Keto since January 5, looking for advice for tweaking things

(Mandy) #61

Well, boo. I’m a numbers and data gal. Plus, I just dropped $ on a monitor and strips that I guess don’t matter now! I was hoping to get that satisfaction of knowing I’m in ketosis by being able to run a test and see definite numbers.

(Mandy) #62

The higher the better. So you’re good! How long have you been keto? The lower numbers indicate that I’m barely in ketosis, which is not what i want if I’m trying to burn this stubborn fat off my body!

(LeeAnn Brooks) #63

10 weeks tomorrow. I was super high from day 3. But all the extra ketones weren’t doing me any good. It was all wasted.

Also there are some big disadvantages to high ketones. Along with the ketones, it washes away electrolytes. So Keto Flu is more severe and lasts longer. It’s still sometimes a challenge for me to get them balanced. Even adding a little more distance to a run for example would throw me off and I’d get nauseous.

Ultimately it’s like a pregnant year though. You either are or your not. Sounds like you are. In ketosis that is. Not pregnant. I would have no idea about that.:wink:

(Mandy) #64

Haha! I sure hope I’m just in ketosis and not pregnant! That’d be a heck of a surprise at my age! Although my husband would love it…some of our good friends just had a baby and he can’t get enough of her. He’s such a baby guy! Lol

(Ron) #65

I have a monitor also and used it early on for verification that I was in ketosis. For this reason (peace of mind) it had a value. I now only use it as curiosity when I am fasting or if I am concerned that a sweetener or something might have kicked me out, otherwise it is cheaper just to use the pee strips just to show I am in ketosis , and I don’t do that much any more, occasionally.
There is value for peace of mind though. :smirk:

(Mandy) #66

So I may check my levels when Ive been working my butt off vs when I’m having a lazy day. See how they compare. If my “working hard” levels are lower than my “lazy” levels…then I think I’ll feel more confident that my body is using the ketones efficiently. I sure do wish ketones were more of an exact science. :woman_shrugging:

(Ron) #67

There is no real way to know exactly what is going on as there are so many things that affect it. Hormone balances, body hydration, sleep levels, metabolism, etc. That is why there is no accurate way to measure for specifics. Kind of like insulin and hormones, no true home testing available. It would be nice though if there were.:crossed_fingers::ok_hand:

(Ron) #68

General consensus is the best testing path is to do it the same time every morning before consuming anything. Your body isn’t stressed, hormones aren’t raging and before you eat so no insulin production of glucose elevations to deal with. This seems to have the most consistency and gives some kind of a base line but don’t put a lot of value into that line.

(Mandy) #69

Thanks guys. I appreciate you talking me off the edge. It helps a lot to know I’m not alone and that y’all have experienced some of this, too.

(Diane) #70

Don’t know if you’ve seen this article before. Thought it might be helpful for you.

#71

Try not to get too hung up on the number on the scale. I’ve been on keto for 7 weeks and I’ve lost a total of 1 pound. But I’ve now lost 2 inches in my waist, which is the smallest it’s been in over 20 years! My body seems to have a set point for my weight and no matter what I do, it doesn’t seem to want to budge and when it does, it quickly rebounds and goes right back to my previous weight (150 lbs). It’s maddening! The same can be said for measuring ketones. I bought a blood ketone monitor after 2 weeks of being on keto. It was exciting to see that I was above 0.5 consistently, but since then I’ve decided that after the end of June, I won’t be testing my ketones anymore. The numbers are all over the place anywhere from 0.5 up to 2.1 and those numbers don’t really tell me anything other than I do have ketones in my blood. I keep looking for the numbers to stay in the higher range, at least above 1.0 but it doesn’t seem to matter what I eat, I NEVER go over 20 grams of net carbs per day but my blood ketones will go from 1.5 one day to 0.5 the next day. It’s as crazy as trying to weigh yourself every single day. I know that ketones will become less as you become fat adapted because your body has less ketones just “hanging out” in your bloodstream; you body is BURNING those ketones for fuel but it’s still emotionally frustrating to see the numbers drop so much from day to day. There is a reason that I don’t own a scale and that I only go to the gym once a month (or less) to weigh myself. I’m going to stop basing my progress off of the scale and ketones and just stick with what I know is a much more consistent and accurate way to measure progress; the tape measure! Body measurements don’t lie. Mandy, don’t be afraid to take measurements, it’s a good way to track progress and if you keep sticking with keto, eventually the weight and/or inches will come off! You have a whole lifetime to make this transition, don’t try to force things to happen in a certain timeframe. That just creates frustration and decreases your motivation to keep going. How many years did it take you to build the body that you have? It’s going to take some time and patience to undo all of that. Be patient with yourself, that’s the best advice I could give anyone.

(Mandy) #72

Thank you for posting those articles. I haven’t seen them before now. I’ll take some time and read them after work today.

(Mandy) #73

Amen to that! My body really likes the 150’s right now. But it used to like the 140’s so I’m hoping to lose another 10 lbs eventually. Not gonna lie, I’d like it gone by vacation next month (or the wedding I’m going to this weekend, lol). I’ll post my progress in measurements later.

(Mandy) #74

I took some measurements the other day to compare to the ones I took about 5 days after I started keto on Jan 5. I’ve lost 3” off my bust, 3 1/4” off my waist, 4” off hips, 1 1/2” off each arm, and 1 1/2” off each leg.