Zero Carb= Fantastic Results but Questions Remain

[The Alpha Male]

Right. But you should also be able to tell by your sensitivity to insulin. Say you do cheat even for just a meal. With insulin sensitivity high you're very liable to feel it if you blood-glucose suddenly jumps 10ml/dl or more.

It's funny you mention that because on that same day (my 23rd day on Ketosis), I had a cheat meal (a very large one, my 1st and only carb-up so far) prior to bed time. I didn't feel as sluggish or sleepy as everyone else says they do after a carb-up. I was actually tossing and turning in bed and couldn't fall asleep. Maybe it was the excessive energy or maybe because of the ridiculously large belly i was sporting from all the food. Would this mean that my insulin sensitivity has improved?

And what's even more funnier is that i think the carb-up actually sped up my fat loss a bit. I'm not sure yet, I have to compare this coming's Monday measurements to the last Monday to confirm this.

 

[Sinister]

Yes, that can be a result of improved insulin sensitivity. Some get sugar "highs," some (like myself) get insulin "lows." It's all subject to what your body wants to do with the glucose, and the source of it. I've said before that I don't discount what carbohydrates can do for the body. When used properly, they can lend to very good lean muscle maintenance and/or performance. You kinda stumbled upon that. The trick is not consuming more carbohydrates than your body would use to store any fat. Allowing blood-glucose levels to re-stabilize. Something that takes longer for some than others.

 

[The Alpha Male]

Yes, that can be a result of improved insulin sensitivity. Some get sugar "highs," some (like myself) get insulin "lows." It's all subject to what your body wants to do with the glucose, and the source of it. I've said before that I don't discount what carbohydrates can do for the body. When used properly, they can lend to very good lean muscle maintenance and/or performance. You kinda stumbled upon that. The trick is not consuming more carbohydrates than your body would use to store any fat. Allowing blood-glucose levels to re-stabilize. Something that takes longer for some than others.

I don't think carbohydrates are evil, well sometimes I do, haha. I am a HUGE proponent of ketogenic diets because I always notice a huge body composition change. The only thing that I'm doing differently this time than from the last times I've tried this is I've increased my fat intake by a lot. Because of that change, I've noticed that my energy levels have increased.

What would you say is the most carbohydrates one could consume to fill up the liver and muscle glycogen stores before it spills over to fat?

By the way, thank you for being of so much help. You are awesome. :icon_chee

 

[Sinister]

What would you say is the most carbohydrates one could consume to fill up the liver and muscle glycogen stores before it spills over to fat?

There's no blanket formula for this, because people's glucose tolerance is different and sources also count for how efficiently the glucose is disposed of via energy production or other means. For people who do the 48-hour carb-load as precisely as possible, it's 10g of carbs per lb of LBM per day.

 

[o'dubhlaoich]

What the difference from being in Ketosis and ketoacidosis?

 

[Sinister]

Ketoacidosis is the uncontrolled production of ketone bodies, typically exacerbated by insulin resistance and the presence of excess glucose in the blood. Different from ketosis, which due to restoring insulin sensitivity, is quite easily checked and managable. Ketoacidosis is also the condition in which the body's pH balance is out of whack and the body is overly acidic. Ketosis, not so much. The main culprit of acidity in ketoacidosis is the overproduction of acetone.

 

[o'dubhlaoich]

Thanks. I was just wondering cause I was talking about this with my mother in law and she kept saying Ketoacidosis this and Ketoacidosis that

 

[Revok]

Thanks. I was just wondering cause I was talking about this with my mother in law and she kept saying Ketoacidosis this and Ketoacidosis that

The confusion happens quite often, especially since most people come to hear about ketoacidosis via diabetes, either because they suffer from it themselves or know someone who does. Judging from most of criticisms leveled at Atkins during its popular height, even doctors tend to confuse the two terms.

 

[Zynix]

So I've been doing this since I first read this post over a month ago. Started May 15th, weighed in at 284. This morning I weighed in at 250. I've been eating under 20 carbs a day, water and crystal lite only, I used to drink about 10 cans of pop a day, i know i know, i was/still am a fatass. So I appreciate Sinister and others for providing all the information they have.

