Ok,

So I was reading about ketosis (didn't really know what it was.) and found out it was basically starving yourself. So that poses the question...

Is my low carb diet actually just me starving?

Well, dieting/losing weight can sort of be looked at as you starving yourself, but as long as you don't go below 1200 calories a day, your body isn't in any harm.

Your body needs 1200 calories a day to do normal functions, which is why that's the "red line" number. If you have extra weight on you, you can go a bit above that number and still lose weight, in theory.

Yeah it depends on how "low carb" you are. Lower than the average person isnt probably starving yourself of carbs, having no carbs at all might be I say this also knowing nothing about ketosis. Sounds like mitosis

Ketosis is just when your body has run low on carbs and is forced to break down fatty acids, which contain ketone.

Some parts of the body, I think the brain, run almost solely on carbs. So a no carb diet could have problems. But as long as you are watching the total calories and at least getting minimal carbs it should be fine.

I'm doing the Ideal Protein diet, and it's main starting function is to put your body into a state of ketosis so that your body will start burning fat and not muscle. Ketosis CAN be dangerous, and that's why with Ideal Protein it is monitored by your diet consultant to make sure that everything is on the up and up.

Isn't it when your body goes into keitosis it stops using excess fat to get energy after you haven't eaten (which is how we loose weight, we lower are calories JUST that right amount that our body using our fat). It stops using this fat and starts eating vitals like muscles.

am I on the right track here? This is what I have believed it to be. I'm to lazy to google.

There are carbs in foods other than what we consider "carb" foods (pasta, rice, oats, wheat, etc). Sugar is a carbohydrate, and fruits definitely contain sugars. Even vegetables and meats to an extent contain sugars. Also, starches are carbohydrates, and potatos, beans, etc will have starches. Personally, I don't know much about low-carb diets, but I personally believe in balance. I eat a limited amount of whole grain carbs. Often, 1 cup of shredded wheat cereal will be my carbs for the day.

So no, ketosis doesn't imply you're starving yourself. And it's unlikely that your body is nutritionally starving for sugars and starches. Like someone said, ketosis is the breakdown of any molecule containing a ketone functional group (carbon double bonded to oxygen), most often referred to fat loss. It is possible to lose OR gain weight while being nutritionally starved for something. A person could be getting too many calories while completely lacking in iron, for example.

You said low carb, not no carb, so quite frankly, you're probably not in danger unless you have diabetes. Well, you will undergo ketosis, but it won't become ketoacidosis (i.e. the dangerous, out of control form of ketosis). As long as you're eating plant material, you'll be fine.

Ahem *clears throat* We actually learned about this this week in my Nutrition class.

Basically -- *pulls out book* The basic principle of "ketosis" in a diet is to provide less glucose. Glucose can be turned into body fat, but body fat cannot be turned into glucose. When you provide your body with less glucose it starts to break down fat because it is looking for energy. This can be good AND bad. Most diets do not recommend putting your body into ketosis for long periods of time (usually no longer than 2 weeks). You're retraining your body to break down fat vs. store fat.

Putting yourself into ketosis for too long can cause vitamin and mineral deficiencies, loss of bone minerals, altered blood lipids, increased risk of kidney stones and impared moods.

You brain does use carbohydrates to function as mentioned before.

As TKM stated, you're cutting BACK on carbs, not cutting all of them out completely. So you should be okay, but whatever the diet recommends (i.e. a ketosis phase of x amount of days) listen to it. Even though it is tempting to stay on it longer for more rapid weight loss it really isn't good for you.

Hope that helps.

not totally related, but i remember reading that experiments were done with people who were on very low/no carb diets and their ability to concentrate and cognitive functioning went down (just while on the diet) compared to peopleon low calorie diets who ate moderate amounts of carbs.

Ketosis is often confused with Ketoacidosis which (according to wikipedia) "is an extreme and uncontrolled form of ketosis, which is a normal response to prolonged fasting. In ketoacidosis, the body fails to adequately regulate ketone production causing such a severe accumulation of keto acids that the pH of the blood is substantially decreased. In extreme cases ketoacidosis can be fatal.


Mild ketosis isn't dangerous. Most low carb diets do not put a reasonably healthy person at risk for ketoacidosis. Some health issues, such as kidney disease, poorly controlled diabetes, and some medications can put a person at greater risk (which is why it really is a good idea to get a checkup before starting a very low-carb diet).


Some things you can do to virtually eliminate what small risk there is:

1. Get that checkup and talk to your doctor about your dieting plans.

2. Do NOT eliminate all carbs from your diet. Atkins induction level (20 to 40 carbs, I believe) may be too low for some folks. I do not believe that the nausea, lightheadness and weakness of induction is necessarily caused by "carb withdrawal." Personally, I believe low blood sugar is an at least as likely cause, and that feeling ill is a sign that raising carb levels is a good idea (or in Atkins terms, proceeding to OWL). How low is too low, is greatly debated, so use good judgement and trust your body. If you're not feeling well, consider increasing carb levels.

2.5 This is really a further elaboration of 2. Eat plenty of non-starchy vegetables as your main carbohydrate source.

3. Do not attempt to severely restrict carbs AND fat. An extremely low-fat and low-protein diet can be dangerous. It's sometimes referred to as "rabbit starvation" or protein poisoning.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_starvation


4. Drink plenty of fluids (most liquids do count, even coffee). Even among wild carnivores such as wolves, ketoacidosis can occur if the animal can't access enough drinking water. If you're healthy, drinking water will in most cases prevent ketosis from becoming ketoacidosis. This doesn't mean you have to drink a gallon of water a day. If you're not eating much salt, are taking medications especially blood pressure medication or other diuretics, or are prone to low blood sodium levels, you should probably talk to your doctor about your fluid requirements, and how much liquids may be too much (for example, on the blood pressure medication I'm on, and the fact that I eat very little salt, my doctor has given me a 3 liter limit).


5. Listen to your body and pay attention to unusual symptoms. Diarrhea, vomitting, severe nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness.... are symptoms of something being wrong. I know some sources suggest that a certain degree of these symptoms are to be expected when starting a low carb diet. And maybe very mild symptoms aren't that big a deal, but if the symptoms are severe enough to be uncomfortable (and not just mildly annoying) make some adjustments in your diet until you feel decent - raising carb levels, drinking more water, taking to a doctor or dietitian....

6. Activity and exercise. If you're too weak or light headed to participate in regular activity and exercise, you may be restricting carbohydrates too far. You should be able to feel good AND exercise.