zero carb diet

pmanton

pmanton

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N1431A
I am losing weight by cutting out carbs. While on this diet I am in ketosis and monitor myself by checking my urine with Ketostix.

When my medical comes up will I get burned if I am still in ketosis? Does the urine check the AME uses check for ketosis?

I have lots of energy, I'm dumping weight nicely, have no hunger pains, I'll soon fit into the Champ project I'm working on. :D

Thanks

Paul
N2426E
N1431A
2AZ1
 
I tripped over this a few years ago when doing the Atkins thing as well. Of course, the AME involved was also the idiot who on another matter managed to get my medical screwed up until I could convince the FAA that I NEVER had the condition that was reported.

Anyhow, they're only really supposed to be dipping for glucose, but more often than not they will have these 7 test strips that will measure ketones. My suggestion. Eat a bagel the morning before you go into the test. You won't mess up your diet too much and you'll stop spilling ketones that day and won't run afoul of the test. You can use your ketostix to figure out when it's ready to go.

In my case the AME had me eat some carbs and go in for a regular UA.
 
flyingron said:
I tripped over this a few years ago when doing the Atkins thing as well. Of course, the AME involved was also the idiot who on another matter managed to get my medical screwed up until I could convince the FAA that I NEVER had the condition that was reported.

Anyhow, they're only really supposed to be dipping for glucose, but more often than not they will have these 7 test strips that will measure ketones. My suggestion. Eat a bagel the morning before you go into the test. You won't mess up your diet too much and you'll stop spilling ketones that day and won't run afoul of the test. You can use your ketostix to figure out when it's ready to go.

In my case the AME had me eat some carbs and go in for a regular UA.
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Glucose and Protein are required.
 
The problem with these Adkins style diets is they fail to address the underlying causes of weight gain, inviting recurrence.
 
Fwiw I dropped all carbs, lost 20 something lbs, slowy reintroduced carbs and have been eating them for about a month without an increase in weight what so ever.

Granted I still avoid carbs that are total crap like French fries and try to use reasonable portion control.
 
steingar said:
The problem with these Adkins style diets is they fail to address the underlying causes of weight gain, inviting recurrence.
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It's Atkins Mike. Atkins allows you to use your body's natural process to lose weight and then find the amount of carbohydrates that allow you to maintain once you get where you want to be.

If you are doing Atkins correctly you do not have to count calories to lose weight. It doesn't mean you can just eat, eat, eat but you also don't have to try and keep the calorie count way down like a lot of diets.
 
pmanton said:
I am losing weight by cutting out carbs. While on this diet I am in ketosis and monitor myself by checking my urine with Ketostix.
Click to expand...

I lost 100 pounds over a year on this diet back in the '80's, and kept it off for 5 years. I then started getting a bunch of job transfers one after another and blew it with restaurant food.

But I've only gained about half of it back.

I really ought to get serious for awhile and get back to where I was.
 
Thanks for the info. So far so good. I'm eating smaller portions, not snacking, and having no craving. The only side effect is that my blood pressure seems to be up a bit. I've dumped 25# and thought that my BP would go down.

I'm going to reintroduce carbs and monitor my weight when I get down to my target weight.
Cheers:

Paul
 
pmanton said:
I am losing weight by cutting out carbs. While on this diet I am in ketosis and monitor myself by checking my urine with Ketostix.

When my medical comes up will I get burned if I am still in ketosis? Does the urine check the AME uses check for ketosis?

I have lots of energy, I'm dumping weight nicely, have no hunger pains, I'll soon fit into the Champ project I'm working on. :D

Thanks

Paul
N2426E
N1431A
2AZ1
Click to expand...

