Here’s What Happens if You Don’t Eat Enough Fat on Keto
What Really Happens if You Don’t Eat Enough Fat on a Keto Diet?
💡 WEIGHT GAIN – If you don’t eat enough fat while on a ketogenic diet, your body will not have enough fat to burn. Hence, instead of burning it, your body will start to prioritize storing fat as an energy source. This results to increased hunger and cravings, causing you to eat more than the ideal, stalling weight loss, and increasing weight.
With story after story of success shared by different people with different backgrounds, the keto diet started gaining popularity in recent years. Trying it can undoubtedly have rewarding results when done correctly.
However, the ketogenic diet has some rules and guidelines. If failed to follow, this can have unwanted results.
For instance, you need to comply with the right amount of keto nutrients every day, especially with fats since the keto diet is centered around high-fat foods. Neglecting the right amount of fats will have a negative effect on your body.
This article discusses everything you need to know about what happens if you don’t eat enough fat on keto, from the importance of fat on a ketogenic diet to tips on how to increase your fat intake. Read until the end to learn more!
Table of Contents
- The Importance of Fat on Keto
- What Happens if You Don’t Eat Enough Fat on Keto: The Effect of Not Eating Enough Fat
- How Much Fat Should I Eat on Keto?
- How Do I Know if I’m Consuming Little Fat on Keto?
- What Should I Do if I Miss My Fat Goals for the Day While on Keto?
- Healthy Fats to Eat on a Ketogenic Diet
- Fats to Avoid on a Keto Diet
- Tips on How to Get Enough Fat on a Keto Diet
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Final Thoughts
The Importance of Fat on Keto
The ketogenic diet is a low-carb high-fat diet. Its aim is to encourage fat consumption and limit carbohydrates. Without enough carbs and only getting a lot of your calories from fat, your body will turn these fats into ketones.
If this happens, your body will undergo a metabolic state that promotes fat loss which is called ketosis.
Once your body enters ketosis, fat becomes your primary source of daily caloric intake. It now provides energy to the body instead of carbs. Fat suppresses your appetite so you start eating less.
However, keep in mind that not all fats are considered good for keto. Only consume healthy or good fats as other types of fat raise the level of bad cholesterol and have no health benefits.
What Happens if You Don’t Eat Enough Fat on Keto: The Effect of Not Eating Enough Fat
In a nutshell, if you don’t eat enough fat on a keto diet, you will starve more often and this results in eating a lot more than what is ideal. Because of this, your body will gain more weight instead of losing some.
There’s a recommended percentage of fats you need to consume daily for a reason. If this is not met regularly and if you’re not even close to the amount of fat you should eat in a day, your body will have a negative reaction.
Since your body doesn’t get enough calories as an energy source, you will experience a massive calorie deficit, causing your body to decrease energy expenditure and increase your hunger and cravings.
How Much Fat Should I Eat on Keto?
As a high-fat, low-carb diet, consuming more fat on keto is encouraged. However, you should still avoid having too much fat because this may result in unwanted health issues.
Ideally, your keto diet should compose of 70 to 80 percent of fats, 10 to 20 percent of protein, and 5 to 10 percent of carbohydrates.
For instance, if you’re on a 2,000-calorie diet, your ideal daily fat intake should be between 155.55 and 177.78 grams of fat.
To avoid miscalculating this, using a ketogenic macro calculator is advised. It helps you calculate the number of daily calories, fats, carbs, and protein ideal for your weight and lifestyle.
Additionally, it’s highly recommended to consult with a nutritionist or dietician so they can provide you with a keto diet plan that is tailored for you.
By doing this, you can also check whether the ketogenic diet is right for you as this is not advisable for some people due to their health conditions.
How Do I Know if I’m Consuming Little Fat on Keto?
There are a few ways to know if you’re consuming little fat on keto. In fact, it’s easy to notice, especially if you’re listening to your body.
The signs you should watch out for to know if you’re consuming little fat include the following:
- Increased hunger: Since fat provides satiety, it makes you feel fuller for a long period. Thus, if you notice that you’re feeling hungry a lot quicker, it’s a sign that your body doesn’t get the right amount of fat.
- Low energy: Because your body uses stored fat as an energy source, having little fat while on keto will make you feel tired more often.
- Weight gain: Due to increased hunger, you tend to eat more which prevents you from losing weight.
If you suspect that you’re consuming little fat, I will discuss some tips on how to increase your fat intake later in this article.
What Should I Do if I Miss My Fat Goals for the Day While on Keto?
It’s not a big deal if you miss your fat goals for the day. It’s not going to have a lot of impact on your keto diet unless you keep missing your daily fat goals.
To assure that this won’t happen, you can opt to plan out your meal for the whole week. Write down what you want to eat each day along with the amount of fat content every meal has. Plus, you should strictly follow your plan.
This way, it will be easier for you to keep tabs on your daily fat goals, making you prevent the possibility of constantly not getting enough fat for the day.
Healthy Fats to Eat on a Ketogenic Diet
The best healthy fats to incorporate into your keto diet are monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, and a few saturated fats. These fats have a lot of benefits as they not only fuel your body but also support your overall health.
