What's your view on ketosis?

[Caz]

Im finding it hard being at uni full time and on CD also! Im fine when im at home not doing anything but i constantly feel reallly tired walking from class to class ( yes they are far apart) and i feel like i have no energy and just want to fall asleep in class! And when i get home from uni all i want to do is go to sleep, not do 3 hours of work ontop of it. My stomach also rumbles REALLY loudly constantly through class which some might not find a problem but i find it so embaressing, especialy when people start giving you funny looks! Also finding it really hard to manage my water days when im in 6 hours straight as i cant leave lectures every 5mins for a pee! So im hoping stuff is gona get better soon

I hope it gets better for you soon! When did you start? What are you doing at uni?

I mentioned a few posts ago about chronic fatigue which means that I'm tired a lot of the time, actually tired doesn't cut it, try exhausted. My sleep is completely messed up. I get headaches a lot. Achey. Stuff like that which are all also symptoms of ketosis. So I'm hoping that the K fairy is nice to me this time round and doesn't give me any of those symptoms because on top of normal it'll be a nightmare! It's worth it though I guess in the long run.

 

[Ani*me]

i still cant sleep either! even though im so tired all through the day, im just lying in bed wide awake even though im exhausted, its silly and i do English at uni (not that u can tell from my spelling hehe) what about u ?

 

[LizzMB]

couple of things so i hope i remember them all...

Firstly, the level of ketosis you go into ISNT life threatening!! Its actually MILD ketosis. My best mate is a nurse too and as soon as i mentioned the word Ketosis, she went into rant mode!
SO....to put it bluntly, i told her to shut the hell up!

At the end of the day hun, keeping you out of ketosis can effect your losses on SS, so it kind of seems like a waste of time. you might as well do 810!

Re the family, its your body! The way i "sold" it to my family was that the damage i was doing to my body at 18 stone and 5"6 was a hell of a lot worse than 6 months in mild ketosis! It is after all your body!

However, at the end of the day, you can only know what is best for you. If you already have CFS then i can impagine why ketosis isnt your best friend, but these plans are worked out scientifically. If you dont follow them to the letter, you dont get the losses! Simples!

So, in a nutshell, its one or the other to me! Either stick with SS and think to hell with the comments and the side effects, i will work with them, OR, move up to a higher plan where ketosis isnt an issue!

Does any of that make sense?

I cant remember if i have covered anything i wanted to now! lol

x

 

[Caz]

Yeah it does make sense. I'm not going to keep myself out of ketosis, not at the moment anyway. I was just interested to hear other people's views. Though I'd be tempted if the side effects and CFS knock me out a bit. But like you said, it's 6 months and surely it's worth it.

 

[NumNums]

Generations of physicians have been taught to be very afraid of it, because of the potentially fatal episodes of ‘ketoacidosis’ in people with diabetes. In these individuals, severe insulin deficiency causes fatty acids to pour out of fat tissues and undergo metabolic conversion in the liver to the ketones, D-b-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate. The concentration of ketones circulating in the blood can reach 25mM, upsetting the delicate acid-base balance in the blood, so it turns severely acid. The body excretes ketones in the urine, losing a lot of sodium and potassium ions in the process.

This is why most people with medical background know to warn people about ketosis.

I went into ketosis whilst pregnant for my daughter, I couldn't eat alot of food due to vomitting. My midwife wasn't worried about it because I was still of a weight and my daughter was gaining. I was in ketosis for about 3mths and lost 2 stone whilst pregnant. But no one of medical grounds told me what ketosis was or that I shouldn't be in it. I wasn't told what to eat or force fed.

 

[NumNums]

But, isn't ketosis dangerous? Being in ketosis by following a low carbohydrate diet is NOT dangerous. The human body was designed to use ketones very efficiently as fuel in the absence of glucose, for example, stranded on a tropical island. However, the word ketosis is often confused with a similar word, ketoacidosis.

