The Atkins diet works on the principle that ketosis occurs to metabolize the stored fat in the body and convert it into energy. Ketosis is quite important in weight loss, but the problem is that most people do not quite understand it, even if they are on low carbohydrate diets.
The primary intention of most of the diets is to reduce the calories put into the body. This helps the body to reduce its weight, but the problem is some of the weight lost is also from the fat and the lean muscle tissue of the body. These are essential components of the body. Even if you find your weight going down, actually your body’s functioning is becoming slower. The reduced muscle is slowing your body’s metabolism down. You might find your weight reducing, but you must keep in mind that your body is quite vulnerable to increase its weight with the lost muscle mass.
The Atkins diet works on a different principle. It restricts the amount of carbohydrates that enter your body. It causes the ketosis only by burning the fat and not the muscle part. Hence, you get energy from the ketones derived from the ketosis of the fats. This conversion is an irreversible reaction done by the liver. The ketones are excreted by the body.
The chemical compounds known as ketones are effective sources of fuel for the body. The liver creates them from the fatty acids obtained by the metabolism of the body fat. The fatty acids make their presence felt only when sugars are absent in the body. This is where the Atkins diet scores. It reduces the sugars present in the bloodstream. Because of this, the reaction of ketosis is triggered and the ketones are produced.
Some critics do maintain that a ketogenic diet is harmful to health. But ketosis is a totally natural reaction. The human body naturally creates ketones from fats for its supply of energy, when glucose is absent.
Dr. Atkins indicates the use of ketone testing strips during the Atkins dietary regimen to monitor the extent of ketosis occurring in the body. These strips are small plastic strips that are meant to be held in the stream of urine as it flows out of the body. The chemical indicators present in the strip will change their colors. The colors produced will range from pink to purple, which can be matched on a scale to know the ketone levels in the urine.
You can get the ketone strips at any chemist’s stores in the diabetic supplies. You will need to ask for them in some stores. No prescription is needed. You can use them for half a year without any problems. Since they have a time limit for their efficiency, it is a good idea to label them with the date you open the box.
The ketone strips are good indicators to let you know of your progress with the Atkins diet. But at the same time, you must not worry unduly if the strip doesn’t turn purple even if you are obeying the Atkins routine quite diligently. Sometimes, the trace amounts of ketone do not make their appearance, or they may be too insignificant in amount to effectuate a color change. In some cases, you won’t see the color change in your urine after you have exercised, because they might get excreted through your perspiration. You will know that the ketones are being used up if you are losing your body mass.
Also, it is erroneous to assume that a darker shade of purple means that the weight loss is happening speedily. In fact, a very dark purple must trigger some alarm bells, because that might be because of dehydration. It might happen because the urine is getting too concentrated and it is necessary to drink water to dilute it.
The main source of ketones in the body is the fats in the bloodstream. The fats could have come through dietary consumption or through a metabolic process within the body. That is why you can see a dark purple color after an especially fatty meal. The crux of all this is, you must take the ketone strip only as an indicator and not lay bets on the color they show you.
Ketosis is one of the most important things that the Atkins diet tries to achieve. Simply eliminating carbohydrates from the diet can bring on this state. Follow the Atkins diet accurately and use the ketone strips to monitor your progress.
