Ketosis

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  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
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    Not to sound arrogant, but it is basic physiology. The food you eat is broken down and used as fuel before your body turns to it's stored energy. So a -500 deficit on ketosis is essentially the same as -500 of a more typical diet.

    There are studies that show there is little to no difference between a ketosis diet and one that includes carbs. I'm on my phone so I dont have access to them unfortunately. That being said, it is mostly personal preference. If you find ketosis sustainable for you, then go for it.
  • shivles
    shivles Posts: 468 Member
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    But doesn't that mean once the food is digested bf will be used up? Overnight when I don't eat for example? Normally the body would turn to glycogen stores wouldn't it?
  • heatherloveslifting
    heatherloveslifting Posts: 1,428 Member
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    When I think Ketosis, I immediately associate it with bad breath. So no thanks.
  • kgreenRDLDN
    kgreenRDLDN Posts: 248 Member
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    Definitely talk with your doctor before starting this type of diet. It puts a lot of strain on your kidney's and can cause damage if you run a high level of ketones, or for a long period of time. Ketosis will also burn your lean muscle mass as ketones are produced from the body burning fat & protein for fuel instead of carbohydrates. Be very careful, and be sure your doctor is on board before starting this diet.
  • GamerGirly
    GamerGirly Posts: 158 Member
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    I would suggest refraining from posting on main forums regarding any low carb lifestyle change. Please join Keto or Low carb forums for advice from those who have experience in this area.

    Keto for 8 months and have lost over 50 inches and 100lbs! :)
  • mrdexter1
    mrdexter1 Posts: 356 Member
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    Definitely talk with your doctor before starting this type of diet. It puts a lot of strain on your kidney's and can cause damage if you run a high level of ketones, or for a long period of time. Ketosis will also burn your lean muscle mass as ketones are produced from the body burning fat & protein for fuel instead of carbohydrates. Be very careful, and be sure your doctor is on board before starting this diet.

    I must be the exception to your rule !!!

    lost a shed load of weight and lost less than 1/4 of an inch off my arms which suddenly re appears after i do re feed which is better than i expected and i m well pleased with the results ..
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    But doesn't that mean once the food is digested bf will be used up? Overnight when I don't eat for example? Normally the body would turn to glycogen stores wouldn't it?

    If you were eating at maintenance or surplus, then yes. But your glycogen stores are depleted when you're at a caloric deficit for any length of time. You'll need to eat at a deficit to lose fat no matter which method you choose. So, there's no real difference between the two types of diets when it comes to reducing body fat.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    The idea of ketosis is quite interesting to me, I don't want to loose weight but I do want to reduce my bf%. From what I've been reading ketosis can help me do this.

    No, it can't.

    You'll lose bf% if you eat at a deficit and do some minimal exercise - whether you're in ketosis or not is irrelevant.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    How could switching your body's main energy source to fat not help with fat loss?

    There is no "switch" - if you are in a caloric deficit, your body is metabolizing stored fat, whether you're in ketosis or not.
  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
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    Wether you go Keto, Paleo, Primal or whatever name they have out there for special ''diets'' keep in mind you will drop BF% at a calorie deficit along with exercise. Yes people have lost BF with those diets, of course they have, they were eating bellow maintenance and were most likely active... :huh:

    You do not need to over complicate things. If you wish to go Keto then go ahead and do it but not because you expect better results burning yout BF with it but because your will enjoy eating that way
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    But doesn't that mean once the food is digested bf will be used up? Overnight when I don't eat for example? Normally the body would turn to glycogen stores wouldn't it?

    yes, overnight you will be taking fuel back out of storage - both fat and glycogen. Low carb people have active glycogen storage too.

    Roughly speaking you burn what you eat, so a low carb eater will tend to be using more fat and have a lower respiratory quotient (RQ) than a carb eater. 0.72 vs 0.90 for example.

    The point is that if you ate 300 grams of fat and no carbs the 2700 calories could supply all your needs (and some) and you would be in ketosis but you don't know that the ketones are produced from fat reserves - just that they come from fat.

    On the other hand you could eat or drink 900 calories a day, do a lot of exercise and be in ketosis on account of having to use fat stores to provide your calorie needs.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
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    I would suggest refraining from posting on main forums regarding any low carb lifestyle change. Please join Keto or Low carb forums for advice from those who have experience in this area.

    Keto for 8 months and have lost over 50 inches and 100lbs! :)

    Yeah, much better to drink the koolaide than to have honest dialogue.
  • paintlisapurple
    paintlisapurple Posts: 982 Member
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    Question: What is a "normal" amount of carbs anyway?
    Another Question: If someone eats very low carb and loses weight, won't that weight come right back once resuming a "normal" amount of carb intake?
  • danimalkeys
    danimalkeys Posts: 982 Member
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    Question: What is a "normal" amount of carbs anyway?
    Another Question: If someone eats very low carb and loses weight, won't that weight come right back once resuming a "normal" amount of carb intake?

    I was eating 150/250g per day. Not sure how normal that is.

