How real is ketosis?

EileenG

Only if you really hate yourself. Booze hits you quicker on keto diets, and affect you worse. If you don't drink a pint of water for every pint of beer, you'll have the hangover from hell the next day.

BB-ers tend to eat a lot of oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potato and skim milk on carb-up.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

Thanks EileenG for your informative posts.

I started my 'lifestyle change' last monday, and I experienced nearly all the signs/symptoms you described in posts 11 and 13 by day 4.
I lost 2.6 kg by day 4, which I'm presuming is mostly water weight. On day 10 I was down 3.3kgs.
My goal is to lose about 10kg in less than 2 months. I'm training 5 to 6 days a week. I'm being very strict on my diet.
Am I being too ambitious or is it a realistic goal?

Many Thanks, BN

Torakx

Also a question i have is how long can you stick to this type of diet?
Can i be in ketosis from age 30 to 50 for example?
Or better to go on and off it every few months or weeks?

columok

Torakx wrote: »

Also a question i have is how long can you stick to this type of diet?
Can i be in ketosis from age 30 to 50 for example?
Or better to go on and off it every few months or weeks?

Your diet should serve your quality of life. If ketosis is necessary for healthy living then so be it (ie. cause of epilepsy, cancer etc.).

Otherwise having an occasional créme bruleé or icecream again is full of win as far as I can see. It depends on your goals and needs from month to month and year to year.

EileenG

There's no health reason to go off a keto diet after a specific length of time, but most people like to vary it or take breaks from time to time. Don't forget, a diet doesn't have to be keto to be beneficial, a good low-to-moderate carb diet will have many of the same benefits, it's not Keto or high carb. You find the diet you can live with. Just base it on real food, not junk.

Amtmann

Out of curiosity, when people speak of a diet low enough in carbs to induce ketosis, how low are they talking about?

EileenG

Varies from person to person. The feeling is that under 100g of carbs a day, ketosis is possible, but generally you need to go under 50g. Many people stay under 30g if it's important to be in ketosis. Having said that, I know cyclists who can be in ketosis on over 150g of carbs, and I was frequently in ketosis when I was pregnant, even though I was a high carbing vegetarian.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

I've a quick question.

I've been in ketosis for two weeks, but suddenly this week I've been testing negative for the past number of days (incl. this morning). My diet hasn't changed and my portions are pretty much the same as normal.
The only real difference is I've up'd my training from 5 to 6 days a week.

I'm confused! Any advice is welcome! Thanks.

rocky

ketostix are not supremely reliable when determining if you're in ketosis or not. There may also be differences between batches of ketostix (if that's what you use to test).

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

Yep, using the ketostix. They're all from the one pack and I've been very careful about opening them in case they 'go off'.

rocky wrote: »

ketostix are not supremely reliable when determining if you're in ketosis or not. There may also be differences between batches of ketostix (if that's what you use to test).

El_Dangeroso

Ketostix only test if you're peeing out ketones, ie, excess ketones. If you're active then you're using them all for energy.

I think ketostix can be a useful tool to begin with but they are not a sign of weightloss, you can stall or even gain weight when ketostix show pink.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

Thanks for that. I presumed I was using up any excess ketones alright.
I'm guessing if I stop training for say 2 or 3 days, I'd test positive again.

The scales shows I'm losing weight, and that's what matters.

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

Ketostix only test if you're peeing out ketones, ie, excess ketones. If you're active then you're using them all for energy.

I think ketostix can be a useful tool to begin with but they are not a sign of weightloss, you can stall or even gain weight when ketostix show pink.

EileenG

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

Ketostix only test if you're peeing out ketones, ie, excess ketones. If you're active then you're using them all for energy.

I think ketostix can be a useful tool to begin with but they are not a sign of weightloss, you can stall or even gain weight when ketostix show pink.

What she said.

Ketostix can only measure ketones in your urine over a certain concentration. If you are using all your ketones for energy (which you'd expect if you are eating fewer calories than you burn) OR if your urine is very dilute, then you won't get a reading.

You might get a faint trace of pink after a tough workout, especially if you forget to fill your water bottle.