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I thought I would take a few minutes to give back. This site is an invaluable resource with more information than can be comprehended. This down side to that is that finding important information can be like finding a needle in a haystack. There are plenty of stickies that cover the basics so this is simply a quick reference for some commonly asked questions I have noticed still being asked over and over.
Ketostix: Detects the presence of ketones in the urine. Ketones are a source of energy produced by the liver from fatty acids, which result from the breakdown of body fat in the absence of glucose/sugar. Ketones will only show on the test when there are more in the blood than are being used by the body, once fat is converted it can not be converted back as a result excess ketones become a waste product and show on the test. Keostix are a great tool but do not get hung up on them, you may very well still be in ketosis even if the test is negative, the color codes are for diabetics, for Atkins purposes think of it as a positive or negative test. Can be found anywhere that sells diabetic testing supplies.
Alcohol: Alcohol slows weight loss. Alcohol is broken down into ketones easier than fat so your body will use the alcohol instead of fat until it is out of your system. On average alcohol is metabolized at a rate of .015 BAC per hour. So if you are "legally drunk" meaning .08 it would take over 5 hours for that alcohol to be used up and your body to start using fat as a fuel again. Atkins reintroduces alcohol in rung 5. Also remember alcohol can lead to bad decisions and beer goggles work with food too.
Net Carbs: Are what you count. How you determine this is by subtracting dietary fiber and sugar alcohols, these carbs have little glycemic impact. If your snack is 5 carbs and 3 of them are dietary fiber the net carb count is 2. If the carbs fall into one of those categories it will be listed below the total carb count just as sugar is.
Induction "Flu": You are breaking an addiction just like any other, our bodies tend to freak out to drastic change, don't worry it will adjust and you will feel better than ever soon enough. For those who are also breaking a caffeine addiction at the same time I feel your pain. Good news is, after you survive it you will think twice forming new addictions.
Sugar: Just as companies try to deceive with tiny serving sizes, some like to hide the sugar. Here are different names for sugar, it may not include every single one so if I missed something let me know and I can add it.
Always inspect the label: This goes hand in hand with hidden sugar. Our food industry is full of liars and the government lets them get away with it. As long as a product has less than half a carb per serving it can be listed as 0 carb. Could be .001 could be .499, only the manufacturer knows for sure and they aren't telling because a 0 looks better than the .5 the competitor may list. Err on the side of caution and count it as .5 unless you know it's lower, I figure I may miss some here and there so rounding high probably evens out anyway. Use pickles as an example it may say 0 carb but a pickle is a cucumber which has carbs. As for Less than 1 gram, count it was one, assume it is between .5 and 1 so might as well count it as 1. It may seem silly to worry about but when your limit is 20 these little things add up.
Vitamins: Take them. At the very least a basic multi without iron, most men's formulas are iron free. I look at vitamins like this, if I need it and don't take it I'm negatively impacting myself. If I take it and don't need it then my urine is slightly more expensive. Odds are your body will make use of most of it.
Cheating: It happens, it's not the end of the world just understand it slows the process down and can take you back out of ketosis so avoid it. One little bite can hurt because one leads to two, ask anyone (including myself) who has done Atkins before and went off the wagon it's very sneaky at grabbing hold once you start giving into the one little taste urges. But if it happened it happened nothing you can do but move forward and learn from your mistake.
Ketostix: Detects the presence of ketones in the urine. Ketones are a source of energy produced by the liver from fatty acids, which result from the breakdown of body fat in the absence of glucose/sugar. Ketones will only show on the test when there are more in the blood than are being used by the body, once fat is converted it can not be converted back as a result excess ketones become a waste product and show on the test. Keostix are a great tool but do not get hung up on them, you may very well still be in ketosis even if the test is negative, the color codes are for diabetics, for Atkins purposes think of it as a positive or negative test. Can be found anywhere that sells diabetic testing supplies.
Alcohol: Alcohol slows weight loss. Alcohol is broken down into ketones easier than fat so your body will use the alcohol instead of fat until it is out of your system. On average alcohol is metabolized at a rate of .015 BAC per hour. So if you are "legally drunk" meaning .08 it would take over 5 hours for that alcohol to be used up and your body to start using fat as a fuel again. Atkins reintroduces alcohol in rung 5. Also remember alcohol can lead to bad decisions and beer goggles work with food too.
Net Carbs: Are what you count. How you determine this is by subtracting dietary fiber and sugar alcohols, these carbs have little glycemic impact. If your snack is 5 carbs and 3 of them are dietary fiber the net carb count is 2. If the carbs fall into one of those categories it will be listed below the total carb count just as sugar is.
Induction "Flu": You are breaking an addiction just like any other, our bodies tend to freak out to drastic change, don't worry it will adjust and you will feel better than ever soon enough. For those who are also breaking a caffeine addiction at the same time I feel your pain. Good news is, after you survive it you will think twice forming new addictions.
Sugar: Just as companies try to deceive with tiny serving sizes, some like to hide the sugar. Here are different names for sugar, it may not include every single one so if I missed something let me know and I can add it.
- barley malt
- beet sugar
- brown sugar
- buttered syrup
- cane-juice crystals
- cane sugar
- caramel
- carob syrup
- corn syrup
- corn syrup solids
- date sugar
- dextran
- dextrose
- diatase
- diastatic malt
- ethyl maltol
- fructose
- fruit juice
- fruit juice concentrate
- glucose
- glucose solids
- golden sugar
- golden syrup
- grape sugar
- high-fructose corn syrup
- honey
- lactose
- malt syrup
- maltodextrin
- maltose
- molasses
- raw sugar
- refiner's syrup
- sorbitol
- sorghum syrup
- sucrose
- sugar
- turbinado sugar
- yellow sugar
Always inspect the label: This goes hand in hand with hidden sugar. Our food industry is full of liars and the government lets them get away with it. As long as a product has less than half a carb per serving it can be listed as 0 carb. Could be .001 could be .499, only the manufacturer knows for sure and they aren't telling because a 0 looks better than the .5 the competitor may list. Err on the side of caution and count it as .5 unless you know it's lower, I figure I may miss some here and there so rounding high probably evens out anyway. Use pickles as an example it may say 0 carb but a pickle is a cucumber which has carbs. As for Less than 1 gram, count it was one, assume it is between .5 and 1 so might as well count it as 1. It may seem silly to worry about but when your limit is 20 these little things add up.
Vitamins: Take them. At the very least a basic multi without iron, most men's formulas are iron free. I look at vitamins like this, if I need it and don't take it I'm negatively impacting myself. If I take it and don't need it then my urine is slightly more expensive. Odds are your body will make use of most of it.
Cheating: It happens, it's not the end of the world just understand it slows the process down and can take you back out of ketosis so avoid it. One little bite can hurt because one leads to two, ask anyone (including myself) who has done Atkins before and went off the wagon it's very sneaky at grabbing hold once you start giving into the one little taste urges. But if it happened it happened nothing you can do but move forward and learn from your mistake.
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