How to “quit” keto without gaining weight back
Let me preface this by saying a lot of us who eat keto look at this as a complete lifestyle choice and change. Looking around online or in keto communities, when the question of “how to quit keto” comes up the most common answer you’re going to see is “don’t.” However, there are some people out there that got into this thinking it’s a fad diet and a quick fix and never intended to stay on it long term. Some of you might even need to switch off of keto for various medical situations, or even just life situations. Being in the military, I couldn’t really choose to eat keto in a lot of situations. In this article, I just want to touch on what’s going to happen to your body, whether you’ll gain back the weight you lost (like so many people claim), and how to continue to eat healthy.
This is a bit of a hot button topic in the keto community, but since I get asked this and see it come up on forums so often, I think it’s worth discussing. Also worth noting: this is based on my own personal experience and research. If you would like to get into general healthy eating (outside of keto) and talk about it more in depth, I really recommend going to see a dietitian or registered nutritionist (per your state’s regulations on the title “nutritionist”). They will definitely be able to explain things in more detail than I will here, and create a way of eating that would better align with you personally.
What can happen to your body
There are a few symptoms you can expect when switching out of a ketogenic diet.
- You’re going to pass a lot of gas. I’ve seen this in almost every testimonial from the keto subreddit when people switch off the diet.
- You will gain back water weight. When you start re-introducing glucose into your body, your body’s glycogen stores will retain water once again. That large amount of weight you lost in the first week or so? You might gain that back. Some people even experience a slight gain in weight after a “cheat meal” in which they eat carbs, but your mileage may vary. I’ve had to switch off keto for about five days at one point, and didn’t experience any weight gain. Granted I was on my feet and active all five of those days and ate moderately well.
- Brain fog returns. I feel like this is a really personal phrase and varies greatly person to person. If you know what I’m talking about when I say that phrase and have experienced the “brain fog” aspect of carbs, then chances are you’ll probably have that return when you leave the keto diet. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then don’t worry, this bullet point isn’t for you.
How to actually quit
I go into further detail deeper into the body of this post, but as general advice, I’d recommend gradually adding carbs back into your diet. Truly, I don’t have any science to back this up, only what I’ve experienced when eating a high amount of carbs shortly after being keto. If you, say, set a date where you’re going to switch off of keto and, on that day, consume 300g of carbohydrates, you might not feel so great. In my own experience, I end up feeling extremely bloated and uncomfortable. Getting your body ready to adapt to a higher fiber intake is probably also a good idea. To put some numbers to the idea, I’ll say this: if you’re eating 20g carbs a day when you’re on keto, try eating 50g for a week, then up it to 100g a week, and then eat what’s considered a more “normal” range.
It’s also fine if you try to keep carbs low (but not quite ketosis low). Just avoid the combination of animal fats and processed sugars.
How to not gain back weight
If you got into this to lose weight like I initially did, then first you need to recognize that your original eating habits weren’t great to begin with, and the most common reason people say “you’ll gain all that weight back” and “diets do not work in the long run” is because people tend to return to their old habits when they stop the diet that they see as temporary.
For some brutal honesty, if you return to eating the way you did when you got overweight, you’re going to become overweight again. I know, it sucks. You might be looking at this article now thinking about how you’ve hit your goal weight and are looking forward to ordering those two large Papa John’s pizzas to celebrate. My recommendation? Just don’t. Don’t get off of this diet and go on to treat your body poorly and eat like crap. (Side note: it’s also not healthy to strictly associate the bad-for-you, good tasting foods with victory and celebration.)
The worst thing to see is someone who gained back the weight they lost sit down with a tub of ice cream and say “the keto diet doesn’t work in the long run.”
Losing weight is hard. It requires you to make smart decisions when it comes to your food. Luckily, maintaining your weight is a little bit easier. So if you’re trying to switch off the diet due to hitting your goal weight, congratulations, the hard work has paid off. Now you can safely eat up to your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) in calories and maintain your weight. If you haven’t hit your goal weight and would still like to lose weight, you’re going to need to eat at a deficit. That is the most honest way to lose weight, and it applies to all types of diets. It’s super easy to do on a ketogenic diet because you stay full longer and have a generally suppressed appetite. However when you’re not on the diet, you might be hungry throughout the day and lean on constant snacking to satisfy that.
Hopefully, being on the ketogenic diet has changed your perception of food in a positive way. Ideally, it doesn’t make you afraid of food, but more conscious of what you put into your body, especially when it comes to processed sugars.
What is “healthy eating” outside of keto?
- Eat a well balanced diet and eat a variety of foods.
- When you’re eating something higher in calories, watch your portions. Don’t supersize your meal at McDonalds, don’t eat a whole pizza, and try not to drink the whole bottle of wine. (That’s all personal experience talking.)
- Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. I’d advise to continue eating plenty of veggies like you would on a keto diet. Steamed vegetables as a side dish and zoodles instead of pasta are still good for you if you go off of keto. Also, feel free to eat fruits. If you aren’t eating low-carb, you have no reason to be scared about the sugar that’s in fruit. Just be on the lookout for fruit juices, specifically, ones that have added sugar.
- When you eat bread, eat whole grains. Whole wheat, oats, and amaranth are good examples of whole grains. This means you’re getting more of the fiber and nutrients contained in the grains as opposed to a fraction of it with “refined” or “enriched” grains. Some of those white/refined breads will also contain some additional processed sugars.
- Still eat healthy fats like avocado, nuts, and fish.
- Be wary of liquid calories. If you’ve been on keto, you’ve probably realized how many calories and sugars are in something as unassuming as a 12oz can of Pepsi. Keep drinking plenty of water and staying hydrated without sugar.
- Don’t be afraid to treat yourself. I know that kind of conflicts with what I just said, but let me explain. It will not kill you to have a slice of pizza or throw back a few beers on the weekend. Overall, your eating habits should be healthy, but here I’d also like to encourage a healthy relationship with food. Maintain healthy habits. Don’t fall into the trap of treating yourself for 15 meals a week. If you aren’t worried about kicking yourself out of ketosis and having to get your body back in it, there’s no harm in a cheat meal. Even on keto, I’ll treat myself every now and then. When I take a vacation to Mexico, you can bet that I’m going to burn through some Tecate and fresh fruits. It’s all about restraint and moderation.
Other diets to consider
- Paleo is another popular diet that’s similar to keto in ways, but instead of relying on low-carb, it focuses on eating less processed foods and sugars. It essentially allows you to eat anything that could’ve been consumed by hunter-gatherers. This will allow you to eat things like fruits, potatoes, and other higher carb vegetables that keto restricts. It’s less restrictive than keto, but still stays away from processed foods and sugars.
- The Mediterranean diet is another one that I’ve heard of and seen compared to high-fat and high-carb diets in some of the studies linked in my “What is Keto” article.
- Go vegetarian or vegan. I know, keto is very reliant on meats, however it is still possible to eat healthy and get all of the nutrients you need from an entirely plant based diet.
More information
If you’re dead-set on getting off of keto and are looking for more information into eating healthy, you should seriously consider consulting a professional. They’ll be far more helpful in tailoring a nutrition plan to you than anyone else.
Books covering non-keto nutrition: