Ketosis Diets???? LOW carb HIGH protein??? Weight Loss?

taso42

Does eating this way help with weight loss more substantially?

No.

kms1320

I did a ketosis diet for 3 months and i lost a good amount of weight. But i broke out in hives because of it for over a month. You can't go without carbs for too long without hurting yourself. Carbs are your main energy source for your body. Just eat healthy foods and stay in a calorie deficit and you'll lose weight.

No, wrong. Being without carbs for "too long" will not hurt you. Carbs are the body's preferred energy source because they are the easiest to break down. Fat is just another energy source. People aren't giving the body's ability to adapt nearly enough credit.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/70129-side-effects-not-enough-carbs/

Read it. It's slanted, vague, and mostly wrong.

KevDaniel

Here is the facts..

Does low carb work? Absolutley! You will indeed lose weight and fat.

Is it healthy? No, not really. Anytime you stress your body especially something like Ketosis can cause some unwanted additional side effects.

How does it work? Your body loves carbohydrates it is the preferred source of energy as it is quick and plentiful. If it has no carbohydarates the next step is too look for alternative energy sources which is fat! this does mean you will have depleted energy stores as using fat for fuel is a slow process, and since you will have little to no glycogen stores there is no chance of intense energy burst like you would get from carbohydrates. Your body will not get all the fuel it needs from fat so If your body has to use Protein for fuel it has to be converted from muscle, this is the last resort for the body and it puts stress on the body as it is converted in the liver. This is where Ketosis comes in, a process called gluconeogenesis converts protein to fuel you can only get abut 5-10% of the fuel you would get from carbohydrates so this why people often feel lethargic on low carb diets.

So in the end it is not ideal, but yes it does work. This is from experience as well as schooling as a Phys Ed Graduate and ACE certified trainer.

PikaKnight

I did a ketosis diet for 3 months and i lost a good amount of weight. But i broke out in hives because of it for over a month. You can't go without carbs for too long without hurting yourself. Carbs are your main energy source for your body. Just eat healthy foods and stay in a calorie deficit and you'll lose weight.

No, wrong. Being without carbs for "too long" will not hurt you. Carbs are the body's preferred energy source because they are the easiest to break down. Fat is just another energy source. People aren't giving the body's ability to adapt nearly enough credit.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/70129-side-effects-not-enough-carbs/

Read it. It's slanted, vague, and mostly wrong.

I read it and yes, it's "vague" but if you could provide links..I would love to read them And no, that's not me being a smart a$s. I really am interested in looking into other research.

Here are some other links I've read (I can try to find the others I've come across as well...but that'll take some searching through my many bookmarks), but I'm always interested in learning other views and learning where I might be going wrong in the other things I've read - like below.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002469.htm
http://www.indoorclimbing.com/carbohydrates.html

DebbieLyn63

I'm not in Keto, but I try to keep my net carbs under 50g. I find my body does much better if I stay away from processed sugars and grains. My macros are around 18-20%Carb/30%Pro/50%Fat. I do eat non-starch veggies and some fruit.

I carry my weight in my midsection, and have a family history of T2Diabetes, so that was my first motivation for going lower carb. After I did it, I found my inflammatory arthritis greatly improved, I have much more energy, and I sleep much better. I don't have cravings for sugar and junk food like before and can easily stay under my calorie goal. I can ride my bike longer and faster than ever, so it hasn't affected my energy in a negative way, and actually has quite the opposite effect.

ETA, I did eat higher carbs and higher calories overall, over the Holidays and I did gain 2 pounds. It took me a couple of weeks to get my carbs back down again, but I did, and lost the 2 pounds and am losing again. I didn't continue to gain after the first 2 pounds of water gain, tho, so I doubt I would have gained ALL my weight back as long as I kept under my calorie goal. No matter HOW you lose weight, if you go back to eating too many calories, you WILL gain your weight back.

dangerxbadger

First, it isn't a fad diet as I saw one person suggest, it is a way of life that you probably shouldn't bother with unless you think you can stick to it in the long run b/c if you go back to eating a lot of carbs on a normal basis, the water weight and weight in general typically comes back.

