I'm Very Confused! Do I Need To Be In Ketosis To Lose Weight?

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  • Verity1111
    Verity1111 Posts: 3,309 Member
    edited April 2017
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    psuLemon wrote: »
    Verity1111 wrote: »
    hanley1512 wrote: »
    I am on information overload. Everything I read is telling me in order to lose weight, I have to be in Ketosis. Is this true? If so I am doomed. I like all the foods I read I shouldn't be eating (potatos, pasta, bread...)

    So...can you lose weight without being in Ketosis?

    TYIA!

    What the heck are you reading? Toss it! Calories in calories out! Zig Zag them for better results.
    Try this:
    https://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

    ^ That is the one I have always used and it works for me.

    Put in your stats and it will tell you how much to eat. Use the food diary on here to log it. Read the nutrition labels OR get the app on your phone and you can scan barcodes on foods that are boxed/canned/frozen. Do not forget to log things you drink as well and if you want to go even further you *can* buy a food scale. They're like $15 on Amazon. I eat frozen food pretty much every day and tons of "junk" food and I lost 3+lbs a week at one point. I eat whatever I want.

    Zig Zagging calories doesn't make the results better.

    Agree to disagree. When I zig zag I don't stall as much as when I eat the same every day. I also have stalled when eating at a specific level and then I changed it up started zig zagging and got through my plateau more than once. Sure you will *technically* lose the same but I find the water weight etc falls off quicker if I zig zag.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    Verity1111 wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    Verity1111 wrote: »
    hanley1512 wrote: »
    I am on information overload. Everything I read is telling me in order to lose weight, I have to be in Ketosis. Is this true? If so I am doomed. I like all the foods I read I shouldn't be eating (potatos, pasta, bread...)

    So...can you lose weight without being in Ketosis?

    TYIA!

    What the heck are you reading? Toss it! Calories in calories out! Zig Zag them for better results.
    Try this:
    https://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

    ^ That is the one I have always used and it works for me.

    Put in your stats and it will tell you how much to eat. Use the food diary on here to log it. Read the nutrition labels OR get the app on your phone and you can scan barcodes on foods that are boxed/canned/frozen. Do not forget to log things you drink as well and if you want to go even further you *can* buy a food scale. They're like $15 on Amazon. I eat frozen food pretty much every day and tons of "junk" food and I lost 3+lbs a week at one point. I eat whatever I want.

    Zig Zagging calories doesn't make the results better.

    Agree to disagree. When I zig zag I don't stall as much as when I eat the same every day. I also have stalled when eating at a specific level and then I changed it up started zig zagging and got through my plateau more than once. Sure you will *technically* lose the same but I find the water weight etc falls off quicker if I zig zag.

    Water weight =/= fat loss, which doesn't mean you accelerate results. The only way zig zagging would increase weight loss is if it would all you to increase expenditure. But considering calories over a given week are equal, the weight loss would be the same. I calorie cycle because I am more compliant because I find a deficit on a few days is easier than every day.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    Ketosis is not needed for weight loss, but it does make it easier for many to lose weight and can improve the health of others. Very generally speaking, tnose with insulin resistance tend to benefit more from the health improvements of a ketogenic diet, and tend to lose weight just a bit faster than if they ate higher carbs... only about 6lbs/year faster.
    You absolutely do not have to be in ketosis to lose weight! I've lost about 30lbs on a high carb plant based diet. I eat lots of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes and startches like potatoes. Check out the startch solution. Ketosis/low carb diets are actually quite dangerous as your body runs on carbohydrates. If you cut the carbs, you will have little energy to power through those workouts, plus when you cut the carbs, you increase the animal products which means lots of saturated fat and cholesterol. Low carb diets are okay short term, but in the long run, you could end up with heart disease due to high saturated fat and cholesterol intake. Also check out Dr Michael Gregor of nutritionfacts.com. I hope this is helpful to you! :smiley:

    I'm afraid that the bolded is incorrect:
    Ketosis is not dangerous.
    Your body only runs on carbs if that is the primary fule you provide it with.
    High saturated fat and cholesterol intake have no effect on your likelihood of developing heart disease. That popular myth has been debunked.
    I can't speak for others, but in my opinion, the hallmark of a fad diet is that it is extreme, has rules of what you should and should not eat (which personally I find unnecessary and intolerable), and that most people lose weight at first but find the restrictions impossible to maintain.

    Certainly there are people who stick with it--and good for them! They have stuck with their fad because it worked for them. Doesn't mean it's not a fad.

    EDIT: But I have gotten off track. OP, if keto-type diet plans look good to you, do it! If you don't think that type of diet is something you can stick with, don't fret. Just log what you do eat, and make sure your calories eaten are fewer than your calories burned.

    Most people stick with a ketogenic diet because of the health benefits. Because it does involve eliminating some foods from your diet, many will not stick with it unless they see some great benefits. Usually that is an improvement to health.

    I have stuck with keto for a few years because my health is so much better. I started before the fad. I don't think I am following a fad if it followed me. ;)

    Sort of like how I started eating gluten free before it became trendy. The fad did make it easier to find GF foods though - always a plus for celiacs. The keto "fad" has made eating LCHF easier for this diabetic too.

    I love it when fads catch up to people's medical needs. :)