Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?
Yupo said:
I am having some trouble with this delightful diet: Weight gain.
I have gone from about 112lb to about 150lb. Clothes don't fit and I am getting pretty uncomfortable, body size-wise. I remain in strong ketosis, according to urine dip sticks.
FYI my weight history has been all over the place.
About 6 years ago I went from 238 to 112 using hcg diet. That's a size 22 to a size 4. I'm 5'4", small in frame. I maintained pretty easily as long as I stayed off carbs.
I very recently (2-3 weeks ago) added a bit of Xylitol in my coffee as I heard it had some anti-parasitic effects.
Help? Anyone else having this problem? I feel great otherwise, just getting scared/concerned.
The urine keto sticks aren't the best indicator for Ketosis, as the theory goes that when a person is finally fully in ketosis, the ketones are being utilized and thus, not excreted in urine. For a more accurate view, you may want to check out a blood ketone measuring device like this one:
_http://www.amazon.com/Precision-Glucose-Ketone-Monitoring-System/dp/B008UZVLM8/
The ketone measuring strips aren't included--it looks like they have some compatible ones for $30/ten strips. Unfortunately it's a relatively expensive way to determine your ketosis levels, but it's the best I'm aware of.
Transitioning to ketosis can be challenging and going too quickly can cause issues, so it may be the case that the transition has been too fast and may be too hard on your body and it's responding with inflammation (which could cause weight gain), in which case adding in some safe starches (some root veggies like sweet potatoes and possibly instant mashed potatoes, which have had all the damaging substances that are present in nightshades removed, are good sources) could help.
If you're consuming any dairy (except butter and ghee, although some can't tolerate those either), then it'd probably be best to cut that out and see if that helps. Here's just one of many articles on the problems with dairy:
http://www.sott.net/article/225467-Why-Milk-Is-So-Evil
It may also be worth experimenting with coconut products--either removing them if you're eating them now to see if you're having a reaction to them, or adding in coconut oil as the MCTs are supposed to speed up metabolism.
Excess adipose tissue (fat) beyond the body's normal amount (which can be hard to determine) can often be caused by inflammation, as I mentioned above, and also is one of the body's defense mechanisms against a toxic load, as a storehouse for toxins of various types, to ensure that the organs are protected from them. To treat the inflammation aspect, I personally have found Krill Oil to be the best tool and I lost quite a bit of weight while I was taking it for some pretty severe inflammation that included weight gain. There's a thread on it here:
http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,37359.0.html
In my experience, it was significantly more powerful than fish oil. The inflammation I had felt like my organs were drowning. Turmeric (and possibly curcumin, which is the primary compound in Turmeric) is another potent anti-inflammatory, though they deal with inflammation differently and I think it may depend on the type or cause of the inflammation that determines which is best. I wouldn't say there's any harm in trying both, so that's an option too, and turneric is pretty easy to integrate into a lot of meals.
For toxic load, you could look into various detoxing substances and methods. Supplements like ALA, NAC, Iodine, activated charcoal, and others can be helpful. Iodine is also helpful if the weight gain is related to low thyroid function, so that might be double worth looking into. There's a thread on it here:
http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,13371.0.html
There are also FIR (Far Infrared) saunas that stimulate mitochondrial energy production and can aid in detoxing that way. They're often marketed as "slimming" or "fat loss" tools and they do so by helping the body to eliminate toxins.
Xylitol is generally a bio-film dissolver and anti-bacterial, but I haven't read about it doing much with parasites or other pathogens, so while it may be helpful if consumed, I don't think it'll make much progress on any potential pathogens you may have. To pursue that avenue, there are a couple of threads here:
http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,39625.0.html
http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,38053.0.html
I personally have used neem with great results for mold and some pathogens, so that might also be worth looking into. There's an article on neem here:
http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,39625.0.html
I'd say probably the best and safest approach would be to try the anti-inflammatories and some detoxing supplements (maybe a FIR sauna as well) as a starting point before attempting to get rid of critters, as the body should be functioning well before attempting to get rid of any pathogens, to be able to detox what they leave behind. In my experience, getting rid of pathogens can also be quite emotionally challenging, so having a good baseline of health can be really helpful in dealing with that--detoxing can have a similar effect, but I'd say it's generally an easier process. If you haven't been in ketosis very long and the weigh gain is correlated with that, it may also be worth adding back in some safe starches at this point too.
Good luck! :)
