Blood Ketone tested at 0.6 on week 7 (female, 33)

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(EMILY) #1

Good Morning,
I’ve tested my blood ketone for the first time this morning after breakfast. I now realize I should have tested before breakfast for a better baseline…but lets continue anyway.
This morning I had an unusually large breakfast, for the past several weeks I’ve been just drinking bulletproof coffee. Today I ate an avocado with two eggs and 5 cucumber slices with a Tbsp of peanut butter. I loaded everything with Himalayan pink salt. I tested about an hour later and my blood ketone level was 0.6. If I’m understanding correctly, I need to be more around 1.5 for optimal ketosis. What can I do to get there? I’m a smart woman but I’m finding myself at a complete loss with this blood ketone meter. I’ve searched around on the forum and skimmed through many articles but they get so scientific I kind of space out… I’m just being honest. I’m surprised by my test results, I really thought I would be further along than I am.

Any suggestions or advice is greatly appreciated.

(Miss E) #2

it’s better to test after food i think because when you test in the morning it’s basically a fasting reading. 0.6 is fine for weightloss. How are you feeling? are you hungry? are you peeing a lot?

(EMILY) #3

Thank you for the response; I love you username! I need to do more of that.
I’m feeling okay; still tired all the time with headaches. I’m working on increasing my sodium but I’m still not hitting my target of 4g-5g per day. Yes, I’ve been very hungry for about 2 weeks now. I pee all day and I’m drinking more water.

(Miss E) #4

Thank you, it’s a reminder to myself. We need to show ourselves the same empathy we show others.

Okay so sounds like you’re probably in nutrional ketosis, not yet fat adapted but maybe missing something. Do you have much weight to lose or are you doing keto for general health? Have you had bloods done? I was very fatigued and it turns out even with the meat and veggies my protein was quite low. Likely due to my previous shitty diet but there is also family history of low iron.

I find salt sole (water saturated with salt) helps big time with electrolytes, just a quick swig and you’re done, also a spoonful of magnesium at night time or you can get sprays. Potassium you may be able to get from your food.

(Chris W) #5

A number of things may apply.
Do you have any derangement’s that apply, % of body fat, exercise, hydration, salt and watching insulin spikes. are just a few. But don’t fret about the levels too much, everyone is different.

As you start the WOE some people and seems in particular women, need to sort out the insides, let that happen. If you have experienced NSV’s then you are on the right track, nothing happens over night.

(EMILY) #6

We definitely could all use the reminder so thank you for that.

I don’t feel fat adapted. I’m doing keto to lose weight. I have about 30-40lbs to go. Whenever I have bloodwork done, it always comes back fine - no issues. I keep track of my macros and my food intake via MFP. I’m doing very well at sticking to my macros: 68g protein, 20g carbs, 135g fat. I do track net carbs (minus fiber) so protein and fat may be slightly less or more depending on the day. I’m trying not to pay much attention to my calories but find it difficult. I’m been on a diet all my life so it can be hard to change the mindset.

I’ll have to see if I can get some sole water that could be helpful. I just can’t eat so much salt on my food. I agree with the magnesium, I was going to get the capsules? I bought some no salt which has potassium so I sprinkle that on some of my food too but I think it bothers my stomach; still working on that hypothesis though.

(EMILY) #7

Thanks for the reply. I have definitely had some NSV and I continue to see progress albeit slow. My % of body fat is high - I don’t recall exactly. I’m not familiar at all with insulin spikes - I’ve been a lifetime dieter but never paid much attention to insulin. Any suggestions?

(Miss E) #8

You make the sole yourself, I find it takes the pressure off getting the salt in other ways.

Magnesium powder or capsules are good, just not tablets. 68g may be a liiitle low. Do you exercise?

Do you mind me asking what bloods you had done? Sometimes “standard bloodwork” doesn’t include everything you may want.

(EMILY) #9

Thanks for the info on the sole; I’ll look up the ratio.

I don’t exercise right now - I was waiting for the energy to come through and to feel better.

I’m not sure what bloodwork the doctor did last time; I didn’t ask for anything specific. This was before I started this WOE.

(Miss E) #10

Okay.

Feel free to message me if you want to chat. I’m 31, have 20-30 more kilos to lose and I’m 5’4.

(Chris W) #11

I should clarify you really cannot see them, insulin is the direct driver of gluconeogenisis, which the process that makes the keytones via breakdown of fats. If you spike your insulin it shuts down the process, I say spike because everyone is a little different and its “dirty” dynamic meaning the pancreas is always pulsing out a small amount. Its not something easily measured directly, but your blood glucose level is also controlled by it, when you consume sugar/carbs/fructose/ and protein(limited amounts) your body will spike insulin, and depending upon GI of the carbs it may take a while to drop the level down low enough for body to resume fat burning mode. That is a really simplistic model but it should get the point across, any question ask, I have been doing a lot research on the subject as of late.