I have a question about re-carbing. I've read this thread a couple of times and must have missed this part. Is this something I should be doing? Or is it post-workout or pre-workout? I have started lifting and running some, about 3 times a week.

 

[FlyingOmoplata]

So I've been doing this since I first read this post over a month ago. Started May 15th, weighed in at 284. This morning I weighed in at 250. I've been eating under 20 carbs a day, water and crystal lite only, I used to drink about 10 cans of pop a day, i know i know, i was/still am a fatass. So I appreciate Sinister and others for providing all the information they have.

I have a question about re-carbing. I've read this thread a couple of times and must have missed this part. Is this something I should be doing? Or is it post-workout or pre-workout? I have started lifting and running some, about 3 times a week.

My understanding is as follows.

You have two options for "re-carbing".

1) Do a once a week, carb-up. The idea here I believe is to re-fill the liver glycogen stores as well as the muscle glycogen stores.

2) Do a targeted carb-up based around your workouts. Taking in your carbs right before/after. This is due to how the body handles insulin immediately following a workout.

But I believe both of these are really targeted for people aiming to keep/increase lean mass. I expect that doing either might slow down your more immediate weight loss, but help maintain your lean mass, and maybe help you build more lean mass with the right exercise plan.

 

[Ironpants]

My understanding is as follows.

You have two options for "re-carbing".

1) Do a once a week, carb-up. The idea here I believe is to re-fill the liver glycogen stores as well as the muscle glycogen stores.

2) Do a targeted carb-up based around your workouts. Taking in your carbs right before/after. This is due to how the body handles insulin immediately following a workout.

But I believe both of these are really targeted for people aiming to keep/increase lean mass. I expect that doing either might slow down your more immediate weight loss, but help maintain your lean mass, and maybe help you build more lean mass with the right exercise plan.

What if he makes his 1Xweek carb up coincide with a workout?

 

[Sinister]

My understanding is as follows.

You have two options for "re-carbing".

1) Do a once a week, carb-up. The idea here I believe is to re-fill the liver glycogen stores as well as the muscle glycogen stores.

2) Do a targeted carb-up based around your workouts. Taking in your carbs right before/after. This is due to how the body handles insulin immediately following a workout.

But I believe both of these are really targeted for people aiming to keep/increase lean mass. I expect that doing either might slow down your more immediate weight loss, but help maintain your lean mass, and maybe help you build more lean mass with the right exercise plan.

Your assessment is correct. As long as the protein intake stays sufficient, a person shouldn't lose muscle to a detriment while utilizing very low-carb nutrition. However, if they want to add muscle, the only way that can be done while still using the state of ketosis is to do cyclic carbohydrate super-compensation. Which is the 48-hour re-feeding procedure. The simple way to do this is to keep calories moderate, protein the same, lower fat intake, and keep carbohydrate intake around 10g per lb of LBM per day. For this purpose the faster absorbing the carbs the better, so theoretically the "worst" carbs work best for this. However some people have side-effects, like the insulin sleep, or rushes of energy due to high sugar intake. So I always recommend doing this on rest days, and sleeping a lot. The body will typically be more apt to refill glycogen stores and build muscle tissue as opposed to storing fat, and more precisely so if the last day of working out is designed to deplete glycogen.

But if a person isn't necessarily looking to build muscle, this procedure isn't really necessary. If the goal is to be as lean and strong as possible, that can be done without super-compensation.

 

[xPINKx]

I'm fighting through the thread right now, but still wonder: Do you people count overall calories or do you just eat?

 

[booher]

For the most part, I just eat. The simple calories in/out methods don't quite apply, as that's been discussed. Most time with just eating to satiety, I know I'm not "overdoing" it anyways.

 

[Sinister]

To add to what booher is saying, it's not to insinuate that caloric deficit doesn't apply at all, just that this is a less tedious way to achieve it for those who utilize it.

 

[xPINKx]

Alright, I just finished the whole thread and I must say, this might have been one of the most valuable pieces of information that I got online for free. Wow.
I'm right now starting a TKD and trying to see how that works. I lost a little more than 20 pounds eating low carb and primal already, but had quite some problems with my energy during workouts. I believed it was because of the lack of carbs, but it probably was simply being underfed as I tried to have quite a caloric deficit...

