Disclaimer, I am not an MD

At 09:56 AM 1/21/00 +0900, Judith wrote:

>I understand that you can test for ketones with strips of paper.

They are called Ketostix, I forget offhand who manufactures them.  If you
buy them, here is a cost saving hint.  You can cut them in half lengthwise
and still get a reading without trouble.  You could probably cut them in
thirds if you are very careful and not sissor-challenged like me.

>But I am wondering, the way they are discussed, is there some way you can
>just sense if you are in ketosis or not?  does your body feel different?  If
>they are in your breath and such, can you taste them?  Do they taste bad or
>good?

When your body produces more ketones than you need, you will excrete the
excess via sweat, breath and urine.  I do not have a sense of smell, so I
cannot comment on bad breath, but you can get a funny tast in your mouth.

As for telling when you enter ketosis, it is not that hard.  To get there,
just stop eating carbohydrates - period.  Eat pork rinds, beef, oil, eggs,
walnuts, etc.  After about two days, your body will have no remaining
glycogen stores.  Now this is a lot of fun. You basically have no sugars in
your system to fuel your body.  But your metabolism has not "shifted gears"
to producing ketones and fatty acids.  So you function on willpower,
especially if you lift weights.  You really do feel run down.  It is most
fun to do legs during this period (keep a bucket by the squat rack).   When
you begin to feel normal again and have some energy then you have switched
over to metabolizing fat for fuel.

Be warned, you will dump water - a lot of it.  If you are in ketosis, you
are dehydrated.  Drink a ton of water and realize that the weight loss of
the first week *is* only water.  Eat some carbs and drop out of ketosis and
you'll regain that weight in a day.  To lose weight using ketosis, you
still have to reduce calories below maintenance levels.  But - the higher
fat level helps to keep you sated, and lifting while doing this, combined
with the higher protein levels, will help prevent you from losing muscle
mass while you lose weight.  In effect, you will only lose bodyfat, not
lean body mass (LBM).

THE book on all this is: The Ketogenic Diet: A Complete Guide for the
Dieter and Practitioner -- Lyle McDonald

James at Penn State