Ketosis on McDougall?????

[Atom]

Hey Everyone,

I believe I'm in Ketosis on McDougall. I know some of you won't agree with this but I am familiar with low carb dieting (hated them) and remember that funny taste in my mouth. Well, 12 days on the McDougall, the last couple days I have had that taste so I tested my urine in a ketone stick and it was dark purple indicating a substantial amount of ketones present in the urine. Now, I am eating beans, potatoes, vegetables and fruit. Could it be that my glycogen stores are burning off quickly and it's the result of fat being metabolised? I am shrikning quite rapidly having lost 13 pounds thus far. I just don't get why I am having these ketosis "symptoms" going on. Thanks for any feedback/insight you can provide! Happy McDougalling!

[ETeSelle]

13 lbs in 12 days is WAY TOO FAST. You are not eating enough. EAT MORE.

[Atom]

I am eating plenty! I was at 265 so I have a lot of weight to lose. I eat until I am satisfied (not stuffed) and I am just listening to my body.

Sample day:

Breakfast: Bowl of Steel Cut Oats
Lunch: Large Bowl of Homemade Vegetarian Chili
Dinner: Plate piled with taters and veggies (with second servings)

Snacks: even a few dried fruit (small amounts as they are concentrated in calories)

[Atom]

Thanks! I edited my response with an idea of what I eat on a typical day!

[Bugg]

I think that the more a person has to lose, the faster the loss is in the beginning. My own loss was like that.

ETeSelle and debbie, how much weight did you lose and how long did it take you to lose it all?

[pinkrose]

It has been a long time since I studied chemistry...but would you not have ketones in your urine any time you are burning much fat as fuel--losing fat very fast?

[karin_kiwi]

Interesting! I'd never done the low carb thing but had read about the sweet breath/taste in mouth when in ketosis and I know there have been long periods of time where that's applied to me. I'd denied being in ketosis as more than 80% of my calories were coming from carbohydrates. I wrote it off as one of those odd things that was an artefact of losing so much weight and something I'd worry about only if it persisted after I got down to where I should be. And I don't think I remember having it in the last few months.

[Atom]

I am not the least bit worried about it, I just found it quite interesting and didn't know that could happen when carbs are consumed in such a high amount. I figure that when we are doing some serious fat burning, there is going to be some "emissions" be it odor in urine, breath etc. I feel like I am cleaning my engine!

[didi]

Here are two things I read on the net about ketostix and purple urine. One person said that everyone is in ketosis overnight no matter what the diet--something to do with glycogen stores and fasting overnight and that no one should test with ketostix first thing in the morning. Someone else wrote that the sticks showed a light color when he was on the usual Atkins very low carb diet (apparently the color, whether dark or light, is not significant), but when he broke the diet and ate a huge amount of carbs, the sticks turned a very deep purple. So it is possible that most of us might show a purple color in the morning. I doubt that it means we are in ketosis. Also the consensus seems to be that the stickes are not very reliable and some people rely on other things like bad breath and a certain smell to the urine to tell if they are in ketosis. Why they would want to eat in such a way I do not know.

Didi

[Atom]

Good info, Deb. Our patterns are very similar. Mine lightens up a bit during the day and gets darker in the evening and super dark over night (maximum fat burn when you sleep). I love sleeping and burning fat!

[Atom]

Now that I've lost more than 20 lbs, the color on the stick has been lighter. Very intersting.