Can I stop keto and not gain weight?

If you're no longer losing weight or following the keto diet, it could be time to go off it. Slowly adding carbs back into your diet is key. Learning portion control is also essential to not gaining weight back after going off keto.

insider.com - How to Safely Go Off Keto Without Gaining Back Weight - Insider

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If you're no longer losing weight or following the keto diet, it could be time to go off it.

Slowly adding carbs back into your diet is key.

Learning portion control is also essential to not gaining weight back after going off keto. So you've been off carbs for too long and are ready to quit keto. The biggest fear in discontinuing a diet may be weight gain, but changing your eating patterns dramatically can also leave you feeling confused about meal choices when you're used to having so many restrictions.

INSIDER consulted nutrition experts to help guide you in going off keto.

Don't add bread and other carbs immediately Bread should be incorporated into your diet slowly. DmyTo/iStock "One should get off keto when they are no longer losing weight or no longer following the keto diet," Reyna Franco, New York-based registered dietitian nutritionist told INSIDER. "At those times, the keto diet is no longer the appropriate eating plan. The length of time is individualized and based on the person's goals."

But don't start binging on bread immediately.

"Reintroduce foods slowly to avoid any gastrointestinal upset and be mindful of your body's hunger cues," registered dietitian Haley Hughes said. "Don't go back to what you were previously doing and go straight for the junk food."

Hughes also suggested having a plan before you quit keto completely.

"Start with healthy balanced meals and snacks," she said. "Meet with a dietitian to assess nutrition needs to meet your goals and for support."

Avoid processed and packaged foods

"When transitioning off keto, one should slowly add carbohydrates," Franco said, advising that you should only add one serving of carbohydrates per day the first week, then two servings of carbs per day on week two. "The body needs to slowly adjust," said Franco. "The first carbs should be fruits and vegetables to provide antioxidants, phytonutrients, and fiber. Continue to avoid highly processed, packaged foods." Plant-based carbs like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and legumes are Franco's go-tos for healthy carbs because they supply essential phytonutrients, antioxidants, fiber, and protein.

Be mindful of portion size and eat a balanced diet

Re-gaining post-Keto weight can be scary once you reintroduce carbs to your diet, but eating healthy fats and lean proteins can continue weight loss. "It is all about the quality, eat whole foods, not packaged or highly processed foods, and quantity," Franco said. Being mindful of the serving size and portions of your meals, in addition to regular exercise, is essential. "Learn portions sizes. Since you've been following a high-fat diet, you may need to review the appropriate serving sizes for protein, carbs, and fats so you don't overdo it," Hughes said. "Some people forget on a balanced diet you should avoid excessive amounts of sour cream, cheese, and bacon."

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Can keto cause tumors?

There has been very limited evidence that a high-fat, low-carb diet may help suppress solid cancers in the prostate, breast, stomach, and liver. But researchers have not ruled out the possibility that a keto diet may actually worsen your cancer by promoting tumor growth.

webmd.com - Ketogenic Diet and Cancer - WebMD

A ketogenic (keto) diet is a very high-fat, low-carbohydrate way of eating. It can help you lose weight by forcing your body to burn fat instead of carbs as its main source of energy. There is interest in how a ketogenic diet may help treat some types of cancer. One theory is that cancer feeds on the sugar you eat, but a high-fat diet starves the tumors. So far, no major cancer group recommends keto diets for either prevention or treatment of cancer. How Keto May Affect Cancer The standard diet recommendation is to limit fats to no more than 30% of your calories. Carbs should make up half or more of your daily total, with protein filling the rest. But a keto diet flips that formula. You eat as much as 90% of your diet in fats, with little or almost no carbs from foods like pasta, beans, and fruits. Without enough carbs, your body switches to burning fat for fuel. That process, called ketosis, breaks the fat down into molecules called ketones. But cancer cells are rewired to get most of their energy by quickly breaking down lots of glucose, a form of carbohydrates called simple sugar. A keto diet may shortcut the feeding because some cancers can’t use ketones to grow. That has led to hopes that a ketogenic diet may help boost the powers of chemotherapy and other cancer treatments.

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