Unhappy Liver and Phases

Today's Weight: 140.4 lbs
Yesterday's Weight: 141.8 lbs
Difference: -1.4 lbs


Phase 3


I think I had an unhappy liver. I know that high protein and high fat diets can affect your liver or kidneys. Something about an unnecessary strain on your liver that takes fat and breaks into down into amino acids. Too much fat= too much liver work. Also ketosis is always a problem:

Prolonged consumption of high protein sends the body into a state of ketosis. That’s top of the list of cons of high-protein diets. Ketosis occurs when the liver converts fats into fatty acids for use as energy and the by-product, ketones. Ketones increase the acidity of the blood and can be detected in the urine. In extreme cases of starvation or fasting, the body undergoes gluconeogenesis, which is the production of glucose from sources other than carbohydrates, primarily protein.

Possible kidney damage

High-protein diets place a lot of stress on the kidneys. The initial weight loss on high-protein diets is from water loss. When carb intake is restricted, the body uses muscle and liver glycogen for energy. For each gram of glycogen, two grams of water are used or “lost.” The minute you give into your carb craving, that weight will come back. The diuretic effect of eliminating carbohydrates from your diet stresses the kidneys while they remove urea, a by-product of protein synthesis, from the body. Compounding that problem, when the body is in a state of ketosis, increased levels of calcium are excreted -- that can lead to kidney stones; a build-up of calcium in the urine. Think about the experiment when you put a nail in a cup of Coke: After a few days the acid in the soda starts to dissolve the nail. The same breakdown happens to your bones. Calcium (along with other minerals) is leached from bones and teeth because of the increased acidity of the body. Literally pissing away calcium is a major con of high-protein diets because that will have a negative effect on your workouts. Calcium is a necessary mineral for muscle contraction and nerve impulse. Calcium loss can also lead to stress fractures.

Ketosis
Ketosis is the presence in the blood of abnormally high levels of acidic substances called ketones. The normal body fuel is glucose. Ketones are produced when there is not enough glucose in the bloodstream, and fats have to be used. When fats are used excessively as fuels, they are eventually converted to ketones. The real danger in ketosis is that ketones are acidic, and high levels of ketones make the blood abnormally acid.
Normally the blood ketone levels are low, but in starvation, untreated diabetes and when the diet is very high in fats and low in carbohydrates, the levels rise. Ironically, in diabetes, the blood contains large quantities of sugar, but because of the shortage of insulin, this glucose can't be used as fuel.
Mild ketosis may be a feature of excessive morning sickness in pregnancy and crash diets.

Ideally, fat burns in the flame of carbohydrates. When the body lacks sufficient carbohydrates to produce glucose for energy, it is forced to use stored fats for fuel. The brain and other organs are forced to rely on ketones as the primary energy source when the required carbohydrates are missing from the diet. (See also: BellyBytes.com: Carbohydrates)

Unfortunately, there are some not-so-pleasant side effects of ketosis -- among them constipation and bad breath. Short-term weight loss occurs quickly during the initial phase of the high-protein diet, partly because eliminating carbohydrates causes a loss of body fluids. The body is depleting liver and muscle glycogen (stored glucose) as well as excreting toxins via the urine.

I think that's why it's important to still to Dr. S's protocol and not cut the phases short. Phase 3 and phase 4 are crucial for giving both your kidney's and liver a break. People with insulin resistance like me end up putting some pressure on your pancreas with carb intake but I think we need to find that balance. I know some people could use this information to make an argument against the HCG diet but I think that they don't understand the entire diet. We use our weight, +-2.0 to gage how balanced our diet it.

I still have 9 days or so left on Phase 3. My liver will hold out ok until then and I'm making sure I'm eating my apple/oranges and veggies. I've also gotten some milk thistle. I dropped a pound from yesterday until and I was a bit less yellow today. I still haven't bought the glucometer to check my sugar but honestly I just don't want to know right now. I have to remember: drink water, drink water & drink more water!

Ok, lesson learned. I'm not going to cut phase 4 short this time. Imagine that?! Dr. S was right. Follow the protocol.