Friday 23 March 2012

Ketosis - The key to the Diet! 

Ketosis is a process where your body starts eating its own fat. Its wonderful. Don't freak out and mistake it with ketoacidosis which is a dangerous condition faced by diabetics.

How it works: The body's main source of fuel is glycogen, which is what carbs are converted to in our body. When the body is depleted of glycogen, it turns to its own fat reserves (as muscle is "precioussss" and not touched) for fuel. The process of breaking down fat releases ketones in the body that find their way out through urine and the breath. You will definitely feel your mouth "tastes" different.

Water - ketosis is tough on the kidneys. DRINK WATER. You will seriously damage your organs if you do not. Some people think it's better to not drink water because their urine will have higher concentrations of ketones....WRONG. The most efficient "burners" will only show trace or +1 ketone levels in their urine. If your pee testing stick is turning dark purple, it means your body is lacking precious water.

Ketostix - Instead of getting stressed about what your stick will show thrice a week at the clinic, monitor your own pee at home. Drugstores sell ketostix (you have to ask the pharmacist). You can test your own sample at home in the a.m. Make sure you follow the instructions properly and do not let your sticks be exposed to air, they won't work. Many days, my ketostix at home show me in ketosis, but the same sample doesn't register at the Dr. Bernstein clinic because some nurses leave the ketostix jar open and fudge up the readings.

There's no such thing as burning more or less.  Being in ketosis is like being pregnant or dead. You either are or you're not. So if you're showing trace, you're doing perfect. Don't aim for higher "burn" levels, you're just damaging yourself through dehydration.

What happens if you're not in ketosis? THEY TAKE YOUR FRUIT AWAY (as it's the highest in carbs in the allowable eats). It's awful, but it works. Try not to cheat so you can stay in ketosis and keep your fruit! Monitoring your own pee at home is a good way to know how much fruit you should be eating.

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