Never Thirsty On Keto Diet, Should I Be Drinking Lots Of Water Anyway?
When I'm consuming lots of fat I'm never thirsty. I do get some liquid from bone broth that I use as a soup base for many of my meals but I rarely just drink water. I've read on the web that one should drink lots of water on a ketogenic diet to flush out all those ketones. Can someone provide a credible reference to whether drinking lots of water is a really good idea or not? (There's too much personal opinion on the subject hence the desire for something more scientific.) If it matters, I typically eat 5 to 10 ounces of protein a day, so not a huge amount. Update 12/29/13: Oops. I meant EIGHT to 10 ounces a day of protein. That should be 50 to 60 grams of protein. And, I'll probably start adding 3 or 4 eggs. The whites should be good for 20 or so more grams of protein, Continue reading >>
Losing Water Weight: How Carbs Really Work
Does going on a ketogenic diet mean you have to stay on it forever? Why do many folks experience a few days of low-energy moodiness (“low carb flu”) at the beginning of ketogenic diets? The answer to all of these queries can be found in understanding our body’s relationship with glycogen. Many people ask if is glycogen a carbohydrate. Glycogen is the way the body processes and stores glucose as energy, chiefly in the liver and the muscles. High intensity activities like sprinting draw upon the glycogen tucked away in our muscles for fuel, which is why you hear about marathoners “carb-loading” in the days before a big race. The glycogen stored in the liver is what keeps specific systems running all day, including the brain, kidney cells, and red blood cells. For anyone not low-carbing, the body needs a minimum of 100g of glucose each day in order to meet the basic demands of the brain. So — what if a person consumes significantly less than 100g of carbohydrates in a day? What happens when the body runs out of glycogen stores? The hierarchy of energy sources Your body’s just as lazy as you are on Sunday afternoon eating chips on the couch, and it will get energy from the easiest sources possible as long as they’re available. The zippiest energy comes from carbohydrates in the diet, especially simple carbs quickly converted into sugars (think white bread, sweets, fructose, etc.), with more complex carbs following shortly after. For a person following SAD (Standard American Diet) — we’re talking easily over 300g carbohydrates a day on average — the body may not ever burn through this ingested potential energy. Instead, it simply sweeps it away under the rug — you know, the one bulging around your waist — where no one will ever notice. When you cut Continue reading >>
How Too Much Protein Is Bad For Ketosis
One of the well-known mantras of the ketogenic diet is very low carb intake and high fat intake. But there’s another nutrient that’s important to monitor when going keto—and a lot of people make the mistake of not considering its importance. That would be protein. Although protein is a critical element in the diet we need for optimal health, it’s important to not eat TOO much protein on the ketogenic diet. Why? Well, there are a couple reasons that we’ll be discussing below. How Too Much Protein is Bad for Ketosis The biggest energy source on the ketogenic diet is fat. In fact, around 75% of your diet should come from healthy fat sources. The key here is that, unlike the traditional idea of low-carb diets where protein is higher, protein intake should bemoderate, not high, on keto. Not following this advice will never allow your body to enter ketosis, which is the main point of going keto and reaping all of the amazing benefits. The reason too much protein is bad for ketosis is because our bodies have a fundamental energy process called gluconeogenesis. For a deeper dive into the topic, see our post on fixing the biggest ketosis mistakes. For now we shoud know the basics. Let’s break it down this mouthful of a term. The word gluconeogenesis has three parts to it, Gluco – coming from the greek root glukos – literally meaning “sweet wine.” Neo – “new” Genesis – “creation” So a great way to think about it is this is how your body creates new sweet wine for your body. Some people tout that “you don’t need carbohydrates to survive,” which is only partially true. To clarify, you don’t need to eat any carbs to survive, but make no mistake, your body needs carbs in the form of glucose and glycogen, and it will get this via survival mechan Continue reading >>
Here's Exactly How I Lost 50 Pounds Doing The Keto Diet
Of all the places to seek life-changing nutrition advice, I never thought the barber shop would be where I found it. But one day last January, after a couple years of saying to myself, "today's the day I make a change," my barber schooled me on something called keto. Normally, I take things he says with a grain of salt unless they're about hair or owning a business, but this guy could literally be on the cover of Men's Health. He's 6 feet tall, conventionally attractive, and his arms are about five pull-ups away from tearing through his t-shirt. If anyone else had implied that I was looking rough, I would've walked out in a fit of rage, but I decided to hear him out. I should clarify that I was out of shape, but my case wasn't that severe. I hadn't exercised in a few years and basically ate whatever I wanted and however much of it, but I was only about 30 to 40 pounds overweight. My barber went on to explain that this diet, paired with an appropriate exercise routine, allowed him to completely transform his body in less than a year, and all he ate was fatty foods. Once he showed me his "before" picture, I was sold. It was time to actually make a change. Short for ketogenic, keto is a high-fat, moderate protein, low-carb diet that forces your metabolism into what's called a state of ketosis. There's a much more scientific explanation to that, but it basically means that instead of burning carbohydrates (mainly glucose, or sugars), your body switches to burning fat as a primary source for energy. Keto isn't necessarily about counting calories, though the basic idea of eating less in order to lose weight still applies. This is more of a calculated way to rewire your metabolism so that it burns fat more efficiently over time, using very specific levels of each macronutrient Continue reading >>
Keto Tip: 5 Reasons You Need To Drink More Water On A Ketogenic Diet!
