I have been suffering from pre-diabetes(insulin resistance) for a year now. They said I needed to lose weight in order to drop the resistance. I tried to go on an ordinary diet with limited carbs and no sugar but it didn't seem to work for me. I hardly lost any weight. Then I started up doing some heavy cardio in order to help me drop the resistance. Even with cardio combined with the regime, I still can't lose any fat. I wanted to lose weight so bad so I started up researching and found out about the existence of something called a ketogenic diet. The idea of ketogenic diet really got me so I wanted to give it a try until a friend of mine told me it was risky for me to do.He said I already had high amounts of ketogens in my blood because of the insulin resistance and that could result in an acidic blood which could made me blind orso.So I want to know weather the ketogenic diet is good for winning against my insulin resistance or if it would be bad for my body.Please explain your answers neatly so I could understand why it is good or bad for my health. Thank you.**Correction** I have been suffering from insulin resistance for two years.My Thyroid glands are functioning normal.I take Metformin (Glucophage) twice a day. One after breakfast and one after dinner.
How to Lose Weight Without Cardio
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*IF* you have a high level of ketones *AND* high blood sugar then yes that is a sign of a serious metabolic condition but ketones aren't unhealthy.A ketogenic diet, which is less than 100g of net carbs per day, is the *only* way to be healthy after you become insulin resistant & definitely the only way to lose adipose tissues (body fat). Insulin resistance doesn't allow the body to store excess glucose (more than 9g per hour) as glycogen. The tissues have become insulin resistant from long term levels of excess insulin, so excess glucose is sent directly to fat cells leaving tissues deprived of fuel.A normal functioning body can store appx 2000 calories as glycogen & only til those are full does glucose get stored in fat cells. This is how people get obese even on a semi starvation diet of less than 1000 calories a day.The brain gets its energy from ketone bodies when insufficient glucose is available. After blood glucose is lowered for 3 days, the brain gets 30% of its energy from ketone bodies. After 40 days, this goes up to 70% (during the initial stages the brain does not burn ketones, since they are an important substrate for lipid synthesis in the brain). In time the brain reduces its glucose requirements from 120g to 10g per day.When done correctly, a ketogenic diet is the absolute best thing a person can do for their health. People think Atkins program is for weight loss when it's actually for normalizing the body & is as good for the overweight as the underweight & normal weight. A normal body doesn't put on excessive fat stores, but carbs allow the body to override the normal state by putting the body into storage mode.A high carb diet creates lots of insulin. When the hormone insulin dominates the bloodstream, it doesn't allow other hormones to function properly - especially the sex hormones & human growth hormone. This puts the body in an unbalanced state. There is no better way to bring the body to the state of optimal health than with Atkins low carb way of eating. Low carb doesn't cause high blood pressure, high blood sugar or high cholesterol, it cures it. It is actually dangerous to take meds that lower these levels and do low carb at the same time because the levels can become dangerously low. U.S. government guidelines were changed 35 years ago to suggest we lower our fat intake & increase our carb intake. American society followed these recommendations & lowered their fat intake by 11% & increased their carb consumption. In this same time frame obesity, diabetes, heart disease are all at epidemic levels. Through their direct effects on insulin & blood sugar, refined carbohydrates are the dietary cause of coronary heart disease & diabetes.A low carbohydrate diet is a high fat diet. The protein should only be a little higher than adequate. Although it is completely possible to live on a fat/protein only diet for long term (as proven by research done in a hospital setting) it becomes boring fairly quickly. Luckily many vegetables & some fruits, nuts & seeds are low in carbs and greatly expand the diet. Glucose is the bodies preferred fuel (if you want to get technical, it actually burns alcohol most efficiently, but that doesn't make it any healthier for the body than carbs), the body can convert 100% of carbs, 58% of protein & 10% of dietary fat into glucose. The body can also be fueled by fat (dietary fat & fat cells) but only in the absence of carbs. Your brain actually prefers* to be fueled by ketones (part of the fat burning process), it does require glucose also, but glucose can be easily converted from excess protein if needed.Plaque build up in the arteries is more attributable to carb consumption than dietary fats, which seems to be the conclusion of the following study. Carb consumption raises triglycerides & VLDL (bad cholesterol). Fats raise the HDL (good cholesterol). High triglyceride levels (>100) & low HDL levels (<60) are an indicator of plaque & glycation - the precursors to a heart attack & heart disease.http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/after-eating-effects-carbohydrates-vs.htmlGary Taubes who wrote "Good Calories, Bad Calories" spent 7 years going through all the studies over the last century & dividing up the real science from the faulty science & concluded that low carb was the best way to control insulin levels which balances out other hormones & allows the body to function properly.
Other Answers:
- your friend is totally wrong! he needs to look up the definitions of "ketogenic", "ketons", and "insulin resistance". I cannot control my insulin resistance unless I take the meds the doctor recommends! Sometimes this requires 2 or more antidiabetic oral meds, then adding insulin. Have you had your Thyroid functions checked? they will prevent weight loss if wrong.
- putting yourself into Ketosis is bad for anyone.
