Starting a Ketosis diet?

[EEMcyclopedia]

I'm starting a ketosis diet with my mom. It is a 30 day plan, however I am really worried about the diet. The diet is really restrictive and has us eating only about 800-1000 calories a day, and I've been doing a lot of reading and this diet can apparently cause damage to muscles, including the heart, and it can be very easy to gain back the weight.

Has anyone tried this ketosis diet? And if so what have your experiences been?

[JenniferinFL · Accepted solution]

Very Low Calorie Diets, commonly abbreviated to VLCD's, are recommended only under the supervision of a physician. 

I've done them before and made myself sick. I recommend them only if you have a physician who will monitor and do regular bloodwork. A low calorie diet is 1000-1200 for a woman. A VLCD is anything 800 calories or under. 

For some thoughts on them: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/weight-control/very-low-calorie-diets/Pag...

VLCD's and diets who flirt with that 800 calorie level have a purpose; they have been used to try to quickly reverse diabetes. My mom was on one for her diabetes because she was in stroke territory at something like over 300 fasting blood sugar. She went for monthly blood work during it and had some other test strips for home use. 

Keto diets also have a medical history to them. They have been used historically to treat epilepsy because they cause the body to believe it is starving which for whatever reason helps with seizures. Again, it's the kind of thing that should be supervised by a medical professional. By Ketosis diet, I mean a diet where you restrict to 20 grams of carbohydrates or less. There are some people who believe they are eating a ketosis diet, but, they are really eating plenty of carbs, they just forget to count their vegetables and fruit. 🙂  My spouse believes he is on a ketosis diet, but, he's got something like 100 grams of carbs just in the salad he eats for lunch.. lol  

If you want to do something extreme, then do 1200 calories which is extreme enough for most people and just cut out processed carb while still eating plant-based carbs like beans, leafy greens, fruit and so on. 

I prefer not to do anything particularly extreme. I have my fitbit setup for a 1000 calorie deficit which in reality is more like a 600-640 calorie deficit because of incorrect food labels and my slowish metabolism. Then I try to eat healthy, but also eat fun stuff too. Today I had a small Mocha Mint Frappuccino, a mini vanilla bean scone, 5 cups of steamed kale, 10 ounces of chicken, 6 ounces of gem potatoes, 4 ounces of grape tomatoes and so on and I still have calories left because I'm at like 15,000 steps and will probably get another 5000 steps. Before I had the frappuccino, I could have had a large big mac meal at McDonalds with a water and still been at a deficit. I didn't because, gross. But, I could have if I was really craving such a nightmare. I regularly eat pizza while losing 1.3 lbs a week. Not that one necessarily should eat pizza, I'm just saying that there are alternatives to extremes which can work just fine too.  🙂

[Dominique]

You already got an extensive reply from @JenniferinFL, but I’d like to comment on the "30-day plan" aspect: why do something extreme for 30 days, rather than something more moderate over a longer period of time? I believe successful weight loss is about making sustainable and permanent changes to your lifestyle, one (little) step at a time. There’s only so much weight you can lose in 30 days, even with the most extreme approach, and then what? OTOH, 0.5-1.0 lb per week doesn’t sound like much, but it can be achieved relatively easily and let you lose 25-50 lbs in a year. Some more dedicated community members have managed to lose 100 lbs in a year. 

[EEMcyclopedia]

Thanks so much for your reply, it really helps. I don't think I will be doing the diet as first, the amount of fat I are today was around 2.5 times what I normally eat and I feel sick, and second, because I've lost 8 pounds in the last 4ish weeks just by counting calories and incorporating more whole grains, leafy greens, lean meats and running that calorie deficit. 

Thanks so much! It really helped.

[Dominique]

Yes, there’s nothing magical about the ketogenic diet: in the end, whatever approach puts you in a caloric deficit will work. Just pick up one you will be comfortable with.

[C_Ella]

The term ketosis is short for keto-acidosis.  That alone should tell you that you don't want your body in that state of imbalance.  It takes quite a while to gain large amounts of weight.  So, it takes patience and a healthy, balanced diet to lose the weight.  The extreme diets do not work in the long run and can cause long term damage.  At least, read the pros and cons of a ketosis diet.