I have WAY more energy on this diet than I ever did eating high carb and I don't get sleepy in the afternoon like I used to. I wouldn't necessarily believe the ones who said you won't have energy to do any exercise but walk.

I never went thru the "keto flu" either. I have maintained low carb and gone back to some high carb days and dropped back again several times. Not everyone feels down and out the first few days when switching to low carb or keto.

This. So much this. I have seen incredible weight loss ( and muscle gain! WHO KNEW) and feel a million times better. That said, I also have been religiously counting my calories and working out like crazy. I also have a chronic illness that makes it basically mandatory for me to stay away from grains, gluten and sugar. So staying under 30g of carbs a day has forced lots of veggies on me, reduced my hunger ten fold, and worked miracles on my overall health. I didn't get the keto flu. I felt better right away when I stopped eating refined crap, and in fact, feel like crap when I DO have cheat meals. They're worth it, but they're also only once every 3 months, and I feel much better when I get back to "normal". As for exercise, I train 7 days a week, switching off between interval running and circuit training. I would hardly call that not having energy....

bertabird

Hi There! Just an FYI on Low Carb Dieting! First, people have a tendency to claim that they know everything. Half of them have never been carb sensitive to begin with. Well, I am carb sensitive. I can eat 3 slices of pizza and the next day I weigh 3 pounds heavier. I hadn't had a good night's sleep in 15 years. I was cranky, fat and eating carbs like crazy. When I did diet (over 30 different diets) I would be good for awhile and while everyone else was losing weight, I was stagnant or gaining. It sucked. If you have those kind of problems, maybe you're carb sensitive. Over 66% of Americans are don't even know it.

Low carb dieting is awesome if you follow the protocol and you are eating back at least 3/4 of your "earned exercise calories" back on days that you do more than 15-20 minutes of exercise. I am following the low fat, low carb, high protein and high veggie intake approach to dieting. I read The 17 Day Diet, by Dr. Mike Moreno and I am using most of his advice. Why? Because unlike some low carb diets, this one is also low in fat. The weight is falling off and I am NOT PLATEAUING!!! This loss is amazing and I am proof that it works. I have lost 85 pounds since Feb. 2011. I would have lost more, but I ate some goodies over the holidays! Yes, I cheated for about two weeks. I kept my head, but I did splurge a bit. ;o)

That being said, I hope that you have talked to a physician about any kind of meds your on and so on.

I read The Day Diet, The Metabolic Miracle Diet Cookbook, by Diane Kress (Love it!!!) and also The Atkins Diet, by Dr. Robert Atkins. For me, my "numbers" are at healthy levels for the first time in two decades. My cholesterol, sugar, and pressure are all within healthy levels. I'm still working on my loss, but I am knocked out by my numbers. Amazing!

Low carb diets are great, but if you exercise more than 15-20 minutes in one day, than you have to eat back at LEAST 3/4 of your exercise calories back. Believe me, you'll want to because you do get hungry. There are so many different food choices even when you are low carb, you just have to work at it. I gave up Splenda, Sweet-n-low and Equal for stevia. I gave up diet sodas for water (8 eight ounce glasses per day). I gave up fatty and fried foods for baked and low-fat options. I use a lot of flaxseed oil and olive oil. I seldom eat bacon and I limit my egg intake too.

I won't lie, the first few days of the diet I was going through a sugar withdrawal, BUT with the help of a Super B Complex vitamin, and a daily Multi-Vitamin I was able to do all the normal things I do and I began to lose weight. I lost 1.5 pounds on the first day AND I began to sleep better. So by the second day I was kinda stoked. I still craved sugar but I fought my sweetness cravings by having a low sugar fruit/yogurt/whey protein powder smoothie. It worked for me! I was finally getting somewhere! I kept going and by the end of the first week I was down 10 pounds (mostly water retention weight) and I was sleeping through the night soundly. It was awesome!