It’s often been said that most problems you run in to on a ketogenic diet can be solved by doing one of three things; drink more water, eat more salt, or eat more fat. Over the years as I’ve done this, I’ve found this adage to be fairly accurate as most of the “tweaks” I’ve done to get over a plateau or speed up my weight loss has been some variation of these 3 things. Probably the most powerful part of that truth is to drink more water. I’ve seen over and over again how upping my water intake leads to faster weight loss and a healthier overall feeling as I continue on this little weight loss journey of mine. Here are 5 reasons you should be drinking more water on a Ketogenic Diet Replaces Lost Water This is something I just didn’t know when I started cutting out the carbs and wasn’t prepared to deal with in those early days. Your body stores glycogen in water in your muscles. As your body burns through that stored glycogen and you don’t replace it because you aren’t eating carbs, your body’s water stores get depleted as well. This is why you tend to lose up to 10 lbs in the first week on keto and also what causes the “keto flu” or the miserable feeling that happens just before you switch over to being fat adapted. That feeling is caused by mild dehydration and can be shorten tremendously just by drinking more water. Like I said, that would have been awesome to know in those early days. Suppresses Appetite and Curbs Cravings This is another one of those things that I really wish I had known early on but every time you have a hunger pang or a sugar craving, just drink some water and they go away fairly quickly. In fact, even though I’m almost 2 years into this journey of mine, it is still the ever present glass of water on my computer desk t Continue reading >>
Guide To A 10 Day Water Fast & My Fast Experience
You can read about my previous 5 day water fast experience here. Only drinking water with no food at all for 10 days sounds crazy at first thought. I thought the same. However, upon further research and experimentation, I found that it is incredibly beneficial both physically and mentally. Let’s get a few common questions out of the way to start. What is a water fast? A water fast is where you don’t eat and only drink water for a set period of time. Most humans can survive 40+ days without food, and virtually everyone can go two weeks without food with no problems. Why do a waster fast? Water fasting has many great health benefits (see ‘Benefits’ below). In short, it improves the respiration of your cells which makes them function more effectively, it greatly strengthens your immune system, removes toxins from you body (detox), starves potential cancerous cells, shown to increase longevity and helps repair chronic injuries as well as gut issues. There are few downsides other than the discomfort you have at first and the short time spent not enjoying food. An extended fast can greatly improve the quality of your life and improve how your body functions, as well as change your outlook on food in general. Will I lose muscle? A little bit, depending on how you fast. Most muscle loss happens within the first 3-4 days of the water fast. Once in ketosis (where your body produces ketones for energy rather than glucose (blood sugar)), your body goes into protein sparing mode and you lose very minimal muscle. How much weight will I lose? While I wouldn’t recommend fasting to lose weight, you will lose a fair bit. During my 5 day fast, I lost 5kg (11 lbs) in 5 days. During my 10 day fast, I lost nearly 6kg (13.2 lbs), most in the first 5 days. The vast majority is water Continue reading >>
Water Fasting Ketosis Is Where The Fat Burn Heaven Begins
In this guide, you will learn everything you need to know about water fasting ketosis. I'll explain how water fasting can help you reach your absolute highest possible fat burn rates, which is easily the single biggest benefit of ketosis. You'll also see the science on how long it actually takes before you can enter ketosis during a water fast. You'll also learn about one of the most dangerous problems of water fasting ketosis. I'll also tell you why it is a very good idea to avoid one of the most common mistakes people make once they already reach ketosis during a water fast. Now that you know what you're getting yourself into, here's a quick overview of everything that's covered in this guide: The single biggest benefit of water fasting ketosis Simply put, ketosis is a state where you get to enjoy your absolutely highest possible fat burn rates. If you're on your regular diet, your body can draw energy from a couple of different