Can't get into ketosis

(Alan Johnstone) #1

Hey guys,
I am 9 days into a keto diet. I’m having trouble getting into ketosis. After 5 days I was registering 0.5 then 0.6 the next but since then I’ve been stuck around the 0.3 and 0.4 mark. I’m on a 5% 21% and 74% split. I have a zero calorie pre workout (gat nitraflex) which I’m gonna try to cut out to see if it helps and I also have a serve of 0 calorie electrolytes through the day. Any advice for getting out of this slump. I had a dexa scan prior to starting the diet and my protein intake is 0.7 times my lean body mass.

(icky) #2

Doesn’t that only add up to 70% ?
Where’s the other 30%?

(LeeAnn Brooks) #3

My understanding is if your registering any ketones, you are in ketosis. Doesn’t matter if they are on the low end.
It’s like a pregnancy test. You either are or you aren’t.

(Allie) #4

What grams are your protein?

(Rob) #5

Hello and welcome to keto!
First off nine days isn’t that long. Little that I can think of about keto is universally quick … maybe one of the more senior people will correct that last statement but I think it’s fairly accurate. How (urine stick, breath meter, blood) and when are you measuring ketones? Eliminating the supplement for a bit is good … you’re eliminating one variable. I was listening to some youtubes by Dr. Stephen Phinney yesterday … he was speaking at a conference … and one of the statements he made was that people who are insulin resistant typically have lower ketone readings than those who are not. I’m insulin resistant and except for once during an extended fast, my ketone level hasn’t been above 1.8.

. Are you 100% certain about your carb intake … have you checked the nutritional analysis on everything you eat or the nutritional analysis of the ingredients of what you eat? Carbs are sneaky things and they’re everywhere. I did take a look at the gat nitroflex label and it states zero carbs.

Dr. Stephen Phinney seems pretty good on the topic. I thought I read somewhere that he coined the term nutritional ketosis, If you really want to learn more about ketosis and the things taht affect you and ketosis, look him up on youtube. I think the last one I watched which included a good bit on ketosis was entitled Recent Developments in LCHF and Nutritional Ketosis Part 1. (Part 2 was more question and answer).

He did a nice job of explaining ketosis ranges and why more isn’t necessarily better. You’ll see the famous chart he did in there. It’s been posted various places on this forum as well … but he explains it in the video.

(Mandy) #6

Thanks for this! I am watching it now. He just said something that really hit home to me. “The higher your ketones, the faster your kidneys excrete salt.” I did not know this yet and really helps me understand why I might be feeling a bit odd when I my readings are really high.

(Alan Johnstone) #7

Sorry for the typo. 74% fat 21% protein 5% carbs

(icky) #8

Thanks for this bit of info!

I’m trying to (re)solve the salt riddle for myself. This is a good piece of the puzzle! :+1:t3:

(LeeAnn Brooks) #9

Omg, this is why I’m having such a hard time with keeping my electrolytes in check. My ketones are consistently on the high end. So I’m depleting salt much faster than average.

Guess I just have to keep adding more salt.

(icky) #10

If your kidneys are excreting lots of salt, they’ll be depleting other electrolytes too, so try and make sure you’re getting them balanced.

I agree this is a pretty useful piece of information (ketones, kidney, salt).

Is there a way of getting ketones down?

How long have you been fat adapted? Your body’s use of ketones may improve over time.

Any other suggestions on how to reduce ketones by ppl more knowledgeable about ketones than I am? :woman_facepalming:

(Nerissa Brown) #11

Would bone broth and propel help with salt intake? I had been trying to find a good replacement for Gatorade for months and only found the zero calorie knock off’s that don’t taste too great but are tolerable. My oldest daughter came home with propel powder and it’s awesome! Can’t even believe I forgot they made it. I havent tried bone broth yet but I do recall reading that salt is depleted pretty quickly while on a LCHF diet so keto would be included. They said salt depletion lead to leg cramps and keto flu so they recommend bone broth or small amounts of pink Himalayan salt added to whatever you drank throughout the day.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #12

I’m not sure I am fat adapted yet. At least not fully. I’ve been doing strict Keto for just over 8 weeks now. In that time I’ve never gone below the two highest colors on the pee sticks. I am noticing the things people talk about (more endurance, better energy, better sleep, not experiencing as much hunger or cravings) but only moderately and not consistently. So I think I’m adapted to an extent but not all the way (if there’s such a thing as being fat adapted by degrees). But the electrolyte thing has been a battle for me and continues to be. I take supplements for magnesium and I drink a ZipFizz everyday which has all the electrolytes in there. I add salt to the ZipFizz and I suck on rock salt at my desk all day long. The only one I don’t specifically supplement is Potassium because I get some in the ZipFizz and from everything I’ve read, it can be dangerous to get too much and as long as your sodium is in check, it should regulate the potassium.
But I still struggle, especially when I run. I get nauseous after every run. I bought sodium tablets to take with me and always carry water so I can hydrate, plus I make sure I eat some salt before and after runs, but I’m still battleing this nauseous feeling.
But as my ketones are so high, at least that helps me understand the why, even if I can’t get the how to prevent it thing completely figured out.

(icky) #13

Can you get your doctor to run a simple electrolytes blood test? They are cheap.

I had one done when I nearly collapsed and even tho I couldn’t get it done til the next day, my sodium and potassium levels still came back way too high.

If you have the numbers, you’ll not be guessing anymore. Or at least not as much!!!

(icky) #14

It might even be worth going on a morning run, before you go to the doctors to have your bloodwork done, so that you are “fully in your nauseous state” so the bloodwork reflects what is going on IN THAT STATE… ?

(icky) #15

Yes to broth, if it’s salty.

Dunno what “propel” is :blush:

(Consensus is Politics) #16

I took a peek at the label as well, it has a couple of my pet peeves. A second listing for “other ingredients” as well as a vague listing of “natural flavors”.

I see three potential problems here. Pineapple fruit powder? Is there anyway that doesn’t include sugars? Natural flavors. There is another thread here somewhere addressing that. Be warned, it could make you physically ill just reading what that could mean. Sucralose. Depending on what form is used, you could be getting high doses of maltodextrin in that (anti caking agent). Maltodextrin or maltodextrose have a very high glycemic index. It raises your blood glucose. It’s twice as powerful as table sugar when it come to that.

Check the labels on everything. Look for the hidden sugars. The FDA allows these hi-jinks. The one that kept me back was “sugar free ‘safe for diabetics’ Metamucil”. The first thing on its ingredients list was maltodextrin. :rage: My blood glucose was going up and down by 50 points each way. I finally got wise to maltodextrose and cut Metamucil out completely. Next day my blood glucose leveled out.

(Nerissa Brown) #17

Propel is made by the same people that make Gatorade. You can find it next to the rest of the flavored waters. It’s zero calories and zero sugar.

(Nerissa Brown) #18

Oh goodness! Thanks for the info!!!

(Ron) #19

Good example of flaws in online correspondance. In our conversation I assumed you were already aware of this since you addressed the diuretic effects of the ketogenic diet.:open_mouth:

(Alan Johnstone) #20

125g. Its roughly my lean body mass times 0.7