10 Foods That Knock You Out of Ketosis (Learn From Experts)

You can tell that you’ve been kicked out of ketosis by testing your urine or observing some common signs and symptoms that show up when you’ve been kicked out. According to Cleveland Clinic, these signs include;

• Weight gain
• Bloating
• Intense sugar cravings
• Blood sugar spikes cause irritability and fatigue
• Feeling lightheadedness or feeling dizzy

Most people who try a high-fat diet experience at least some keto flu symptoms. However, once you go through them the first time, after getting knocked out after that, you most likely won’t experience keto flu when you get back into ketosis again.

But the longer you stay in ketosis, the more your body adapts and becomes sensitive to high net carbs in general.

So, any abrupt changes to your diet like consuming excess carbs, and your body stops the weight loss and starts showing the above-mentioned signs of being kicked off ketosis every time.

But the good news is that if you’ve strayed out of ketosis, you can still jump back on the keto lifestyle bandwagon.

In a short while, we’ll be examining how to get back. But before that, let's make sure we don't mess it up again.

So if you want a smooth ketosis experience, you should avoid the following foods as much as possible.

High Carb Foods

If you’re familiar with the ketogenic diet, avoiding starchy foods like bread, pasta and rice should be pretty obvious [2].

Foods that have high carb levels should be eliminated altogether. Instead, try riced cauliflower or low-carb diet bread made of eggs, nuts, and seeds and you’re good to go.

Beer, Liquor, and Mixed Drinks

If you’re serious about your keto diet, flee from beer, liquor, and other mixed drinks. They have high net carbs and low nutrients and will kick you out of ketosis much faster than you got in [3].

If you must drink alcohol, try drinks with lower carb counts like hard liquor and dry red and white wine. They provide a low carb count of at most 5g, sometimes less.

Processed Juices

Juice may have vitamins and minerals but is still high in fructose, a naturally occurring sugar. In addition, the lack of fiber in juices is tricky for a keto diet where fiber is desperately needed for digestion.

You see, fiber slows the time taken for food to go past the digestive tract, which assists in controlling sugar in your blood [4].

To maintain the state of ketosis, avoid high-carb low-fiber foods like juices which spike blood glucose levels [5].

Below are a few ways to get yourself back into the keto lifestyle.

By Exercising

When your body is out of keto, it switches to using blood glucose for energy. But you can still switch back.

The shortest way to get back to ketosis is to get rid of the glucose. And the best way to do it is by exercising. Employ high-intensity training and endurance cardio to ensure those glycogen stores burn fat as quickly as possible.

You’re probably wondering what glycogen is. Well, it is a form of complex sugar made of long chains of glucose (primary body fuel) that the body stores in the liver and muscles for energy [19].

Now, back to exercising, make sure not to stress your body as it may counteract the positive effects of a healthy workout [20].

Intermittent Fasting (IF)

Another way to burn the glycogen stores is through intermittent fasting. IF is not about what you eat but when you eat it. Most people do intermittent fasting by eating dinner early and breakfast late.

IF can be a killer combination when combined with the keto diet. It quickly shifts fuel sources from carbs to fat [21].

Eat More Healthy Fats

If kicked out of ketosis, make sure to provide your body with foods that include healthy fats such as avocados, coconut oil, whole fat dairy, and macadamia nuts [22].

Look For Other Ketosis-Friendly Alternatives

Although sugar craving is part of the keto process, it gradually tapers away with time. That said, you don't have to give in to these cravings, but If you must, there are keto-friendly alternatives like artificial sweeteners that come in handy when the cravings come knocking.

They include erythritol, stevia, sucralose, xylitol, monk fruit sweetener, and yacon syrup. While research is still ongoing about the potential harmfulness of these, they can fulfill your craving without getting you out of ketosis [23].

Related articles:

• Do You Have To Be In Ketosis To Lose Weight? 
• How Much Water Should I Drink On Keto?
• Do Multivitamins Affect Keto? 

“When you go back to a ketogenic diet after being off it for a day or a period of time, you can easily get back to the diet the next day—but it will take a couple of days to get the body back into the state of ketosis.”

- Ginger Hultin, MS, RDN, CSO, Seattle-based Dietitian & Spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics