Hello everyone, I’m fairly new to this forum and have tried Keto/Carnivore in the past but fell off the wagon. Back into it now since Oct. 5. I have lost 29 lbs but my main issue is that my fasting sugars wont come down under 100. I’m thinking I may just have that much stored glucose and it’s going to take a while to use it all up. My A1c was 7.3 just before I started Keto and I am limiting carbs to as close to zero as I can.
Any advice?
It might take a while still for your fasting BG to lower, given your prior elevated state. I’ve heard this discussed a few times by people like Dr Westman and on Nutrition with Judy. Have you monitored your daily levels with a CGM? It might be more important to see whether you’re having spikes and dips instead of a moment in time - especially if fasting levels are measured in the AM when you could be seeing effects of the Dawn Phenomenon. There’s also the “Adaptive Glucose Sparing” response where you’re using fat and ketones for fuel so muscle cells and fat cells are less sensitive to insulin.
Hi Chuck and welcome to the board!
I was thinking that adaptive glucose sparing might be the issue (although I know it to be called by another name). I believe what is being referred to is the body produces glucose through the liver to provide itself the necessary amount and that can seem elevated on waking and the effect can last for a bit. It’s a good thing but can confuse a person.
I would suggest fasting for a couple of hours after waking and then test your blood sugars to see if they are the same elevated numbers.
I also would point out that because the body is producing less insulin due to keto, those elevated numbers are because of the lack of insulin and that is a good thing.
Your next A1C should tell the real story. In the meantime, not sure what else there is to do aside from continuing the way you are.
Hi Chuck and welcome to the forum.
No to the latter If you’ve lost that much weight, I believe you have been in ketosis, and generally that won’t happen until the glycogen is used up.
So, in all probability that sugar is being produced by your liver - and it is probably producing that much because you are somewhat insulin resistant. Now Cathy brings up a good point that if your sugar is falling later in the day, this may just be a temporary thing, and you can continue as planned. But if your sugar won’t come down I have a few suggestions to jump start things.
Hi Chuck, welcome to the forum. It takes time for our bodies to adjust to this new way of eating. While keto can make dramatic health improvements fairly quickly, other improvements take time. When checking metabolic markers, we usually suggested waiting about 6 months to give your body a chance to adapt and settle in. I would image you should see improvement in your A1c by then and as your body becomes less insulin resistant you may see your fasting blood glucose improve during that time as well. Just remember, you didn’t become diabetic over night. Healing takes time.
A few other things to consider, could be the dawn effect (as mentioned by @clackley) or it could be the effect of some types of medications. Also, cardiovascular exercise can cause blood sugar to increase temporarily, so if you are exercising in the morning before testing your blood sugar, that could possibly account for that, too.
Like mentioned by the others, continue on as you are and over time, you should see some improvement.
If you want to try a different test, try fructosamine, which measures blood sugar over 2-3 weeks. (A1c is 3+ months, by contrast.)
As others have said, it’s best to measure throughout the day. My blood sugar is >100 and often near/at 110 every morning, but goes down all day (was 84 the other evening before dinner).
I just wish continuous glucose monitors were cheaper. Almost $100/month is too expensive. But they can be useful, even for short periods of time.
Took me 3 months to get my fasting glucose below 100 when I first started my weight loss journey.