“Is it safe to stay in ketosis indefinitely?”

Is it harmful at all to stay in ketosis forever? Why is the scale not moving even though on the meal plan? And what about age and weight loss?
Get the answers in this week’s Q&A with Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt:
Can we stay in ketosis indefinitely?
I was watching the documentary, ‘The Skinny on Fat”, and one of the doctors said it’s not good to stay in ketosis indefinitely. Is this true? Or did I misunderstand?
Cheryl
There is no proof that it’s anything but healthy long term. However, most people end up dipping in and out of ketosis semi-regularly anyway, as it’s a hard thing to ALWAYS be in deep ketosis. So if being in ketosis forever has any negative unknown effects, it’s likely something that very few people are going to experience anyway.
To learn more about all the myths and unfounded fears about keto, have a look at this guide:
Low-carb and keto myths and fears
Best,
Andreas Eenfeldt
Why am I not losing??
I am so confused! I am eating to the meal plans provided and I have not lost a thing. I know my body has changed as the pictures I take show it, but the scales are not moving and if they do it is up not down. I am so lost! Help!
Leigha
Hi Leigha,
If your body is changing that’s a good sign! I would suggest first making sure you’re really keeping your carbs very low, second make sure you’re not eating more fat than you need to stay satisfied after meals, and third consider adding some intermittent fasting.
Here are many more tips if you want them:
Top 10 tips to lose weight on low carb for women 40+
Best,
Andreas Eenfeldt
Serious hair lost after 4 months on keto
Hi Dr. Andreas,
I have been loosing a lot of hair at the 4 months mark of my keto diet, which is very scary for a healthy 46 years old women. I don’t need to loose weight, my main reason to be on keto diet is to get rid of the pain in my body, as I feel that I have a lot of inflammation or I get inflammation muscles easily from activities.
Now, I have stopped the Keto diet due to the serious hair loss, even when I have been drinking bone broth together with lots of seaweeds a few times a week at least. Would you pleases let me know what I should do? I am back on my normal high-carb diet for two weeks now as I am on holiday, the hair lost seems to slow down.
If I go back to keto after 1-2 days of fasting, will I keep on losing a lot of hair again right away or it will start again after four months ?
Thank you and hope to hear your answer soon!
Kamie
Hi Kamie,
Hair loss after four months is not entirely uncommon, and it’s normally a very temporary thing that you’ll completely recover from.
Learn more about it here:
Best,
Andreas Eenfeldt
Does age have anything to do with a keto diet for weight loss?
I’ve been on a keto diet for 3 plus weeks and have been in low to moderate ketosis for at least 3 weeks. I have experienced the leg and toe cramps at night and have increased salt intake and have been using magnesium supplements to address the cramping issues. Although I can see less fat on my body, I have not experienced any weight loss. I have been intermittent fasting for 16-18 hrs. a day for 3 weeks. I would like to loose 40 lbs. I have listened to many of the Diet Doctors videos. I am 73 years old. Could this lack of weight loss have anything to do with my age? Any suggestions?
Wanda
Hi Wanda!
Yes, weight loss can be more of a challenge with age, especially for women. It’s certainly not fair. It seems like you’re doing many things right, but perhaps you can find some useful tips here, beyond just being persistent:
Top 10 tips to lose weight on low carb for women 40+
Best,
Andreas Eenfeldt
More
Intermittent fasting for beginners
More questions and answers
Many more questions and answers:
My blood pressure dropped, my cholesterol fine and my endurance has surged. I have been sugar and gluten free for 242 days.
Your evidence that plant based is good for you?
It may take a little longer to get rid of the carbs in ur liver. Once the carbs are depleted in ur liver, u will be good to go. Hang in there! U r almost there.
Besides this, do you know if popcorn is permitted for snack?
Thank you.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/alcohol
I have a problem with the electrolyte balance. Unless I use the water soluble electrolyte replacement tablets morning and night I wake in the morning with a headache. The electrolyte tablets contain 3.24g glucose anhydrous, 175mg sodium chloride, 298mg potassium chloride, 756mg sodium bicarbonate, 1344 mg citric acid anhydrous per 200ml. Is it safe to use these electrolyte tablets indefinitely?
To eliminate glucose from my diet and address the headache problem I have been adding more salt to my diet and making my own electrolyte drink but I’m back to having headaches in the mornings. How can I get rid of the headaches? How much salt is too much?
How do I stop my LDL cholesterol from going up? LDL cholesterol has increased from 3.1mmol to 4.4mmol. Triglycerides have gone from 0.6 to 0.7.
Here is our guide to type 1 diabetes. It is imperative that you work with your doctor on making sure your medicine dosage stays accurate.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/diabetes/type-1
You may find this guide helpul.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/leg-cramps
Most people report improved dental health with keto since there is less sugar to feed the plaque build up. If you have increased coffee or red wine consumption, this could be causing the issue. I recommend you ask your dentist for other potentially problematic foods.
Great article!
But what I don’t understand and can’t find an answer to is the following;
I read and hear some people stating they are in ketosis 95% of the time. I started testing my blood and will be at 1.7 or 1.8 at a certain time of day (a while after my bulletproof coffee), but doing several tets throughout the day will always show several moments (after I eat usually, even if it was 0 carbs) where the reading will show something like 0.3 or even 0.2.
Does this mean I’m only in ketosis from the coffee until I eat? Or am I getting a false ketosis reading because of the bulletproof coffee? Or does everybody have this, and getting a high reading like 1.7 means I’m as much in ketosis as one can get??
Thanks for giving me your view on this!
Regards,
Gabri
Hi, Gabri! It's perfectly normal for ketone levels to fluctuate throughout the day. Here's more info that may be helpful for you! https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/ketosis