Ketosis

ilovedogs
ilovedogs Posts: 77
in Health and Weight Loss
I am following a healthy eating plan and have stopped eating grains. This in turn has lowered my carb intake. Just to see I did one of those sticks and it has been pink - purple for a while now, however on another forum I was advised that this means my body is just expelling the ketones and not using my fat for energy. Does this sound right? How then do I know if I am burning fat?

Replies

  • phatty4dayz
    phatty4dayz Posts: 125 Member
    What "sticks" are you speaking of?
  • glennstoudt
    glennstoudt Posts: 403 Member
    Ketosis by definition means the body is burning fat for energy.
    Do a bit more research to gain a greater understanding. Good luck.
  • Raska
    Raska Posts: 7 Member
    Ketostix are how one measures if they are in ketosis.

    The results the ketostix show is not an indicator of "more" or "less" in ketosis. What it does mean is how hydrated you are. THe darker the color on the ketostix, the more dehydrated you are.
  • litelight
    litelight Posts: 53
    From Wiki. I know it's a very clinical explanation. But I believe you're burning fat, and ketones are the byproduct of your ketogenic diet.

    Ketone bodies are three water-soluble compounds that are produced as by-products when fatty acids are broken down for energy in the liver. Two of the three are used as a source of energy in the heart and brain while the third is a waste product excreted from the body.
    The brain gets a portion of its energy from ketone bodies when glucose is less available (e.g., during fasting, strenuous exercise, low carbohydrate, ketogenic diet and in neonates). In the event of low blood glucose, most other tissues have additional energy sources besides ketone bodies (such as fatty acids), but the brain does not. After the diet has been changed to lower blood glucose for 3 days, the brain gets 25% of its energy from ketone bodies.[4] After about 40 days, this goes up to 70% (during the initial stages the brain does not burn ketones, since they are an important substrate for lipid synthesis in the brain).
  • m60kaf
    m60kaf Posts: 421 Member
    http://bit.ly/NqLsnq

    What would be the point of ketone strips if there sole purpose is to tell you that you are expelling ketones. Any common sense here?
  • LoriJ1782
    LoriJ1782 Posts: 41 Member
    The other forum was incorrect. If the sticks are purple then you are burning fat because you are in ketosis. Your body is expelling ketones but it's also burning fat.
  • ilovedogs
    ilovedogs Posts: 77
    http://bit.ly/NqLsnq

    What would be the point of ketone strips if there sole purpose is to tell you that you are expelling ketones. Any common sense here?

    No need to be rude! It can all be quite confusing.
  • ilovedogs
    ilovedogs Posts: 77
    The other forum was incorrect. If the sticks are purple then you are burning fat because you are in ketosis. Your body is expelling ketones but it's also burning fat.

    How come I am not shifting any weight then?
  • angelalf1979
    angelalf1979 Posts: 244 Member
    Ketosis by definition means the body is burning fat for energy.
    Do a bit more research to gain a greater understanding. Good luck.

    What do you think this person is doing? Research. Don't be so arrogant!
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    How come I am not shifting any weight then?
    because the fat you are burning is from your food not your reserves ?
  • ilovedogs
    ilovedogs Posts: 77
    How come I am not shifting any weight then?
    because the fat you are burning is from your food not your reserves ?

    So how do I make my body go to my reserves?
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    by requiring it to do so by not eating enough to fuel it from your food.

    Might be easier to open your diary and say something about yourself and your goals.
  • ilovedogs
    ilovedogs Posts: 77
    Sorry what do you mean by open my diary? I am under 1280 cals as it is I didn't think I ate that much.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Sorry what do you mean by open my diary? I am under 1280 cals as it is I didn't think I ate that much.
    You can make your food diary here visible, which makes it easier for people to see what you are eating and offer their thoughts. Personal choice of course.

    1280 doesn't sounds excessive, but you haven't said enough to judge that. How long have you had the ketones and not lost weight ?
  • jumpyjavajawa
    jumpyjavajawa Posts: 36 Member
    Incorrect, they show you the general level of ketones in your pee not how hydrated you are.

    I had to use them while pregnant because ketones are possibly dangerous for a growing baby.

    As for ketosis, I would assume that if you have a higher level of ketones then you'd be in ketosis.


    Open your diary means to set it to public so everyone can see what you log.
  • ilovedogs
    ilovedogs Posts: 77
    Sorry what do you mean by open my diary? I am under 1280 cals as it is I didn't think I ate that much.
    You can make your food diary here visible, which makes it easier for people to see what you are eating and offer their thoughts. Personal choice of course.

    1280 doesn't sounds excessive, but you haven't said enough to judge that. How long have you had the ketones and not lost weight ?

    About 6 weeks
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    6 weeks with no weight loss, in ketosis at 1280 or less calories. Even if you were short and had lost a lot of weight your BMR would be over 1000 so it is unlikely that 1280 is not a calorie deficit. How many grams of protein per day do you eat, and do you exercise ?
  • LabRat529
    LabRat529 Posts: 1,323 Member
    You don't have to be in ketosis to be utilizing fat stores. You can use fat for energy by converting it to acetyl coA, which feeds into the kreb cycle to produce ATP.

    Ketones are produced from acetyl CoA (and possibly other sources) by the liver. Everyone produces ketones and everyone uses ketones in their body regardless of whether they are low carb or high carb or somewhere in between.

    The difference is how much you're producing and how high your blood levels of ketones are. When you low-carb it or when you're an uncontrolled diabetic, your liver swings into over-drive to make ketones to be used as an alternative fuel source. In the absence of glucose, ketones are critical for normal brain function.

    When ketone levels in the blood reach a high enough level, your kidney starts excreting them. They're found in your urine and your ketostick changes colors.

    The take home message of this is: you don't have to be in ketosis to be using fat. I want to make sure that's understood because you have people out there believing that low carb is better than high carb (and vice versa), but really, you can safely choose the lifestyle that works best for you and as long as you're getting an adequate amount of nutrients and maintaining a calorie deficit, you will lose those fat stores... eventually.

    Best wishes.
  • ilovedogs
    ilovedogs Posts: 77
    I eat roughly 100g protein and no I am very sedentary.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    I eat roughly 100g protein and no I am very sedentary.
    Interesting. If you were able to walk 20 minutes a day that would help a little.

    If it has to be diet alone then I would reduce protein to 70g or less, saving at least 120 calories per day. Continue to avoid starchy foods etc.
  • hazelovesfood
    hazelovesfood Posts: 454 Member
    protein is what makes lean tissue on your body carbs turn to sugar and as much as i cant live with carbs im trying to keep them down, though it is hard sometimes.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    protein is what makes lean tissue on your body
    sure, but beyond a point you don't need it and for most women (especially sedentary) that point is less than 100g.
  • ilovedogs
    ilovedogs Posts: 77
    But if I cut back protein what do I sub it with? I can't really go under 1200 cals pe day can I? Also won't my body get used to running on such a low calorie amount and then I would have to go lower to see more weight loss which I can't really because it is low as it is.

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