Ketogenic Diet - How many carbs do you eat?

Acg67

Heh. You have obviously never seen the results that come with a keto diet, nor have you done any research on the subject. Keto makes sense, it's a very scientific process. When your body is without carbs to burn for fuel, it begins burning fat instead. Maybe research a subject before you call it crazy?

true, but your still only going to burn fat at the rate at which you need the energy... same as any other diet.

In my experience, it did not allow me to burn fat any faster... or slower for that matter.

guess what? your body prefers to burn protein before it burns fat. so keto dieters enjoy your absolute lack of muscle mass.

Keto, by nature, is muscle sparing.

Very low carbs =/= keto. "A VLCARB is almost always relatively high in protein. " Except that's not true for keto diets.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

Thanks for the replies. I do keep my fat intake at 50% so I guess that should be helping. I'd have a hard time eating only 20g of carbs a day. That seems so low to me. My average is 87g, and I'm losing weight.

SO DONT CHANGE WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

sigh...

people are crazy sometimes. if it's working why mess with it?? why restrict or punish yourself when you clearly don't need to?

So eating keto automatically makes us crazy and punishing ourselves? I don't feel like I'm punishing myself whatsoever. In fact, I'm having a lot of fun experimenting with new recipes! I made an epic creamcheese meatloaf a couple of days ago and it is uber delicious!

eating keto is forcing your body into a process it would prefer not to do for long periods of time, and has the risk of falling into ketoacidosis.

why take that risk and why put that nutritional stress on your body when you could... I don't know.... just practice moderation and eat all the foods?

I know some people do keto diets for specific metabolic reasons and that's different, but if you're just doing it so you can eat cream cheese meatloaf... well... you could do that anyway without having to force your body into using backup "in-case-of-emergency" metabolic pathways.

It's like running your house's electricity off a back up generator when the main electricity hasn't even been knocked out in the first place. Would you ever do that?

^^^ Totally agree with this. It is not my place to ever tell anyone how to eat so for many people this seems to be working for the moment. However key words being 'the moment'. I feel it has become the new 'fad' diet. The trend that no one will even remember in 10 years from now.

Extremely low carb diets may be a temporary help for people who have medical issues but for the vast majority of people no carb, low carb diets will have side effects in the long run and is completely unnecessary to weight loss.

Our bodies need carbs. They increase serotonin levels in our brains and give us energy. There are studies now showing how people who eat extremely low carbs have more depression issues and also memory problems. I would never say eat a giant bowl of pasta every night and eat bags of chips for breakfast but in the long run most people eating this way will fall back on 'everything in moderation and exercise' because that is what is sustainable and what works.

Then why do I see so many people that are bi-polar and suffer from depression go on this or a similar low carb lifestyle and be able to get off of bi-polar meds and anti-depressants and stuff.........

Oh, because they are really more depressed.

There is no biological reason for carbs to be consumed. We don't need them to live and thrive.

mdallas6

Ketogenic Diets are crazy. Why not just eat mostly fruits and vegetables with moderate amounts of fat and protein?

I learned today that fruits have tons of carbs. Avoid them like the plague

Good luck with looking good without them. heh

I look amazing with out them )

mdallas6

Thanks for the replies. I do keep my fat intake at 50% so I guess that should be helping. I'd have a hard time eating only 20g of carbs a day. That seems so low to me. My average is 87g, and I'm losing weight.

SO DONT CHANGE WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

sigh...

people are crazy sometimes. if it's working why mess with it?? why restrict or punish yourself when you clearly don't need to?

So eating keto automatically makes us crazy and punishing ourselves? I don't feel like I'm punishing myself whatsoever. In fact, I'm having a lot of fun experimenting with new recipes! I made an epic creamcheese meatloaf a couple of days ago and it is uber delicious!

eating keto is forcing your body into a process it would prefer not to do for long periods of time, and has the risk of falling into ketoacidosis.

why take that risk and why put that nutritional stress on your body when you could... I don't know.... just practice moderation and eat all the foods?

