Ketosis..

Well its that time of year again, all the new years resolutions are on the way out people are either celebrating because this years resolution of diet and weight loss has worked (i.e you probably didn't have that much to lose and your doing it because the "office" is doing it) or you have failed miserably for another year because you have no will power and your confused by what everyone else is saying.

One word that is being used more and more over the last few years is Ketosis, but what is it and whats involved?

Before discussing diets - I'm a strong advocate for the 1) Eat Less, 2) Move More, 3) Repeat diet - its the ONLY safe and healthy way to lose weight. I'll add at this point that anyone wanting to diet should see a Doctor for a check up and then see a professional for advice. Office banter is not the place for factual advice and is often tarnished with BS because the individual wants to be perceived in a different way.

Another fact that you should be aware of before we talk ketosis is that the human body primarily burns Carbohydrate - it struggles continuously switching from burning fat to burning carbohydrate this is why low fat diets or low carbohydrate diets work.

Ketosis is a potentially serious medical condition.
Ketosis can be found in those suffering from diabetes and other conditions such as alcoholism.

• Ketosis is a condition where levels of ketones in the blood are elevated, 
• Ketones are produced by the liver when glycogen has run out. 
• Ketones are used for energy, they are a small carbon fragments created by the breakdown of fat stores.

Modern diets such as the Cambridge or Exante promote ketosis as a form of losing weight by forcing the body to switch from a carbohydrate devouring organism to a fat burning one by cutting down the intake of nearly all carbohydrates.

The results can be dramatic with individuals losing over 1-2lbs per day. After several days hunger is reduced, your ketones are elevated and you can say your in ketosis.

But is it a good thing? 

Experts can't decide if forced ketosis is good for you or not, some even say that higher levels of ketones in your blood are putting strain on your liver and kidneys. Side affects can include a higher risk of osteoporosis, kidney stones, unhealthy cholesterol levels.

Some experts also liken a low carb high protein diet to how our ancestors used to live, hunter gatherers used to live on a high fat diet consisting of nuts, berries and the occasional hunt winnings. but in between feeds they spent a lot of time in ketosis.

Most people will going into ketosis at some point during a 24hr period usually during the night. 

Understanding Ketosis is vital to staying in the state and losing weight as is knowing what food is carbohydrate based - eating cakes, biscuits etc will kick you out of ketosis and you'll need a couple of days to build your ketones up again. Eating foods like fruit are highly recommended but on a ketone diet the sugar from natural fruit will get turned into glucose and again kick you out of ketosis.

The problem with dieting to achieve ketosis is that your calorie intake is dramatically reduced, sometimes to down to 600 calories a day - this is dangerous if you are doing a sport like Muay Thai where you will use 1000 calories in the average class. You are putting yourself at risk of fainting, dehydration, collapsing through fatigue or - this is dangerous for you and puts pressure on your colleagues at the club.

So in summary, if you are in control and can stay in ketosis the weight will drop off and fast. Staying in ketosis requires will power - if your obese you don't have will power so your ability to get results will be limited, if you don't know your food groups you have no chance, if you stay in ketosis for long periods of time you could be causing long term damage.

Good luck!!

1) Eat Less

2) Move More

3) Repeat

(The only safe way)