In recent times, ketogenesis, or the keto diet, has been a hot topic for health-conscious people. People who want to get rid of additional weight quickly can follow the diet plan by lowering their carb intake and getting a satisfying result. But during this diet plan body go through changes.
I myself adopted the keto plan as I was overweight. After reaching my goal, the question came to my mind about how to transition from keto to low carb. Is it healthy to change the diet plan all of a sudden?
Therefore, I went through various articles about transitioning from keto to low-carb. And I am going to share the information I have gathered in this article. So, before you quit keto and plan a new diet, make sure you keep the information in mind.
Table of Contents
Reasons To Go Off Keto
On the keto diet, cutting carbs can help you lose weight and manage some medical concerns. However, since the keto diet is so restrictive, it’s not always advantageous to follow it for an extended period of time.
Specialists are still unaware of the health complication of long-term ketosis. In order to avoid unwanted side effects and make a successful changeover off the diet, it’s critical to reintroduce the proper kinds of carbs as you transition off the keto diet.
A person with a bad lipid profile should cease the keto diet. Those with a high risk of heart disease may experience elevated cholesterol levels if they consume more saturated fat and cholesterol-containing foods despite absorbing less fiber from fruits, starchy vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and other sources.
Additionally, type 1 diabetics and insulin users raise specific problems and may not be suitable candidates for long-term keto diets. Last but not least, quitting keto might be as easy as being ready to start eating carbs again after reaching your goal, whether it was weight reduction, performance, or something else.
The Right Time For The Transition
Each individual’s diet plan will differ because of their taste preference, culture, and health needs. Various people had different motives when they began doing the keto diet. Some rely on keto to support mental health, some use it as a therapy for seizures, and some simply do it to reduce weight fast.
According to experts, a long-term plan for doing keto should not exceed six months. You should consult a health care provider and do a complete check-up for blood sugar levels; liver and kidneys are working properly.
The general idea is to maintain the diet plan until you reach your goal, whether it is for losing weight, blood sugar regulation, or controlling blood pressure. However, if you are unable to reach your goal, but the keto lifestyle is too much to follow, you should consider stopping. A healthy lifestyle and happiness should be the priority.
Lastly, sometimes it is not the right time in life to carry out such a struggle. It needs focus and dedication to carry out the whole process, which can be postponed due to certain events such as holidays, weddings, or birthday plans. Therefore, it is essential to know how to transition from keto to low-carb without harming health.
Initial Goals At The Time Of The Transition
You should not just jump out of the keto diet and start eating according to your will. It will hamper your health and initiate a bad habit of eating unhealthy food. Besides, your body needs time to get used to the phase.
Create A Plan
The common problem for everyone is they are unaware of what to do after getting out of any diet plan. Most people go back to their old food habits. It wasn’t effective before, so it has a massive chance that they will gain back a good amount.
Therefore, it is better to consult your dietitian and start by reducing the fat intake and increasing the fiber intake with a proportionate amount of carbs in each meal.
Learn About Portion Sizes
Transitioning back into your usual food habit can be difficult, as it is with any strict diet. After restricting carbs for so long, you’re vulnerable to consuming more after the long break. When you start eating carbs after going keto, figure out a preferable serving size and adapt it.
Begin With Unprocessed Carbs
When you first decide to break up with keto, choose plant-based carbohydrates rather than immediately reaching for pasta, donuts, and cupcakes. In place of processed foods and sugar-sweetened beverages, I would start with whole grains, plantains, beans, lentils, fruits, and non-starchy veggies.
Taking It Slow
Consider adding carbohydrates gradually. You can stay clear of any G.I. that could result from reintroducing carbohydrates. Start by including carbohydrates only in one meal every day.
Observe how your body reacts after trying this for a few weeks if everything is going well, including carbohydrates in another meal or snack. You should increase the amount of consumption according to your comfort zone for daily intake.
How To Incorporate Carbs Slowly?
Once you’ve lost weight, controlled your blood sugar, or reached another objective while on the keto diet, you can gradually add back some high-fiber carbs to your diet, a little at a time.
The experts recommend adding carbohydrates in slowly into their meals. The number of carbs one needs to add may vary based on previous carbs intake at the time of ketosis.
For instance, you can try adding 5 or 10 grams of carbohydrates per day for a week to see how you perform if you’re currently eating around 20 grams of net carbs per day, which is a typical amount of carbs for someone following a strict keto diet.
You can cut back a little if you’ve put on weight. You can keep increasing your carb intake and reconsider if your weight is staying the same. You keep increasing your carbohydrate intake until you reach a point where you can maintain your weight loss.
Each person will have different criteria, so it may take trial and error to discover the ideal balance for you. And as for reference, fruits, legumes, whole grains, and vegetables are sources of good carbs include.
Tips For The Transition Period
If you don’t want to gain back all the weight you have lost during ketosis, then this part of the discussion is going to help you. Since you know how to transition from keto to low-carb from the previous part, this part highlights the way you can check your weight under control.
Observing The Changes In Body
It is critical to give proper attention to the response of the body when transacting from one diet to another. If you notice the weight is creeping back, you can reduce the carb for weight loss.
