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Ketosis: Healthy Habit or Eating Disorder?


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My boyfriend is on day 2 of a fast in order to (in his words) Enter Ketosis to lose weight. IMO and of other people who know him - he does not have any weight to lose. He often gets overuse injuries from his addiction to exercising, and now he is convinced that he must lose 35 pounds if he wants to continue jogging. I will not tell him what to do, but I am worried about him. I'll be there to call 911 when he passes out.

 

Am I over reacting? Is it healthy to (in my words) starve yourself?

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I don't know your boyfriend's dimensions (height, weight, frame, body fat %, etc) to be able to have an opinion on if losing 35lbs is healthy or not.

What I can say though is that IMO a ketogenic diet can be healthy if done correctly. Very low carbs (30g or less per day), lots of green leafy vegetables, healthy proteins and fats. Fasting for 2-3 days is one way to enter ketosis, but that is not really necessary. All he has to do is severely limit his carbohydrate intake and get his caloric needs met by eating protein and fat (mostly fat - 80% of daily cals should come from fats - if a person already has a high body fat%, then they don't need to eat as much fat, the body will consume its own.).

 

I needed to lose weight, and followed a keto diet for about 2 and a half months earlier this year. Lost 20lbs in a healthy steady manner. I was practicing sports and lifting weights throughout and did not see any negative effects of the diet. In fact I felt more energetic most of the time (though I think that has more to do with no eating as much crap/not being bloated).

 

A keto diet is not limited to losing weight though. So long as your calories meet your daily needs, you will maintain your weight. More calories burned than consumed = lose weight. More consumed than burned = gain weight.

 

Just want to mention as well that a 24-72hr fast is not necessarily a bad thing. I hope he is drinking plenty of water. Don't worry, no one that is healthy will drop dead from not eating for 2-3 days. I wouldn't do it, just cause I don't see a real point to it, but it won't kill him, or do any sort of permanent damage. Not drinking water for 2-3 days on the other hand..... that yeah, that would mess you up big time. People in general can last anywhere up to 20-30 days without food (would not recommend, and yes, that would definitely cause damage to your body).

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Am I over reacting? Is it healthy to (in my words) starve yourself?

 

I don't know enough about your boyfriend to be able to answer this question. Some consider the occasional fast to be healthy. Losing weight would probably decrease the pressure that jogging imposes on his joints. Is 35 lbs too much? I don't know. Does he yo-yo a lot?

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He has not eaten anything. I do not know how long he intends to not eat. He's says that he's not at 3% body fat and the 35# number he got from BMI charts and some process where he sent electric impulses through his body.

 

Like a body composition scan? That's not crazy. That's the best way to start, imo.

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He has not eaten anything. I do not know how long he intends to not eat. He's says that he's not at 3% body fat and the 35# number he got from BMI charts and some process where he sent electric impulses through his body.

 

Wait a second... He wants to get down to 3% body fat???? That is a bit insane... Even bodybuilders usually don't cut that low. A SUPER fit and healthy male will have anywhere from 6-10% body fat. Anything lower than 4-6% body fat I would consider unhealthy. You can usually start seeing your abs (if you have some muscle mass) around 10-12% body fat, for you to have an idea (off course this varies form person to person).

 

3% is insane - I agree with you there.

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If he is already causing himself injury by over exercising and is fasting while he still works out? I would be really worried too. That sounds like orthorexia.

 

I've fasted in the past for up to a week. It didn't do any damage. But fasting is not a good way to lose weight. If he is already at a healthy weight for his size and shape I would be super worried that he has some sort of body dysmorphia where he can not accurately see himself and that he will drive himself into the ground for some idea of perfection that is actually a very unhealthy standard (that he probably wouldn't feel satisfied with anyway because the issue is with his perception not his body)

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A lot of the issue with ketogenic diets is that it's based on calories rather than health, and at 50 that's what I'd be more concerned about. The impact of a high fat from animal products and dairy in your diet does have consequences such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and arthritis to name a few.

 

Animal products are naturally inflammatory in the body (which can cause multiple issues in the fight or flight response, sleep issues, mood issues, arthritis, gut problems, infections.. the list goes on) and they will exacerbate many existing issues in general but especially in large quantities including gut problems which may be why he feels the need to blame allergies and any other sensitivities.

 

Rather than concentrate on the calories he could switch his focus to what he's putting in his body and the nutritional and health effects it has, especially if he wants to continue being active into a ripe old age.

 

Generally, fasting is fine, but be careful what you're eating and the nutritional components and consequences of that. Cronometer.com is quite a good website you can use to track nutrition if you're interested.

 

Just my tuppence.

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If he is already causing himself injury by over exercising and is fasting while he still works out? I would be really worried too. That sounds like orthorexia.

 

I've fasted in the past for up to a week. It didn't do any damage. But fasting is not a good way to lose weight. If he is already at a healthy weight for his size and shape I would be super worried that he has some sort of body dysmorphia where he can not accurately see himself and that he will drive himself into the ground for some idea of perfection that is actually a very unhealthy standard (that he probably wouldn't feel satisfied with anyway because the issue is with his perception not his body)

 

rosephase, can you explain what fasting for one week looks like? Only water? Nothing else?

 

How did you feel? How much weight did you lose?

 

I created my own thread about this but I need to lose five pounds by next Saturday, I might try a straight fast.

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