Is being in ketosis nessesary for low carb weight loss

This is a common experience with low carb diets. Eventually, willpower gives out and you start to eat the foods you haven't "allowed" yourself for so long. You quickly fall back into old eating patterns and gain the weight back. I prefer plans and methods that don't needlessly restrict very specific foods, or categories of foods, entirely. This helps one learn moderation with all foods and not feel unnecessarily restricted in food choices. IMO low carb is not a way to set yourself up for life.

Count me as a low carb loser and calorie/macro tracking maintainer. My low carb losing weight phase set me up for a healthy life.
80 carbs a day seemed to be my magic number.

Your profile says you lost 48 pounds between December 2012 and April 2013. You logged for a significant portion of that time period, and you seem to average well over 100, with occasional forays above 200. I don't see a single day you approached carbs representing single-digit percentages of total caloric intake. Maybe I'm missing something?

"Metabolically deranged" is the phrase of the day.

Read about being in ketosis...not good....(lay persons can read about it on WebMD... clinical research trial results are posted at many universities sites.... Used to make me crazy when people would do Atkins and talk about Ketosis as a good thing.. I think of it as your brain full of Urine

Are you sure you're not confusing ketosis with ketoacidosis? My brain isn't full of urine whatsoever. I have more energy and the weight loss has been phenomenal for me.

Read about being in ketosis...not good....(lay persons can read about it on WebMD... clinical research trial results are posted at many universities sites.... Used to make me crazy when people would do Atkins and talk about Ketosis as a good thing.. I think of it as your brain full of Urine

Ummmm
Say what?

If you're having only one cheat meal per week you're certainly NOT going out of ketosis ever, let alone on a regular basis.

A couple times a week I will eat 100 - 120g of carbohydrate in a day (this typically represents 12-13% of calories from carbohydrate) and never leave ketosis - but I'm very metabolically active.

The folks saying a caloric deficit causes weight-loss are absolutely correct. For many people there's no real reason to be low-carb. Low-carb ketogenic diets are great for losing fat while retaining lean-mass, and they're superior to any other diet for glycemic control.

So if you are insulin-resistant (for any reason), it's the diet of choice. Even if you're not diagnosed insulin-resistant BUT you're morbidly obese, it's also considered by many bariatric physicians the diet of choice.

Many epileptics also choose a low-carb diet as certain types of seizures are associated with glucose-transporter protein deficiency syndrome (ie, DeVivo disease) or pyruvate-dehydrogenase-complex-deficiency - in those two epileptic circumstances it's not just the diet of choice, but the TREATMENT of choice.

You don't have to worry about your cheat meal - I have done low carb before and always had a cheat meal a week and successfully lost weight.

My problem is that after about 3 months - I would be craving sugars and junk food so badly that I would go off of it and just go completely overboard on eating the junk food again and gain it all back. That is why I am now trying to do calorie counting and included junk foods that I like, so that maybe I can maintain it for a lifetime.

Good luck on low carb! I know I felt so much better on it!

This is a common experience with low carb diets. Eventually, willpower gives out and you start to eat the foods you haven't "allowed" yourself for so long. You quickly fall back into old eating patterns and gain the weight back. I prefer plans and methods that don't needlessly restrict very specific foods, or categories of foods, entirely. This helps one learn moderation with all foods and not feel unnecessarily restricted in food choices. IMO low carb is not a way to set yourself up for life.

Im asking people who know about low carb. You are here just being negative giving your unwanted opinion.

They do know about low carb. I didn't see it as being negative just giving their opinion and experience on it. All can comment, just ignore what you don't like.

I usually try to have a little bit of a calorie deficit while I low carb because I have never read anything that specifically stated how much fat the body burns in a period of time while in ketosis.

Your profile says you lost 48 pounds between December 2012 and April 2013. You logged for a significant portion of that time period, and you seem to average well over 100, with occasional forays above 200. I don't see a single day you approached carbs representing single-digit percentages of total caloric intake. Maybe I'm missing something?

I didn't join here and start logging until I was transitioning to a "regular" diet.

So you did low carb between Thanksgiving 2012 and December 3, 2012?

"After Thanksgiving 2012 I weighed more than ever and was determined to lose weight and get in shape before my 40th birthday (March 30, 2013). I started Medifast December 3, 2012 and 4 months later I was below my goal weight with a total loss of 48 pounds."

Medifast isn't low carb. You started logging February 15, 2013 and you didn't log a single day of single-digit-percentage of calories from carbs. So when was the low carb that made you a "low carb loser and calorie/macro tracking maintainer"?

Have you review The 100 by Jorge Cruise? It is low carb but with low cravings and no Ketosis.