The only thing that doesn't make sense to me

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #50

And yet, I own it and may never read it. Go figure.

(linda) #51

These are good questions to ask and it makes sense to be confused because there are many experts out there!! - some credentialed - some use their own weight loss experience as their educational model - some have products to sell - some are specialists in specific treatment protocols (i.e. diabetes) and since this program is continuing to grow in popularity we rely on each other for insights and help. Consensus may be a challenge…That said:
I continue to learn about my body’s response to KETO and find feedback useful so I test my ketones and glucose levels periodically. I match that information with diet, mood, energy etc.
and it is helpful to me - no chasing - just information.

#52

I totally agree! I test my glucose because it is really good feedback about what my body is doing in response to food. I take exogenous ketones because I tried them, found I feel wa way better with them, and never test ketones afterward because I already know they elevated my levels. I just feel better at the higher levels and my body doesn’t reach them (yet!) because my insulin resistance is not yet healed, so I have higher glucose readings than I would like
Works for me!

(linda) #53

:grinning:
Yay!

(GINA ) #54

I agree about the diet books but would add that any low carb diet book has to add a section on why it’s NOT Atkins. They usually do that by misrepresenting Atkins, then saying how this “not a diet, but a lifestyle” is different than the misrepresentation.

(Alec) #55

Don’t eat the veg. Eat more fat.

#56

Ketone levels have zero to do with fat loss nor does ketosis in general.

Using fat for fuel, “burning fat” is not the same thing as losing bodydat.

(Michael) #57

The only way to check if your are burning fat is to measure Breath Acetone.
Ketones in the blood are fuel available for use. Breath Acetone is a measure of current Ketone metabolism.
All things being equal if you eat according to your macros for weight loss you will lose weight while in Ketosis.
However, if you have a compromised metabolism all bets are off until you can up-regulate your metabolism by continuing to eat low carb with healthy fats, green veggies and adequate protein.
Also, at the end of the day “Calories In, Calories Out” does matter.

(Raj Seth) #58

And it matters for fat burning a lot more once your insulin is down. Then calories IN can include the calories that went in a long time ago (body fat), that are being used as energy source by your body. Hopefully, your body then signals it has enough plate fat before you exceed your daily energy needs. I don’t fully understand how that ends up working out, but n=many on this forum alone indicates that it seems to work out.
Of course, IF & EF help get there quicker. Try that too if you want to turbocharge the fat loss

(Brian) #59

I used maybe a half dozen pee sticks when I first started eating keto, mostly out of curiosity. Have never checked anything since. Keto breath was pretty strong in the beginning, too, which was a pretty good indicator. The keto breath has faded except maybe when I have an extra hard bit of exercise of one kind or another, then I get a little bit of it again.

Honestly, it’s just not something I care all that much about. I’m looking at things like my energy levels (improving), mental clarity (slowly improving), body shape (slowly getting comments about “getting skinny”), and scale numbers (slowly inching downward without much of a push at all, just eating “normally” most of the time). With all of that, like LaCheffre, it’s just not worth my time to care whether my ketone levels are on the lower side of things or the higher side of things. I suspect they move around anyway, kinda like cholesterol numbers…

(Chris) #60

This really confused me and now I’m stressing. This seems to contradict everything else I have read.

#61

Agreed. I’m still learning, but this blog post makes a lot of very strong statements, some of which are universally accepted in the keto world and others that are the opposite. All of which is fine, we know the conventional wisdom isn’t right all the time, but references to back the claims up and show the science would be helpful, otherwise it’s more of the same.

(Robert C) #62

This blog post was written very much from the calories in / calories out point of view. Although mentioned, it does not follow up on the benefits of getting your insulin down and your insulin sensitivity up over the long haul. In the middle of the article it is stated that all that matters is calories - not hormones. Obesity Code refutes that and says that if you only look at calories, you’ll get fatter, as a nation, and we did over the last few decades. On the other hand, if you focus on hormones, you can reverse diabetes (once thought to be a permanent and progressive condition) - which sounds like a pretty powerful intervention to me.

Dr. Jason Fung lays all of this out very nicely in his blog posts and his books - with supporting evidence. I wouldn’t let an unsupported supplement company’s blog post let you become confused on the benefits of keto.

(Chris) #63

Thanks for this

#64

Think of it this way: cutting carbs dramatically and keeping protein moderate re-conditions the metabolism to be able to burn fat more efficiently than most broken modern metabolisms are conditioned to do. In a caloric deficit, the body that is not keto-conditioned will supplement by breaking down muscle to create glucose, its preferred fuel, and burn fat at an impaired rate.

However, once you train your body to turn fatty acids into ketone bodies you start to turn the tide toward preferential fat-fuel burning, thus minimizing muscle breakdown when carbs/glucose are in short supply. Your body regains its natural ability to switch fuel source from primarily glucose to primarily fat when insufficient carb/glucose is on hand. This is a process and will vary in time it takes from person to person. But once that metabolic flexibilty has been firmly re-established, you can switch easily back and forth between these two fuel sources.

BUT – and this is the big consideration – even a body conditioned to burn fat as its preferred fuel due to keto conditioning and low carb intake will use dietary fat and only start burning stored body fat for fuel when there is a deficit on the intake end. (Insufficient calories to fuel your body and its daily activities) Therefore, someone can be creating ketones like crazy or boosting blood ketones with exogenous ketones and if they are are eating more of even “keto-friendly, approved” foods than their body/activity/exercise level burns, they will fail to lose weight.

(Ivy) #65

Yup. EXACTLY the truth, and alot of posts in this forum are about bouncing in and out. So wrong.

(Doug) #66

:smile: Necro. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: :grin:

(Ivy) #67

I work at the graveyard.

(Doug) #68

Aye, that one over there under the bridge. :wink: :smirk:

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #69

Here’s another consideration. As one ages the brain on primarily glucose starts running into problems. All the various age related ‘senior moments’ and worse are due mostly to the brain’s deteriorating ability to utilize glucose as it’s energy source or to the accumulation of multiple waste byproducts from using it. Like everything else, of course, there’s a wide range of individual variation. Still, β-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate are advantageous fuel for the brain, especially as one ages. In this case, I think more is better.

So, consider Ketone Oblivious