Learn Cooking
As the vast majority of diet plan excludes processed food, it is better to cook your meal. Ultra-processed food consumption might result in unexpected weight gain.
Reducing The Fat Intake
While doing ketosis, you had to feed a bulk amount of fats as calories. Therefore, the shift of diet will require you to reduce the fat intake in daily meals. And this will avail you to add some lean proteins, vegetables, and wholesome carbohydrates such as fruits, grains, and beans.
Bringing Change Into Habits
Some food with good tastes is not always healthy. It is also understandable that after a break from keto, you may like to taste some foods that are pleasant to the mouth. But most of them contain sugar and a vast amount of carbs, which you should be careful not to get addicted to.
You have to avoid processed foods as much as possible. Instead of processed meats like bacon, or sausages, consider lean meats such as fish, red meat, or skinless poultry.
Lastly, a good habit to develop is to boost up your regular physical activity. It will motivate your mental health, as well as will be helpful to balance your weight gain through the process.
Aftermath Of Stopping Keto
For a sudden plan in your diet plan from keto to low-carb transition, there might be both positive and negative effects on your physic. Again, the reaction to the transition may vary from person to person.
Few people might notice slight changes in their blood sugar levels. On the contrary, a few persons may notice a high sugar spike after their first carb-moderate meal. As a result, jitteriness, mood swings, fatigue, and hyperactivity may occur.
It is quite normal for weight fluctuation. And body metabolism, carbs, exercise routine, and other diet is the variable to determine weight gain. The duration of the keto is also a key factor in this matter.
Your body might need to adjust to the new foods again. And bloating can happen in the meantime. You have to make sure your body gets enough time to adjust to the change.
Hight fat and moderate protein combination make the keto diet extremely filling. Therefore, when you start to contain more carbs with less fat, it will make you feel hungrier from time to time. A solution for this would be pairing carbs with protein and fat.
Suggestions For The Reintroduction Of Foods
After setting a goal, set the number of carbs you are going to increase. No single solution provides a solution for all; therefore, you should increase the carbs that allow you to eat a great number of various foods. But You have to increase it gradually.
There are a few mentioned foods you can add to your plan.
- Strawberries
- Watermelon
- Carrots
- Sweet potatoes
- kiwi
- Edamame
- Squashed butternut
- Soup with black beans
- Oatmeal
- Lentils
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How can I switch from keto to low-carb?
Start gradually reducing your fat intake as you leave the ketogenic diet. On the other hand, increase your protein intake, veggies, and healthy carbs like legumes, whole grains, and fresh fruit. You should keep sugars and white refined grains to a minimum.
2. Do you regain weight after a keto diet?
Because of various factors, which include a lack of self-control, unmindful eating, lack of calculations, etc., the majority of keto dieters do end up gaining weight after finishing the diet. The issue is not with the diet or any eating habits; rather, it is the lack of knowledge about “Reverse Dieting.” Check this article about how to stop keto diet without gaining weight for more info.
3. Do low carbs affect your metabolism?
The ketogenic diet is a popular and celebrity-endorsed way to lose weight, but it is not without its misconceptions. The high-fat, low-carb diet is a radical departure from the USDA’s recommended diet for Americans. The diet also has a significant impact on your metabolism.
4. How long should you follow the keto diet?
Registered nutritionists caution that nutrient shortages may appear if you continue keto for an extended period. Keep to the keto diet for no more than three to six months. However, some people choose to cycle in and out of it all year.
5. Is keto or low-carb more effective?
When it comes to comparing low-carb vs. keto for overall health, both diets can be beneficial. However, keto is a better bet than low-carb in terms of weight loss, specifically fat loss. Even if you consume 100 net grams of carbs per day, this amount may cause you to exit ketosis.
6. What is considered a low-carb intake per day?
A low-carb diet typically allows for 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates per day. These carbohydrate amounts provide 80 to 240 calories. A good number of low-carb diets severely prohibit carbs at the initial stage of the diet before gradually increasing the number.
7. Are low-carb diets harmful to your body or health?
A varied diet that is neither too much nor too little determines a healthy diet. Of course, carbs can be a part of that diet. But you can gain many health benefits if you keep the carbs proportionate to your needs.
8. Is it difficult to gain weight while eating low-carb?
No, dietary fats and carbs don’t put weight on you; rather, it is the excess calories. You could eat deep-fried chicken, full-fat cottage cheese, full-fat cheese, peanut butter, and other low-carb foods and still gain weight.
Final Thoughts
Transitioning off the keto diet has advantages. This diet enables 20 to 50 grams of net carbohydrates each day. People must eliminate healthy carb sources such as whole grains, legumes, fruits, starch-filled vegetables, and dairy products to achieve that goal. Many people will find that they cannot stay on keto for long because of this restriction.
This article prescribes how to transition from keto to low-carb and what other things you should keep in mind. Therefore, if you want to shift to a low-carb diet from a keto diet, you should follow the article.
Keto is not meant for everyone; food quality and quantity matter more. So, when you go through the transition, ensure you give enough time and care to your body to get used to the changes. Find out your desired carb range and supplement protein with your meal.
