3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community (https://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/)

- Ideal Protein Diet (https://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/ideal-protein-diet-236/)

- - Ketosis (https://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/ideal-protein-diet/256818-ketosis.html)

I think I'm going to get the Ketostix, I'm just not sure I'm in ketosis. I get hungry around 10:30 and in the afternoon (breakfast drink at 8), my weight loss has been going down (only had 4 WI's - 6,4,3,2). I don't have the funny taste in my mouth. I guess I just want to check.

I've been on program, but I may eat more than 2 cups of veggies, I haven't been measuring, so I'm going to start.

I don't ususally eat restricted, maybe 2 a week, I ordered more of those because I saw a thread where people said they lost more if they at them every day, so I thought I'd try that after next WI.

Thanks for posting, I am normally having hot flashes, lately I've been wrapped up in my sweater. Now I know why;)

I have a question. I've been doing the program for 1 week today, no cheating, and I am still hungry. I'm eating the drinks, salad, veggies, drinking all the water. And I was on a low carb diet right before I started IP, so there wasn't too much of a transition. I started at 202 pounds and will weigh in, in 2 hours.
I'm so pleased to see folks losing weight!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dizzyjean (Post 4320279)

While many dieters start experiencing much less hunger once they're in ketosis, we are all different. And it takes some people longer to get into ketosis than others, as some are more carb sensitive and have to adapt to a lower total level of carbs in order to get/stay in ketosis. These are all things that your coach will help you with on your weekly visits. Perhaps it's taking longer for your body to adapt. Some of us report experiencing hunger on and off through the process - others have very little hunger and practically forget to eat. Just keep following the protocol 100% OP and you'll get results.

I don't know if anyone can answer this but I thought I'd try anyway....

I guess I messed up - I went out last night to eat and was careful to avoid all butter and oil (even had everything cooked without) but didn't think they'd put sugar all over the veggies. Guess what! THEY DID! And worse than that, I didn't realize until I was reading another thread today that a lot of places do that.

Now I'm upset. I'm sad because I'm trying to do this right and I feel like I made a foolish mistake. I'm frustrated because I feel like this is going to set me back. And I'm annoyed because I can't seem to figure out how badly this is going to hurt my WI this week.

I went and bought Ketostix and just tested - I'm at the "small" amount. I'm pretty upset about this because I've had three weigh ins so far and none of them were very impressive (#1 -2.6, #2 - 3.6, #3 -2.4)... now I expect I'll see even WORSE results on Monday.

Has anyone else had something like this happen to them? And if so, do you know how badly it will slow things down? :mad:

Quote:

Originally Posted by sneuse (Post 4322187)

Don't beat yourself up, the fact that you tested positive for ketones at any level means you are still in ketosis. You should always test on the low side during the day as you hydrate and the ketones dilute in your urine. Test first thing in the morning, unless you really chug water before bed, it should be your 'strongest' reading. Also, you will have stronger readings at the beginning of IP before your body adapts to efficiently using ketones as fuel, since you will initially be 'flooded' with ketones as they replace your glycogen stores. This is why the sweet taste in your mouth and bad breath disappear after the first week or so.

http://www.lowcarb.ca/tips/tips011.html

I'm following Induction strictly; why won't my strips turn purple?

Ketones will spill into the urine ONLY when there is more in the blood than is being used as fuel by the body at that particular moment.

You may have exercised or worked a few hours previously, so your muscles would have used up the ketones as fuel, thus there will be no excess. You may have had a lot of liquids to drink, so the urine is more diluted. Perhaps the strips are not fresh, or the lid was not on tight and some moisture from the atmosphere got in.

Some low carbers NEVER show above trace or negative even ... yet they burn fat and lose weight just fine. If you're losing weight, and your clothes are getting looser, you're feeling well and not hungry all the time .. then you are successfully in ketosis. Don't get hung up on the strips; they're just a guide, nothing more.

Will I lose weight faster if the strips show dark purple all the time?

No. Testing in the darkest purple range all the time is usually a sign of dehydration -- the urine is too concentrated. You need to drink more water to dilute it, and keep the kidneys flushed.

