On Thu, 9 Apr 1998, Wolfson440 wrote:

> Todd Moody wrote:
>
> << When fat is burned completely, as it is
>  in all but very low-carb diets, no ketones are produced. >>
>
> Hi Todd: I have read New Diet Revolution and Protein Power inside and out
> (several times) and don't recall seeing anything about incomplete vs. complete
> burning of fat as relates to ketones.

Take a look here: http://home.earthlink.net/~zoral/ansers.htm
This is where the Eades respond to various questions about
Protein Power.  You can also find it in physiology textbooks, if
you have access to any.

> The goal on the Atkins diet is ketosis, which lets you know that you are
> burning fat (at least that's how I understood it.) And in my personal
> experience, ketosis went hand in hand with steady weight loss -- and I know it
> WAS fat loss, based on how I looked.

It's true that when you in ketosis you are burning fat.  The fat
you are burning, however, may or may not be *body* fat.  But you
don't have to be in ketosis to burn body fat, either.

For fat to burn *completely*, carbs must be present.  If they are
not, ketones are formed.  Then they are used for fuel, and some
are also excreted.

> Now, I do recall seeing some people at the Atkins-New list who were in ketosis
> (deep ketosis) but did not see the corresponding drop in weight.  There were
> many theories about this, but some speculated that it may have had to do with
> the total quantity of food consumed, so some suggested decreasing intake of
> fat or decreasing total quantity of food until weight loss got moving again.

Right.  If you are consuming massively more calories than you are
using, then being in ketosis won't help you to lose weight, nor
will it prevent you from gaining weight.  Remember, even if you
are eating *only* fat, as in the Atkins "fat fast", the ketones
themselves will trigger the release of insulin, and when there is
insulin around, excess dietary fat will be stored.

Todd Moody
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