Low fat Ketogenic Diet - Observations

Your breath smelled awful because your body was breaking down fats for fuel. The by-products of fat metabolism are ketones. Ketones are weak acids, and thus you described perfectly what is known as "ketone breath". In addition if ketones build up in your blood, your blood will become acidic , and this can be detrimental to your health.

Stop repeating this nonsense. The only people who need to worry about that is Type I diabetics and alcoholics.

Well, the main issue with that diet isn't the calories themselves; it's putting your body into an effect where your brain is relying ketones for an extended period of time for energy. While the brain can use the ketones and function, it is not as effective as using glucose, because glucose is the brain's preferred energy source in any situation. Ketones are supposed to be backup for when glucose supplies are super-low, and it's not designed to be an extended thing.

So really, using this diet to get a specific goal in a shorter period of time would be effective, because your body could adapt to the situation for a period, but it is not something that's designed to be done long-term, because your brain is not wired to be able to handle ketones for extended periods of time. Which means that once your done, it would be very hard to maintain the results, unless you go through the diet in cycles.

Just so you know, back before agriculture, carbohydrates were only available in abundance seasonally. What did people eat in the winter to stay out of ketosis? The Inuit eskimos and other populations went extended periods of time on a ketogenic diet and adapted just fine.

Explain to us why the body isn't wired to handle ketones for extended periods of time. Do you have any evidence of this claim?

There are no problems with being in ketosis for a very long time. Ketogenic diets have been suggested to epileptic children for ages now.

I've been on a keto diet since November 28th. Since that time, I've lost 56lbs of body fat.

My ratio has been 5% net carbs, 35% protein and 60% fats.

I'm 6' and currently 297lbs. My fat and protein typically settle around 120-130g per day and carbs at 20.


I eat 75%+ of my carbs by the time lunch is over, so that I intake a very minor amount of carbs after 1pm.

I've been also around 1700-1800 calories this entire time.

It's worked out amazing for me. I haven't felt limited by what I can eat at all. Check out my diary for examples, but I have tomato, onion, lots of green vegetables (leafy and/or just in color), chicken, beef, pork, fish. Hell, I even have hot dogs once or twice a week. (Schneider's Country Naturals FTW!)

Your breath smelled awful because your body was breaking down fats for fuel. The by-products of fat metabolism are ketones. Ketones are weak acids, and thus you described perfectly what is known as "ketone breath". In addition if ketones build up in your blood, your blood will become acidic , and this can be detrimental to your health.

Stop repeating this nonsense. The only people who need to worry about that is Type I diabetics and alcoholics.

wait.. wut?
I havent read anything relating specifically to ketogenic Diets and alcohol.... have any cool links to share?
I know it wont really apply to any alcoholics I know, since beer has carbs and would kick them out of ketosis before the night is over, but I am genuinely curious.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001365/

I would imagine a beer drinker is probably not going to hit this as easily as someone drinking hard liquor. But I know very little other than reading a brief intro about it in the book, The Ketogenic Diet.

Your breath smelled awful because your body was breaking down fats for fuel. The by-products of fat metabolism are ketones. Ketones are weak acids, and thus you described perfectly what is known as "ketone breath". In addition if ketones build up in your blood, your blood will become acidic , and this can be detrimental to your health.

Stop repeating this nonsense. The only people who need to worry about that is Type I diabetics and alcoholics.

wait.. wut?
I havent read anything relating specifically to ketogenic Diets and alcohol.... have any cool links to share?
I know it wont really apply to any alcoholics I know, since beer has carbs and would kick them out of ketosis before the night is over, but I am genuinely curious.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001365/

I would imagine a beer drinker is probably not going to hit this as easily as someone drinking hard liquor. But I know very little other than reading a brief intro about it in the book, The Ketogenic Diet.

hmm.. it just says malnourished. nothing relating to a ketogenic diet...
I wonder if its a result of the inability to metabolize fat from malnourishment... or maybe the body is just thrown off and is letting ketones run rampant, changing blood ph.

i'll look more into it when i get some free time.. i like learning this stuff. lol

I think its caused by the glycogen depletion associated with the malnourishment that induces ketosis coupled with the high intake of alcohol. Not sure why it happens though other than that.