If you feel hungry at your point I would say its one of two things, you need to increase fat or increase salt maybe even both. If I do a extended fast and I get a headache I take salt under the tongue, it seems to help. I am fat adapted so the dynamic is a little different. You should be drinking a lot of water, esp if you exercise. I would not worry about potassium if you are eating leafy greens, same with magnesium. Over supplementation of both can cause more issues if you have fat your body will be storing both in it. It was not until later I needed more, if you are in a country that has low magnesium in their crops I might consider that. Just my 2 cents.

(Jay AM) #12

The suggestion of the sole water is a good one and maybe ketoade. Your lack of energy and headaches are most likely from an electrolyte deficiency and every day you don’t fix it is another spent below optimal.

You should not feel super hungry ever on keto unless you just haven’t eaten yet. Eat fat to satiety which means, if you are hungry, you need more fat. No matter what a macro calculator says. Macro calculators are good for a rough idea but, your body is its own macro calculator.

(EMILY) #13

Thank you very much for the information on insulin. I have a basic understanding but didn’t know if there was more I should watch for. For some reason all this talk of processes of the body tends to go in one ear and out the other. I keep reading hoping something will stick.

I’m concentrating on eating more fat, i.e., cheese, heavy cream, avocadoes, olive oil, coconut oil, fatty meat, etc. I did put salt under my tongue this morning when I woke up, not sure if it helped.

I should wait until I’m fat adapted to start fasting - correct? I thought about it this morning but my body told me it was hungry so I ate.

I was not eating enough leafy greens or veggies initially but I’ve been doing better. I’m eating spinach, mushrooms, cucumber and celery. I’ll continue to monitor.

(EMILY) #14

Thanks for the reply!
I think about food constantly, it’s my obsession. I’m not sure that my feeling hungry is actual hunger or if its hormones making me think I’m hungry which is why I don’t eat all the time. I rarely feel full or satiated no matter how much I eat. I think that is partly because when I eat I don’t always have time to enjoy it because of small children, a house, dogs, husband, life, etc. Not that I’m complaining - I’m very blessed with a beautiful family and a happy home but it can be exhausting.

I’ll make the sole water today.

(EMILY) #15

I made some sole water with Himalayan pink salt (I really like how this salt tastes). Not sure how sustainable it is as its rather expensive. Any suggestions on wholesale options? I went ahead and added 2 teaspoons to my bottle of water. I hope this helps. Thanks again for all the replies; I greatly appreciate the advice. Have a great week folks!

(Jay AM) #16

It would be better to wait, yes. And, good job listening to your body too.

It appears to be very hard to overeat fat. Though, many claim they could do so. If presented with a pound of butter I bet they’d be sick trying to eat it all. While it’s easy to overeat protein and carbs of course.

(EMILY) #17

Thanks again @J_A-M - you have been a great resource!!
It is much more difficult to overeat fat. I am trying to listen more often instead of just stuffing my face super fast so I can do something else. Terrible habit to have.

(Chris W) #18

IMHO yes I would wait to EF until you are more fat adapted, the transition is easy, and you most likely will not have hunger issues. The first time I did a 36 hour fast planned I felt great the next day and my pee smelled like swamp water. For me the 18 hour mark can be hard, I drink heavily salt water the first day and normally have a diet soda~which I would otherwise never have. Soda stream water is good too. I fast until I am getting cold, hangry, or really hitting a wall and salt did not help. I progressed from 36 hours to my last at 80 about 12 hour increments. I view them as successful if I have had movement on the scale or body fat & I feel good. I had one that was not the case because I started with a low metabolism and it tapered off and I felt horrible when I ended it.

I started to IF by accident, and it never bothered me. I have been IF pretty much ever since. I do a window but sometimes I do OMAD. I am very active, male 44, and I work second shift I think all those things play into it. N=1. Very often these days I don’t break at work and it never effects me, it makes my coworkers upset when I want to keep going.

I listen to my body more every day if you are hungry than eat, but eat fat or as high % as you can. Give it some time and things will equalize. If you try and count calories esp fat than you will only hurt your progress, so don’t worry about fat % right now. Things changed for me when I became fat adapted, I now crave the butter and fat. I have keep myself from eating too much now. But if I feel hungry unless I am in a planned fast I eat.

(Chris W) #19

Well yes a pound of butter is a lot, that would like 3600 calories, so yes I would be sick since its a SCT, I am pretty sure that would result in very bad things happening. I do eat a pat of butter pretty regularly nowadays though its great!. But hey thats just me, I also go through about 3-4 (1.5 tablespoons)cubes of coconut oil a day as well.

(Miss E) #20

You don’t drink it all in one go. You don’t have to follow these instructions exactly but just to give you a rough idea.

https://www.himalayancrystalsalt.com/sole.html