From keto to maintenance

amring
amring Posts: 21 Member
edited December 19 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hi everyone, I've been on the keto diet for a month now and so close to reach my goal weight! I'm planning to come off the keto diet on valentine's but I have a dilemma. Ive been feeling so great whilst being on the diet, how do I come off it without gaining weight, get back to my bad eating habits and prevent getting sugar lows in the afternoons? Any ideas are much welcomed! Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • deepwoodslady
    deepwoodslady Posts: 12,349 Member
    The others are right. Keto is a lifestyle, not just a diet. It's about burning fat instead of glucose. You can easily start incorporating more carbs on the plan since you no longer need to lose weight. Know what your maintenance carbs & calories are. S..l..o..w..l..y... add more carbs back in. It could take a couple of months to reach your maintenance. If you are at 20 Net then move to 50 Net and stay there for about 2 weeks. Then move up to 70 Net and stay a week or more. Move to 100 and stay awhile. Keep doing that until you reach maintenance. You can do this with Keto foods and stay Keto, or you can incorporate healthy carbs of fruit, veggies & grains (off keto), but do it s...l...o...w...l...y. And @tsazani is absolutely right. Water weight will hit you as your liver fills back up (if you go off the keto plan), so plan for that. I usually gain about 6 pounds of water (the same as I lost the 1st week of the keto diet). So you may want to lose a couple of extra pounds beyond your plan to allow for that. Whichever way you choose, good luck. We support you 100% and wish you luck.
  • amring
    amring Posts: 21 Member
    Thanks for all the advice everyone! To be honest I was struggling with keto in the beginning but now I'm used to it and actually feel good. I do miss the carbs sometimes (bread/cake) is my biggest weakness!! My main challenge during this weight loss journey has been social gatherings. Mostly I feel left out as the food tend to be non-keto friendly and everyone tend to be SO judgemental if you don't eat carbs with them! Hence I don't see it as a long term solution (to completely eliminate carbs from my diet). I guess I'm just scared to gain all the weight back again once I start increasing the carb intake! But I just have to be on top of monitoring my weight fluctuations and do something about it sooner rather than just leave it...
  • zeejane03
    zeejane03 Posts: 993 Member
    edited February 2019
    amring wrote: »
    Thanks for all the advice everyone! To be honest I was struggling with keto in the beginning but now I'm used to it and actually feel good. I do miss the carbs sometimes (bread/cake) is my biggest weakness!! My main challenge during this weight loss journey has been social gatherings. Mostly I feel left out as the food tend to be non-keto friendly and everyone tend to be SO judgemental if you don't eat carbs with them! Hence I don't see it as a long term solution (to completely eliminate carbs from my diet). I guess I'm just scared to gain all the weight back again once I start increasing the carb intake! But I just have to be on top of monitoring my weight fluctuations and do something about it sooner rather than just leave it...

    You will seen an increase on the scale initially, due to water weight replenishment. But, as long as you continue to eat at the correct calorie intake for your weight management goals (your maintenance level intake as you transition into maintenance), then you'll be fine. I currently eat 200+ carbs a day on average and I've had no problem hitting my weight targets/currently wear size 4 jeans etc.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    It’s not keto vs maintenance. You can maintain on keto if you want to eat that way. Not that I recommend keto at all, just sayin.
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