I think i found the basic answer im looking for:

In alcoholic ketoacidosis, alcohol causes dehydration and blocks the first step of gluconeogenesis. The body is unable to synthesize enough glucose to meet its needs, thus creating an energy crisis resulting in fatty acid metabolism, and ketone body formation.

of course fatty acids are acidic.. and ketones are acidic.. but because the body can not process the fatty acids, they remain there and ketones are produced.. making the blood acidic(from both keytones and FAs)... aka ketoacidosis

now the only question is... is it more likely to occur suddenly to a person on a ketogenic diet as they're already producing ketones?....

I did find alot more info im going to read more about later here: http://www.2fingerclub.com/ebooks/Complete_Guide_For_The_Dieter_And_Practitioner.pdf
if its anything like lyles other books, it will have the answer in there.... lol

It has to be because glucose only *needs* to be synthesized from protein when they person isn't eating enough carbs to fuel their brain. Although I doubt this kind of alcoholic is willingly on a ketogenic diet.

I struggled for years to get the needle on the scales to budge even a small amount, despite eating healthily and doing exercise. Since I have adopted a very low carb diet I have lost a staggering 33 lbs in just 8 weeks. You could argue (probably correctly) that that's too much weight loss, but I can't help it, the weight continues to fall off at an average of half a pound a day.

Most importantly I feel great; no brain fog, no tiredness, no real symptoms at all apart from I feel faint and giddy when I stand up sometimes.

My blood pressure has dropped significantly on ketosis too (i.e. that's a good thing, it was bordering on high before, now it's nicely in the middle of the correct range).

I have finely tuned my intake and I can share with you what is optimum for me in terms of weight loss;
1100 calories
40g of carbs
75g of fats
90g of proteins
... and NO alcohol.

On the days when I achieve that, I lose around 1 lb. It doesn't really matter whether I exercise or not, it doesn't have much impact on weight loss.

I find I am rarely hungry and I don't crash in the middle of the day due to low blood sugar. It really suits me and works for me (and I am a big guy, so 1100 calories might not seem like a lot but I function really well on it).

If anything, my brain at work is around 50% sharper, I act better in meetings and can think more strategically.

Having said all of that, I fully understand that such a low calorie low carb diet isn't sustainable in the long run. So once I have shed the excess weight, I will gradually re-introduce some carbs and some extra calories and keep doing so until I find an equilibrium.

33 lbs in 8 weeks ... ketosis works for me and has changed my life. Please understand; while ketosis "could" have some negative health effects, what's worse than being very obese and dealing with all the health problems caused by carrying around 33 lbs of extra fat all day every day?

Terry

I know I am bumping an old post but I have to add. I agree with Jambe and I have had similar experiences. I am currently on my 3rd week of the following.

Starting weight was 246.6 with BMR of around 2150 at sedentary
50% Protein =250G
30% fat =40
20% carbs=75
I eat around 1750 calories a day and exercise around 450 calories a day for net intake of around 1250. My regimen includes heavy lifting and light cardio so I dont lost muscle mass. I weighed 246.6 starting out. I am 2.5 weeks into this and am down to 236.5lbs. I should hit losing around 15 lbs this first month. The weight is slowing down coming off as my betabolism is getting slower as you should recalculate your BMR every 5 lbs lost and I am sure I lost some due to water retention but man I am slimmer for sure.

The biggest problem I have is eating all the food. It is amazing how much you have to eat to get down 250G protein.
favorite meals are egg whites, ham, broccoli and cheese casserole, steak tips, smoked chicken, and cottage cheese.