sources (so not just from your body fat reserves). Those other, non-fat energy sources are the main reason why your fat burn rates stay on the low end, even if you start eating less food. But during a water fast, because you're eating no food at all, those other energy sources in your body will be completely wiped out after a while. Once that happens, your body will enter full ketosis, and in that state of full ketosis, your body will have no choice but to rely almost exclusively on your body fat reserves. With no other energy sources available, ketosis will trigger some pretty amazing fat burn rates in your body. Water fasting is one of the fastest ways to reach that state of super high fat burn. And a lot of people do a water fast just for this reason. There's only one problem with reaching ketosis through water fasting. PRO TIP: A different Continue reading >>
Ketosis
One of the most frequently asked questions by people encountering a Zero Carb diet for the first time, especially if they come from a low carb, ketogenic diet background, is… Do I need to be concerned about or measure my level of ketones? I think one of the main reasons this happens is because the descriptive label most often applied to this way of eating is Zero Carb, rather than Zero Plant Foods, All-Meat, or Carnivore (labels which are actually far more descriptively accurate). Additionally, this way of eating probably attracts more people from the low carb community than from any other dietary background. The question comes up often enough that I felt it might be helpful to collect some of the best responses offered by long term Zero Carb practitioners and put them into one place for easy reference. Basically, as you will see from the quotes below, there is no need to measure blood, breath, or urine ketone levels while eating an All-Meat diet in order to experience the benefits that this way of eating offers. ….. Rose Nunez Smith: I’ve been ZC nearly six years. A couple years ago I got scared about cancer (I’m adopted and discovered a long list of direct maternal relatives who died of cancer), so I bought a blood ketone meter, what with all the exciting research starting to happen around ketosis and cancer. When I’d been VLC eight years ago, I turned the ketostix purple consistently, so I figured I’d get a pretty good reading on a blood meter. I couldn’t get above trace. My diet for years had been meat, egg yolks, butter and lard for cooking, water, coffee. That’s it. I began cutting meat and adding more butter. The number nudged up. I cut out beef entirely, eating chicken, pork and fish, and added coconut oil to my coffee. A little more nudge. I ski Continue reading >>
The Importance Of Electrolytes On A Ketogenic Diet
Many people who start a ketogenic diet often experience the dreaded “keto-flu”, which is the name for the experience of one or a combination of the following symptoms: Even if you are following a well-formulated ketogenic diet, with a low amount of carbohydrate, moderate amount of protein, and high amount of fat as suggested, it is likely that you may still experience some of these symptoms. The reason being while your macronutrients may be in line, there is another important factor to consider, ensuring you keep your body properly nourished and functioning well. That key factor is the balance of electrolytes in the body. In this article, we will cover the importance of electrolytes on a ketogenic diet. What Are Electrolytes? Electrolytes are minerals found in the body that are the electrical signaling molecules used for maintaining functions within the body such as regulating your heartbeat and allowing muscles to contract for functional movement. The most relevant electrolytes in this context are sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride, and calcium. Why Monitoring Your Electrolytes is Important. When you shift to a ketogenic diet, your body tends to release more water as opposed to storing it. The reason being that there is less insulin produced as a result of the composition of the diet. This leads to hormonal signals via the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system, signaling your kidneys to excrete MORE water and retain LESS. Along with increased excretion of water, the minerals found in that water are lost at a higher rate (1,2). In the end, you can quickly become depleted of the key electrolytes that your body needs to function properly. As a result, you can experience some of the negative symptoms associated with the “keto flu”. Getting The Right Amount o Continue reading >>
How Much Water Should I Drink Per Day To Lose Weight?