I am a big fan of stevia. If you can use it, good for you. I love natural sodas flavored with stevia (Zevia is one brand). I love NuNaturals Stevia packets for coffee, tea, oatmeal, etc. There is less of an aftertaste. I also like Stevia in the Raw to bake with so if I do cheat with a cookie, it is low fat, low sugar and low carb (I use some soy flour to add dietary fiber).
I try to stay away from phenylalanine and aspartame. The liver is busy processing fat, don't add work for it to do by adding phenylalanine and aspartame if you can manage it. ;o)

My best advice? First, talk to your doctor if you have health issues, make him/her aware of your interest. Second, what ever you do, always follow the plan. Whether you read The 17 Day Diet or the Metabolic Miracle or The Atkins Diet or whatever, make sure you follow the plan. If you go too low on your carbs you can seriously hurt yourself and possibly die. Look it up, a few have died from it because they went TOO low carb. They became obsessed. Kapeesh?

I wish you the best of luck! ;o)

OH, and if someone out there doesn't like this post, well, too bad, I don't care. I'm happy and healthy for the first time in my life, I was asked my opinion, and you and your negativity can't take that away from me. So, raspberries to you.

Routerninja

Kind of amused by the "People feeling lethargic on LC diets" remarks.

I lost 140 pounds on LC and will keep doing it to lose the rest. I feel great, I eat a ton of veggies and I have ZERO issues with being lethargic or sluggish.

People think of low carb as the "I can eat all the cheese and bacon I want" diet, those are the ones who will fail.

peachea

. If you go too low on your carbs you can seriously hurt yourself and possibly die. Look it up, a few have died from it because they went TOO low carb.

Look it up where? That's a pretty harsh thing to say with nothing to support it.

Thenameseriika

a friend of mine was doing this for a while, he lost about 15 pounds in 2 weeks (crazy) but he was also doing pretty heavy lifting. one of those people who puts weight on quick, but looses it quickly also.
i think the idea of this diet is actually really cool, i personally couldn't keep up with it just due to being vegan but i do keep it in mind when preparing my meals

funkycamper

I love how the same anti-low carbers always jump in this discussions. Yes, low-carbing is soooo unhealthy (snark). Most of these same people who are anti-low carb support the following:
* eating approx. 1 gram protein for every pound of lean body mass
* eating healthy fats at about a half-gram per pound of lean body mass
* then filling in the rest of your calories for the day with healthy carbs

Guess what this describes? If you simply ensure that most of those healthy carbs are from non-starchy vegetables, you've described a great low-carb diet!

I have improved energy, better memory and ability to concentrate, need less sleep, and all my health markers are better when I eat low-carb. (Yes, I am diabetic but I am diet/exercise controlled. I wouldn't be if I upped my carb intake.)

Now, I'm doing keto and am not ultra low-carb at this point. My carb intake varies from about 50-120grams/day. I do better when I keep it to the lower end but I do sometimes eat more. Sometimes it's just because I feel like a splurge. Sometimes it's because I need it. By this I mean that I do use some targeted extra carbs when needed for some exercises. For example, I'm fine on a bike ride of about 35-40 miles without eating any extra carbs but if I'm going to do 50+ miles, I do need more carbs. Or if I'm doing a multi-hour hike up steep hills, I do need more carbs. No biggie. They get burned up quickly while doing something like that.

However, for my normal exercising which consists of a wide variety of things like heavy lifting, spinning, kickboxing, running (especially fartlek-style running on hills), sprints/stairs, lap swims, shorter bike rides of 15-20miles, etc., I don't need any extra carbs to function. And I don't just exercise for 20minutes either. Usually an hour, sometimes a bit more, rarely less.

And to those of you who said you will gain weight if you go off low-carb or keto diets. Yeah, if you go back to your old eating style that got you fat in the first place, you will gain weight. Works that way with any diet.

omidiano

I did a ketosis diet for 3 months and i lost a good amount of weight. But i broke out in hives because of it for over a month. You can't go without carbs for too long without hurting yourself. Carbs are your main energy source for your body. Just eat healthy foods and stay in a calorie deficit and you'll lose weight.

No, wrong. Being without carbs for "too long" will not hurt you. Carbs are the body's preferred energy source because they are the easiest to break down. Fat is just another energy source. People aren't giving the body's ability to adapt nearly enough credit.

