Secret to weight loss: the big ‘K'

Tag : ketone

This condition is the big 'K'- ketosis. It's the secret to thismethod of dieting.
You can use deliberately induced ketosis to eliminate body fat andget rid of your big gut and big butt by Christmas. And, there'seven an inexpensive, efficient, and scientific way to can testwhether or not you're in ketosis. But before I tell you about it,here's some facts you need to know about the big 'K'.
First, long term ketosis is not healthy. It's an emergency way ofsurviving starvation. Going without any carbs for more than a weekor two can hurt brain function and the immune system. It will makeyou irritable and affect your judgment, so ketosis should always beregarded as an extreme and temporary measure. And, since everyone'smetabolism is different, your body may go into starvation mode andhang on to its fat if you cut out all carbs. You may have toexperiment by including carbs to your diet to find out if thatimproves the speed of your fat loss.
Also, loosing pounds is not a key to your dieting success. I'velost only four pounds in the three weeks I've been on this diet,but I've lost a lot of fat. Blouses that used to bulge open betweenbuttons now hang loosely. Jeans that I couldn't pull up over myhips can now be snapped easily while I'm standing up. Because fatweighs so much less than muscle (which you don't want to lose)judge success by the inches you're losing, not the pounds.
Now, here's how to see if you're in the fat burning mode ofketosis: most pharmaceutical departments of big box stores carry aninexpensive item for diabetics called "Ketone Test Strips." Theycontain 50 test strips for about seven or eight bucks. You hold astrip in a stream of urine, and the tip quickly changes color as ameasure of 'ketones,' in your urine. Ketones are only present whenthe body is in a state of ketosis.
Measure the color against a color scale on the container, and itwill tell you if you're in fat burning mode. Remember, don't overdoit.
But low-carb dieters also have to look out for a condition wherethe body resorts to burning muscle for energy. Muscle itself burnsup a lot of calories, so you don't want to lose any of it. In mynext column, I'll tell you how to save your muscles while you're ona low/no carb diet.
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