Can you be in Ketosis and NOT lose weight?
 

Greetings all,

Well this be my second question which I have posted on this forum. My goal will be that one fine day I will be able to post an answer for someone instead of just asking LOL.

Anyhow my question, as the subject states, is in regards to ketosis and more importantly the KetoSticks i use to test myself. Essentially after 3 weeks of being on my own very special version of Atkins... I ended up having a positive result with the test strips. They were never very dark however. Anyhow I lost a good amount of weight as i had mentioned in my previous email, but I am confused in one regard. Just cause the strips are now dark pink or almost purple... and that entails or means that I have started to burn fat for energy... i am still wondering if that means i should be losing weight.

I actually tried a test last night and ate way more fat... I had 2 Italian sausages that i made sure had no carbs or at the very most had 1 gr per 2 sausages. Then had some olives, some really fatty cheeses (not much really) and finally some nuts. In the morning i tested myself and the colour was absolutely massively dark purple... way darker than it has ever been. See i always eat lean skinless chicken breast and Tuna as my protein and the only fat i get is from Olive oil. I am wondering now if just because I am in a stronger state of Ketosis, even though eating way more calories, if i will lose more or faster?

Any ideas.. not sure if I have confused everyone ( including myself LOL)

Claudius

First of all, being on "your own special version of Atkins" can be dangerous, depending on what you're doing. Whatever low-carb diet you choose, it's best to go by the book or at least follow all the guidelines.

Second, congrats on your weight loss so far. I'm betting that you're in week 2, 3, or 4, in which case it's very normal that you're not losing any weight. Many, many people stall after the first few weeks, then start losing again. I lost about 15 pounds in my first two weeks, then nothing for 6 weeks. Then it started up again, slow and steady. I was in ketosis the entire time, but not losing pounds. Have you measured yourself? Sometimes we lose inches before we lose pounds on this diet.

At any rate, it is normal that you're not losing right now. Stick with it, and it'll start back up again. And welcome to the forums! I think you'll find a lot of great advice here.

Atkins is a high fat diet. You need the fat. It's where energy comes form, whre satisfaction (being full) comes from,a nd what tells your body it's ok to lose weight.

As for the sticks, a dark color could mean dehydration. Sausages are extreamly high in salts, and could of dehydrated you somewhat. Don't bother trying to shoot for a darker color. As long as there is any color change, you are in ketosis.

My suggestion would be to cut out the processed salty foods, or at least cut way down on them. I know you don't normally eat them. Start eating higher fat as well. Many lose fastest on induction wehn thier calories from fat are around 70% of the total. www.fitday.com is a good way to keep track of this. Everyone has a different level of fat they lose best on, but you should be shooting for at least 60% of calories from fat.

Ways to increase that (I eat alot of skinless chicken breast as well because it's cheap) is with oils. Use olive oil on salads and on veggies, use butter on veggies as well. Try adding salmon in place of the tuna from time to time. It is very high in heart healthy fats. It also has less problems associated with mucury poisoning. Eat an avacado or 1/2 of one as a snack, it's another heart healthy fat source. Suppliment with flax, fish, or coconut oil.

Atkins states outright in his book and on his web site that a low fat version of his plan will not work. If you absolutely can't stomach the fat, then maybe look into one of the lower fat more moderate carb plans such as south beach, the zone, or protien power (it's only slightly higher in carbs then Atkins).

Frankly, I'm in the same boat as you and I am frustrated. I've been in ketosis according to the Ketostix for three weeks and I've lost nothing really to write home about.
I think it's because the breakdown of dietary fat (as you should last night) is what is driving the Ketostix.

The more fat you eat, the more fat you digest. Now, whether that means you are also burning your body fat--I haven't seen that as the case for me.
It seems to be the case for some people.
But, I would argue that it all comes back to calories. If you eat less fat than the calories you need, you will burn your body fat.

To a point. Eating too few calories means that your body will hang on to what energy stores it has (ie fat) in fat you will stop losing weight. Since you ar eprobably not getting the nutrients you need, your body will instead process lean mass. This isn't just muscle, but also bone density and internal organs.

As for the eating less fat, that is part of the low fat myth that has been keeping many dieters overweight even though they starve themselves. Cutting down calories can help yes, but that doesn't mean low fat. Out of carbs, protien, and fat, fat is the only substance that has no effect on blood chemistry. With no insulin present to store fat, it will be eliminated from the body.

Read Protien Power for the science behind why Low Carb works better then a low cal low fat plan. Also read Atkins more and check the web page under the section Why Atkins Works.

Continualy cutting your fat and claories when you hit a stall won't always get you out of it, and in fact can just leave you hungry, and miserable.

Congrats on your loss so far! That's great that you've stuck with it. I also had very little weight loss in week 3 and part of 4, but now I've gone back to losing about 1/2 pound per day.

The keto sticks measure body fat burned as well as fat consumed that is burned. There is no way to distinguish between the two. You might have gotten dark purple BECAUSE you had a high-fat meal. All the sticks tell you is that you're burning fat, they don't distinguish between the two kinds.

My dad was unsuccessful with the low-carb way of life simply b/c he couldn't accept fat into his diet. He'd become so preconditioned to thinking that fat was bad that he indirectly sabotaged himself. Put butter on things you normally wouldn't put butter on.

I was kinda lower-fat when I first started... lost a bit at first... then I upped my fat intake to 75% of my calories. Then WHOOSH! It started to come off pretty fast. Bite the bullet and bite into some bacon. ;)

I still have to watch my cals or I wont lose even when I'm in full blown ketosis.