If you’re on a weight loss program, say like the GM diet or any other diet for that matter, you’ll need to consume enough water everyday as it helps in flushing out harmful toxins from your body, thus maximizing the weight loss results. But, many dieters get confused about the amount of water they should drink per day to lose weight. Well, in this article, let us discuss the logic behind drinking water for weight loss and the number of liters should a person drink on an average per day. 3 Foods to Throw Out Cut a bit of belly bloat each day, by avoiding these 3 foods nucific.com Related: Where does fat go after weight loss? or How many calories needed per day? Does Drinking Water Help in Losing Weight? It is a well-known fact that out of the overall human body weight, almost 66% of it is water. Consuming enough quantity of water per day helps in flushing out the impurities out of the body, thus letting you lose the water weight too. Drinking water 30 minutes before any meal helps you eat less. However, it is advised not to drink water beyond the recommended level (too much) as it causes an imbalance in the salt content of your body. Even the potassium levels get disturbed, thereby leading to nausea, fatigue, vomiting and headache. So, what is the ideal amount of water to drink a day to get rid of excess weight? Read to find out. How Many Liters of Water Should You Drink per Day to Lose Weight? The diet experts always recommend the 8 x 8 rule i.e., 8 glasses of 8 ounces water should be drunk by an average individual, which equals 2 liters of water. However, as per the researchers, it is said that we should drink 4 litres of water every day for best results. Of-course, the main reason why they suggest this number is because of the several factors that are to be consid Continue reading >>
The Role Of Salt In A Ketogenic-diet. ‘keto-flu’ Explained!
I was keen to understand why all the low-carb diet resources tell you to eat more salt. I therefore decided to look into this in greater detail. The problem I encountered was that nothing actually states the reasoning behind it; sources merely allude to the requirements, then make recommendations on how to achieve them. What I was keen to understand in particular, is the role of insulin in causing the kidneys to retain salt. The below is what I’ve managed to piece together. As always, I must state that I have no medical or dietary training; all I can do is try and present the results of my own reading in as clear and jargon-free way as possible. If readers’ comments can help guide my understanding, then all feedback will be gratefully received! So here goes… Salt! When you switch over to a ketogenic diet, you’re effectively changing the way your body creates and burns energy. On a glucose-based metabolism, the energy-form ‘glycogen’ is produced in the liver. This energy is water-soluble and transported around the body in your blood. The blood-stream is therefore our ‘road-network’ for distributing energy to all the cells and muscles that need it. Glycogen is also stored in the muscles, so the blood-motorway serves to ‘top up’ these stores when required. Because glycogen is transported in liquid & is water-soluble; it’s unsurprising that glycogen itself contains a lot of water. In fact, it’s stored in liquid form; three to four parts water to one part glycogen (sources state 3-4g water to 1g glycogen). When you restrict carbohydrate, you stop consuming glucose, the raw-material from which glycogen is made (see Fuel versus Energy for more details). Your stores of glycogen therefore deplete as your body burns energy, and because glycogen carries 3-4 Continue reading >>
13 Tips For Losing Weight On A Ketogenic Diet
Ketogenic diets are all the rage these days. Many people think that an all meat diet where you can eat as much as you want sounds appealing. They miss out on the nuances of the diet and don’t quite understand how it works. It’s still important that you watch what you’re putting in your diet to maintain ketosis. It doesn’t stop there, however, as a full lifestyle change is necessary to drastically promote weight loss. Here are 13 ketogenic diet tips for weight loss success. 1. Weigh Your Food Accuracy is important when trying to reach your weight loss goals. Investing a good food scale can really help you monitor your carbohydrate intake with precision. While many may think they can measure by just “eyeballing” servings–the slightest error can have you think you’re consuming an 8 oz. portion though it may really be a 12 oz portion. These errors add up! Avoid the guesswork and use a scale to calculate your food intake. Look for scales that allow you to measure in grams and ounces. There are even scales that connect to apps and websites for even more intuitive food tracking to help you reach your goals. 2. Drink Water Staying hydrated is one of the most important rules of any diet, not just a ketogenic diet. It’s easy to get so wrapped up in our daily routine that we forget how much water we’re taking in throughout the day. While on a ketogenic diet, begin your day by consuming at least 8 to 16 ounces of water. This will allow your body to rehydrate immediately and begin its natural cycles. Throughout the day, you should aim to drink about half of your body weight in ounces. A 150-pound individual should try to drink at least 75 ounces of water during the day. That may seem like a lot but it’s less than 10 cups. When you look at it like that, it doesn Continue reading >>
Low Carb Diet Stalled? Reason #1: You Are Not Drinking Enough Water
