Research

Hormonal

Upon refeeding (cessation of ketosis) after significant weight loss (10-17%) on a ketogenic diet, hunger feelings and active ghrelin (AG) concentrations increase significantly, potentially undermining long-term weight maintenance.

When you stop the ketogenic diet and return to normal eating, expect your hunger and ghrelin levels to rise significantly. This is a physiological response to losing ketosis and weight. To mitigate this, transition gradually to your maintenance diet rather than stopping abruptly, and be aware that your body will signal for more food.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
However, hunger feelings and AG concentrations increase significantly from baseline, once refeeding occurs.
Siren Nymo et al. · International Journal of Obesity · 2017

Why this rating

Same study design as N1; strong within-subject comparison between ketotic and non-ketotic states.

Source

Timeline of changes in appetite during weight loss with a ketogenic diet

Siren Nymo et al. · International Journal of Obesity · 2017

DOI 10.1038/ijo.2017.96

rct · n=31Cited 105×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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