I’ve been keto almost a year and lost 40 lbs and lowered my A1C to 6. I used to test with urine strips which always read in moderate range. My family got me a keto mojo and it read low ketone levels so I tried it again and I never got above .3 research on the internet seems to indicate I am in ketosis but most likely burning all my ketones or I’m super efficient in using them. Anyone have experience with this? Thoughts? Suggestions?
Keto mojo and ketosis
CandyLindTX
(Candy Lind)
#2
You’re likely right on with the efficiency theory. One of my favorite stories is from Dr. Andreas Eenfeld at dietdoctor.com, while interviewing Matt & Megha from KetoConnect- they were talking about ketone levels. He told about talking with a group of presenters/experts at a keto conference, and they were comparing ketone levels. They were all at or below .5, I think was what he said! You don’t have to always have big huge ketone readings to be “doing it right.” There are lots of things in play.
ZZZZ
#3
What time are you testing?
I’ve been experimenting with different factors and how they affect my blood ketone. I found that (and consistent with other posts I read here), the number is always the lowest in the morning. 0.3 is not a bad number if that’s when you test it. Try testing it at different times, i.e. after a work out, right before a meal, after a fast, etc. Once you found your pattern, the absolute number doesn’t matter all that much. Plus, it’s been working for you right?
I also had a medium urine reading this morning but my blood ketone is only 0.5. This is curious because i thought urine ketone is the access ketone that my body eliminate. So if my blood ketone is low, then why do I still eliminate a moderate amount in the urine?
rhltechie
(Mandy)
#4
It feels like its definitely very personal. I’m only 56 days in but when I started I routinely showed 3.0 on my keto MOJO. These days, I hover at 1.0. So while 1.0 is not really low, it’s a lot lower than what was showing up in my early days.
ava_ad0re
(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja )
#5
I would say you are just efficient at using those ketones you are producing.
I know I am fat adapted at 8 weeks because I have never really yoyo dieted before, am not largely overweight and do not have metabolic damage.
My readings never go higher than 0.3mmol, most days regardless of time of day my reading is 0.1mmol.
If I pee on a test strip these days I rarely even get a trace reading.
Alpha
(Omar)
#6
so how do we distinguish between those who are not producing sufficient ketones from the ones highly efficient in utilizing ketones.
atomicspacebunny
(Bunny)
#7
Time: is the significant factor!
Longer you are doing the ketogenic diet, the lower the ketones readings will be; that is when, metabolically everything (should?) returns to normal. Meaning your body is taking full advantage (uptake) of a different type of metabolic environment and fully utilizing its energy resources rather than massive amounts of ketones floating around in the blood stream.
If you are fully adapted to burning fat for energy; urinalysis sticks will not register any color (test will be negative) as if you were not in Ketosis, yet you are eating correctly? That’s what should happen with duration and time? Only a blood ketone meter will show trace amounts in blood.
ladylyssa
(Aimee Moisa)
#8
One would hope that the pee strips would never show trace amounts or any amount in blood, that would be bad and time to go to the doctor.
atomicspacebunny
(Bunny)
#9
If your NOT doing a ketogenic diet and seeing high ketones or any ketones, yes, it would be time visit a doctor?
Thought this was interesting concerning blood glucose in contrast to blood ketones.
So Which Is it, With Type 2 Diabetes? Do You Make Too Much Insulin or Not Enough? (A little-known fact is that insulin only has one arm, so it can only grab ahold of one[1] sugar.)
Footnotes:
[1] does that mean “one” ’type’ of sugar or ‘amount’ (in particulates) of sugar?
ladylyssa
(Aimee Moisa)
#11
Sorry, I was making a bad joke that if your pee strips were measuring blood ketones then you were peeing out blood. Bad joke. 
mtncntrykid
(Ron)
#12
So what actually causes the hinges to rust? If the sugar is being held by the arm of insulin then one would assume that sugar isn’t causing the rust so what is making that door so hard for the insulin to open and deposit that sugar ?
atomicspacebunny
(Bunny)
#13
Not sure but maybe its genesis comes from processed carbohydrates (super foods) being converted into a ‘type’ of sugar insulin does not understand “rusting the doors?” But something interesting happens when fat adapted in that you become skeletal muscle tissue (‘glucose sparing’) insulin resistant in the absence of a fatty liver verses hepatically (diabetes) insulin resistant?
mtncntrykid
(Ron)
#14
This sounds like an interesting hypothesis. Is there science out there guiding you to this theory?