I’ve been doing keto about 6 weeks with one 3 day vacation in between. When I check my ketones and blood sugar in the afternoons, blood ketones are 0.3-0.8. Blood sugar has been in the 50’s. Yesterday it was 45!!! I feel tired but not shaky or diaphoretic
I have BMI about 25, work out at a moderate level 4-5 times a week. No diabetes or diabetes medications.
Any thoughts? This seems really low!!
Check with another meter? I have three and they all give different results… Can be off by 20+ points.
Tired and shaky could be related to low sodium. ??? It’s pretty common if you’re not making sure to get enough which is commonly thought to be 3000-5000mg every day.
I’m surprised the bg would be so low with ketones also being low.
Double check with another meter to be sure. Temperature if the meter can matter too. Too cold or warm or just a sudden dramatic temperature change can skew the results
I checked the blood glucose and it was accurate on another machine. Didn’t have another keto meter. I haven’t been able to get ketones over 1.3, even w 24 hour fasts. Do different people have different abilities to produce ketones?
@Kbear absolutely. Everyone has a bit different ketone production.
Six weeks may be barely enough time to be well fat adapted. Are you getting enough fats for food energy?
yeah. That’s my range too 0.4-0.8, unless I fast for multiple days and exercise … basically put my glucose delivery system under pressure.
If you were not ketogenic, glucose of 45 mg/dl (2.5 mmol/l) would be dangerously hypoglycemic. The fact you aren’t experiencing those symptoms (ie: not shaky) indicates that you are making enough ketones to supplement your brain’s energy requirements - just not making a massive surplus. That happens mostly to fairly fit people, they have a more responsive system so they can get away with less surplus.
The fact you are tired indicates you may be running low on energy. If you are meeting your weight loss/gain needs then you might want to consider adding a little extra short/medium chained fats to see if that helps. I am thinking a small amount like a tablespoon of butter or coconut oil, see if you get an uptick in energy.