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Did you make sure you were in ketosis all throughout by using ketone strips? Back when I did it, I had two friends that did it with me. One of them got cogniti

Did you make sure you were in ketosis all throughout by using ketone strips? Back when I did it, I had two friends that did it with me. One of them got cognitive benefits like I did while the other did not. It might be that we were deficient in or sensitive to something else. In fact the energy was so boundless at the 2-week mark that we actually had a hard time falling asleep at night.

TeMPOraL 8y ago
I didn't. I didn't even bother looking up where I could find those strips. I just cut carbs down to almost zero, eating carbs-free + controlled, small amounts of carbs. I paid attention to stay under 20g of carbs per day. I was never really sure I was in full ketosis - I just started to follow the diet, noticed some changes in urine that may or may not indicate ketosis (I definitely didn't have the intensive smell some people describe), and tracked my weight daily. It worked well over couple of months. Actually, I found the chart I made then: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vdlgazsfjjbqkox/weight-2012.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/vdlgazsfjjbqkox/weight-2012.png?dl... (Measurements are blue, running average (of AFAIR a week) is green. I used the running average as an indicator of progress, to eliminate measurement noise / daily variations.) That ~8-10kg drop in 3 months is when I was on ketogenic diet. I carried it a bit longer, then I guess at some point I just decided I miss pizza too much. One permanent change this caused though, that I have to this day, is that I switched from sugar to artificial sweeteners in my tea/coffee, and always opt for sugarfree coke/pepsi instead of the regular one.
- will_brown 8y ago
  >I was never really sure I was in full ketosis Following your conversation I have a wild guess...you likely were not exercising and therein likely was. First, I’ve never meet anyone who did some form of working out/exercising who couldn’t tell if they were in ketosis (good or bad). If I am right, this may also explain the feeling of mental clarity therein experiences that you didn’t. Glucose is fuel for the brain, but fat isn’t...ketones are which are a by product of fat burning, so the more fat burning/ketones the more fuel for the brain. Interesting if you both chime in on my theory.
  - TeMPOraL 8y ago
    From my end: I wasn't a total couch potato, but I also definitely wasn't doing any kind of regular exercise.
  - therein 8y ago
    From my end your guess adds up. I did exercise, and my body's transition to increased affinity for ketone utilization was definitely noticeable during my workouts. And indeed the mental clarity and color enhancement was more pronounced following a workout, however unlike on a normal diet, these state stayed with me all day rather than only for a few hours. > Glucose is fuel for the brain, but fat isn’t...ketones are which are a by product of fat burning, so the more fat burning/ketones the more fuel for the brain. That definitely makes sense to me and would even to a certain extent explain the difference between individual experiences with ketogenic diet.

TeMPOraL 8y ago

I didn't. I didn't even bother looking up where I could find those strips. I just cut carbs down to almost zero, eating carbs-free + controlled, small amounts of carbs. I paid attention to stay under 20g of carbs per day. I was never really sure I was in full ketosis - I just started to follow the diet, noticed some changes in urine that may or may not indicate ketosis (I definitely didn't have the intensive smell some people describe), and tracked my weight daily. It worked well over couple of months. Actually, I found the chart I made then: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vdlgazsfjjbqkox/weight-2012.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/vdlgazsfjjbqkox/weight-2012.png?dl... (Measurements are blue, running average (of AFAIR a week) is green. I used the running average as an indicator of progress, to eliminate measurement noise / daily variations.) That ~8-10kg drop in 3 months is when I was on ketogenic diet. I carried it a bit longer, then I guess at some point I just decided I miss pizza too much. One permanent change this caused though, that I have to this day, is that I switched from sugar to artificial sweeteners in my tea/coffee, and always opt for sugarfree coke/pepsi instead of the regular one.

will_brown 8y ago
>I was never really sure I was in full ketosis Following your conversation I have a wild guess...you likely were not exercising and therein likely was. First, I’ve never meet anyone who did some form of working out/exercising who couldn’t tell if they were in ketosis (good or bad). If I am right, this may also explain the feeling of mental clarity therein experiences that you didn’t. Glucose is fuel for the brain, but fat isn’t...ketones are which are a by product of fat burning, so the more fat burning/ketones the more fuel for the brain. Interesting if you both chime in on my theory.
- TeMPOraL 8y ago
  From my end: I wasn't a total couch potato, but I also definitely wasn't doing any kind of regular exercise.
- therein 8y ago
  From my end your guess adds up. I did exercise, and my body's transition to increased affinity for ketone utilization was definitely noticeable during my workouts. And indeed the mental clarity and color enhancement was more pronounced following a workout, however unlike on a normal diet, these state stayed with me all day rather than only for a few hours. > Glucose is fuel for the brain, but fat isn’t...ketones are which are a by product of fat burning, so the more fat burning/ketones the more fuel for the brain. That definitely makes sense to me and would even to a certain extent explain the difference between individual experiences with ketogenic diet.