Thanks for clearing up a few things for me, Jerry. Sounds like you've had a pretty rough time of it. A few comments.
Losing by drinking your calories may solve the problem of food choices, but what happens when you reach your goal? The evil thing about food addiction is that food is necessary for life; it's not like other addictions. Suviving on protein shakes and losing weight isn't something that teaches you how to deal with the core problem. I realize it may not be your main concern right now - but if you ignore it, it's only going to come back and bite you on the a$$ later.
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Your statement about fat keeps us in ketosis has me a bit puzzled. I realize eating fat helps ketosis, but I never thought it was the cause of weight loss level of ketosis? Cutting the carbs seems to be the engine that starts and maintains the ketosis process, right?
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Right. Restricting carbs forces the body to use up the stored ones (glycogen) and then switch to burning lipids as it's primary fuel. Without getting into the basics of the biochemistry the state of ketosis is similar to that of starvation with the singular exception being you eat food while in ketosis. This keeps you healthy and strong, unlike what happens when you're truly fasting. Protein is used for energy only when absolutely necessary - your body recognizes it as being more important, it's not just 'fuel'. Carbs are restricted; calories have to come from somewhere. This leaves
fat.
If you remember
Protein Power you'll remember that fat is the only macronutrient that is metabolically neutral - it causes no change in either insulin or glucagon levels. Fat is what sustains ketosis, and ultimately your health and energy levels. Keeping fat high enough (but not too high) keeps the body from thinking it is truly starving. It keeps your metabolism from dropping. Lowering calories too much will not result in greater fat burning or loss, regardless of what type of dieting you're talking about.
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I was hoping the relativeily low carb, normal to low protein and normal fat, would have a combination of low calories and yet still produce and maintain ketosis with workouts.
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How low are these calories? At 340 lbs 1000 calories is
much, much too low, 1200 would be as well, IMHO. You need to sustain your resting metabolic rate in order for the machine you call your body to function (function includes burning fat). Eating too little, coupled with intense exercise will give you results; at first. Then ? You'll hit that wall as your body starts to fight you to hold onto what it perceives to be limited resources (aka the impending famine). This is how our bodies have been programed to survive for centuries.
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I felt the glucose was simply a better way to introduce the fuel into my body.....
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And it would be; but when you can use fat and remain in ketosis following a LC WOE why use it? It's counter productive.
If I wanted to do what you're proposing I would stick with LC and use the glucose or glucose polymer post or pre workout for the insulin spike to neutralize cortisol and pump up glycogen stores. If I had to drink my meals I'd stick to protein shakes made with some EFA oil, cream, peanut butter, cottage cheese. I'd make soups with avocado and veggies and drink those. I'd ensure that I was getting 12x my lean body mass a day in calories and I'd watch how much exercise I did.
I have pulled a few article for you that I think you might find useful:
Surviving and Thriving on a Low Carb Diet - this is long, but well worth the read.
RMR information
"
Positive Nitrogen Balance" - how to determine protein requirements
Exercise Metabolism
Lyle MacDonald on Exercise on a Ketogenic Diet
I hope I haven't added to your confusion, Jerry.
Nat