Quick Question--

[toga22]

Is it beneficial to be on a low carb diet if you can't reach ketosis?

I usually eat less than 5g of carbs a day, however I have been having trouble reaching ketosis. I know the reason is because I chew gum all of time, especially while I am working. The carbs from gum is not included in the 5 up above. I have tried sugar free gum, gum made from nutrasweet--you name it I and I have tried it. (I need to chew gum while I work..I have to wear a face mask for 12 hours. And I can't handle breathing "stale" air)

Am I achieving similair benefits? Or since I am not reaching ketosis, should I consider a diet with less protein and fat?

 

[gymtime]

toga, I'm no CKD expert, but I have just a couple comments. First, I think if you're not reaching ketosis, then you're cutting your carbs for nothing, IMO.

Second, and this might be a bit of a stretch, but that gum might very well be your problem. When i was researching the atkins/protien power diet, I read a post by Mr. X talking about the effects of sugar-free gum on ketosis. He sait that the sweet taste of the gum, regardless of it's carb content, can "trick" your body out of ketosis. Take that for what it's worth. For more info, you might do a search on "gum". You might find it.

 

[_jaap_]

im no expert on ketosis but less the 5 grams a day? I think you should be in ketosis by now. (damn respect from me, if you can really stick to that).

Also i thought ketosis was trigerred by the fact that the body doesnt have enough glycogen floating around but it still needs energy so it prduces ketones to run on. That these kerones are made from fat tissue, comes in handy for us Anyway i could be way of mark here but thats what i thought.
Thus i would like to know the mecanics behind the gum tricking you out of it. Does the sweet taste peak your insuline? or is there something else?

 

[gymtime]

jaap, that's the thing. I don't remember exactly how it works. I'll see if I can find the thread where it's explained in more detail. Hell, it might be complete BS as far as I know. But Mr.X, when he was around, knew his shit on this stuff.

 

[_jaap_]

yeah were is this mister x i hear about him a lot but havent seen a post from him lately i would love to get some advice from him, i can use a lot more knowledge

 

[riskybizz007]

Bro personally I think I've been in Ketosis once in all the times i've dieted. I can't stand it, I just decrease carb intake to a minimum and i lose weight. I'll drop about a pound a week by doing this, it's a little slower but i think it helps a bit in saving muscle. And i always have 1 BIIIG cheat meal a week. I mean all out eat all you can in that meal. The meal is still kinda low carb but i go all out w/ protein ingestion.

 

[diamonddiceclay]

if you chew gum, you might as well eat carbs because the gum kills your chances of success on the keto diet

 

[barnidge]

DDC:

How old are you?

 

[HarmsWayBC]

Ketosis can be reached on as much as 100 g of carbs a day (the amount your brain uses each day)....some people need to drop to 10 g a day to reach ketosis....

In my opinion, Ketosis is overrated, and in my personal experience not beneficial.......as for the CKD Diet, Lyle MacDonald (a CKD guru/expert) has stated that he now believes there is nothing magic about ketosis.....rather, the carb-up (or refeed) was what made the CKD work....

Search the MFW Discussion Board on Google, or go to www.avantlabs.com and read Par Deus thoughts on leptin....for fat loss, you may want to ditch keto diets for simple low carb diets with refeeds.

 

[HarmsWayBC]

one more thing

I'd just thought I'd make another point by saying keto diets are wonderful for certain individuals.....however, for many (such as me) they are not optimal and do not spare muscle tissue (althought I am aware of the ketones supposedly being muscle sparing and the T3-T4 conversion, ect......)

Personal experimentation is essential to success.....