Low carb diet stalled? Drink more water. Really. When your low carb diet is failing you, the first place to look (we assume you know when you are cheating on carbs) is at your water intake. The number one non-cheating reason people stall on low carb diets is because they are not drinking enough water. (Number two is not eating enough fat.) Low carb diets are designed to burn fat by putting the dieter into benign dietary ketosis. This takes three things: Cutting carbs down to 40 grams or less per day (and avoiding processed carbs completely); Eating enough fat to stoke the ‘fat burning’ mechanism; and Drinking water. Lots of water. What about tea, coffee, and diet drinks? You might be able to get away with drinking diet soda and Crystal Light all day with other types of programs, but low carb diets are naturally diuretic. They also break down glycogen reserves and fat that needs to be flushed out of your system. You will pee a lot and need to drink water to replace lost body fluids. Diet soda just does not do the right job. Beverages that are high in sodium (like diet soda) can cause fluid retention. No carbonated drink can hydrate the body as efficiently as plain water. And, many low carb dieters are sensitive to ingredients in soda and Crystal Light and find that they cannot enter into ketosis no matter how much they cut out carbs until they give up the artificially sweetened beverages. Citric acid, another common ingredient in diet soda and other diet products, can stall weight loss for 40-50% of people who follow low carb diets. If you are sensitive to this substance it can slow down your weight loss by kicking you out of ketosis. How much water should I drink? That depends on several things: Your climate (the hotter and dryer, the more water your body needs); Ho Continue reading >>
What Everybody Ought To Know About Ketosis
Recently I wanted to explore the world of Ketosis. I thought I knew a little bit about ketosis, but after doing some research I soon realised how wrong I was. 3 months later, after reading numerous books, listening to countless podcasts and experimenting with various diets I know have a sound understanding of ketosis. This resource is built as a reference guide for those looking to explore the fascinating world of ketosis. It is a resource that I wish I had 3 months ago. As you will soon see, a lot of the content below is not mine, instead I have linked to referenced to experts who have a greater understanding of this topic than I ever will. I hope this helps and if there is something that I have missed please leave a comment below so that I can update this. Also, as this is a rather long document, I have split it into various sections. You can click the headline below to be sent straight to the section that interests you. For those that are really time poor I have created a useful ketosis cheat sheet guide. This guide covers all the essential information you should know about ketosis. It can be downloaded HERE. Alternatively, if you're looking for a natural and sustainable way to improve health and lose weight head to this page - What is Ketosis? What Are The Benefits from being in Ketosis? Isn’t Ketosis Dangerous? Ketoacidosis vs Ketosis What Is The Difference Between a Low Carb Diet and a Ketogenic Diet? Types of Ketosis: The Difference Between Nutritional, Therapeutic & MCT Ketogenic Diets Is The Ketogenic Diet Safe? Long Term Effects Thyroid and Ketosis - What You May Want To Know What is a Typical Diet/Macro Breakdown for a Ketogenic Diet? Do I Need to Eat Carbs? What do I Eat On a Ketogenic Diet? What Do I Avoid Eating on a Ketogenic Diet? Protein Consumption a Continue reading >>
January Water Fast: What I Ate After Fasting And How Much Did I Gain?
It’s been just about 50 hours since I ended my 12 day January Water Fast. (my fast ended on Saturday morning, right now it’s Monday morning) I’ve actually learned so much about my body and my eating habits in such a short period of time that it’s astonishing. First of all – I sincerely love food and even more so love to cook. My kitchen is my happy place and I’m totes happy to be cooking/eating again. However, Eating 3 meals on Saturday was just way too much food. When you complete a water fast the most important aspect to ensure you don’t regain the weight you lost, is to not return to the same eating style you had before your fast (if you weren’t eating healthily) Ray & I are eating low-carb/high-fat in order to maintain our ketogenic state (i.e. fat burning machine. While many people say that you need to end a water fast with soft foods, we took a less traveled path of eating real food. And it was a huge success. Between Ray & I we were on both ends of the spectrum when it comes to digestion — for some it moves a little fast and some it moves a little slow (at the request of my hubby I won’t get into specifics but I’m sure you get my drift) We didn’t feel sick or nauseated – only overfull since undoubtedly our stomaches shrunk in 12 day w/o eating – so any quantity of food would make us feel extra full. And we consciously realized that going forward we need to adjust the way we fill our plates, eating less quantity overall. A secret to keep your portions under control is to use smaller plates – the plates in all of these pictures aren’t full size they are large salad plates. Saturday – 25 g net carbs 9 am Breakfast: 2 Scrambled Eggs, Canadian Bacon, Asparagus, Raw Butter & Sauerkraut – 3g net carbs 1 pm Lunch: cottage cheese, olive Continue reading >>