The liver will make ketones from body fat, the fat you EAT, and from alcohol --- the ketone strips have no way of distinguishing the source of the ketones. So, if you test every day after dinner, and dinner usually contains a lot of fat, then you may very well test for large amounts of ketones all the time. However this does not indicate that any BODY fat was burned.

The strips only indicate what's happening in the urine. Ketosis happens in the blood and body tissues. If you're showing even a small amount, then you are in ketosis, and fat-burning is taking place. Don't get hung up on the ketone sticks.

Will drinking alcohol affect ketosis?

No and yes. The liver can make ketones out of alcohol, so technically, when you drink you'll continue to produce ketones and so will remain in ketosis. The problem is ... alcohol converts more easily to ketones than fatty acids, so your liver will use the alchol first, in preference to fat. Thus, when you drink, basically your FAT burning is put on hold until all the alcohol is out of your system.

This rapid breakdown of alcohol into ketones and acetaldehyde (the intoxicating by-product) ... tends to put low carbers at risk for quicker intoxication ... especially if no other food is consumed to slow absorption.

LizRR - you are AWESOME. Reading this over this morning has made me feel so much better. I really appreciate all the time you've put in to responding to my freak out posts and trying to calm my nerves. It means a lot to me!!

Thanks for the info. The thread is very helpful. I am on day 4 (down 1.6) and decided to do a ketones test. It showed somewhere between none and trace, but I had 48 ounces of water in the past 4 hours so that may be making it show lower. I'll check first thing in the morning to see if it shows more.

I'm glad it helped - I think the most important thing to remember is to not get too hung up on the strips. I tried to copy&paste the most relevent posts that explain why a diet low in fat and no alcohol are the ways to ensure you are burning BODY fat to make ketones. And make sure you drink plenty of water so your strips are light! You want to keep your kidneys flushed and pee out all the fat!

Quote:

Originally Posted by rissimo (Post 4291126)

I thought this might help in understanding Ketosis.

How does it work?Ideal Protein works by putting you in a “fat burning state”. This is more technically known as ketosis. Ketosis is a stage of metabolism where your body has depleted the reserves of its main form of energy – glycogen. Once those reserves are gone, your liver will being breaking down stored fat in the body for use as energy. Breaking down the fat yields fatty acids and three types of ketone bodies (hence, the name ketosis). The ketones are then burned by the cells in your body as an alternative fuel.

Getting Into Ketosis
Arguably, the worst part of being on the program is getting into ketosis. Our bodies have done what they’ve always done for millions of years – they’ve adapted to life as they know it. Our lives have led to us being overweight by indulging in bad foods in bad quantities. Our bodies are now used to that type of existence. Introducing a new nutritional paradigm (ketosis) to our bodies will necessitate it’s adapting to the new condition. This adaptation is stressful for the body and we will feel the effects.

First, your body will notice a dramatic drop in caloric intake at first. We’ve gotten our bodies used to abundant calories and carbohydrates for long periods of time or to an up and down pattern of calories/carbs which our bodies see as “feast or famine”. Either way, when we take the calories/carbs away, our bodies will react:

•

Hunger – you’re going to feel hunger because your body is used to having more than it has now. Not a typical for dieting in general.
•
Fatigue – you’re taking in dramatically less fuel (food) than you used to and your body will probably try to compensate by getting you to slow down your expenditure of energy. It does this by decreasing your metabolic rate. This can make you feel tired, even dizzy. It’s a type of warning that your body’s giving you saying “if you don’t get some food, I’m going to start burning fat!”
•

Headache – some report headaches associated with “carbohydrate withdrawl”. Whether it’s truly withdrawl or not, I don’t know. However, it certainly seems that way to those who suffer its effects. The typical headache relief methods (ibuprofen, acetaminophen, aspirin) are allowable while on IP, however your stomach may seem more sensitive to them because it’s no longer loaded with food. Try to use such products soon after having a meal and drink plenty of water.
•

Irritability – when your hungry, tired and/or have a headache…you can be understandably irritable. Try to keep in mind that you may be more inclined to react negatively to things during this short time and don’t go off on those who don’t deserve it. The good news is that this transition generally lasts only 3-5 days. Once you’re in ketosis, you’ll feel a difference in your energy level. It will go up significantly as your body begins to enjoy having an alternative fuel source – ketones!