That hasn't been my experience. I'm pretty much on a permanent Adkins diet mostly due to celiac disease.
 
pmanton said:
The only side effect is that my blood pressure seems to be up a bit. I've dumped 25# and thought that my BP would go down.
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Have you added or increased the level of exercise, or are you just losing the weight by dieting? That could be the difference. My BP usually goes down a bit with weight loss, but it has always been a combination of diet and exercise.
 
pmanton said:
Thanks for the info. So far so good. I'm eating smaller portions, not snacking, and having no craving. The only side effect is that my blood pressure seems to be up a bit. I've dumped 25# and thought that my BP would go down.

I'm going to reintroduce carbs and monitor my weight when I get down to my target weight.
Cheers:

Paul
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Be careful of you cholesterol. Depending on how you're wired genetically you could see a rise there.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Isn't that the case with almost any 'diet'?
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If your diet is based on portion control, eating healthy foods and exercise, you can easily ramp up once you've lost the desired weight for maintenance. Since you've established a balanced diet that works, you won't see a weight gain unless you alter it. Anyone who has gone thought a period of diminished portions will not quickly go back, as their stomach will shrink and they will be more easily sated.

With Adkins style diets you change your dietary habits completely. You've no baseline to return to, and you will likely return to the diet that gained you the weight in the first place.
 
steingar said:
If your diet is based on portion control, eating healthy foods and exercise, you can easily ramp up once you've lost the desired weight for maintenance. Since you've established a balanced diet that works, you won't see a weight gain unless you alter it. Anyone who has gone thought a period of diminished portions will not quickly go back, as their stomach will shrink and they will be more easily sated.

With Adkins style diets you change your dietary habits completely. You've no baseline to return to, and you will likely return to the diet that gained you the weight in the first place.
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Yes, but even portion control diets mean nothing if you go back to your old habits once you have lost the weight. I have seen plenty of those failures just S with other diets. The key is you gave to commit to the lifelong change.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Yes, but even portion control diets mean nothing if you go back to your old habits once you have lost the weight. I have seen plenty of those failures just S with other diets. The key is you gave to commit to the lifelong change.
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Easily done if you've committed to a healthy diet and exercise. Harder if you're doing Atkins. At least in my opinion.
 
I am totally agree with the statement of " The problem with these Adkins style diets is they fail to address the underlying causes of weight gain, inviting recurrence".
 
Fearless Tower said:
Yes, but even portion control diets mean nothing if you go back to your old habits once you have lost the weight. I have seen plenty of those failures just S with other diets. The key is you gave to commit to the lifelong change.
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But as was said above - is there any diet where you can go back to bad eating habits and not put on weight?


I'm still waiting for someone to state what the underlying causes of weight gain are and how recurrence is stronger in Atkins diets than in other diets.
 
pmanton said:
When my medical comes up will I get burned if I am still in ketosis? Does the urine check the AME uses check for ketosis?
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Question - isn't the presence of ketones just an indicator that your body is releasing fat to be used for energy? It's the body's natural process for removing fat. If there's a doctor who considers that dangerous, I'd like to know what they consider storing fat to be.

Years ago we had two seasons - a season of plenty where we ate carbs and put on weight followed by a season of lean where we burned up that fat to provide energy to get through the winter. Ketosis is part of a natural annual cycle provided for by our genetic makeup.

For those who don't understand - ketosis is not ketoacidosis. You can say that they are different in level, but understand that they ARE different.
 
bflynn said:
But as was said above - is there any diet where you can go back to bad eating habits and not put on weight?
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Absolutely, if you burn sufficient calories to offset the ones you take in. This may be accomplished with vigorous exercise, though that can be hard on the joints over time.

bflynn said:
I'm still waiting for someone to state what the underlying causes of weight gain are and how recurrence is stronger in Atkins diets than in other diets.
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The underlying cause of weight gain for most people is they take in more calories than they burn. The way to correct this is to take in less and/or burn more. The best solution usually involves a degree of both.

With Adkins style diets you chuck all that and go to this utterly unsustainable eating habit that I can't believe isn't hard on your digestive and urogenital systems. Still, it does lead to weight loss in many cases. But that loss is virtually unsustainable, since you probably don't want to maintain the Adkins long term. But you have no healthy diet to return to, and are most likely to return to the poor eating habits you started with.

