Question about ketosis... does it really help you burn fat faster than CICO?

Options
zdyb23456
zdyb23456 Posts: 1,706 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have a friend who insists that she will burn more fat if she goes into ketosis vs. just eating at a deficit.

Is this true? It's not something I want to do, I like my carbs too much, but I'm not sure I believe her and I don't want to encourage her to do something that won't work.
«1345678

Replies

  • TrailNurse
    TrailNurse Posts: 359 Member
    Options
    I suggest you do some research on the Ketogenic lifestyle before deciding if your friend is right or wrong. Reddit.com is a good place to start and has some great before and afters.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    Options
    This is a divisive topic, but I'll try to answer it according to my understanding of the science behind it all. Yes, you burn a larger amount of fat while eating on a keto plan. And keto eaters assert that. The problem with that assertion is that a great amount of that fat burning isn't BODY fat, it's the fat you're consuming.

    Your body will burn nutrients that you eat to use for available energy. Usually, it likes carbohydrates for this. When you're eating a ketogenic diet, the bulk of your calories come from fat.

    All fat loss comes from creating a calorie deficit. Some faster drops in weight are seen initially due to a drop in glycogen stores when eating keto. This isn't body fat, though.

    I hope this helps.
  • zdyb23456
    zdyb23456 Posts: 1,706 Member
    Options
    Yes thank you. I keep trying to explain to her that it's all about CICO - that if she eats at a deficit consistently she will drop the weight. She keeps insisting she will burn all her excess fat faster if she stays in ketosis.

    If you are in ketosis and at the same calorie deficit as you would just doing CICO - would you burn off fat faster?
  • ariamythe
    ariamythe Posts: 130 Member
    Options
    Suggest she do an experiment: eat 3000 keto-friendly calories each day for two weeks, and see how much weight loss she achieves. If she's right, she should still lose weight. :)
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    Options
    zdyb23456 wrote: »
    Yes thank you. I keep trying to explain to her that it's all about CICO - that if she eats at a deficit consistently she will drop the weight. She keeps insisting she will burn all her excess fat faster if she stays in ketosis.

    If you are in ketosis and at the same calorie deficit as you would just doing CICO - would you burn off fat faster?

    She might lose WEIGHT faster (the whole glycogen thing), but there comes a point where it would even out. Let her believe what she wants, though. If she's watching her calories, she'll lose body fat. If she's not, she'll figure things out on her own.

    Besides, to me or anyone like me who cares about the long game of KEEPING it off, it's not about how fast it's lost. I don't think of dieting as something I "do" to be done with. Weight management will be a rest of my life thing. Maintenance will just be a continuation of what I'm doing now with slightly altered goals. "Faster" isn't a factor in my thinking. To that end, the type of food I eat? Well, I like it to based on my preferences and include all the foods I enjoy.

  • zdyb23456
    zdyb23456 Posts: 1,706 Member
    Options
    Yeah, unfortunately she is impatient and isn't thinking long term. She wants to lose weight for a special occasion, which is now unattainable - she wants to lose over 80 pounds before November. Well, I guess she could, but it'd be incredibly difficult. She tells me she just has to do this until the wedding, then she can enjoy her favorite foods again.



  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    Options
    zdyb23456 wrote: »
    Yeah, unfortunately she is impatient and isn't thinking long term. She wants to lose weight for a special occasion, which is now unattainable - she wants to lose over 80 pounds before November. Well, I guess she could, but it'd be incredibly difficult. She tells me she just has to do this until the wedding, then she can enjoy her favorite foods again.



    Hahahahahaha. Well, guess what will happen after the wedding?

    I'd save my breath if I were you.

  • wabmester
    wabmester Posts: 2,748 Member
    Options
    The magic of ketosis is reduced hunger (it depresses levels of ghrelin, among other things). So people tend to lose more weight with less effort.

