I took a fasting blood ketone reading right before lunch, and it was 0.5,
1 hour after lunch it came in at 0.2. Is this a normal variance?
Blood sugar reading has been consistent, 104 before eating 98 after eating,
which seems to be my normal daily pattern.
3 egg cheese omelet 4 slices of bacon, 2 cups romaine salad with balsamic dressing
I would be interested in this answer as well. I am seeing variances daily where my resting ketone levels have been .2/.3 in the mornings but as the day goes on I will see up to 2.0 in the evenings.
I usually end up IF"ing as I am just not hungry until in the early evening so it has become a 1 meal a day routine.
I have been chalking it up to being pre-diabetic and more insulin resistant. Yesterday I upped my fat intake and forced myself to eat three eggs for breakfast this morning even though I wasn’t hungry.
What are we doing wrong?
How many net carbs did this work out to be? Keep in mind, blood ketones rise and fall throughout the day. Many factors are involved in their production and expenditure. Just because you dip a little below a .5 is nothing I’d be to concerned about. Especially in the beginning.
I know the answer @jimclarke has High Fasting Insulin issue like me. He needs to get checked his Fasting Insulin
As ketones are used or produced they go up and down. It’s not easy to say whether those are normal variances because, for you, they could be. And, in a few months, they could be totally different under the same circumstances.
As insulin goes up (usually prompted by blood sugar rising or a meal), ketone production slows or stops. Some ketones could be used or dumped from your previous reading, leading to the lower reading. So, in response to the question in your title, yes, blood ketone reading variances are normal with eating or throughout the day. This is why many people say it’s not worth chasing numbers.
Ketones are only a supplemental energy source within the wider context of Lipolysis. They normally fluctuate. To obsess over them is “Nutty Keto”.
Balsamic vinegar can have 3 grams of carbs, mostly sugar, per tablespoon. I used to use a lot of it but have since switched to mostly using red wine vinegar and apple cider vinegar. I’d rather spend my carb budget on tomatoes and onions, etc.