I know some people do keto diets for specific metabolic reasons and that's different, but if you're just doing it so you can eat cream cheese meatloaf... well... you could do that anyway without having to force your body into using backup "in-case-of-emergency" metabolic pathways.

It's like running your house's electricity off a back up generator when the main electricity hasn't even been knocked out in the first place. Would you ever do that?

^^^ Totally agree with this. It is not my place to ever tell anyone how to eat so for many people this seems to be working for the moment. However key words being 'the moment'. I feel it has become the new 'fad' diet. The trend that no one will even remember in 10 years from now.

Extremely low carb diets may be a temporary help for people who have medical issues but for the vast majority of people no carb, low carb diets will have side effects in the long run and is completely unnecessary to weight loss.

Our bodies need carbs. They increase serotonin levels in our brains and give us energy. There are studies now showing how people who eat extremely low carbs have more depression issues and also memory problems. I would never say eat a giant bowl of pasta every night and eat bags of chips for breakfast but in the long run most people eating this way will fall back on 'everything in moderation and exercise' because that is what is sustainable and what works.

Then why do I see so many people that are bi-polar and suffer from depression go on this or a similar low carb lifestyle and be able to get off of bi-polar meds and anti-depressants and stuff.........

Oh, because they are really more depressed.

There is no biological reason for carbs to be consumed. We don't need them to live and thrive.

Agree there is no biological reason to eat carbs. My body does so much better without them. I am off ALL of my meds, lost 41lbs and am living a better and happier life thanks to cutting my carbs to 20-30 a day.

mdallas6

FYI all about Ketogenic Diets "Ketosis is a condition in which levels of ketones (ketone bodies) in the blood are elevated. Ketones are formed when glycogen stores in the liver have run out.

The ketones - acetoacetate and β-hydroxybutyrate - are used for energy. Ketones are small carbon fragments that are the fuel created by the breakdown of fat stores. Ketosis is potentially a serious condition if keytone levels go too high.

However, when the body is in ketosis the individual tends to feel less hungry, and will probably eat less than he/she might otherwise do. The body switches from being a carbohydrate-burning organism into a fat-burning one. The fat stores become a primary energy source, and the person loses weight. That is why low-carb diets have become popular, and effective, especially among obese people.

The modern human body in most societies usually metabolizes glucose from carbohydrates for energy purposes, rather than energy from fat. If there is not enough glucose (from carbohydrates) in the bloodstream the body draws on fat stores for fuel, causing the appearance of ketones in the blood. Ketones are produced by the liver from fatty acids.

We need proteins and fats for building and repairing tissue and cells - proteins and fats can also be sources of energy. If necessary, the body can get all its energy from fats and proteins."

Acg67

There is no biological reason for carbs to be consumed. We don't need them to live and thrive.

And thus hypoglycemia was determined to be a myth

PaleoPath4Lyfe

The sugar in fruit is fructose sugar, it's not going to release as fast into your body like eating a candy bar would. Also if you're eating the appropriate amount of fat and protein it should lesson the the speed of your body absorbing it. You naturally crave sweetness because fruit is one of the foods we humans have always ate! It's full of antioxidants that your body needs

Are you sure about that????

http://news.discovery.com/human/evolution/human-ancestor-diet-nuts.htm

PaleoPath4Lyfe

you need to eat as much carbs as possible, healthy carbs (fruits, veggies, rice pasta, rice) and low fat. Your brain needs carbs, if you try eating low carb your body is going to crave sugar like crazy. Eat High carb and A LOT of food.

^^^ Has to be one of the most ignorant comments ever.

Acg67

you need to eat as much carbs as possible, healthy carbs (fruits, veggies, rice pasta, rice) and low fat. Your brain needs carbs, if you try eating low carb your body is going to crave sugar like crazy. Eat High carb and A LOT of food.

^^^ Has to be one of the most ignorant comments ever.

mdallas6

you need to eat as much carbs as possible, healthy carbs (fruits, veggies, rice pasta, rice) and low fat. Your brain needs carbs, if you try eating low carb your body is going to crave sugar like crazy. Eat High carb and A LOT of food.