Now, if you do a more sensible diet involving healthier and more nutritious foods, smaller portions, and moderate exercise you've already made the lifestyle changes needed for maintenance. The difference is the Adkins diet is unsustainable, a healthy one is.
 
everyone can lose a ton of weight on a carb restricted diet . . . its a good thing.

You cannot live on a carb restricted diet - and there are dozens of foods with carbs that are also high in fiber which means that the carbs will have some restriction from joining your system and breaking down into simple sugars which will just make you hungry in an hour -

When you are 5lbs UNDER your target weight start introducing low glycemic carbs - brown rice, fruit, dairy etc. . . you pack the 5 back on pretty fast but that should be as fair as it goes

Now you have a life tolive - and the way to eat good carbs yet occasionally splurge on a donut, cookie or piece of cake is to exercise HARD at least 4 days a week - we're talking 1000 vertical feet gain in 4 miles or less on a bike, running the equiv or stairmaster . .. its the only way. Input - except on a concentration camp starvation diet - will not control weight . . .
 
steingar said:
I draw that from the folks I've known who did it. They didn't enjoy the experience.
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That's because they don't stick with the program. The Atkins program in its entirety is very sustainable and the later phases include most any food.
 
jesse said:
That's because they don't stick with the program. The Atkins program in its entirety is very sustainable and the later phases include most any food.
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If it includes most any food it is not an Adkins diet. Moreover, without some sort of restriction old habits are quite likely to reassert themselves in most people.

Magic diets don't make you thin or keep you that way. Only changes in lifestyle can do that.
 
steingar said:
If it includes most any food it is not an Adkins diet. Moreover, without some sort of restriction old habits are quite likely to reassert themselves in most people.

Magic diets don't make you thin or keep you that way. Only changes in lifestyle can do that.
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Okay? Then you obviously do not understand the Atkins diet. The severe carb reduction is essentially only a phase 1 activity lasting anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. After that point you move onto Phase 2, 3, and 4. Throughout each phase you're slowly introducing new foods and increasing your carb intake.

Eventually you end up being in a state that isn't much different than most any other diet. You avoid sweets - you try to eat nutritiously dense food - and if you desire grains you try and make them whole grains.

Perhaps you should research it a bit -- read the acceptable food lists for each phase 1 through 4. They all build on each other:
http://www.atkins.com/Program/Overview.aspx

It's a very sustainable lifelong program that is a lifestyle change if you choose to follow it. Problem is I'd wager most people never even make it to phase 2.
 
I'm not following Atkins (per se), but have been low-carb, high-fat for the past 5.5 months and am loving it.
My only concessions have been beer (which I haven't missed - despite the fact that I still hang out with my Mug Club friends at least once a week) and a daily banana (which I never really liked, just used as a base for my post-run smoothie).

I did not start down this path for weight loss, but rather certain benefits to my athletic pursuits. An unexpected side benefit has been a dramatic increase in energy level and mental acuity that has made every day more enjoyable and my work output better / more creative than ever.

I have been finding it quite easy to maintain this diet and can imagine doing so indefinitely.

As I experiment with race nutrition strategies or if I'm feeling "off" (or am otherwise curious), I do check my plasma ketone (BHOB) levels. So far, I've yet to knock myself out of ketosis, and typically run about 2.0 mmol fasted.
 
JoeSelch said:
I'm not following Atkins (per se), but have been low-carb, high-fat for the past 5.5 months and am loving it.
My only concessions have been beer (which I haven't missed - despite the fact that I still hang out with my Mug Club friends at least once a week) and a daily banana (which I never really liked, just used as a base for my post-run smoothie).

I did not start down this path for weight loss, but rather certain benefits to my athletic pursuits. An unexpected side benefit has been a dramatic increase in energy level and mental acuity that has made every day more enjoyable and my work output better / more creative than ever.

