How to Beat the Keto Plateau to Keep Losing Weight

If you are new to the ketogenic diet, I’m sure you’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much water weight you lose in the first few weeks. However, after awhile your bathroom scale will stop decreasing. You will wonder what you are doing wrong and overanalyze every calorie you consumed. This is a common occurrence referred to as a keto diet plateau or a low carb plateau. This article will help you break through the keto plateau so you can continue to lose weight. 

Meal Frequency

One of the key reasons for hitting a keto stall is meal frequency. This can happen to someone who is just starting the ketogenic diet. However, it can also happen if you’ve been on the keto diet for a while and adapted. The issue we are facing with meal frequency is that you're eating too often. The best way to fix this is by implementing intermittent fasting.  Now, intermittent fasting is going to make a difference. You can start with two meals a day, and you even can go down to one meal a day. This change will kickstart your weight loss.

Too Much Fat

The next possibility for a keto diet plateau is that you are eating too much fat. Now I don’t want to confuse you. You are supposed to eat more fat when you are on the ketogenic diet. But once you have been on the ketogenic diet long enough, you become fat-adapted. Then you'll start burning all that dietary fat that you're consuming and not the fat on your body. So, basically, we want to actually cut back on fat once we are adapted to the ketogenic diet. The other issue is that when we look at our macros, we want to make sure that we are not getting too much protein. This is because it can turn into sugar in our body and actually throw us out of ketosis. You should also make sure that you keep your carbohydrate consumption low as well. Therefore, if you cut down on fat consumption, you should start seeing some positive results.

Physical Activity

Another issue that can lead to stalling on the ketogenic diet is too little physical activity. This is a big problem. A lot of people work in office jobs. When you sit at a desk all day, you don’t get a lot of physical activity. If you increase your physical activity, you will boost beneficial hormones and increase fat burning. I recommend that people who are doing the ketogenic diet do some high-intensity interval training. High-intensity workouts are done in a short duration. You may only exercise for 20 minutes, but it's very high intensity. This is beneficial because it burns through any glycogen stores you have and it really increases fat burning. If you increase your physical activity and do high-intensity interval training every other day, you will increase your fat-burning significantly.

Sleeping and Stress

Sleeping patterns and stress are related. When we look at stress, it typically turns into a lack of sleep. Now if this spirals out of control, it causes a hormone imbalance, which increases the hormone cortisol. When you have an increase in cortisol in the body, it will actually decrease fat burning. To avoid this, we need to make sure that we are decreasing stress and getting adequate sleep. This will decrease cortisol in the body and allow us to actually burn fat. 

Health Conditions

Another reason for not losing weight on keto is health conditions. If you are an individual who has thyroid issues, PCOS, or depression, you may have a more difficult time losing weight. The most important thing to remember is to be persistent and patient. These issues may just make losing weight take longer.  However, you need to keep some things in mind. The first day you start the ketogenic diet, you are starting to live a healthy lifestyle. There will be many positive changes happening in your body. You will be decreasing inflammation and your body will start the process of healing itself. The good news is the process has begun. So, even if you aren’t losing weight, the healing process is started.

Extra Help

If you are looking for some help with the ketogenic diet, Keto Ignite is a product you should try. It provides exogenous ketones which help to keep your body in ketosis even when you cheat on your diet. The next section will give more detailed information on this product. 

What are the Ingredients in Keto Ignite?

Beta-Hydroxybutyrate Salts

A high quality patented form of ketones called GoBHB is used in Keto Ignite. It provides an exogenous source of ketones to help achieve ketosis. BHB is the ketone body present in the blood at the highest level when you are in ketosis. Also, it is more efficient for energy production on a cellular level. Furthermore, it is more stable than other ketones. This is why most of the research on exogenous ketones utilizes either BHB salts or BHB esters.

The first successful human study was conducted in 2012. The results were that they could rapidly increase the level of ketones in the blood. Fifty-four healthy male and female subjects were tested. They all had elevated levels of BHB. This was following a single dose of exogenous ketones in a meal replacement drink. The same dosage was administered to them three times a day. This study lasted for five consecutive days. The BHB levels remained elevated throughout the study. (2)

Support Your Ketogenic Lifestyle

Exogenous ketones are a useful addition to a ketogenic diet. They can also be a practical alternative to increasing ketone body concentrations without having to follow the ketogenic diet.

Performance Like Never Before

During exercise, ketones function as a fuel source. The advantage of this is that they preserve fuel. Fatigue and lactic acid levels are decreased. This is what enhances athletic performance. The idea of ketosis as a performance enhancer was started in the early 1980s.

There were studies done on 39 high-performance athletes. The studies were researching the effects of exogenous ketones on induced ketosis for physical endurance. The results showed that exogenous ketones improve athletic performance. (3)

Improved Cognitive Abilities

The research supporting the ketogenic diet as nutrition intervention is increasing.  This is especially true for cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative issues. There are many reports of patients who have epilepsy, Alzheimer's, or learning disabilities that are experiencing incredible results. (4)

When glucose is depleted, ketones are used as fuel. When you fast, exercise, or eat a ketogenic diet, the brain becomes receptive to ketone bodies as an alternative fuel. (5) This suggests that ketones improve memory, focus, and cognition. This is crucial when glucose is depleted. (6)

Medium-Chain Triglycerides

Keto Ignite provides a patented medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) powder with a high caprylic and capric acid content. It also contains acacia fiber. Acacia fiber is prebiotic. It promotes gut health and helps to optimize the gut. MCTs are easily absorbed. They pass through the mitochondria.  They provide a quick energy source without affecting insulin levels. Unlike other dietary fats, MCTs are not stored as body fat. The liver metabolizes the MCTs into ketones. Then they are used as alternative energy sources for brain cells.