Wrong...

Ur metabolism will slow down and carbs wont make u fat if ur in a caloric deficit..

bertabird

A recent news article was mentioned on a the low carber forum. A gal was low carbing it and went crazy with it. She only ate carbs from veggies and didn't have enough carbs in her system. Second of all, she wasn't as fat as she thought. Here she was consuming less than 20 carbs PER DAY! She went into a sort of shock and began to decline. Her husband acted fast and took her to the ER. Once there, she was able to be stablized.

The doctor called it Ketoacidosis. It mostly happens to people with T2 Diabetes, but those who are going EXTREMELY low carb (beyond a reasonable amount) can be affected by it. It is a state of toxicity in which there are elevated levels of acids called ketones in the blood. This condition occurs when insulin levels are too low and the liver attempts to restore energy by metabolizing fats and proteins due to a lack of available carbohydrates. Since ketone acids slowly degrade into acetone, the breath often smells fruity or similar to nail polish remover. Without immediate medical attention, this condition can induce a diabetic coma and, possibly, death.

She did recover, but it took a long time. She could have died.

Others have not been so fortunate. I have done the research. I didn't want to start something I couldn't control.

You have to stay within a healthy range for carbs. If you don't, above could happen to you. It's a fact. Not a myth.

However, Low Carb Diets are amazing! ;o)

dangerxbadger

Second of all, she wasn't as fat as she thought. Here she was consuming less than 20 carbs PER DAY!

I try to hit 20, but I most of the time fall between 15-17. And I'm fine...

PrimalSiren

Does eating this way help with weight loss more substantially?

No. But it will cause an increase in water weight loss.

How do you feel on this kind of diet? What is your energy level? I'm worried my energy levels will be affected.

Initially your energy levels will suck and then you'll adapt to it. I wouldn't recommend this approach if you're training with any sort of intensity.

What I read about ketosis diets is this

---

When you eat high amounts of protein and reduce your carbohydrate intake, your body goes into a state of ketosis. This means fat is being used for energy instead of carbohydrates.

What you weren't told is that acute substrate utilization is really, really irrelevant when it comes to NET change in fat. What matters a great deal is the difference between fat storage and fat oxidation. THis is governed largely by caloric balance.

Any time someone mentions things like "sugar burner" vs "fat burner" I cringe inside. It demonstrates a very big lack of understanding about the bigger picture and it focuses on very short-term and meaningless things.

Until there's a significant amount of research showing a metabolic advantage to low carb diets with matched calorie and protein intakes then this short term idea of "what you're using for fuel" is just mental *kitten* for lack of a better term.

Now all that being said, this doesn't make low carb useless or bad and I'm not bashing the approach itself.

I do not agree with this, I eat very low carb and have been on a ketogenic diet for over a year now and I've lost 40 pounds and have maintained my weight this way. I have a lot of energy and most days I eat between 1400 and 1600 calories, 70% of those calories come from fat. If things were in reverse, high carb with low fat and the same number of calories, I would gain weight like crazy. I used to eat low fat and high carb and couldn't lose weight unless I spent hours at the gym every day. I would much rather eat the paleo/primal way and not have to worry about calorie deficits or other b.s. like that.

IMO ketogenic diets are great for weight loss and once the weight is gone, if you keep your carbs low (below 100g) you should have no trouble at all maintaining the loss. You will go through carb flu when switching, but it doesn't last very long and after it's gone you'll feel great!

PrimalSiren

And to those of you who said you will gain weight if you go off low-carb or keto diets. Yeah, if you go back to your old eating style that got you fat in the first place, you will gain weight. Works that way with any diet.

bahahahah this made my entire day, and I completely agree with everything else you said.

SideSteel

Does eating this way help with weight loss more substantially?

No. But it will cause an increase in water weight loss.

How do you feel on this kind of diet? What is your energy level? I'm worried my energy levels will be affected.

Initially your energy levels will suck and then you'll adapt to it. I wouldn't recommend this approach if you're training with any sort of intensity.