    Why would it? You don't say "ok, I hit my goal weight, I can eat what I want again!" and start binging on pasta. That's how people who lose weight put it back on, they don't adopt their changes as lifestyle changes. It doesn't matter what diet plan you use, if you go back to your old eating habits, there's a good chance you'll put the weight back on. If you want to go back to eating more carbs, then you gradually ramp it up and monitor your weight and figure out where your maintenance level is.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
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    Question: What is a "normal" amount of carbs anyway?
    Another Question: If someone eats very low carb and loses weight, won't that weight come right back once resuming a "normal" amount of carb intake?

    They will gain some water weight.
  • Briargrey
    Briargrey Posts: 498 Member
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    I did full-on Atkins back in 2002-2003 and lost 86 pounds and plateaued for about 6 months before gradually gaining everything back over the last decade (plus 5!). I'm not saying it can't work for you, because it can, but the principle is the same as any other weight loss scenario - you have to eat less than you burn. Being very large (286 pounds) and 5'1" helped me for the first 86 pounds - I didn't have to think about modifying my diet. When it 'stopped working' for me, I got frustrated, and nothing seemed to work -- well duh, I'd dropped weight so now my maintenance calorie level was what my prior 'lose weight' level was, and I didn't recognize it. I was 'sold' the bill of goods that I could eat bacon and cheese and such and if I just cut out those pesky carbs, I'd be so full and eat so few calories that I'd rock that weight loss down to Electric Avenue or something.

    Right.

    I didn't want to face the facts that I had to reduce calories more. Also, I didn't feel that great under ketosis and such - I was depriving myself of foods, and that felt terrible, because if I 'gave in' and had one of those forbidden foods or too much of them, then I knew I'd just 'blown' it.

    Personally, I feel that it is much healthier to just watch what you eat and how much you eat and log everything and deny yourself nothing, then it is to try to trick your mind and body into some special snowflake way of losing weight (Atkins, raspberry ketones, green tea, Jenny Craig, insert 'diet' here). However, to each their own - if you can SUSTAIN it and not get down and it still has all the nutrients you need, then I suppose go for it.
  • EddieHaskell97
    EddieHaskell97 Posts: 2,227 Member
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    Wow! So much misinformation flying around, and so few who've actually talked to a doctor about it.

    This is not the place to be asking. Talk to you doctor, or at least a dietitian. The peanut gallery here is very much hit or miss. From the looks of this thread, "broad side of a barn" and "Stormtrooper aim" come to mind.
  • mrdexter1
    mrdexter1 Posts: 356 Member
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    Wow! So much misinformation flying around, and so few who've actually talked to a doctor about it.

    This is not the place to be asking. Talk to you doctor, or at least a dietitian. The peanut gallery here is very much hit or miss. From the looks of this thread, "broad side of a barn" and "Stormtrooper aim" come to mind.

    well i was one of those to see a doctor, and she was intrigued, full of questions and happy to help me as i had put so much effort in to changing things...

    Obviously its not necessary to be in ketosis to lose weight but there is a big but...

    we dont get hungry, we lose that craving for carbs and we are all aware if we eat over on carbs we throw ourselves out of keto and feel rough until back in and thats a hell of an incentive not to fall off the wagon. We are also aware we have to eat our daily cal allowance or training becomes physically tiresome - its also a very easy diet to follow and there is less muscle loss if its managed properly.

    I have no idea why it works, but it really is silly for those not using it or not having tried it post on here in such an emotive negative manner with no reasoning behind their argument - whats your problem ????

    As for the water loss and addition with carbs - we all know what to expect and how to manage it and on a personal note i like the flat look with no glycogen stored and i like the filled look after a planned necessary carb intake , but most of all i like the ease and convenience of everything and the regular weight loss -

    isnt that what we re here for !!!
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    we dont get hungry, we lose that craving for carbs and we are all aware if we eat over on carbs we throw ourselves out of keto and feel rough until back in and thats a hell of an incentive not to fall off the wagon. We are also aware we have to eat our daily cal allowance or training becomes physically tiresome - its also a very easy diet to follow and there is less muscle loss if its managed properly.

    I have to say, this is not true.

    It may be true for *you* but the use of "we" is not appropriate. I did it for a year, and it was a constant struggle to avoid over-eating, and I constantly felt in a state of deprivation. It also became virtually impossible to have an active lifestyle, due to never-ending fatigue. All that suffering ended for me by getting out of low carb.

    Worst of all, the weight I did lose had an unacceptably high proportion of lean body mass, so it wasn't even great fat loss. :(

    So there is no "we" in this type of diet. At the end of the day, it is just another diet, and how well it works depends on the individual.
  • thmgoodw
    thmgoodw Posts: 49
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    Another Question: If someone eats very low carb and loses weight, won't that weight come right back once resuming a "normal" amount of carb intake?

    As another poster commented, some water weight will return. Due to glycogen depletion and lack of holding on to sugar, one in ketosis will certainly be carrying out less weight than they would if they had a higher carb intake. For me, that is ~4-5 pounds. But again, that is just water weight, not fat gain or anything like that.

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