Hi everyone. I’ve been trying to be Mr cruisey about starting Keto , not counting anything not measuring anything just going along , but I did get curious today and did measure my b ketone levels…It was 1.2 so not the end of the world, But I’m a bit peed off that I’m not 1.5 -2.0 after a couple of weeks. When I say I don’t measure anything , I make sure no carbs go in or if they do , which can only come from veggies it’s not many. ( only keto listed veg) Some days I don’t even eat veggies just all meat and eggs so there is no carbs at all. I’ve heard people say don’t worry about your ketone reading , Dont stress about it , the 1.5 level is a fat burn myth , but if I’m not fully in ketosis , why am I doing this. I’m doing it for me to be at my max potential for my body to be working the best it can in ketosis. Do I need to try harder count macros ect…What do you guys think. TIA
B Ketone levels
Hi @LPT Luke, 1.2 is very definitely “fully in ketosis”. Sounds like you’re nicely on track. How are you finding it so far?
I don’t measure anything because I can get discouraged by them, even the scale. I just kept my carbs under 20 and carried on.
From the sound of it, you are doing excellent.
You got this.
If by “b ketone levels” you mean you measured your serum β-hydroxybutyrate, then 1.2 is a great reading to have. Phinney and Volek have defined “nutritional ketosis” as serum β-hydroxybutyrate of 0.5 mmol/dL or above. So you are fully in ketosis.
Our experience as a group is that ketone levels don’t correlate meaningfully with either fat loss or improvements in metabolic health. The primary value of measuring ketones is as a substitute for measuring insulin, for which no home test exists (although I understand people are working on that). Knowing that our liver is producing ketones tells us that our insulin is low enough to promote metabolic healing and permit the shedding of excess stored fat.
But you should be aware that the definition of nutritional ketosis is actually somewhat arbitrary, as both Dr. Phinney and Prof. Volek readily admit. Also, the higher ketone readings are seen earlier on, and people’s levels tend to drop as the liver gets more efficient at matching production to demand.
In fact, in Phinney and Volek’s studies of keto-adapted athletes, their ketone readings tended to be around 0.2, and no one was saying they were not in ketosis. As one wag on these forums once posted, the way to tell if you are in ketosis is if (a) you are keeping your carb intake under 20 g/day, and (b) you are still breathing in and out.
Our common mantra applies here: Keep Calm, and Keto On. 
Hi Megan, I’m going pretty well , feeling a bit sluggish from it some days , but nothing too bad , I’m feeling healthy. I’ve only lost about 3-4kg mainly water and glucose I guess , but I didn’t need to lose much weight anyway. I think it makes my anxiety a bit better , so on ward and upward. Cheers for the support I wasn’t sure if I was not quite doing it right. Thanks.
If you are producing ketones that register on a meter then by default you have to be “in ketosis” otherwise you wouldn’t be registering ketones.
In my humble view.
Also both Dr. Phinney and Richard have mentioned they are often at the 0.4 level. We are basically measuring what we have not used up. Which seems like a good thing to me.