When you decide to eat on a keto diet, it takes discipline to avoid carbohydrates and sugar. On a keto diet, you must learn to keep your sugar and carbohydrate consumption to a minimum.
Eating sugar will kick you out of ketosis, and your body will stop burning fat Sugar has glucous and carbohydrates, both substances that will kick you out of ketosis on a keto diet. Some people may find that they will also start gaining weight when they are in and out of ketosis.
When your body is deprived of carbs and sugar, you enter into a condition known as ketosis; ketosis helps burn fat instead of carbohydrates for energy.
Why Sugar Kicks You Out Of Ketosis?
The two foods you should avoid on a keto diet are carbohydrates and sugar. Eating sugar on a keto diet will throw your body out of ketosis.
A teaspoon of sugar has 4.2 grams of carbohydrates. Most of us will eat more than that as there are natural sugars in other foods.
Eating sugary foods will throw you out of keto because of the glucose and carbohydrate content of sugar and most sugary foods.
That means that your body will stop burning fat for energy and instead begin to burn carbohydrates. Your weight loss will usually stall, or you can even start to gain weight.
That is why if you are on a keto diet and you play this yo-yo game of eating and not eating sugar and going in and out of ketosis, you will find that your weight loss will slow or stop. You will probably find that you are losing and gaining the same 5 pounds repeatedly.
In other words, you will not be consistently losing weight if you go in and out of ketosis. If you stay in ketosis you should start to lose weight and burn fat for energy.
What Eating Sugar Can Do To Your Body And Your Ketosis
There is a reason why a keto diet tells you to avoid sugar and all kinds of sugary foods. Eating sugary foods will get you out of ketosis, but more than that, your body could start to change or react to the sugar.
There are a couple of things that eating sugar can do to your body when you are on a keto diet. Here are some things that can happen:
- You Can Gain Weight – Eating carbs, especially excess sugar, can cause weight gain. You may even find that you gain back pounds you recently lost.
- Gastrointestinal Issues – Some people may have gastrointestinal issues when they start to eat sugar on a keto diet – especially a lot of sugar. This can be because their bodies may not be equipped to handle sugar as it once was able to.
- Keto Flu – Other people may get what is known as keto flu; the keto flu is when you do not feel well or feel like you are getting the flu.
- Psychological Setback – There can be a substantial psychological setback, so you start to feel just overall crappy and not very good about yourself and your diet.
- It May Be Challenging To Get Back On A Diet – Sometimes, you go off the keto diet, and it can stimulate those pleasure centers for food again; you may find that many of your older food carvings are back again.
- Increased Water Retention – One thing that going off a keto diet can do is cause an increase in your water retention. When you start to get back into ketosis again, you may need to urinate more than usual. I find this happens to me a lot, and I end up having to go to the toilet half the night when I am out of ketosis.
- Your Bones And Joints May Start To Hurt – When I am in ketosis, my joints and bones do not hurt so much. When I start to eat sugar, and my body is retaining water again, my bones and joints also begin to hurt. Sometimes I can feel achy all over; getting out of ketosis can ensure your bones and joints hurt more.
When you’re on a keto diet, you can have a cheat day every once in a while or decide to eat some food for a special occasion. but then work to get back into ketosis
When you go overboard on sugar or continue to eat a lot of sugar and carbohydrates, it will be harder to lose weight.
When I am out of ketosis, my appetite and cravings increase, and I do not feel terrific. When you are out of ketosis, you are hungrier than when in ketosis. Many people also have other symptoms like fatigue and irritability when they are out of ketosis.
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Related Question
Is Cane Sugar Keto Friendly?
Cane sugar is not considered keto-friendly. It is a light brown sugar made 100% from sugar cane. Even though it can be viewed as a more natural sugar than white sugar, it is still very similar to white sugar and is used as a natural white sugar substitute. Cane sugar and many other sugars are not considered keto-friendly.
You can read more about Is Cane Sugar Keto Friendly? by clicking here.
What Happens If You Eat Too Much Cheese On Keto?
Cheese can be eaten on a keto diet, but it should be used as a flavoring and not the main course. If you overeat cheese, it could affect your weight loss. Some people have a hard time handling a lot of cheese. When on a Keto Diet, we recommend that you look at cheese as a way to flavor your food and not as the main course for your keto meal.
You can read more about What Happens If You Eat Too Much Cheese On Keto? by clicking here.