I bought a bloood tester to get my ketones level. Tested for 3 days and I range between 0.4 - 0.9.
Can’t get into ketosis 1.5-3.0…
As I mention in my other log I initially lost 14lbs but nothing since. My coach says my body must be reparing and that is why I am not getting into ketosis. Do you think that despite best efforts some people might take much longer to reach that desired level?
AC
Why do you think you aren’t in ketosis wth those readings? because you are… you really are.
Stop fretting about numbers and enjoy the food!
Me too but I’ve been stalled for the past 18 months…will be trying an extended fast then a very strict carnivore diet to see if I can get through it otherwise I will accept my new weight is fine. Down 112 pounds overall though. I’d listen to your coach… however you are definitely in ketosis.
As much as I hate to dive into the chasing-ketone waters, what time of day are you testing? Morning? Evening?
I go from 1.4 down to 0.3 every day. Right after eating your ketones will drop.
After 5 years on low carb, I rarely get above 1.0 unless I eat a lot of fat or fast for multiple days. I’m mainly between 0.5-0.9, and I’ll drop lower than 0.5 via exercise or just because. I also take breath ketones, and those also used to be much higher. And I basically eat meat with minor amounts vegetables, sometimes I’ll splurge (tonight, some red onion+salsa, even some cheese, on my eggs + ham omelet). Lunch/breakfast was a meat salad with oil and vinegar. 1 hour HIIT and Body by Science this morning. Ate 2 meals.
Thanks for the encouragement it is really appreciated. Wow 112lbs you should be proud, congrats! Will keep at it and hope i can get those 26lbs down!!!
Noted Regina tks for sharing the info. I guess i got to calm down and just wait for the pounds to drop again then.
I have been testing my ketones only for 3 days. First time i did in the morning was at 0.5, then at night 1 hour after my meal was at 0.9 and last night right after my meal was 0.4… i do the IF 16/8 so i eat lunch at 12:00 and dinner around 19:00.
Tks for sharing tour results i guess i will calm down and just keep doing my best and hope to start loosing again the last 26lbs!!!
In my experience, the times when my ketones are the lowest are (a) in the morning due to the dawn phenomenon and (b) right after eating. So, I would suspect this could be one of the reasons why you may be seeing low readings. I’d suggest seeing what they are just before you eat at 12:00 or 19:00.
Tks Brian for the recommendation! I am following your advice and brought my tester to work and will test just before lunch. keep you posted.
Two things: first, the definition of nutritional ketosis is 0.5, but that’s somewhat arbitrary. If you are eating very little carbohydrate, either you have to be producing ketones, or you’re dead. (You’re not a zombie, I hope?)
Second, the concentration of β-hydroxybutyrate in the blood varies, as you have noticed, but it is a measure of what hasn’t been used (yet). It would be really nice if we could measure how much our cells are really using. But how is your mind doing? If you feel sharp and alert, your liver has to be producing BOHB for your brain, or you wouldn’t feel like that. It’s an indirect measure, but perhaps it will help.
Tks Paul for the explanation. What if, hypothetically, I eating too much fat, would my body still produce ketones or use the dietary fat? Just tested myself now, 16hr without eating (just had sparkling water with trace minerals) and I am at 0.9…
The liver will still have to produce ketone bodies, because fatty acids can’t cross the blood-brain barrier; only β-hydroxybutyrate can, and if you’re not eating carbohydrate, there’s not enough glucose (the red blood cells have no mitochondria, so they and certain other cells need the glucose the liver produces—and the brain loves β-hydroxybutyrate, that’s where the “keto clarity” comes from).
What happens to the excess fat beyond that is not clear, to me at least. Some of it can be wasted in various ways, since the body can ramp up the basal metabolic rate, and adipose tissue can metabolize fatty acids, if need be. I suppose really too much fat would end up being stored, since even fat stimulates insulin secretion to some degree, and enough insulin would push fat back into the adipose tissue . . . .
Of course, in real life, no one is likely to be able to eat that much fat. I suspect that, because fat is so calorie-dense, one would get awfully full and not be able to eat past that point. Case in point: I overate fat last night (not that much, but still), and today I am waiting to get hungry so I can eat. I want to eat, but I just can’t!
Ok the process is getting more clear. I am still foggy about why my ketones level won’t go up but will trust the process and let nature go… Thank you so much for your help in understanding!