Take a look at this list of healthy fat sources for your keto diet:
- Avocados and avocado oil
- Olives and olive oil
- Hemp seeds, chia seeds, and flax seeds
- Nuts like almonds, macadamias, and walnuts
- Fatty fish like salmon, tuna, and sardines
- Whole eggs
- Dairy products like cheese, butter, and full-fat yogurt
- Cacao nibs
Eating healthy fats also helps lower your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) level which is the bad cholesterol in your body.
Fats to Avoid on a Keto Diet
Synthetic trans fat is considered a no-no in the keto diet. This dietary fat raises bad cholesterol and lowers good cholesterol, which may lead to an increase in the risk of heart disease.
Refer to this list of fats to avoid while on a keto diet:
- Vegetable oil, corn oil, and canola oil
- Margarine
- Baked goods like cookies and cakes
- Processed meats
- Fast foods like pizza and fries
If you are fond of consuming these products, you can opt to substitute them for keto-friendly recipes. For instance, you can make or find a store that serves keto pizza, butternut squash fries, keto cookies, and keto cakes.
Tips on How to Get Enough Fat on a Keto Diet
Making sure that you’re getting enough fat while on a keto diet is essential. However, this is something you shouldn’t worry about as there are a lot of things you can do to get more fat.
Most importantly, we want to make sure you enjoy what you eat every time. Luckily, this diet includes a really tasty and healthy list of foods you can incorporate into your meal!
Add Fat to Your Beverages
Just like adding fat to food, you can also try putting some into your drink. Adding whipped cream on top of your hot chocolate, coffee, or matcha drink is one way to enjoy it. You can also add some creamer or whole milk with high-fat content.
Additionally, you can consider making bulletproof coffee for your morning drink. Bulletproof coffee is a popular coffee recipe among keto dieters wherein butter and MCT oil are added to your drink.
Use Healthy Fats for Cooking
Some people are used to applying non-stick cooking spray in frying. If you are one of them, you can put the cooking spray away.
In a keto diet, using fats like olive oil and butter in cooking is ideal. You can also reuse the oil produced by frying your bacon. These oils will not only add to your healthy fat intake but will also make your food taste better!
Eat Fatty Fish
Many delicious fishes are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids. This is the reason why fish oil pills are used as a supplement.
Refer to this list of healthy fish where you can get some extra fat:
- Salmon
- Tuna
- Sardines
- Anchovies
- Mackerel
- Trout
Consider adding these to your diet to increase your fat intake while also enjoying a hearty meal.
Explore New Keto Recipes
There are many available keto recipes on the internet. You can try a recipe for dishes, snacks, desserts, or even keto-friendly yogurt. Explore on ones you haven’t tried that appear delicious to you and you may even discover a new favorite!
Incorporate Avocado in Your Dishes
Avocado is one of the main and most popular sources of fat among keto dieters. It’s high in fat, healthy, and delicious. Its taste is very adaptable as it goes well with any recipe, including sides, dishes, desserts, and even drinks.
You can make a salad with avocados in it, a toast using keto-friendly bread with sliced avocados and poached egg on top, avocado pudding, and avocado smoothies.
Eat Nuts for Snacks
Once in a while, we get the urge to munch on something in between meals. Try eating high-fat nuts for snacks as they are good for your fat intake.
Here’s a list of nuts to include on your keto snacks list:
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Macadamia nuts
- Pecan
- Brazil nuts
- Hazelnuts
- Peanuts
You can even incorporate these types of nuts into any keto snack recipe of your choice.
Eat Fat Bombs for Dessert
If you’re used to eating a dessert to complete your meal, consider eating fat bombs. Fat bombs are very tasty and good sources of fat if you’re consuming too little.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I Go Into Ketosis if I Don’t Eat Enough Fat?
You will not go into ketosis if you don’t consume the right amount of fat. This is because, during ketosis, your body burns fat instead of glucose. Hence, if there’s not enough fat to burn, your body will prioritize storing body fat instead of burning it.
Can Not Eating Enough Fat on Keto Stall Weight Loss?
Yes, not eating enough fat on keto stalls weight loss. This is because if you don’t eat the right amount of fat, your body can’t rely on its fat for energy. That said, you will starve more often which may lead to weight gain once you give in to hunger.
What Happens if You Eat More Protein Than Fat On Keto?
If you eat more protein than fat on keto, it will prevent your body from getting into ketosis.
Too much protein intake will let your body turn the amino acids you get from protein into glucose. This is a process called gluconeogenesis which lowers the number of ketones in your blood, causing you to be kicked out of ketosis.
Final Thoughts
Going into a keto diet has rules to follow to achieve your desired outcome. For instance, fats must consume a large part of your diet so your body breaks them down as an energy source.
If you don’t consume a sufficient amount of fat while on keto, you will feel more hungry. Thus, your body will not lose weight as desired, but will rather gain some. Keep in mind to only eat healthy fats and avoid unhealthy ones like trans fat to reduce the risk of heart disease.
I hope I have answered all your questions about what happens if you don’t eat enough fat on keto. If you like this blog, share it with your friends and family!