Both animal and human studies have explored the potential role of MCTs in increasing ketones. For example, there was a study of 20 adults with cognitive impairment. They were given MCTs or a placebo. The results found that there were significant increases in BHB. This was observed 90 minutes after the treatment during recall tests. (7) A 90 day trial of 152 Alzheimer's patients found that ketosis could affect cognitive performance. Significantly elevated levels of BHB were seen two hours after administration. This was when compared to the placebo. (8)

Research on MCTs as fuel for exercise is also increasing. A study of eight recreational athletes suggested that when consuming MCTs, blood lactate levels during moderate-intensity exercise were reduced. (9)

Another study of six endurance-trained cyclists consumed MCTs during moderate-intensity exercise for two hours. They had significant improvements in time-trial performances during subsequent high-intensity exercise. (10)

Now that we've discussed the ingredients in Keto Ignite, let's move onto the benefits of it.

Benefits of Keto Ignite

There are many benefits to taking exogenous ketones. Here is a list of a few reasons to take Keto-Ignite.  

Now that you know some benefits of Keto-Ignite, we will discuss them more in detail in the next section. We will also discuss when you should take exogenous ketones.

When Should You Take Exogenous Ketones?

There are many reasons to take exogenous ketones. Additionally, there are many times that you should take them.

Ketone supplements are very beneficial to take in addition to a ketogenic diet. In this scenario, exogenous ketones deepen your level of ketosis. This is done by raising blood ketones even further. Ketone supplements may also be beneficial when you want to re-enter ketosis after a cheat day.

You might give ketone supplements a try while you’re fasting. They tend to be most beneficial when you are on a 24 hour - 48 hours water-only fast. Ketones do contain calories, but they are not very significant. They may also help you last longer in your fast. Furthermore, they may help with mental clarity and focus.

People who enjoy workouts while fasting can also benefit from them. This way exogenous ketones fuel your workout instead of carbohydrates.

However, anyone can use exogenous ketones. Those who are not on a ketogenic diet or fasting can benefit from them as well. This way you get the benefits of eating a ketogenic diet without actually eating that way.

Athletes might try them out before a game or big race. They may even use exogenous ketone supplements regularly throughout a tough training session.

Conclusion

As we previously discussed, many clients experience a decrease in weight loss on the ketogenic diet. Hopefully by now, you understand some ways that you can fix that. If you find that you still have trouble, our product Keto Ignite is considered a safe option. Keto Ignite has the best results when taken in conjunction with the ketogenic diet. However, it is a good idea to talk to your health care provider before taking any supplements.

References

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23651522
2. Clarke K, Tchabanenko K, Pawlosky R, et al. Kinetics, safety and tolerability of (R)-3-hydroxybutyl (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate in healthy adult subjects. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2012 Aug;63(3):401-8. [PMID: 22561291]
3. Cox PJ, Kirk T, Ashmore T, et al. Nutritional ketosis alters fuel preference and thereby endurance performance in athletes. Cell Metab. 2016 Aug 9;24(2):256- 68. [PMID: 27475046]
4. Murray AJ, Knight NS, Cole MA, et al. Novel ketone diet enhances physical and cognitive performance. FASEB J. 2016 Dec;30(12):4021-4032. [PMID: 27528626]
5. Roberts MN, Wallace MA, Tomilov AA, et al. A ketogenic diet extends longevity and health span in adult mice. Cell Metab. 2018 May 1;27(5):1156. [PMID: 29719228] 
6. 10. Newport MT, VanItallie TB, Kashiwaya Y, et al. A new way to produce hyperketonemia: use of ketone ester in a case of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimers Dement. 2015 Jan;11(1):99-103. [PMID: 25301680] 
7. 11. Cunnane SC, Courchesne-Loyer A, Vandenberghe C, et al. Can ketones help rescue brain fuel supply in later life? Implications for cognitive health during aging and the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Front Mol Neurosci. 2016 Jul 8;9:53. [PMID: 27458340] 
8. 12. Pan JW, de Graaf RA, Petersen KF, et al. [2,4-13 C2 ]-beta-hydroxybutyrate metabolism in human brain. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2002 Jul;22(7):890-8. [PMID: 12142574] 
9. 13. Veech RL, Bradshaw PC, Clarke K, et al. Ketone bodies mimic the life span extending properties of caloric restriction. IUBMB Life. 2017 May;69(5):305- 314. [PMID: 28371201] 
10. 14. Croteau E, Castellano CA, Fortier M, et al. A cross-sectional comparison of brain glucose and ketone metabolism in cognitively healthy older adults, mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer’s disease. Exp Gerontol. 2018 Jul 1;107:18-26. [PMID: 28709938] 
11. 15. Reger MA, Henderson ST, Hale C, et al. Effects of beta-hydroxybutyrate on cognition in memory-impaired adults. Neurobiol Aging. 2004 Mar;25(3):311-4. [PMID: 15123336]