Low Carb Magic

What is Ketosis?

May 29th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed

You may be wondering what this “ketosis” thing is all about. You will hear the term “ketosis” frequently on the Kimkins website and here, as well, so I thought we should explain what this process is all about. The term itself sounds a little scary, but it is a normal bodily state where fat is being burned for energy. And it is a KEY component to losing large amounts of weight quickly.

A thing called ketone bodies are molecules that are generated during the metabolism of fat. The important point is that it doesn’t matter where this fat originates - in sour cream, bacon, sausage, or the fat you are storing in your body.

This is the secret to quick weight loss. Burning your body’s stored fat for energy will allow you to enter the state of ketosis, where your appetite will be suppressed and you will not feel hungry all the time, like you do on the low calorie diets.

How Do You Know When You Are “In” Ketosis

It’s when the fat is being broken down into energy that the majority of the fat is converted into an energy molecule called ATP. Besides the ATP, ketones are also being produced as part of the process.

When you as a dieter eat fewer and fewer carbohydrates, your body turns to its own fat for energy. As a result, more ketones are manufactured. These are used for energy to drive bodily organs such as the heart and kidneys. Most of your body’s cells are able to use ketones as part of their required energy source.

However, there is one type of ketone (acetone) that is unusable and just gets excreted from the body as waste. This comes out in either your urine or breath. This can cause a very distinctive breath odor. You may have noticed this when you have lost significant weight in the past – now you know why!

Ketosis - Can You Test for It?

Test strips are available that can detect ketones in the urine and indicate that you are actually in ketosis. These test strips, called Ketostix, will turn purple and become darker as more ketones are detected in your urine. When a higher concentration of ketones is indicated, you are in a “state” of ketosis.

Most low carb diets don’t stress ketones or ketosis, as they aren’t low enough in carbs to generate significant amounts of ketones. The Kimkins diet doesn’t require monitoring of the ketones, but relies on you entering a state of ketosis if your goal is fast weight loss. So, now that you know the secret to fast weight loss, what are you waiting for?