I feel I slipped into ketosis very easily this time, so from now on it's a lot of dead animals and some honey before working out. I'll try to eat when I'm hungry and not keep logging everything.

How do you people feel about mood and ketosis? After getting there I felt absolutely great, had to sleep a lot less, had great mental clarity for hours and was having a lot of fun. On the other hand since going low carb my general mood seems to have changed, not that I am unhappy, it's just, that my general or neutral mood changed from happy go lucky to sporting a nice screwface from time to time and thus also being perceived a lot different, read better. It's as if changing my dietary habits suddenly enabled the whole emotional bandwidth instead of happy/sleepy/hungry before. Also I feel my testosterone might have risen in that time...

tl/dr: going low carb and aiming for ketosis makes you into a much cooler, manlier, more successful person, if you eat enough, especially fat. :wink:

 

[golvmopp]

Im on it right now and have been for a sizeable (for me) fucking time - in excess of a month. Side-effects of my last venture are gone, my moodswings are ridiculous - but I kind of like. Once you get used to it, it's absolute magic. I love the fact that there are no massive fluctuations in energy-levels - I can be tired and hungry, and still go for a 5k without hitting a wall. LCHF is the shit for me, in other words.

 

[booher]

Alright, I just finished the whole thread and I must say, this might have been one of the most valuable pieces of information that I got online for free. Wow.
I'm right now starting a TKD and trying to see how that works. I lost a little more than 20 pounds eating low carb and primal already, but had quite some problems with my energy during workouts. I believed it was because of the lack of carbs, but it probably was simply being underfed as I tried to have quite a caloric deficit...

I feel I slipped into ketosis very easily this time, so from now on it's a lot of dead animals and some honey before working out. I'll try to eat when I'm hungry and not keep logging everything.

How do you people feel about mood and ketosis? After getting there I felt absolutely great, had to sleep a lot less, had great mental clarity for hours and was having a lot of fun. On the other hand since going low carb my general mood seems to have changed, not that I am unhappy, it's just, that my general or neutral mood changed from happy go lucky to sporting a nice screwface from time to time and thus also being perceived a lot different, read better. It's as if changing my dietary habits suddenly enabled the whole emotional bandwidth instead of happy/sleepy/hungry before. Also I feel my testosterone might have risen in that time...

tl/dr: going low carb and aiming for ketosis makes you into a much cooler, manlier, more successful person, if you eat enough, especially fat. :wink:

I really don't notice a difference in my mood, in all honesty. The only thing that's changed about me is my willingness to stick to the actual diet. Much stricter and disciplined about it. I do still nap at least once a week, however.

And as far as logging goes, I don't think it's a bad idea to keep logging what you eat. Especially considering the fact that you say your mood has changed, you might try and log things like meal frequency and what kinds of things you eat that make you feel "happy go lucky" or "screwfaced".

And if you're still feeling tired during workouts (I've gathered you aren't, but...), up fat intake. That's your energy source.

 

[Easto]

Important things for me have been:
- Counting calories
- No more than 1 g of protein per pound of LBM
- Minimal carbs
- The rest of my calories from fat
- CARDIO and weight training
- My normal BJJ workouts

As soon as I followed these points the weight has consistently been coming off at 2 lbs per week. My goal is fat loss and the body composition changes I have seen have been awesome. I have had the same success eating chicken, plain oatmeal, rice, egg whites, and protein shakes. However, I hated every minute eating that way. I lost fat, but I felt like crap and was mentally drained.

On my low carb I am eating whole eggs, bacon, ground beef, cheese, chicken, protein power, cream, deli meat, macadamia nut oil,etc

I don't even feel like I am on a diet which is the best way to diet.

The steady blood sugars levels have been awesome as well. No more bouts with hypoglycemia.

 

[Sinister]

The mood swings were noted somewhere in the middle of the thread. This is a facet of the endocrine system functioning differently than we're used to. When you have easier flow of both testosterone AND adrenaline (both normally suppressed by insulin production) you can feel a little edgy. Historically, this would be our "hunter" mode, where we want to either fight or fuck, or just be left alone.