    There are other interesting benefits too. It's worth exploring to see if it's for you. Best book: Art and Science of Low Carb by Phinney and Volek.
  • nosebag1212
    nosebag1212 Posts: 621 Member
    Options
    no it doesn't, fat loss is determined entirely by the caloric deficit (assuming adequate protein and fat intake), your friend lost a bunch of water weight along with fat and thinks it as all fat, she is wrong.
  • RAinWA
    RAinWA Posts: 1,980 Member
    Options
    BILLBRYTAN wrote: »
    PeachyCarol wrote: »
    This is a divisive topic, but I'll try to answer it according to my understanding of the science behind it all. Yes, you burn a larger amount of fat while eating on a keto plan. And keto eaters assert that. The problem with that assertion is that a great amount of that fat burning isn't BODY fat, it's the fat you're consuming.



    All fat loss comes from creating a calorie deficit.

    I hope this helps.
    This is totally false. Fat loss comes from physical movement and eating more real food. Obesity comes from driving cars and sitting in front of a television and then blaming it on food. The secret to fat loss is to move more and eat more food but stop eating garbage.

    That's not true. I lost the majority of my weight doing no exercise and was on a keto plan. And I have never in my life eaten "garbage".

    To the OP - I suspect I would have lost the same amount of weight on a non-keto plan since all you really need is a calorie deficit, but keto was great for controlling my appetite and made it easier for me to stick to my diet.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    Options
    BILLBRYTAN wrote: »
    PeachyCarol wrote: »
    This is a divisive topic, but I'll try to answer it according to my understanding of the science behind it all. Yes, you burn a larger amount of fat while eating on a keto plan. And keto eaters assert that. The problem with that assertion is that a great amount of that fat burning isn't BODY fat, it's the fat you're consuming.



    All fat loss comes from creating a calorie deficit.

    I hope this helps.
    This is totally false. Fat loss comes from physical movement and eating more real food. Obesity comes from driving cars and sitting in front of a television and then blaming it on food. The secret to fat loss is to move more and eat more food but stop eating garbage.

    Nice chop job on my quote there.

    You're wrong. You're basing what you're saying on Taubes's hypothesis, which hasn't even been tested. The proposed NuSI study hasn't even happened yet.

  • 3bambi3
    3bambi3 Posts: 1,650 Member
    Options
    BILLBRYTAN wrote: »
    PeachyCarol wrote: »
    This is a divisive topic, but I'll try to answer it according to my understanding of the science behind it all. Yes, you burn a larger amount of fat while eating on a keto plan. And keto eaters assert that. The problem with that assertion is that a great amount of that fat burning isn't BODY fat, it's the fat you're consuming.



    All fat loss comes from creating a calorie deficit.

    I hope this helps.
    This is totally false. Fat loss comes from physical movement and eating more real food. Obesity comes from driving cars and sitting in front of a television and then blaming it on food. The secret to fat loss is to move more and eat more food but stop eating garbage.

    This is the wrongest thing I've seen all day. And I've been in the Master Cleanser thread.
  • wabmester
    wabmester Posts: 2,748 Member
    Options
    Heh. This thread was about ketosis for about 5 minutes. Now it's about a new theory called "move more, eat more?"

    I guess if you move WAY more and eat a LITTLE more, that could actually work. :)
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
    Options
    BILLBRYTAN wrote: »
    PeachyCarol wrote: »
    This is a divisive topic, but I'll try to answer it according to my understanding of the science behind it all. Yes, you burn a larger amount of fat while eating on a keto plan. And keto eaters assert that. The problem with that assertion is that a great amount of that fat burning isn't BODY fat, it's the fat you're consuming.



    All fat loss comes from creating a calorie deficit.

    I hope this helps.
    This is totally false. Fat loss comes from physical movement and eating more real food. Obesity comes from driving cars and sitting in front of a television and then blaming it on food. The secret to fat loss is to move more and eat more food but stop eating garbage.

    You could not be more wrong. You could try... but you would not be successful.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    Options
    zdyb23456 wrote: »
    I have a friend who insists that she will burn more fat if she goes into ketosis vs. just eating at a deficit.

    Is this true? It's not something I want to do, I like my carbs too much, but I'm not sure I believe her and I don't want to encourage her to do something that won't work.

    No.

Categories