Being in Ketosis

As the ketones pervade your bloodstream to supply the cells with energy, your state of ketosis begins to manifest some side effects. Some of those side effects are disquieting, but they’re not bad for you. Ketones will show up in your urine, which are sometimes able to be detected with Ketostix, but the state of ketosis that IP evokes is so mild that often such tests won’t show a positive result on the Ketosix.One of the three types of ketones is permeable to the lungs and can pass from the blood through the lung walls and becomes incorporated into your exhalations, the same way that carbon dioxide passes out of the body. This can cause “ketosis breath” and a slight metallic taste in the mouth. This is unpleasant, but can be easily overcome with frequent brushing of teeth (a few times a day) and sugarless gum/mints.

Menses can also be affected while in ketosis. Your cycle may be disrupted or cease all together. While this is an odd occurrence for a woman, it is not completely unexpected while in this state.

You may occasionally feel hunger while in ketosis, but it should be more mild than normal. Since you’re eating every few hours, you shouldn’t feel that gnawing sensation associated with hunger prior to being in ketosis. As your body adapts to the new circumstances, it may even develop an internal clock that will make you mildly hungry right around meal time. For some, there is no hunger at all and people need to remember or even be reminded that they need to eat! Another side effect for some is an increased sensitivity to cold. Hands and feet can be particularly effected. I am normally very hot blooded, yet my hands and feet became ice cold when in ketosis. Hot drinks (tea, coffee, IP cocoa/chai tea/mocha/cappuccino), sweaters, heat packs, etc can all help with this.

Breaking Ketosis

Staying in ketosis revolves around keeping your body from getting excess carbohydrates. If your body comes to the conclusion that there are enough

carbohydrates available to use as its main fuel source, it will end the ketosis state and resume using carbohydrates. This crash out of ketosis has some side effects as well:
•

Hunger – your body will assume that since you’re getting enough carbs to end ketosis, there must be ample food available. Coming out of ketosis and having food available is exactly the type of situation that the body has adapted for over the millennia - “Feast or Famine”. Now, it sees it as a time to feast so that you can replenish the glycogen that you depleated while getting into ketosis. That replenishment requires more fuel – more food! Therefore, your body tells you to eat, eat and eat. You’ll be almost insatiably hungry.

•
Immediate and dramatic weight gain – As your body restores its glycogen, you’regaining weight…quickly. Several pounds in a period of a couple days is not uncommon.

Resuming Ketosis

If you fall out of ketosis for some reason, the best thing to do is to start working to get right back in it. Follow the program as if you didn’t do anything to fall out. If you “cheated” and had a candy bar or a hoagie or whatever, resume the program as if you hadn’t had it at all. Keep on your meal schedule. Don’t abandon the day, weekend or week by just giving up on it because you’ve “screwed it up”. Just get right back into the program immediately. Doing this helps to significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to get back into ketosis. The longer you stay out of ketosis, the longer it takes to get back into it. So, hop right back on the wagon!

I just came across this...so helpful! Thank you.

Thanks so much for this post guys :D I tend to "assume" I'm in Ketosis when I'm not STARVING after only drinking a protein shake for breakfast at 9:30 and I do'n teat again until 2:00 PM...so...4.5 hours and never hungry? Yeah, I'll take that :) I might pick up some Ketostix but I'm just kind of wishy washy on it *shrug*

Thought I would bump this for the newbies.:D

I originally posted this as its own thread a few days back but thought it is more approproate here.

I've been on the program for 6 weeks using a mix of IP and alternatives. Up until last week (WI 5) I was down 14 and happy. WI 6 I only lost 1 pound in total but 3 pounds of fat (go figure). This week's WI, both good news and bad news. I lost 3 pounds, but my body fat% went from 17.6% to 21%. I don't get it. My coach wants me to move to phase 2 as well as an extra protein pack. Doesn't sound correct to me. While she is a nice lady, I question her knowledge. She has never even heard of keto sticks. Any suggestions?

Update: I've moved to phase 2 and added an extra pack and still not able to get into ketosis. Been 3 days like this. Feeling hungry way too often. What else can I do to get back in ketosis?