Does Ketosis stop working after a while?

[Piasabird]

Dr. Fred Pescatore worked at the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine for five years as an associate medical director. He has his own diet out now that he's pushing. But one thing I found interesting is that he claims ketosis is a gimmick and it stops working once our bodies get use to it.

What do you guys think?

I explained to him my theory as to why the body needs some good carbohydrates—in order to get the metabolism to function efficiently. I also explained to him that when the body is placed into ketosis, for example, for an extended period of time, that gimmick stops to work. Ketosis is actually what happens to your body when it is starving and your body begins to break down muscle protein. Your body will adapt and the ketosis becomes less effective at helping the body to lose weight. You can only fool Mother Nature for so long. http://allhealth.healthology.com/focus_article.asp?b=allhealth&f=beyond_dieting&c=t ruthlowcarddiet&pg=4

[Horsenpuggy]

Re: Does Ketosis stop working after a while?

That is very interesting......I dont know if its true or not but i would like to know. I have been in ketosis for over a month and have continued to loose wt.

[sunflowergrl]

Re: Does Ketosis stop working after a while?

Well, Dr. A isn't here to defend himself, and that guy is just trying to sell his own diet. Its very sad, I don't feel this is a 'gimmick', its a way of life. You aren't supposed to stay in Induction forever. I would guess he is just trying to push his own product.

[Piasabird]

Re: Does Ketosis stop working after a while?

I'm wondering if this could be a reason as to why first timers on Atkins seem to have better luck with losing weight. And it's harder for the ones who are second and third timers. Does our body adjust to ketosis?

[Piasabird]

Re: Does Ketosis stop working after a while?

I would guess he is just trying to push his own product.

That's true. He does have his own diet that he's hawking.

[cleochatra]

Re: Does Ketosis stop working after a while?

I don't know that I believe him. As an example, when I was eating carbs but burning calories I was still in ketosis! I know that sounds weird, but I was. I think so long as the body burns fat for fuel there will be ketones thrown off, regardless if the plan is low-carb, lowcarb/lowcal or low-cal.

[Kent]

Re: Does Ketosis stop working after a while?

Ketosis is actually what happens to your body when it is starving and your body begins to break down muscle protein. Your body will adapt and the ketosis becomes less effective at helping the body to lose weight.

If your body is actually breaking down muscles and not the readily apparent amino acids from your diet, the Atkineer should look at the diet. Loss of muscle mass was the least of my worries. In my opinion if the Atkineer does the diet as prescribed which includes exercise, plateaus are only a temporary setback. The diet might not work for everyone, but to denigrate a diet a gimmick just seems like putting someone else down to make yourself look good or trying to explain their own failures. I don't have a problem with other diets -- if it works for them, all the better -- but having the metabolic advantage made all the difference to me.

[Piasabird]

Re: Does Ketosis stop working after a while?

Yeah, I think he's pretty crappy to have worked right along side Doctor Atkins and then come out with stuff like this after the man's dead! It just seems wrong.

Too bad he'll probably sell his diet and make a lot of money.

[Jasmain]

Re: Does Ketosis stop working after a while?

Dr Atkins' book actually states in it that if you have been on any diet before, even Atkins, your metabolic resistance will be higher for each time your body weight has yoyo'd. If you've done that a few times, there is a chance at least, that you don't have the ketosis blahs, but that you've raised your resistance to weight loss in general.

[2big4mysize]

Re: Does Ketosis stop working after a while?

first of all they are comparing Apples to oranges. Dr Atkins defined ketosis as the burning of FAT for fuel not the ketosis of a starving person. Also that starving person doesn't eat good healthy carbs, proteins and fats like Atkineers do. So where Dr Fred Pescatore's starving person has run out of fats and sugars for fuel andis comsuming his muscles Dr Atkins person is constantly replinishing the fats, and proteins andsome carbs.

Dr Atkins tells us in DANDR that ketosis appetite suppression is just a function of OWL and INduction ands will go away as we get closer to our maintnenace level of carbohydrates. ( this is why you guys should be learning your hunger signals now so you know when to eat and when not to and practice every day feeding only your hunger so as you get closer to goal weight in premaintenance you can control yourslves and not balloon back up cause your appetite wasn't suppressed any more)

SO if that was what dr Fred Pescatore was talking about then yes it is a "gimmick" and does stop working. But since he is starving us and wasting our muscles as his gimmick then nope he is wrong. ketosis as defined by Dr Atkins doesn't stop working cause as long as we are eating to our bodies needs we willnot be using our muscles for fuel.

[Piasabird]

Re: Does Ketosis stop working after a while?

Thanks 2big! I knew you'd have the answer. You always do.

I just can't believe he's writing those kinds of lies when he worked with Dr. Atkins! It really makes me mad!

[not2late]

Re: Does Ketosis stop working after a while?

Dr. Fred Pescatore worked at the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine for five years as an associate medical director. He has his own diet out now that he's pushing. But one thing I found interesting is that he claims ketosis is a gimmick and it stops working once our bodies get use to it.

What do you guys think?

This is what I think.......

According to Dr. Atkins, everyone has a CCLL. For a small percentage of us, that CCLL is 15-20 net carbs daily. For the majority of us, that CCLL is 25 and over. The way the Atkins diet is written, the majority of our weight loss should be in the OWL phase where we eat to our CCLLs.