What I read about ketosis diets is this

---

When you eat high amounts of protein and reduce your carbohydrate intake, your body goes into a state of ketosis. This means fat is being used for energy instead of carbohydrates.

What you weren't told is that acute substrate utilization is really, really irrelevant when it comes to NET change in fat. What matters a great deal is the difference between fat storage and fat oxidation. THis is governed largely by caloric balance.

Any time someone mentions things like "sugar burner" vs "fat burner" I cringe inside. It demonstrates a very big lack of understanding about the bigger picture and it focuses on very short-term and meaningless things.

Until there's a significant amount of research showing a metabolic advantage to low carb diets with matched calorie and protein intakes then this short term idea of "what you're using for fuel" is just mental *kitten* for lack of a better term.

Now all that being said, this doesn't make low carb useless or bad and I'm not bashing the approach itself.

I do not agree with this, I eat very low carb and have been on a ketogenic diet for over a year now and I've lost 40 pounds and have maintained my weight this way. I have a lot of energy and most days I eat between 1400 and 1600 calories, 70% of those calories come from fat. If things were in reverse, high carb with low fat and the same number of calories, I would gain weight like crazy. I used to eat low fat and high carb and couldn't lose weight unless I spent hours at the gym every day. I would much rather eat the paleo/primal way and not have to worry about calorie deficits or other b.s. like that.

IMO ketogenic diets are great for weight loss and once the weight is gone, if you keep your carbs low (below 100g) you should have no trouble at all maintaining the loss. You will go through carb flu when switching, but it doesn't last very long and after it's gone you'll feel great!

I'm glad you found a method that works for you but I stand by every word I've said. I also don't have any issue with low carb diets as a tool/method for some people. But you cannot violate thermodynamics.

faithchange

A recent news article was mentioned on a the low carber forum. A gal was low carbing it and went crazy with it. She only ate carbs from veggies and didn't have enough carbs in her system. Second of all, she wasn't as fat as she thought. Here she was consuming less than 20 carbs PER DAY! She went into a sort of shock and began to decline. Her husband acted fast and took her to the ER. Once there, she was able to be stablized.

The doctor called it Ketoacidosis. It mostly happens to people with T2 Diabetes, but those who are going EXTREMELY low carb (beyond a reasonable amount) can be affected by it. It is a state of toxicity in which there are elevated levels of acids called ketones in the blood. This condition occurs when insulin levels are too low and the liver attempts to restore energy by metabolizing fats and proteins due to a lack of available carbohydrates. Since ketone acids slowly degrade into acetone, the breath often smells fruity or similar to nail polish remover. Without immediate medical attention, this condition can induce a diabetic coma and, possibly, death.

She did recover, but it took a long time. She could have died.

Others have not been so fortunate. I have done the research. I didn't want to start something I couldn't control.

You have to stay within a healthy range for carbs. If you don't, above could happen to you. It's a fact. Not a myth.

However, Low Carb Diets are amazing! ;o)

This happens with Type 1 Diabetics too...but it could be more of a "high blood sugar" incident. My son is 4 years old with Type 1.

faithchange

Second of all, she wasn't as fat as she thought. Here she was consuming less than 20 carbs PER DAY!

I try to hit 20, but I most of the time fall between 15-17. And I'm fine...

I can't fathom someone only eating 15-17 carbs a day! Really? That's like a small apple cored~! My son is Type 1 Diabetic and we have to weigh everything and he only gets less than that for a snack between his meals...to prevent high BS. WOW! Not for me...

PrimalSiren

I'm glad you found a method that works for you but I stand by every word I've said. I also don't have any issue with low carb diets as a tool/method for some people. But you cannot violate thermodynamics.

It's not just a method that works for me, there's entire forums of people that use this method quite effectively. There's thread after thread of success stories at many different paleo websites, so you shouldn't completely discount the fact that VLC method does work. While I do agree that on some diets there needs to be a deficit in calories, I don't think that method should be used for everyone. And I'm proud to say I'm a fat burner vs. a carb burner, there's a huge difference in how my body feels when I'm using fat as fuel vs. carbs. I'm just curious, have you ever tried implementing the paleo/primal way of eating?