[geeks] Booze and Religion

[Kurt Huhn]

> You have to have at least 100 grams of carbohydrates per day to prevent
> loss of lean tissue (muscle and organs). When carbohydrates are severly
> restricted, the body goes into a state of ketosis. Energy is scavenged
> from dietary protein and fat to suply glucose. To do this from protein
> and fat requires depleting the body's reserve of glycogen. Glyogen is
> stored in muscle and lean tissue, which the body will burn off first,
> the body's metabolic rate drops because of this loss of lean tissue.
> High protein diets will additionally place a strain on kidneys.
>

By this argument, I should not have gained 20 pounds of lean muscle with
moderate excersise - which I have.  The evidence, in my case, is to the
contrary of the above statement.  I eat *nowhere* near 100 grams of
carbs in any given day.  I've recently bought a weight rack at Sam's
(very nice setup, too) and have been using it 5 days a week - as I did
when I was an amature bodybuilder.  I've gained 5 pounds in two weeks,
and lost 3 percent of my body fat.

> Another negative effect of ketosis is bad breath. Ketone bodies are not optimal
> supplements for glucose, certain tissues do not respond well to ketone bodies.
> These include the brain, muscles used for rapid movement, and red blood cells.
> The brain requires 150 grams per day of carbohydrates to function properly.
> A diet that causes ketosis will slowly degrade reaction time.
> 

The bad breath thing - maybe.  Dunno.  Karin tells me I'm a stinky boy
all the time, but I don't know that the diet actually did this.  By this
argument, I should be dimwitted and slow - which I'm not.  While I don't
measure my reaction times, I'll bet they're better than average.  I
never get the "food coma" that a lot of my freinds get after a heavy
meal - and my brain is always on.  Wihle I haven't taken an IQ test
recently, I'd wager it's better than it used to be - by virtue of not
having my brain "clouded" with sugars and starches.

> People do loose weight on low carb diets, which is not a surprise. These are
> a set of diets which cause ketosis (which in turn will decrease appetite),
> increased water loss, and decrease carbohydrate intake. (Starvation is always
> a great way to lose weight.)

The water loss only is temporary, as your body no longer requires huge
stores of it to digest carbs and starches.  As you know, it takes less
water in the gut to digest protien and fat than it does to digest
carbs.  This is a fact of nature - and why carnivores flourish in arid
environments like deserts.

I can't say as my appetite has decreased - though I certainly don't
crave snacks and whatnot.  I eat 4 meals a day - and all are pretty good
sized.  I don't eat between meals...

All doctors, scientists, and researchers will agree on one thing - you
*must* intake less calories than you expend in order to lose weight. 
This is true of any "diet".  Excercise contributes to a higher
metabolism - and lean muscle mass will always burn calories.  So - if
you want to lose weight, you need to "starve" your body.  That's the
only way to lose it - it ain't gonna disappear without a reason.

Kurt