^^^ Has to be one of the most ignorant comments ever.

Agreed!

mdallas6

Oh and after the 3rd day on low carb your sugars are burnt off and you dont crave them anymore....omg understand the diet before tell people who are on it what it is doing to our body....

albertabeefy

guess what? your body prefers to burn protein before it burns fat. so keto dieters enjoy your absolute lack of muscle mass.

This is absolutely incorrect. I don't know where you got this idea, or if you're just a radical that's spreading propaganda - but it's so ignorant it's not funny.

There are dozens of studies showing ketogenic diets are muscle-sparing. There are hundreds of articles to find in regards to this. There is consensus in the fitness, bodybuilding, medical, and all scientific communities.

loriemn

in to read later

lanf67

read later

caminoslo

Fruits have high levels of fructose, which is a simple sugar. Not good if someone is trying to lose weight. As for vegetables, there is a handful of carbs in them for one, and they are complex. These burn slower and do not spike insulin levels like simple carbs. The spiking of insulin is where the harm is for the most part, and what causes excess adipose tissue, aka, fat. As for ketosis, I just went into it today. This is something I have done many times. When you do not take in carbs, your body turns to protein and converts it to carbs, unless you workout and do cardio, then the proteins are used up to repair and build muscle tissue. So if you are exercising and using proteins, the body will turn to adipose tissue, which is actually stored carbs. When this tissue is used up, carb intake should be increased. Your body will continue to target carbs in the fat deposites vs the blood and liver.

Ketosis is not harmful if you stay in it for a LIMITED time. If you continue on it after you use up your fat reserves and do not take in carbs, your body will start to target muscle tissue. As for ketosis causing loss of bone density, that is simply not true. It is not biologically possible. And yes, ketosis and ketoacidosis are related. But ketoacidosis is a result of little or no insulin available to drive carbs out of the blood. As a result, the body goes into ketosis. But the harm is not the ketones, it is the extremely high levels of glucose in the blood. That is where the confusion between the two comes from. Controlled ketosis done through carb restriction is not harmful like ketoacidosis because there is no high levels of glucose in the blood.




I will say, it is better to incorporate exercise with the keto diet. You don't want to lose protein weight, which is muscle. If you do not exercise and put protein intake to good use, the body will convert it to carbs before it starts targeting fat. Ultimately, you should not be as concerned with weight loss on this diet as fat loss. The fact is, most people who lose weight and aren't exercising are not losing fat, they are losing muscle tissue, which is 4 times heavier than fat. That's sometimes why there is weight loss at such a high rate.

That scares me your last paragraph, how come my boobs are shrinking there all fat?!? But on the other hand my weight loss is damn slow.

albertabeefy

I will say, it is better to incorporate exercise with the keto diet. You don't want to lose protein weight, which is muscle. If you do not exercise and put protein intake to good use, the body will convert it to carbs before it starts targeting fat. Ultimately, you should not be as concerned with weight loss on this diet as fat loss. The fact is, most people who lose weight and aren't exercising are not losing fat, they are losing muscle tissue, which is 4 times heavier than fat. That's sometimes why there is weight loss at such a high rate.

That scares me your last paragraph, how come my boobs are shrinking there all fat?!? But on the other hand my weight loss is damn slow.

Don't let it scare you, because it's not entirely accurate. There is no evidence that exercise while on a ketogenic diet helps spare muscle. The diet itself is protein-sparing.

Yes, excess protein can be converted to glucose - but only EXCESS. This is why a ketogenic diet is low-carb, high-fat and moderate-protein.

It is NOT a fact that ketogenic dieters "who lose weight and aren't exercising are not losing fat, they are losing muscle tissue". There's no scientific validity to that statement.

aeb09

Trying to stay as close to 20g total, under 15g net as possible. Today was 21g total, 11g net. I have pretty severe insulin resistance from PCOS and after extensive research I feel this is the best option -for me-.