Fat Adapted?

(Heather Bryant) #1

I am reading through some of the threads on here and I keep seeing the term “fat adapted” exactly what is that and how do i know if I am? Keto-ing since July 27, 2017

(Joseph) #2

Hey Heather!

There are no definitive ways to know if you are truly fat adapted. Usually fat adaptation follows being keto adapted. For me the way I know that I am fat adapted is that I have sustained energy, when I can eat to satiety, reduced hunger and improved sleep. For example with me I can go a long time without having to eat or getting hunger pangs. I usually fast for about 23hrs and eat for a 1hr window. When I first started keto I was not able to do that but over a course of a monthish I worked my way up to that. A good sign for me that I am fat adapted is when I don’t get “hangry” and start snapping at people and biting their heads off because I am hungry. I can eat a nice fatty meal and not be hungry again for a very long while. It is different for everyone of course. Some might take longer than others to reach this stage but just remember KCKO!

(Tim) #3

‘Fat Adapted’ means your body is burning Fat as its primary fuel source. There are a number of ways to test for this, which I’ll get to in a minute. A good generally accepted rule of thumb in the ketogenic world is if you’re consuming less than 20 grams of carbs per day for longer than a few weeks, odds are you’re fat adapted or at least on your way there.

As far as testing methods go, here’s a short list. If you want more information on them, feel free to google further. I’m listing them in descending order of ‘most reliable’ to ‘least reliable’. If anyone has any better info than myself, feel free to correct me on the order of this list.

  • Abbott Precision Xtra Blood Glucose and Ketone Meter
  • nova Max Plus Blood Glucose and Ketone Monitor
  • Ketonix Breath Ketone Analyzer
  • Bayer Ketostix Strips for Urinalysis

I highly recommend getting one of the first two. The strips are a little expensive, but they’re much more reliable than the other options IMO.

I’m not actually sure what the minimum blood ketone level for being ‘in ketosis’ is, but if someone wants to chime in on that I’m all ears.

@KetogenicJoseph also has an awesome, probably more holistic, answer than I just wrote up. But I’m posting this anyway.

(Heather Bryant) #4

Both very helpful answers! Thank you! I’ve been eating 20g a day or less of carbs for a week and a day now. Hopefully I’m pretty much there. I already feel my energy (it’s like 20 times what it was lol!) and sleep improvement. However, I do still need to eat every 3-5 hours.

(A ham loving ham! - VA6KD) #5

Hi!
Being in ketosis and being fat adapted are two different things. Being in ketosis means that you’re burning fat, but not necessarily efficiently. Kids regularly flip in and out of ketosis all day long, and healthy adults usually do it overnight. If you starved anyone, they’d be well in ketosis within a couple days. However, it takes time for your cells to learn how to preferentially use ketones rather than glucose. For some, that time can be weeks or months during which fat adaption takes place. A good indication of being in ketosis, but not yet fat adapted is the (large) presence of ketones in your urine because your kidneys are spilling excess ketones that your body can’t use at that moment. As you become more fat adapted, the presence of ketones in your urine is lessened (there is less excess to spill off) and ketostix can then become an unreliable indicator of ketosis. A breathalyser or blood ketone test is a better way to determine level of ketosis after fat adaption.

(Michael McMurray) #6

So would a solid method of testing fat adaptation be to start keto keeping your carbs under 20g, always tracking so hidden carbs don’t bump you, and use urine sticks to check for levels of spilled ketones.

Then after a few to several weeks of some discipline and staying under 20g in which you know you are still in ketosis you can rely on the sticks to show you fat adaptation when they stop showing a high level of ketones?

This seems to be common sense to me, I also know @richard doesn’t use the sticks cause they don’t show much for him, fat adaptation could be why I’m assuming.

(Anderson Herzogenrath Da Costa) #7

The urine strips show the excess ketones the body is dumping. After you’re adapted you will use the ketones more efficiently and regulate the production so you will urinate less ketones and the urine strips won’t give you a correct level or even give false negatives.

Also some factors like hidration may affect the reading on the urine strips for more or for less.

They are OK when you are starting, just be aware of the limitations.

(A ham loving ham! - VA6KD) #8

I’d say so long as you’re not overeating fats, then the strips would show a reduction in ketones. Keep in mind that this WOE is fat to satiety (and also learning your satiety signals in the process).

At least for my n=1, I saw dark purple on the pee sticks within a couple days of beginning keto and gradually it lightened up over the next few months. I’m currently at 50 hours of a spontaneous fast (with nothing but (lots of) water and salts to drink) and my pee sticks are showing absolutely nothing, yet my breathalyzer is showing fairly high. I don’t have a blood ketone monitor however, and I think that would be the most accurate way to tell.

Reassure a newbie?
(Dan Dan) #9

“If you can handle missing meals and are able to go hours without getting ravenous and cranky (or craving carbs), you’re likely fat-adapted.”