The ketogenic diet pushes a body into a state of ketosis, which means a body burns fat for energy as opposed to glucose from carbohydrates. The good news is fat burning is just one of the many benefits of ketosis. When a body becomes a fat burning machine,  the Body Reboot book says it becomes a useful tool for weight loss. Not to mention it increases energy and most keto-ers report feeling more satiated throughout the day.

Since the keto diet is adequate for weight loss, how can you utilize it to lose as much weight as possible? Of course, it’s important to stay healthy and not overdo it, but if you’re able to lose weight in a short amount of time while providing a body with the nutrients it needs, why not give it a shot?

For starters, intermittent fasting is an excellent way to expedite the weight loss process, according to Dr. Jockers:

“This is one of the best ways to get into and maintain ketosis because you are reducing calories and not consuming protein or carbs.   It is a good idea to go low-carb for at least a few days before starting this in order to avoid a hypoglycemic episode.

I recommend breaking your day into a building phase and a cleansing phase.

Building Phase:  Time between your first meal and your last meal

Cleansing Phase:  Time between your last meal and your first meal

I personally coach people to begin with 12-16 hour cleansing phases and 8-12 hour building phases.   Over time, as your body adapts you may be able to move into a 4-6 hour building window with 18-20 hour cleansing phases each day.   If you are able to do this effectively then it is easier to maintain ketosis.”

Part of losing weight on the keto diet is eating the right type of meals, and hindustan times provides a few meal examples (there are more on their site) that are ideal to eat and help you lose more weight!

“Breakfast:

“Ideal keto breakfast should have 15gms of protein, 25gms of fat and 3.6gms of carbs,” adds Bhargava. So, keeping that in mind you can opt for scrambled eggs with pesto or scrambled paneer with pesto. You can even add dishes such as vanilla almond bowl, podi dosa to your meals.

Lunch:

For lunch, you need about 23gms of protein, 26gms of fat and 5.5gms of carbs. An ideal option would be paneer makhani with almond cheese jeera roti or butter chicken. Other options include Thai curry with cauli rice, mushroom cheese bharta with keto masala roti or veg khawsuey with herbed zoodles. You can easily make these non-vegetarian by adding chicken.”

Livestrong offers two tips that can expedite the weight loss process which may include stacking carbs around a workout or consuming carbs on the weekend to prevent dieting plateaus.

“Take in 30 to 50 g of carbohydrates per day, depending on your individual metabolism. Typically, this carb-depletion phase lasts five days and is followed by two days of carb-loading. For example, having 100 to 200 g of carbs per day for two days. This carb-cycling strategy helps to prevent dieting plateaus in which the body stops burning fat in response to what it perceives as starvation.

Stack your carbohydrates around your workouts. Carbs are needed for two reasons: muscle recovery and energy. One good strategy is to take in half of your carbs before your workout and the other half after. Some people choose to take all of them before or after. Either way, taking in your carbohydrates in the morning will allow the body to switch into ketosis during the day, burning more fat.”

This weight loss secret may sound simple, but Perfect Keto says that not being in ketosis can hinder your weight loss goals. So if you’re not losing as much weight as you’d like to, make sure your body is still in ketosis and if it isn’t don’t get frustrated, start anew and focus on how to use the keto diet to your advantage:

“This one may seem obvious, but it’s pretty common that people come out of ketosis without realizing it if they stop tracking their ketone levels. So, one of the biggest reasons people don’t see weight loss results on keto is they’re not actually on keto.

Don’t stop tracking your ketones when you’re trying to lose weight. An excellent way to keep your ketone levels up is taking exogenous ketones. Just put a scoop in your favorite drink to get back into ketosis — it’s easy and delicious.”

Another secret Dr. Jocker reveals that may hinder weight loss on the keto diet? Don’t consume too much protein! Overeating protein can backfire in the long run, and here’s why:

“Many people doing a ketogenic diet consume too much protein.  If you consume excessive protein then your body will turn the amino acids into glucose through a biochemical process called gluconeogenesis.

If you notice yourself coming out of ketosis then see how you are responding to the amount of protein in your meals.  Some people need higher protein levels, while others can do just fine on lower protein levels.

The key variables include your level of exercise intensity and type of exercise (resistance vs aerobic) and your desire to gain muscle or lose weight.  Someone who does intense resistance training in order to gain muscle will need more protein than someone who is the same size and is doing aerobic or resistance training to lose weight.  Another person who weighs the same but is only walking for exercise, will need even less than the other two.

You want to aim for about 1 gram per kg of body weight.  So, I weigh 160 lbs which comes out too (160/2.2 lb/per kg) 73 grams of protein.  When I do heavy strength training (4 days a week), I will go up to 100-120 grams but I typically am around 80 grams a day on my off days.”

Similar to making sure you’re not consuming too much protein, it’s also important not to consume too many calories. You should aim for a healthy amount of daily calories based on your body weight. Keto Diet App discusses this in more detail:

“The reason could be way too much fat and therefore calories in your diet. Firstly, it's indisputable that all calories are not equal. It really matters whether you get them from healthy and sating LCHF food or processed food rich in carbs. Sam Feltham's 5000 calorie experiments (first with LCHF diet, then High-carb diet) may be extreme, but they have shown that calories are NOT equal and their source is very important.

However, some people on a LCHF diet may find it easier to lose weight if they also watch their calorie intake. Fat contains twice as many calories as carbohydrates and protein, so it's important your fat intake lies between the recommended ranges. There is no diet that lets you consume “unlimited” amounts of calories and still lose weight.

Fat is used as “filler” and overeating is not going to do any good for weight loss.”

Want to learn about another sneaky snack that can make it more challenging to lose weight on keto? If you’re nuts about nuts, you may be in trouble… just ask Ketogasm:

“Seeds and nuts are horrible. I love nuts, especially almonds. Especially the smoked ones or the spicy ones. And nut butter? Don’t get me started. I can eat half a jar of it in one sitting. I HAVE eaten half a jar (and then some) in one sitting. Do you see where I’m going with this? If not, here’s the spoiler: I can’t keep nut butter in the house because it’s a trigger food for me. I can only buy seeds and nuts in single-serve packages, and even then it’s not advisable. Seeds and nuts are good sources of protein and fat, but they also contain carbohydrates, many of which are sugar and starch and therefore anti-ketogenic. They contain a surprising amount of carbohydrates, actually. Even macademias, which are the most keto-friendly of the bunch, contain about 3 grams in a 2-oz. serving. This wouldn’t be a problem, except that it’s really easy to overeat them. A serving is way less than you think, so all of a sudden, your snack just blew your carb count for the day. Many people find that their stalls go away when they stop eating nuts.”

So there you have it! Can you think of other methods to try that may expedite weight loss while on the keto diet? Share with us in the comments!

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Sources: Livestrong, Perfect Keto, Dr. Jockers, Ketogasm, Industan Times