2. Use your fingers, palm, and fist to picture portion sizes.
Avoid Foods With High Sugar Content
Added sugars are “carb bombs” that will accelerate your early weight gain. You have to be conscious about sugar content if you want to get success on how to stop keto diet without gaining weight.
1. In recent years, nutrition labeling has improved, so you can tell if an item has added sugars. Avoid foods that have added sugar over 4 grams per serving.
2. During the transition to ketosis, you should avoid foods containing a lot of sugar, such as honey and dates.
3. Consult a dietitian if you need assistance recognizing meals with added sugars or overall sugar content.
Track Your Keto Transition
Weighing Yourself
A daily weigh-in is acceptable if it doesn’t stress you out. During your transition, it is OK to check your weight as frequently as twice a week.
1. If you gain below 5 pounds (2.3 kilograms) during the first 1-2 weeks of your switch, you can consider it a success.
2. If you check your weight often, you’ll notice any substantial changes to your weight gain pattern sooner, giving you more time to figure out what’s causing it and fix it.
If You Have Symptoms, Slow Down
Some people might be able to stop using keto within a week, whereas others could need a month. Don’t hurry the procedure. If you have any of the following symptoms, you may want to consider reducing the intensity of your transition by fifty percent. If your symptoms worsen, you should make an appointment with your physician.
1. Bloating, constipation
2. Appetite grew
3. Sugar cravings
Quit Keto At The Appropriate Moment
Regarding the effectiveness and general safety of ketogenic diets, experts remain divided. Nonetheless, most people believe this is not a healthy way to modify your diet for good. Have a healthy, realistic goal in mind while starting keto, usually weight reduction, and prepare to move away from keto after you attain it.
1. Those who find that they cannot overcome the so-called “keto flu” while following the ketogenic diet should prepare an escape strategy.
2. Before starting keto, you must consult your doctor to make sure it’s a healthy decision for you.
3. Ketosis, in which the body uses fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates, might lead to temporary weight loss.
Consider The Change A Comprehensive Process
A successful keto diet isn’t a whim. Instead, it demands planning, focus, and perseverance while you make substantial lifestyle adjustments. It’s far more achievable with a good support network.
1. You probably didn’t just decide, “I think I’ll start keto tomorrow,” therefore, it’s probably best to avoid saying, “I believe I’ll leave keto tomorrow,” without giving it some thought.
2. Some people who can help you stay motivated and on track are your doctor, dietitian, family, friends, and even coworkers.
Post keto, Resist Returning To Old Habits
Consider keto the start of a long-term diet and lifestyle shift. To maintain weight loss and health advantages of keto, eat and live healthfully. Otherwise, you’ll lose keto gains fast. Don’t approach keto as a “holiday” from your usual diet.
Plan New Food Choices With A Dietician
Starting keto requires a new diet and food relationship. Ending keto and moving to a balanced diet demand the same. Even if you went on keto without a dietician’s advice, consult one before going off. Consult a registered dietician with experience with keto diets. Your doctor may prescribe a dietitian.
Continue Your Keto Exercise Routine
Continue your previous exercise routine while on keto. Anyone following the ketogenic diet should exercise regularly at the right level. If that’s the case, one must keep up this routine. Keto doesn’t equal no exercise!
Exercising on a consistent, well-rounded schedule is essential for health and weight control.
Expect A Small Initial Weight Gain
Gaining weight during the first stages of the keto diet transition is common due to the high water content of carbohydrates. This water weight gain should be brief if you transition carefully, eat properly, don’t increase your calorie consumption, and exercise. If you gain weight after 1-2 weeks, consult your doctor and dietician.
Frequently Asked Questions
One may have many questions regarding how to stop keto diet without gaining weight. However, I will try to answer some common questions regarding this topic to clarify your confusion. It will help you to reduce your initial worry about weight gain.
1. Do you always regain weight with a keto diet?
Thankfully, the answer is negative. You will not necessarily regain the weight if you remain mindful throughout and after the change. You have to follow some guidelines for that.
2. How can you stop the ketogenic diet?
Leaving the ketogenic diet should take many weeks. About 14 days is a decent amount of time for your body to adapt to a change. Some individuals find it beneficial to boost their daily carbohydrate consumption by 10 percent, while others utilize an app to keep track.
3. How can I stop dieting without gaining weight?
To stop dieting without gaining weight, slowly increase the number of calories you eat until you reach your higher goal. By doing this in a planned and slow way, you may be able to speed up your metabolism, control your hunger, and stop or slow down gaining weight quickly.
4. How long do you need to be on keto?
Registered dietitians say that if you stay on it for too long, you might not get enough nutrients. One should not stick to the keto diet for more than three to six months.
Following a keto diet over the year is not a good practice.
5. Do I need to continue the keto exercise routine after quitting the keto diet?
You should. Otherwise, you will gain weight again. Physical exercise keeps one person fit.
6. After keto, how do I get carbs?
When you initially break up with keto, choose plant-based carbohydrate sources rather than going straight for foods like pasta, doughnuts, and cupcakes.
7. What happens if you consume many carbohydrates following keto?
On keto, avoid cheat meals. Too many carbs might push your body out of ketosis for a week. Your weight loss may stop.
8. What’s the calorie limit for weight gain?
Maintaining an ideal body weight requires an intake of 1600-2400 calories per day for women and 2000-3000 calories per day for men, as the United States Department of Health reports.
Final Thoughts
Even though the keto diet is still popular, it isn’t always a “forever” choice. This is why some people seek the right advice on how to stop keto diet without gaining weight. Because when you stop doing keto, you might gain back the lost weight.
Once you add carbs to your diet after doing keto, it can be scary to start gaining weight again. However, eating healthy fats and lean proteins can help you keep losing weight.
It’s all about the quality and quantity of the food you eat. You should eat whole foods instead of packaged or highly processed ones. Along with regular exercise, paying attention to the size and amount of your meals is essential.
Since you’ve been eating a lot of fat, you might want to look up the right amounts of protein, carbs, and fats so you don’t overeat. Some people forget that sour cream, cheese, and bacon should not make up too much of a healthy diet.
