Ketosis Is Not Fat Loss: Why I Don't Chase Ketones, and How Much Protein to Eat

2018-04-24

In this recording

A 48-minute Wednesday 1 pm Q&A Live for the Keto Basic group. I'd been punched in sparring, so ignore the eye. My dog kept walking over the battery pack. It was never posted to YouTube.

[0:01] Who I am: I run Keto Basic. I'm not a doctor and I don't treat medical conditions.
[0:55] You can gain, hold or lose weight while in ketosis. Ketosis means you're burning fat for fuel, not that you're losing body fat overall.
[2:08] That's good news. If you like how ketosis feels, you can keep it after you've finished losing weight.
[3:11] Define success with the right marker. For weight loss, that's fat loss, not ketone production.
[3:11] Who should care about ketones: people doing therapeutic keto for epilepsy or cancer, who should be working with their doctors.
[4:52] Measure body composition instead: a tape-measure body-fat estimate, a home impedance scale for a ballpark, DEXA or Bod Pod for accuracy.
[6:22] Broccoli and spinach are mostly carb calories and slightly lower ketone production. I advise eating them anyway, so ketones can't be the goal.
[9:13] Why the group talks about protein so much: your requirement doesn't drop when you go keto, and you have to meet it on fewer calories.
[10:15] Your heart and diaphragm work every day, so muscle needs repair every day, active or not.
[12:40] I said studies suggest extra protein during weight loss protects lean mass better than just adequate protein.
[13:57] Women and older people who skimp on protein are the ones who most need muscle for balance and catching a fall.
[15:36] My numbers: average or shorter women 80 g, taller women 100 g, shorter men 100 g, taller men 120 g. Add more if you train hard.
[17:09] I cited Phinney and Volek at about 2.2 g per kg of reference body weight as a ceiling, versus my 1 to 1.6.
[23:28] The 1,100-calorie math: 100 g protein (400 calories), the fat that comes with dry-grilled chicken (about 100) and 50 g total carbs (200) already make about 700 calories before you add any fat.
[26:24] Four pats of butter, on two chicken breasts and two servings of vegetables, is the rest of your day.
[28:35] I said I don't believe in "starvation mode". I think it's just running out of glucose and ketones, so you move less.
[30:27] Ate the cake? Expect low energy and cravings, and you'll likely be back in ketosis by tonight or tomorrow.
[33:33] Cheddar on your broccoli is allowed. If you want to lose faster than 5 to 15 pounds a year, you earn it by skipping it sometimes.
[36:00] Bouillon with maltodextrin: the amounts are trace. My salt-water recipe and my bouillon numbers.
[38:41] I deleted a bulletproof-coffee self-promo from the group. Bulletproof coffee isn't relevant to ketosis.
[39:25] Whey protein: a complete protein with a fast insulin response. If it doesn't drain your energy or trigger cravings, it's a great tool.
[42:57] I don't do the "inflammation boogeyman". If you're making ketones, it's a ketogenic diet. Whether it's a good one is a separate question.
[44:50] I asked for reactions and comments and called it engagement baiting, then mentioned my Amazon wish list.

Watching this in 2026

The first ten minutes are the most useful thing in this file. "Ketosis is not fat loss" still confuses people, and the broccoli argument is the cleanest way I've found to show it. I tell everyone to eat green vegetables. Vegetables nudge ketones down. So making the most ketones can't be the goal for weight loss.

What I'd cut is the end. Asking for reactions while naming it "engagement baiting" doesn't make it better.

The claims worth unpacking

Ketosis vs fat loss. The metabolic-ward studies back me up. In Hall et al., 2015, 19 adults lost body fat at 53 ± 6 g a day with carbohydrate restriction and 89 ± 6 g a day with fat restriction. In Hall et al., 2016, 17 men switched to a ketogenic diet at the same calories. Energy expenditure went up 57 kcal a day, but body-fat loss slowed after the switch. Neither study says keto doesn't work. Both say being in ketosis doesn't make you lose fat faster at the same intake. What keto does for most people is make the lower intake easier, which is the appetite point I kept returning to.

My protein numbers. Here's how they compare:

The adult RDA is 0.80 g/kg a day (National Academies, 2005). That's a floor for preventing deficiency, not a target for weight loss.
Leidy et al. (2015) associated about 1.2–1.6 g/kg a day with better appetite and weight management. My "1 to 1.6" overlaps most of that.
During energy restriction, Phillips & van Loon (2011) suggest 1.8–2.0 g/kg a day, depending on the size of the deficit. So my point that you may need more protein while losing weight is supported.
For adults over 65, the PROT-AGE group recommends 1.0–1.2 g/kg a day. My falls-and-balance point at [13:57] fits Houston et al. (2008). Among 2,066 adults aged 70–79, the highest protein quintile lost about 40% less lean mass over three years.
Kidneys: across 28 studies, higher protein didn't change kidney filtration differently in adults without kidney disease (Devries et al., 2018). If you have kidney disease, set your protein with your doctor, not from my four numbers.

One correction. I said the fibre recommendation is 38 g. That's the figure for men aged 19–50. The National Academies adequate intake for women 19–50 is 25 g a day, and most of this group are women.

Then vs now

Ketone testing: in 2017 urine strips were the one item in my "keto kit" I said was useful (video DWI8qQl5BbY, video 8wOheKcBEd8). Here ketones aren't the goal. By 2019 I was saying you don't need a monitor at all (video 1JbK1_ClDmY).
Protein: the four numbers here match the 80/100 plus modifiers in my 2018 basics video (video UygKGoP_BtA).

Key points

You can be in ketosis and gain, hold or lose weight. For weight loss, measure fat loss, not ketones.
Chasing ketones makes sense for therapeutic keto under a doctor's care, not for weight loss.
Eat your vegetables even though they slightly lower ketones.
Protein needs don't drop on keto and may rise during weight loss (Phillips & van Loon 2011).
Whey is a fine protein source if it doesn't wreck your energy or cravings.