So you’ve been following a keto diet for some time now, you’ve put in the work, and reached your ideal weight - congratulations! But, now what happens? Anyone who has successfully followed any weight loss program can agree that losing weight is easier than maintaining your new weight! When we’re in “weight loss mode” we know exactly what to do. We’ve established what works for us, and we have a routine that has gotten us results. But it can be scary, confusing and intimidating to stray from what has been successful, and venture into the unknown world of keto maintenance. Do you increase carbs? Do you increase calories? How do I navigate keto maintenance without ruining my weight loss results?!
GRAB YOUR FREE STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO KETO MEAL PLANNING ON A BUDGET BELOW!
First and foremost, there are no guarantees that you will absolutely maintain your new weight once you sway from your keto lifestyle. There may be some trial and error to figure it out, and that’s ok!
The most important factor is to find what works best for you, and what you can truly maintain long term. Obviously, you can’t go back to your old pre-keto eating habits and foods with the expectations that you’ll maintain your results. If you fall right back into unhealthy eating habits and patterns, you will gain weight back.
But there are ways to transition into maintenance, or slowly off a ketogenic diet without negatively impacting your weight loss journey. There are multiple approaches that you can try individually or in combination to find what works for you.
GRADUALLY INCREASE CARBS
On a ketogenic diet, most people limit their daily intake of carbs to 20-50 net carbs per day, depending on the person. The majority of people use 20 net carbs as the standard starting point for their weight loss journey. Once you’ve reached your goals and if you want to start incorporating more carbs into your diet, be sure to do it gradually. Start by increasing your daily carb intake by 10g every other week. This will give your body time to adjust, and give you a chance to observe any changes that may occur.
Example:
Week 1 maintenance: 30 net carbs
Week 3 maintenance: 40 net carbs
Week 5 maintenance: 50 net carbs
Week 7 maintenance: 60 net carbs, etc
FIND YOUR DESIRED CARB RANGE
Once you have gradually increased your carbs over a period of time, you can find a carb range that specifically suits your body and your goals. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to this, and it can vary greatly depending on your body, metabolism and activity levels. This will allow you to eat a greater variety of foods so that you don’t feel as restricted but still maintain your new weight and feeling good. Just like at the start of keto, it will require you to track and adjust your macros based on how you feel and your weight maintenance goals.
GRAB YOUR FREE STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO KETO MEAL PLANNING ON A BUDGET BELOW!
GRADUALLY INCREASE CALORIES
If you want to remain in ketosis, but are ready to maintain your weight and not lose any more you can try gradually increasing your calories. This approach allows you to continue focusing mainly on eating keto foods, while increasing the amount of calories you consume. It allows you to enjoy all of the other benefits ketosis has to offer, while maintaining your new weight. Start by increasing your daily calories by 100g per week until you reach a new calorie range to maintain your new weight.
ADD MORE PROTEIN
The keto diet in theory is a high fat, moderate protein, very low carb diet. One way to maintain your new weight loss results is to lower your fat intake slightly, while increasing more lean proteins on your plate. This will help you stay full, but keep your metabolism high. Increasing lean proteins takes advantage of the thermic effects of food. The thermic effect refers to the amount of energy it takes to digest certain foods. It takes 20-30 percent of the calories in protein to digest, compared to 5-10 percent in carbohydrates. This can help boost your metabolism, and help you maintain your weight.
SWITCH FROM FAT LOSS TO MUSCLE GAIN
This isn’t necessarily for “weight loss” maintenance, but more accurately - “fat loss” maintenance. The goal is to maintain a lower body fat percentage, while increasing muscle mass. The scale will go up, but it will be a result of an increase in muscle. A higher muscle mass improves metabolic flexibility, decreases risk of diabetes 2, strengthens bones, and makes it harder to regain body fat. In this approach you will need to incorporate resistance training such as weight lifting or body weight training that feels challenging to you.
As your muscles grow it is important to fuel them properly by either:
Adding more protein and calories, but keeping carbs low
Adding in carbohydrates around your workouts only
Realistically, you can only gain 1-2lbs of muscle mass per week. The timeline is not the same for everyone, but if you’re going over 2lbs of gain per week it may be partly fat.
TRANSITION TO LOW CARB PALEO
You may not need to remain in ketosis to maintain your new healthy weight. Transitioning to a more paleo style diet will allow for a great range in foods you can eat, while putting an emphasis on nutrient dense, whole foods. Keep in mind that you will likely gain a few pounds of water weight when you add more carbohydrates to your plate. If you want to try adding more carbs to your diet, but are worried about spiraling right back into high carb junk-food, sticking with paleo friendly foods will give you specific limits and guidelines so you don’t go right off the rails.
GRAB YOUR FREE STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO KETO MEAL PLANNING ON A BUDGET BELOW!
TRY OR CONTINUE INTERMITTENT FASTING
Intermittent fasting involves abstaining from food for a certain amount of time during the day, and only eating in a specific “window” of time. This is an easy way to keep your new weight on cruise control, especially if you already used this technique during your keto weight loss. For some people this is psychologically easier to do as it inherently limits the amount of food you will eat by limiting the amount of time during the day you can eat.
As with keto weight loss, the most important thing to maintaining your new, healthy weight is to find what works best for you. As a way to continually commit to your health be sure to make a plan in advance when you’re nearing your ideal weight.
Don’t suddenly start considering what you’ll do once you see your target weight on the scale. You don’t have to keep eating the same way as you did during keto weight loss mode, but you do need to consider a plan of approach that feels right for you to maintain it.
Remember that everyone is different, and you may need to experiment a little bit until you find a new lifestyle that works best for you. If you want any additional help in navigating keto maintenance click here to learn how I can support you during this exciting transition!
