Weekend Read: The Stall Slayer
Seven Roadblocks to Keto Fat Loss and What to Do about Them
Reviewed by Coach Madisen
If you’ve hit a plateau with keto and don’t know what to do next, Certified Nutrition Specialist Amy Berger has some advice: This is completely normal.
In her new e-book, Amy busts common myths around the ketogenic diet and offers a concise and refreshing point of view on weight stalls, exercise, macronutrients, and troubleshooting. Whether you’re a keto expert or newbie, you’ll learn why stalls happen and how to navigate through seven common roadblocks. Here are some of our main takeaways:
What is a weight loss stall?
Challenging preconceived expectations and beliefs is the first step to overcoming any plateau. While it’s helpful to see the trend over time, a few days at the same weight does not constitute a stall. Putting a timeframe on your progress and judging your success with keto against a linear path is a recipe for disappointment and frustration. Each journey is unique, and the scale is only one of many tools in measuring success. With this context, Amy sets the stage for an open, loving and patient approach to troubleshooting your keto journey.
Are your goals realistic?
How you want weight loss to work, and how weight loss really works may be two completely different things. Amy writes, “Fat loss is not linear. You don’t lose a little bit every day, steadily, until you magically arrive at your goal weight. There will be bumps and hiccups along the way.”
Many factors can influence weight loss patterns, including muscle gain, body composition changes, menstrual cycles, hydration levels and more. When evaluating your progress, remember to consider other measures of success besides the scale: energy levels, athletic endurance, sleep quality, minimized cravings, mental clarity, reduced inflammation: “Play the long game. You didn’t gain this fat overnight, and you’re not going to lose it that quickly, either.”
“Low Carb, High Fat” -- a misleading mantra
What makes keto effective is the absence of carbohydrates, not the addition of fats. Keto teaches the body to burn fat for energy, but we don’t want to eat an abundance of dietary fat. High fat coffee and fat bombs can be novel treats in the beginning, but as soon as hunger levels and cravings stabilize, we need to adjust the amount of fat to stay in an energy deficit. Overdoing fat intake and not adjusting macro settings as you lose weight are common reasons people hit plateaus.
Hidden sources of carbohydrates
Pre-made condiments, soups, sauces, and other processed foods contain additives, preservatives, emulsifiers, fillers, and other chemicals that can interfere with ketosis. Many food manufacturers continue to pack cheap processed carbs into products they now label as keto-friendly. Don’t fall for it! Read labels carefully and always be on the look-out for sneaky forms of sugar and starch. Amy provides practical strategies to avoid those hidden sources of carbohydrates that may be secretly bumping you out of ketosis.
Thyroid function
No matter how strict you are with keto, suboptimal thyroid function can halt your efforts in their tracks. Amy shares her own story of navigating this terrain. She describes the symptoms of a dysfunctional thyroid along with the necessary comprehensive testing that you would need to determine how your thyroid is functioning.
Medications
Like impaired thyroid function, certain medications can interfere with weight loss, no matter how strictly you may be doing keto. She discusses the most common medications that have been shown to impair weight loss or even contribute to weight gain while also encouraging readers to find a supportive network of medical professionals to navigate this barrier to success.
Sleep and stress
It isn’t always only about food. Although keto can improve sleep and enhance your body’s ability to deal with stress, many people may have underlying sleep issues and chronic stressors that can interfere with weight loss progress. Amy explains how lack of sleep and excessive stress influence the body on a cellular level, sometimes reversing all the great work you may be doing with keto.
Alcohol
Find out how alcohol influences the burning of fat for fuel and the best options for those who want to continue to drink alcohol.
Exercise
We all were told to eat less and move more; just burn more calories than you eat and you will be set for lifelong weight loss. We now understand this is a recipe for disaster. The type of exercise you do can complement your ketogenic lifestyle or backtrack much of the progress you’ve made. In this section, Amy addresses how to maximize your results with an exercise regimen that works for you.
Time-restricted eating
Amy discusses considerations you want to take before jumping right into a 6-hour eating window practice. Thyroid function, snacking, meal timing and stress levels all will influence how successful time-restricted eating is for you.
A good read for keto tips
The Stall Slayer offers easy to understand explanations and practical tips for the most common roadblocks of keto fat loss, all in one place. Always candid, practical, and genuine in her recommendations, Amy shares experiences of her own journey throughout the guide, making her advice feel all the more real and relatable. Whether you’re experiencing a weight stall currently, concerned about encountering one in the future or simply want more information on how to go about maximizing your success with the ketogenic diet, this ebook is worth a read.
Order a copy of the PDF for the promotional price of $12.74 at http://stallslayer.com/ and tell us what you think!
About the author
Amy Berger is the author of The Alzheimer’s Antidote, and she blogs at Tuit Nutrition, which she describes as “a source of sanity in the sea of nutritional madness.”
For more reviews of recent keto-related media, see Must Watch: Fact Fiction.