From what I've observed here on ADBB, the folks with a CCLL of 25 or over, keeping the carbs artificially low (Induction levels) for an extended period of time leads to what Dr. Pescatore wrote about your body getting used to that level and working so efficiently at that level, that weight loss stops or slows. That's why when these Extended Inductioners finally move to Rung 1 OWL, they experience weight loss with the addition of only 5 net carbs to their Induction level carbs. I've always found that to be remarkable!

From my own OWL experience, I saw something similar to that. I'm a slow loser. So when I began OWL, I found my CCLL and ate at that level. As the months past, my body changed---I was more active, I was a less fat person, and my metabolism changed (improved). I hit a period where I was tired all the time and the appetite suppression disappeared. All this time, I was in ketosis--by the physical signs and by the urine test strips. After fiddling with adding more fat and systematically eliminating foods, I re-read the book and saw that if you increase your physicial activity (ie: you become more physically fit), your CCLL can increase. So I added 5 net carbs, the appetite suppression kicked back in and the tiredness went away. My "new" CCLL is 10 net carbs above my original one.

So, I agree with Dr. Pescatore, that your body can get used to a certain level of carbohydrates and will adapt to that level so well that you won't lose weight, in spite of being in ketosis. The ketone bodies are a form of energy that can be broken down and used by your heart and other muscles. So, if you keep your carb intake at an artificially low level for an extended period of time, you might encounter a sort of "starvation mode": you "reserve" the glucose from the limited carbs you are eating for your brain and you "preserve" your ketones by utilizing your dietary fat as efficiently as possible in order to "conserve" your secondary ketone source---your body fat. So you are "in ketosis", but don't lose body fat.

These are my 2 net carbs....can't prove it unless I do a study.

[Piasabird]

Re: Does Ketosis stop working after a while?

Thanks for your reply, Megs!

That makes sense. I've also seen instances where people move into OWL and start losing again. It's often made me wonder why so many people are afraid to move out of induction when it would be beneficial to them.

Thanks to everyone who replied. Sometimes it helps me to form my decisions by reading what other people have to say about something. I like to hear all points of view. And I thought that it was a good question.

[not2late]

Re: Does Ketosis stop working after a while?

Thanks for your reply, Megs!

That makes sense. I've also seen instances where people move into OWL and start losing again. It's often made me wonder why so many people are afraid to move out of induction when it would be beneficial to them.

Carbophobia: the fear of carbs, lol. Perry said once that the rapid weight loss of Induction is a blessing and a curse. People are overjoyed because that initial "whoosh" is probably the largest amount of weight they have lost in the shortest period. It gives you the confidence that you are a weight loser, that all hope of losing weight is not lost and that the diet works. On the other hand, it can bring on a fear of the inability to lose weight if you add an additional 5 net carbs of vegetables. So they become scared of carbs. I blame Dr. Atkins for this because he wrote in the OWL chapter that OWL can slow weight loss, but he didn't explain that the "slow down" can mean losing 3.5 pounds per week instead of 4.

Among the posts I read, the most heartbreaking are the ones that say "I lost 40 pounds on Atkins. Then I fell off because I couldn't keep up with the diet." Most of the time, if you inquire how they did during OWL, they will say they stayed on Induction the whole time and they either got tired of the limited food selection or they stopped losing weight. The second most heartbreaking posts are the ones that say "This is month 5 of Induction for me and I cheated because I ate 3 strawberries last night." If they move on to OWL, 3 strawberries aren't a cheat.

Like I said, only a small percentage of us are so metabolically resistant to weight loss that we have to keep our carbs to 20 net or below in order to lose weight. And even those people aren't banished to the Induction phase until Maintenance. They can move up the OWL carb ladder, swapping 5 net carbs of the OWL foods for the "extra" Induction carbs like the artificial sweetner and heavy cream allotments. The rest of us can eat at higher levels and still lose weight.

[jsj0305]

Re: Does Ketosis stop working after a while?

Thanks 2big, I was just gonna say that ketosis is fat being burned NOT protein, Jeez! LOL

The body uses two fuels for energy: fat and glucose (blood sugar). Carbohydrates in the diet break down in the body as glucose. Therefore, when you cut down on carbohydrates, you effectively leave only one source for energy (fat). Fat which must be "burned" away through the metabolic process called lipolysis or ketosis, which in turn releases ketone body as a waste product in urine. For those with extra body fat, ketosis is safe, natural, and their secret weapon for effective weight loss.

Healthier lives can be achieved through responsible weight management, such as: lowering the intake of carbohydrates, while choosing high protein or balanced foods. You can easily & quickly monitor this weight loss through dietary control by tracking your ketone levels. A positive ketone reading means that you are on the right track with your dietary planning, and your current intake of carbohydrates is at the right level. The higher the reading, the higher the level of fat you're burning. Therefore, you can adjust or customize the ratio of carb/protein/fat intakes and control your weight loss at your preferred rate. Without KetoneMax, it is difficult to read color strip accurately, because the color intensity changes with time during measurement. The KetoneMax, integrated with ketosis urine strips, provides a quantitative indicator for proper weight loss while protecting essential lean muscle tissue without the guesswork.

This guy has it right! He even talks about the percentages!!