I have been finding it quite easy to maintain this diet and can imagine doing so indefinitely.

As I experiment with race nutrition strategies or if I'm feeling "off" (or am otherwise curious), I do check my plasma ketone (BHOB) levels. So far, I've yet to knock myself out of ketosis, and typically run about 2.0 mmol fasted.
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Do keep in mind that this is a vast improvement to the diet you were eating, at least the one your described to yours truly.
 
Umm... What diet was that? :eek: Yes, things have improved since I started running, almost 4 years ago.
I did move to a Paleo-like diet more than a year and a half ago. And, saw positive results several months after balancing omega 3 (EPA, DHA) and omega 6 intake ... making me realize just how powerful diet can be.
 
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JoeSelch said:
Umm... What diet was that? :eek: Yes, things have improved since I started running, almost 4 years ago.
I did move to a Paleo-like diet more than a year and a half ago. And, saw positive results several months after balancing omega 3 (EPA, DHA) and omega 6 intake ... making me realize just how powerful diet can be.
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You described to me a diet that was in the majority salads. That's what you said, no foolin', and you hadn't even got drunk yet.

Given the level of your exercise you could probably eat at Burger King every day and look good. I was thinking about the rest of us, who are somewhat less super powered.
 
Well, I still do a big spinach salad with avocado every day that I can. With veggies at my other two meals as well. And, berries are still on the menu. There's just more fat involved. ;)
 
steingar said:
If it includes most any food it is not an Adkins diet. Moreover, without some sort of restriction old habits are quite likely to reassert themselves in most people.

Magic diets don't make you thin or keep you that way. Only changes in lifestyle can do that.
Click to expand...



When properly done, Atkins is a lifestyle change.

The last phase is "ongoing maintenance" and lasts for ever. A typical dinner meal in phase 4 might have a salad, 6-8 oz of meat, some vegetable, maybe two. A dinner roll can be included or maybe a small potato. If you skipped the carbs during dinner, a slice of cheesecake made with splenda might be OK for dessert. But it's all going to depend on the person.

You're going to call that unhealthy?

When not properly done - it's just another fad diet.
 
JoeSelch said:
I did move to a Paleo-like diet more than a year and a half ago. And, saw positive results several months after balancing omega 3 (EPA, DHA) and omega 6 intake ... making me realize just how powerful diet can be.
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Ah, Paleo-like. We've been doing that for two years ... along the lines of the Perfect Health Diet. Amazing results. I lost 25 pounds, which stay off with no counting of anything. Triglycerides down, HDL up, stable blood sugar, joint pain GONE, feel like a million bucks every day.

As long as we don't eat grains, legumes, flour, sugar and seed oils (which takes out most all packaged crap foods and most all fast foods), the amazement continues. We were 54 when we started the diet, only because we felt so bad that 64 wasn't looking good, and 74 seemed unimaginable. We are incredibly thankful to have found this diet.

Who knew that wheat was such a big contributor to autoimmune conditions? My Hashimoto's thyroiditis antibodies started to decline steadily, and at the 18-month Paleo mark, a blood test showed they were gone entirely. My doc said it was probably stopping wheat that did it. Thyroid medication is at one third the previous dose, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it go down further.

A problem with "diets" is that when we have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. But carbs are indeed being nailed as the culprits in so many ailments. The low-carb diet, tweaked for individual needs and responses, is here to stay, because it really works on so many important levels, not just weight. The science is out there and growing, as people are getting amazing results ... my doctor was skeptical two years ago, but he now says to keep doing whatever I'm doing!

Good fats are key (eggs, avocadoes, coconut oil, grassfed meats, ghee, nuts). Seems fat is the body's preferred energy source, not carbs.

Fat satiates, carbs make you want to keep eating.:popcorn: Then you go to sleep :sleep: from the insulin spike while your body stores the carbs as fat for future use.

A problem with flying is that real, fresh food requires coolers and ice, which affect weight and balance. But worth it!
 
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