Keep Losing Weight After Keto

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When it comes to diet culture, there are endless methods to try. One that has remained steadfastly popular over the past couple years is the keto diet. Even if you've never tried it yourself, pictures of keto before and after might have occasionally popped up on your IG feed and maybe even piqued your interest.

Keto is a high-fat, low-carb diet. While it requires somewhat drastic changes to the way you eat, it can also take as little as a week or even a few days for your body to enter ketosis, where your body starts burning fat instead of carbs for energy, says nutritionist Toby Amidor, RD. Typically, your body uses glucose for energy. But when you're carbs are cut drastically to five to 10 percent of your total caloric intake, your body uses ketone bodies (converted from fat). And that becomes your body's source of energy, she explains.

Jenna Jameson's Ten Tips For Successful Keto Lifestyle

But just because you go into ketosis quickly doesn't mean the results come in as fast. You're ditching water weight initially, but from there, how much weight you lose depends on how well you stick to the lifestyle. A safe rate of weight loss is between one to two pounds per week, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Because it's so restrictive, this diet isn't really meant to be done long-term, according to Scott Keatley, RD, of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy. The best way to determine if the keto diet is for you is to talk about it with your doctor.

If you're doing or planning to start the keto diet and in need of some serious inspo, look no further than the inspirational keto success stories below.

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Is Quinoa Keto-Friendly? Should You Use Keto Pills And Supplements? So...What Is The Keto Diet Exactly? How Do You Know You're In Ketosis?Many experts say that the high-fat diet shouldn’t be followed forever. What happens when you stop keto? Follow our guide to making the transition.

Keto Diet Weight Loss Timeline: How Long Does It Take?

If you’ve tried the ketogenic diet, no one has to tell you that the high-fat and very-low-carb plan is restrictive. But despite all the oatmeal, potatoes, apples, and carrots you’ve given up (not to mention desserts, bread, rice, and pasta) in the name of the keto diet, you may have stuck with it because you noticed improvements in your health or weight loss.

But even if you’ve gotten the results you want, it may be time to transition off of this diet. While some people have success staying on keto for an extended period of time, “the long-term research is limited, ” says Jill Gulotta, RDN, who’s based in White Plains, New York. Gulotta recommends staying on keto for six months max before reintroducing more carbs to your diet. And Scott Keatley, RDN, of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy in New York City, agrees: “The science hasn’t gotten to the point where I would be comfortable recommending it as a forever diet, ” he says.

Transitioning off of the keto diet has its benefits. One, the keto diet generally advises eating 20 to 25 grams (g) of net carbohydrates per day. (Net carbs are total carbs with fiber subtracted, so this equals about 50 g of total carbs.) To meet that goal, people have to cut out even healthy sources of carbs, like whole grains, legumes, starchy vegetables, fruit, and most dairy (such as yogurt and milk). Because of those restrictions, many people will find that they can’t stay on keto for very long anyway. What’s more, because there is such a long list of banned foods on keto, “long-term ketogenic diets can result in nutritional deficiencies, ” says Keene. (Many followers fall short on fiber, in particular.)

Keto Plateau Buster: Break A Weight Loss Stall

Transitioning off of keto will have an adjustment period, but you can approach it in a smart way. If you achieve to your health or weight goal on keto, then jump right back into the way you were eating previously (for instance: a standard American diet, which is high in added sugars and saturated fat), you’ll snap back right to where you started, says Alyssa Tucci, RDN, nutrition manager at Virtual Health Partners in New York City. “As you transition off the ketogenic diet, start to slowly decrease your fat intake while upping your intake of lean proteins, vegetables, and wholesome carbohydrates, like fresh fruit, whole grains, and beans, ” she says. White refined grains and sugars should still be limited.

While you should still eat the healthy fats you've become accustomed to (like avocado and olive oil), decreasing the amount is key, otherwise you may wind up eating too many calories.

You might also wonder whether you’ll gain weight when you go off keto. It’s no secret that the tough part about weight loss is keeping it off, says Keatley. “The key to keeping weight off post-keto is to adopt some of the healthy behaviors you developed on the diet, ” he says.

What Is Keto Cycling, And Can It Help You Stick With The Ketogenic Diet?

You’ve been counting carbs like crazy, and you’re probably an expert at it by now. This is not the time to completely stop counting. Add in an additional 10 g of carbohydrates per day for the first week, says Keene. Opt for carbs from healthy sources like whole grains, beans, fruits, and starchy veggies. Grab a pad of paper and track your weight and how you feel. Increase that number weekly or every other week, depending on your goals, she says.

The number of carbs recommended is different for everyone, and it differs depending on things like your goals and activity levels. Because there is no one-size-fits-all amount, aim for a number of carbohydrates that allows you to eat a greater range of foods so that you “don’t feel restricted but can maintain your weight and feel good, ” says Keene. If you’re not sure what range is right for you, find a registered dietitian in your area who will be able to help you meet your personal goals.

Consider increasing lean proteins, says Keatley. Potential options include beans, tofu, chicken, fish, and lean cuts of red meat. “This will help you take advantage of the thermic effect of food, ” Keatley says. Thermic effect is the number of calories it takes to digest food. It takes about 20 to 30 percent of the calories in protein to digest a food, compared with about 5 to 10 percent of the calories in carbs, per nutrition database Examine.com.

If I Stop Keto, Will I Gain The Weight I Lost?

Next, you get to plan what you’ll add back in. Here are 10 healthy foods to begin eating again on your keto maintenance plan:

You may have been able to get away with eating a very small amount (we’re talking one-quarter cup) of berries, such as strawberries, to get your fruit fix on keto. Now you can eat enough to make it an actual snack. Per the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA),  one cup of strawberry halves contains 11.7 g of carbs, along with 3 g of fiber and 89.4 milligrams of vitamin C.

This vitamin A–rich finger food is great for dipping into hummus. One serving of baby carrots (about eight of them) contains 7 g of carbohydrates, per the USDA, while one raw carrot contains 5.75 g of carbs and 1.7 g of fiber.

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A half-cup serving has 10 g of carbohydrates, per the USDA. Top with diced avocado for a boost of heart-healthy fat. Not a fan of soup? Plain, cooked black beans are a great addition to a salad or tacos.

Next time you grab sushi, don’t be shy about ordering these soybeans as an app. One cup of edamame has 13.8 g of carbohydrates, per the USDA. Edamame is also an excellent source of fiber, protein, and iron, and the legumes also contain vitamin C.

One vitamin C–packed kiwi contains just 10.5 g of carbohydrates, per the USDA, making kiwi a perfect snack to nosh on post-keto.

How To Do A Keto Maintenance Phase For Better Results

When you started on the keto journey, you probably learned that most types of squash were off the menu. But with proper portion control, it can be back on it. In fact, half a cup of baked butternut squash — rich in eyesight-friendly vitamin A — supplies 11 g carbohydrates, per the USDA.

A super hydrating fruit (it’s mostly water), 1 cup of watermelon has about 12 g of carbs and just 46 calories, the USDA notes.

It’s likely you gave up all legumes on the keto diet due to their carb content — but post-keto, it’s worth incorporating them into your meals again, since they’re packed with fiber. Top a salad with a quarter-cup of lentils for 58 calories, 4.5 g of protein, 10 g of carbs, and 4 g of fiber, as the USDA lists.

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On keto, you may have dabbled in “noatmeal” (a low-carb