11 Keto Diet Mistakes. I've been on the keto diet for about a year and a half now, and I've lost 82 pounds eating keto at Disney World. And in writing, I want to share with you a quick sentence that I immediately found myself guilty of making the first keto mistake: comparing myself to others.
In fact, the biggest mistake I ever made was mistaking a jar of jalapeno juice for pickle juice one morning. I accidentally took a big gulp of jalapeno juice when my legs got tight!
But we're not here to talk about those kinds of keto mistakes.
I'm open to making mistakes along the way so that I can make this weight loss journey a success. Yes, as with every other area of life, making mistakes is part of being successful with keto. What bothered me about these mistakes was that I made the ones people warned me about. We're here to help you avoid them as you embark on your keto journey.
Keto Mistakes to Avoid
Keto Mistakes
Comparing Yourself to Others
We seem to torture ourselves by comparing ourselves to others' weight for some reason. While I'm proud of the 82 pounds I lost on keto, there are others who have done it in a much shorter time.
Everyone's body is different. Everybody approaches keto in their own unique way. Comparing yourself to others is never good for you. Comparing yourself to who you used to be is the best way to fight back.
A quick thought: Remembering how terrible I feel now compared to how I used to feel is all it takes to get me out of the comparison game! Don't let it hold you down.
Keto Mistake 2
Getting off the Scale
I thought I should lose more weight than I had in the early months. My activity level was on point and my food intake was on point, but the scale wasn't moving at all. This was a worrying situation for me and I started to wonder if I was going to be able to lose weight.
Keto Mistake 3
Too many nuts and too much cheese
Yes, you can eat nuts and cheese on keto. But by the pound and by the jar, I found myself eating these. With food that was “keto friendly” I was simply replacing the amount of bad eating habits I had before with the amount I was eating, making it “bad.”
Keto Mistake 4
Late-night eating and too much snacking
When you're trying to get your nutrition under control, you start to notice patterns and trends. I quickly started to notice that I had a tendency to eat late at night, and that's where Keto Mistake #3 came from. Most of my eating habits come late at night. In fact, this is where my frustration with myself would come out and also where my macro count would get completely off track.
I also noticed that I developed a tendency to eat late at night and snacking while watching TV. Watching TV was the trigger and eating late at night and snacking heavily was just a habit.
Over-snack and late-night eating can completely throw you off your keto plan. So remember these 2 keto mistakes.
Keto Mistake 5
Not Drinking Enough Water
Whether you're on keto or not, most people don't drink enough water. Less than dehydrated, we're all over the place.
“Half your body weight in ounces” seems like a good rule of thumb since there's no universally agreed-upon amount of water we need. …and when you're my size, that's a lot of water!
When I first started living a keto lifestyle, I definitely wasn't getting enough water. The good thing about this mistake is that it's very easy to fix with a little discipline.
Keto Mistake 6
Thinking it's all about the food.
This whole journey for me has been about feeling healthy, staying healthy, and getting healthy. Thinking it was just about the food I ate was a mistake.
My social life, my happiness, my spiritual life, enjoying the process, my mindset, my confidence, staying active, not making excuses, exercising… all play a role in the overall picture of health.
It took me a while, but I learned that it's about so much more than just the foods I eat.
Keto Mistake 7
Waiting too long to start intermittent fasting
My doctor told me about intermittent fasting a week after starting keto and how much it helped me. The idea of going 16 hours without eating and not eating seemed ridiculous to me! The only thing I heard was “stop eating for a long time.” When I was making so many changes.
While I knew that I wasn't ready to do intermittent fasting that first week, I now wish I had started much earlier. Those are the times when I see my lowest weight on the scale and I feel so focused and energized.
I do intermittent fasting, four days in a row out of every week. It's basically me not eating after 5pm and then not eating again until around noon the next day when I get back from my morning run.
Keto Mistake 8
Not getting enough calories.
Whether it's just not feeling hungry or intermittent fasting, I've found myself not getting enough calories, not eating enough food, and not hitting my daily macros.
When you don't give yourself enough nutrition and start to process that situation by storing and making more fat, the body gets scared. What??? I'm trying not to store anymore! Doesn't the body know that???
So when I was told that I needed to make sure I was eating enough food after years of eating too much all the time, imagine my surprise. Make sure you are giving your body the fuel and nutrition it needs. Starving your body (even when you are not hungry) is just as harmful as overeating your body.
Keto Mistake 9
Too Much Protein
I didn't maintain my macros, which is another way of saying, and went crazy eating only protein/meat. So I was more focused on keeping my carb intake low, but I was missing out on the fat and protein components.
The keto diet is about 75% healthy fats, 20% protein, and 5% carbs. I made the mistake of not getting enough fat and not getting enough protein.
Keto Mistakes 10
Not Getting Enough Sleep
With all the changes your body is going through, your body needs sleep. Your body is doing all this work to heal itself and get healthy, think about it and it's taking a huge toll on your resources. On top of that I was getting active for the first time since college – I wasn't giving it the sleep it needed and my body needed rest!
Give your body the best fighting chance possible.
Another Keto Mistake to Avoid
Keto Mistake 11
No Accountability.
If you have the desire and goal to lose weight, you need to find an individual, partner or community to help you stay accountable. Because they don't hold themselves accountable, many people easily fail and quickly fall off track when a little nudge and encouragement will do the trick!
For me, the Walking Into Greatness Facebook group has helped me stay accountable, motivated and basically kept me on track.
If you find yourself making these keto mistakes or even struggling to stay on track, a group like ours can be a huge help!
Don't let mistakes define you, but live and learn, and don't give up!
0 Comments