Question for the Turtles

[Maru1952]

Does anyone still test their ketone levels and are you still in ketosis in the midst of stalls/slow loss?

[Nancy LC]

I have been in ketosis during stalls. Unfortunately I think ketosis just means you're burning fat, which could easily be dietary fat and not the stuff on my thighs!

[Maru1952]

Good point!

[Maru1952]

I have been in ketosis during stalls. Unfortunately I think ketosis just means you're burning fat, which could easily be dietary fat and not the stuff on my thighs!

I've been thinking about what you said all day, and I'm not sure I agree that the burning of dietary fat produces ketones. DANDR states:

"Lipolysis simply means that you're burning your fat stores and using them as the source of fuel they were meant to be. The by-products of burning fat are ketones. When your body releases ketones...it is chemical proof that you're consuming your own stored fat."

I'm not a chemist, scientist or doctor, however, so I could be way off base. It just seems like slight of hand if dietary fat burning could cause ketosis, because Atkins, being relatively high in fat, would then not be the tool it claims to be for body fat burning. Am I making sense here? I don't mean to flame, but maybe this belongs in the war zone?? I really want to believe my ketosis means I'm burning my own body fat, not a couple of slices of bacon!

[Citruskiss]

I'm quite curious about this one too - especially since I'm apparently in ketosis, but have been stalled for months and months.

Mind you, I only recently began checking the Ketostix again (just in the last two weeks) - and I did this *after* making a few changes to my diet. I got rid of Diet Coke, reduced my coffee consumption, eliminated nuts and I'm trying to go easy on the cheese.

I lost three pounds the week before last - it came back on a few days later. The three pounds stayed with me for about another week. Yet, the entire time, the ketostix were showing I was in ketosis.

This morning, the scale shows I'm down almost five pounds - but I'm having a hard time believing it because of all the bouncing around on the scales for the past two weeks.

I'm trying really hard to get past this ridiculous stall I've been experiencing, and I know I need to do a lot more.

What *is* the deal with ketosis? Does it really mean we're burning our own fat stores for energy? Or is it just dehydration or ...is it all meaningless?

Inquiring minds want to know.. :D

[Nancy LC]

Lipolysis is indeed burning stored fat, but those little strips measure ketones. I think they can be created from the fat you ate at the last meal, or the stored fat.

Wikipedia seems to have a lot online about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenesis

Ketosis is normal when fasting, after a lot of exercise, and when consuming a lot of fats, but it's occasionally caused by an inability to break down ketone bodies for energy. Even more abnormal/unhealthy causes of ketosis include diabetes, ketotic hypoglycemia of childhood, corticosteroid or growth hormone deficiency, intoxication with alcohol or salicylates, and several inborn errors of metabolism.

[nedgoudy]

I'm quite curious about this one too - especially since I'm apparently in ketosis, but have been stalled for months and months.

You need to either cut calories, or cut FAT intake or both.

Just my humble opinion. I am not a doctor, just a fellow
low carber.