Ketosis question
 

I'm on week 5 of IP (down 15.2 lbs - go me!)
I bought the ketostix and was surprised that I'm only scaling at "medium"
Does that still mean I'm in ketosis?

I'm very strict on the plan (although I do have a restricted IP treat daily and it's always a chocolately one)
Does that matter?

Thanks :-)

Yes, even a slight positive means you're in ketosis. They measure the ketones that are spilling over into your urine. You might notice your results going from medium to trace over time, as your body becomes more efficient at burning up all the ketones for fuel, hence very little ending up in your urine. You've probably read the other ways to tell if you're in ketosis, e.g. odd odor to breath/urine, dry hands, cold hands or feet.

Sounds like you're rocking the plan--congrats!

Thank you!!
I must be in ketosis
down 17.6 lbs in 5 weeks :carrot:

So... let's say I'm following the plan to a t (not that I am, but let's imagine) & I still not in ketosis, what knob do I tweek?

Have you tried to up your water intake?

I got away from drinking anything with caffeine almost a year ago. I've been drinking plain water ever since, adding Crystal light at lunch & dinner. I'll drink 80 oz of water outside of lunch & dinner on the regular.

The first question would be what makes you think you are not in ketosis?

The second question would be what are you eating exactly? Carbs are what keep you from ketosis.

The question is "if"

I'm new to ideal protein & the whole ketosis paradigm. I'm one of those guys that things has to make sense. For the most part Ideal Protein checks all the boxes except, there isn't a lot of measuring. We're just supposed to follow the plan & it works.

But my question is what if it doesn't?

How many people know the science enough to understand what it is the program is tryingto do & able to figure out why it may not work for a particular individual?

If it's all about following the protocol, what do I really need a coach for?

Too much protein can keep/kick you out of ketosis, too. The body can metabolize excess protein into glucose.

I'd love to read more about this--do you by any chance recall where you read it? Thanks!

I know the last time I lost all the weight it help to have a cheat day if you stalled. Not a huge one by any means just a couple of things that weren't on protocol. Now that I am starting again I haven't needed to do that yet.

The process is called glucogenesis. One article about it is here: https://www.perfectketo.com/how-too-...d-for-ketosis/

If I can find some other specific articles. I'll come back to share.

One book that comes to mind is Jimmy Moore's Keto Clarity.

By being in ketosis, you are changing your body from being a sugar burning machine to a fat burning machine. For reasons that I don't yet completely understand, the body's default seems to be sugar burning. When sugar is available (and it is only available through external sources), the body burns the sugars. When it runs out of sugar, we get hungry.

By becoming fat burning machines, our hunger subsides because the body can rely on internal fat stores for a long, long, long time.

So too much protein gives an opportunity to access sugar. The body switches back to sugar burning and ketosis (the fat burning operation) is gone.

The thing that is so good about Ideal Protein is that you don't have to think about how much is too much protein if you are following the programme. I give thanks for IP.

I found the programme very good for weight loss but I struggled with Phase 4. I am now following a whole foods programme and I use a keto-calculator as a guide for what my macros should be. I keep track of my daily macros/food consumption through an online app.

The macro calculator I use is here: http://mariamindbodyhealth.com/keto-calculator/

IP's macros basically coincide with it.

Based on my research, any source that states that exogenous ketones help get a person back into ketosis has to be discredited. Taking exogenous ketones is like throwing sweat on your body and saying you had a workout and paying a lot of $$ for it. They add ketones to your system, but do not put you into ketosis. Only carb reduction actually puts a person into ketosis.

Thanks for all the info! I sort of remember reading about the protein-to-glucose pathway. But I thought I read also that it does not tend to spike insulin the way that eating carbs does. I don't remember when or where I read it--I mentally filed it away as "ok to eat a lot of protein". But it's something to keep in mind.

I have never used exogenous ketones.

My understand g is that for weight loss, they can help you transition to a keto- adapted state.

As for using them long term for weight loss, from what little I know about them, I agree with you.

They are reportedly good for other things: mood management, performance enhancement.

I have limited knowledge about them.

I agree: production of your own ketones is the way to weight loss. That is achieved through low carb moderate protein way.

My internist told me that ketogenic diets have their effect by how the ketones act on our brain, suppressing our appetites and allowing us to tolerate very low calories. The actual fat-burning happens with any reduced calorie diet. As to whether IP spares muscle mass, the diet has not been scientifically tested, so all we have is their website, which is for-profit so by definition not scientific. And anecdotal testimony from others. While it might all be correct, it's important to exercise caution when generalizing someone's own experience or IP, Inc.'s claims to any individual. A case in point is that IP claims to "reset" the pancreas--not validated by empirical evidence anywhere. Dr. Chan may have an MD but it doesn't mean he is publishing scientific fact. just my 2 cents, and I should say I love IP!

I don't agree with your internist.

A keto diet changes the body from being a sugar burner to a fat burner.

Sugar burners struggle with hunger because the body can't store sugar sources. It stores sugar as fat. So they always need to go to external sources for fuel.

A fat burner on the other hand can readily access fat stores. There is not the same desperate hunger because the body -- once keto-adapted -- has the utility to access fat stores.

Hunger is annihilated not because the brain is fooled by ketones but because the body is assured of an accessible fuel source: body fat stores.

A body producing ketones is a sign that fat burning is happening.

Once one becomes more keto-adapted, ketone readings might go down only because the body becomes more efficient at using them for fuel, too.

And since Dr. chan's work, there continues to be a lot more scientific research being done... by MDs, physiologists, nutrionists, sports performance experts.

I agree-- caution needed when generalizing one' down experience.

Eg, lemon juice kicks me out of keto. Not everyone is so sugar sensitive

This is an interesting explanation of ketosis & its effect on hunger. To be fair to my internist, I should clarify that he said ketones are a mild euphoric. :) I found in other reading that they are thought to suppress appetite. There sure is a lot of research being conducted on this topic.

Here are some things I found interesting:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25402637
Do ketogenic diets really suppress appetite? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25698989
Ketosis, ketogenic diet and food intake control: a complex relationship.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23632752
Ketosis and appetite-mediating nutrients and hormones after weight loss.

Thanks for sharing all these! They look interesting! I am going to hunker down and read!

The euphoric effect-- interesting, too. A friend who does fasting says she experiences mild euphoria sometimes at some points during the fast.

The body produces ketones while fasting. I wonder if that explains her euphoria.

Sidebar: I like listening to podcasts. Some of my favs about ketogenic nutrition are:

Ketovangelist

Livin la vida Low Carb

Keto Talk with Jimmy Moore and the Doc