Ketoacidosis is a dangerous condition for diabetics, and the main element is ACID not ketones. The blood pH becomes dangerously acidic because of an extremely high blood SUGAR level (the diabetic has no insulin, or doesn't respond to insulin .... so blood sugar rises ... ketones are produced by the body to provide the fuel necessary for life, since the cells can't use the sugar). It's the high blood sugar, and the acid condition that is so dangerous. Ketones just happen to be a part of the picture, and are a RESULT of the condition, not the CAUSE. Diabetics can safely follow a ketogenic diet to lose fat weight ... but they must be closely monitored by their health care provider, and blood sugars need to be kept low, and stable.

I don't know if this helps clear some buts up with people.

I'm not worried about ketosis. I have regular blood tests anyway and if my GP decides to contact me to question this. I'll explain what I'm doing. If he feels the diet is not safe for me, I'll look into something else.

But I fail to see why some CDC's contact GP's if your BMI is over/or you have a medical condition, if the GP would turn around and go 'That's not safe'.

 

[KD]

Caroline. Yeah, I'm with you on much of that. Well, your personal reaction to ketosis.

I must admit that ketosis doesn't suit me too well, but it's not just the ketosis, limiting carbs can make me feel rubbish whether in or out of ketosis. It was the carb levels that gave me the problem rather than the ketosis factor. The pleasant side effects that people experience in ketosis are the same as when I eat high carb foods...not low carb (more energy, euphoric etc). So it didn't really suit me, but as I say, it wasn't so much the ketosis, but moreso the carb levels.

BUT...the carb/protein levels did help cravings and satiety whether in or out of ketosis and I was losing weight, so it was enough to motivate me to hang in there and get the job done once and for all before resuming a higher carb diet.

Regardless of the ketosis factor, there's not doubt that tweaking the plans can really mess with the head and make the journey much more bumpy. Adding anything off plan whether it's citric acid or more carbs, seems to take some people down a few scenic routes and delays goal date which can make it an agonizing journey depending on what you want.

I wrote something about this once. I'll find the link and edit to add it to this post later.

Going up a plan seems to work better. An alternative route that is known and proven to work.

Sometimes we think through things too much. I know I've done that in the past and it's worked against me. In an effort to find a diet that will get the weight off My Way, I've spent years on/off just to find I couldn't actually do it. I ended up tweaking too much

This time, I decided that I would just do it...as written...well, except for when I accidentally faltered I would just trust the system and do whatever it takes. Get the weight off as quick as possible. Sometimes I questioned and felt that tweaking it could make it work better for me, but then I watched others doing the same and falling off one by one. I couldn't risk that this time. It was too important to me to get to goal so I could learn how to maintain.

Whatever it took, I had to do it even if it meant feeling rubbish. I knew I was safe; it wasn't life threatening. A cold rather than pneumonia. I could manage it. I just had to stop thinking and just get on with it.

 

[NumNums]

During most VLCD's, dieters tend to reach a stage of Ketosis, regardless if it's a registered diet, or a mixture of healthy eating and exercise. If you're diabetic, you should consult your doctor first as stages of Ketosis could be dangerous. Prolonged stage of Ketosis isn't advised, and a weeks break on a healthy carb diet gives your body time to recover, you can continue your diet again. Dieters with a family history of liver problems may be advised to consult their GP during VLCD for regular blood tests.

I don't know if any of this is helping anyone lol. Quiet at work today so having a read around.

 

[Pheonix-Rising]

I agree with KD, for me personally if I am looking to tweak this diet then I know that will give me a kind of permission to start the fast road back to unhealthy eating. I give myself and inch...I take a mile!

I have to do it by the book, its been tried, tested and proven, and thats good enough for me. When I think of all the health risks I am in danger of going through being obese, the headaches and dizziness that ketosis can cause are a drop in the ocean for half a year, compared to a short life of obese related illnesses.

 

[hope70]

Hi
Even though your relative is a CNS she may not work in the relevant field and therefore be responding from any number of constructs about weigh gain and loss. The NICE guidelines include the type of diet that CD is and suggest a 12 week plan and then increase cal intake for a week and repeat. NICE look at all the available evidence and really would not have recommended this type of diet if it was dangerous or unhealthy.
I would suggest you look at the evidence by googling NICE guidelines on obesity and make your own mind up. Its your body and your decision. Good luck what ever you chose.
Best wishes