Diet Tips - Atkins and Ketosis
The basic principle of the Atkins regime, which is a state of ketosis helps you burn your fat stores for energy. Many people, even those who are on diets low in carbohydrates, does not quite understand why it works and ketosis. Most diets are reducing dietary calories. They help you lose weight, but some of the weight of the fat and some of it is lean muscle tissue. While you can watch on a smaller scale, your metabolism is actually slowing. The more muscle you lose your metabolism will slow. This makes it more difficult to lose weight and gain weight back even easier.
The Atkins diet, on the other hand, is carbohydrate restrictive. It creates a state of ketosis in your body that burns only fat, and not muscle. The primary source of your energy for your body will be fat in the form of ketones. Your liver will convert fat into ketones and it cannot be converted back. It will be excreted naturally.
Ketones are normally effective and efficient source of energy for the human body. They are created in the liver from fatty acids resulting from the distribution of body fat. They appear only when there is an absence of glucose and sugar. In the Atkins plan, you reduce the amount of glucose and sugar that is found in the bloodstream. Therefore, your body produces ketones for fuel. When your body is creating ketones, it is called ketosis. There is a common misconception that the continuation of a diet like Atkins ketogenic is dangerous. The truth is that being in ketosis is a completely natural state. The human body creates ketones to use as fuel in the absence of glucose.
In the Atkins diet book, Dr. Atkins suggests using ketone test strips to determine your state of ketosis during dietetics. These small strips of plastic are held in the urine flow and contain a special chemical treatment absorption pad. This pad will change color if ketones are present in the urine. With the presence of ketones, the band will change various shades of pink to purple. There is a scale of colors on the label of the bottle to help you figure out your ketones.
Ketones strips are available in any pharmacy and is among the diabetic supplies. In some stores, they are kept behind the counter so you may have to ask. You will not need a prescription to buy property. Once you open a packet of strips ketosis they have a life expectancy of 6 months. It may be useful to mark the opening date of the box.
Ketone strips will let you know if you are progressing correctly on the Atkins diet. If you are following the Induction plan to the letter and aren’t seeing purple, don’t worry. Some people never show trace amounts of ketones or they may show just above the minimum line. As long as you are losing weight and inches then you are successfully using ketones. Also, if you’ve just exercised a few hours before using the strips, you may not see purple. Some dieters may mistakenly believe that a dark purple result on the testing strips means that they are losing weight faster. Actually, the darkest purple color is a sign of dehydration. It means that your urine is too concentrated and you need to drink water.
Ketones are from fat in the blood, whether fat that you eat or you burn fat. So, if you eat a meal heavy in fat, then immediately use a test strip and then you will see a dark purple result. Use the strips as a guide, but not having hung on color. Reaching a state of ketosis is the key to success on the Atkins diet and it is as simple as the elimination of carbohydrates from the diet. Make sure you follow the plan eat properly and use ketone test strips as needed.