One of the main reasons that people do not lose weight on the ketogenic diet, or any other diet for that matter, is that they are not applying additional lifestyle changes in addition to dieting. While the keto diet itself is the focus, lack of exercise, stress, and lack of sleep have dramatic effects on the body, limiting the efficacy of dieting.
It has been shown through research that lack of sleep and stress have a profound impact on weight gain. Stress causes the body to produce the stress hormone cortisol. High levels of cortisol signal to your body to store fat often accumulating around the midriff. Chronic stress also affects the quality of sleep, further exacerbating weight gain. It has been well documented that sleep deprivation increases the appetite-related hormones such as leptin and ghrelin, resulting in increased appetite.
Getting enough exercise is key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle as well as losing weight. Besides the obvious benefit of burning calories, regular exercise causes the body to release hormones that fight stress, stabilize mood, and create an overall sense of well being. Exercise has a direct influence on the ketogenic diet, enabling you to dive deeper into the ketogenic state and maintain it effectively. There are many additional benefits of regular exercise, one of which is increasing the ketogenic carb limit.