I’m currently at about the 72 point of a fast. I wanted to test my ketone levels when I started this but my test strips didn’t show up until today. I just tested and it came back 5.1 mmol/L which according to what I’m reading is starvation mode?
My question is for those you that test during fasts what is your levels? Is it usually under 3.0?
48 hours into my last fast was 4.3 mmol/L. I didn’t get to day 3 because of the holidays.
I’ve been testing after a 24 hour fast As I IF most days and I’ve had 2 readings over 5. I’m not concerned but others may be able to shed more light on if they think it should be a concern.
Jimmy Moore tested his while fasting and occasionally had high readings and wasn’t concerned.
Yeah, it’s totally normal to have rockin’ ketone levels when fasting. As long as you feel good, there’s nothing to worry about.
Mine take an upturn after the 2nd day. Totally normal. It allows you to run your brain on less glucose. You’ll see a drop in glucose readings too.
I recorded my last 3 day fast readings here: My Zornfasting charts
This was day 3 for me so that makes sense. I measured it again first thing this morning and it was 4.6. I’m probably done testing it until I’m done with the fast.
Another benifit of an extended fast I get is the deeper level of ketosis I can reach. In measuring my ketones with Ketonix, I am often frustrated with how insulin resistant I am. I eat, my ketones drop, and sometimes 12 hours or more. If I intermittent fast with a daily 4 hour eating window I can sometimes measure myself at the good levels of nutritional ketosis, sometimes. I am usually reading on the low end of ketosis, no matter how strict my ketogenic eating is. When I water fast, by day four I am blowing up my Ketonix with good strong ketone readings. I never reach these levels on my Ketonix through strict keto eating, or with exercise. I have a buddy that reads high levels of ketones easily, he can eat keto 4 times a day if he wants to and will melt his Ketonix down with his blowtorch ketone levels. Me… reaching this takes fasting for days. For me getting good ketone readings can sometimes be a hard earned NSV.
How long was your fast before that reading? I’ve been fasting for 24hrs and my blood level is 5.8 which seems really high for that amount of time. I’ve been in ketosis for a month…
48 hours of almost fast
Just Bullet proof tea, week leading up I did ketogenic diet - body not fat adapted yet, I will try again this week , so far body hasn’t felt great on fasts but haven’t got beyond a few days when apparently you feel great
Interesting. I wasn’t feeling too great after the 24hr mark. I suspect my blood sugar was pretty low since my ketones continued to rise until I broke fast at 36 hrs. I would be curious to see if that normalizes and you feel better on a longer fast.
Yeah I haven’t got to point of feeling great on a fast yet, I figure I will keep on gradually pushing it and hope to eventually breakthru to a decent 4 to 5 day fast
I did my 2nd EF last week and also got a new blood ketone meter that came in on the 3rd day of my 4 day (95 hour) fast. My initial letone reading at about 70 hours was 4.2. The next day at about 90 hours it was 6.1 and my blood glucose was 67 and I felt great. I broke my fast because I wanted what my husband was fixing for dinner ottherwise I could have kept going.
I’m baby stepping my way into fasting and have been eating a low carb/keto for more than 6 months and gradually starting IF and now finally EF.
Interested to read this. I’m on Day 5 of a 7 Day adjusted water fast (adjusted in that I allow myself 2 bulletproof coffees per day). My blood glucose has been steady but low from 3.1-4.5 mmol. My ketones started low (I’ve followed a keto diet for ages but the day before my fast was a funeral and I couldn’t avoid the pudding!) but prob 0.5-1.5. Then on day 4 they rocketed to 5.6. This morning, after power yoga but before BPC, my ketones read 9.7mmol! Back down (!) to 5.7 this afternoon. Feeling fabulous, proper fasting euphoria, much less fatigued than when I did it last year but without BPC.
I am glad to read these numbers. My first EF, I am at 70 hours. FBG = 49mg/dL and ketones 7.5mmol/L. I wasn’t sure whether this meant I should slow down and maybe end this one for a day or two.
Some metrics, like height or A1c are absolute and can be compared to other individuals. Someone who is 68 inches tall is shorter than someone who is 74 inches. Someone who has an A1c of 5% has better metabolic health than someone with an 8%. Blood ketone levels are not like this. It isn’t comparable across individuals. Your ketone level of 8 mmol indicates nothing compared to my 4 mmol. Ketone levels significance are relative to your own levels. It doesn’t indicate amount of weight loss, lipolysis, or glucose across individuals.
Hello Greg, I am curious how you like your Ketonix device? Have you compared it’s readings with traditional ketone blood tests? How accurate/consistent have you found it to be?
I am on the 6th day of a 7 day fast. I feel fine. In fact, I did a 2K swim interval
workout this morning and 2 hours of Tai Chi. I measured my ketones for the first time with an Abbott Precision Freestyle meter. I wasted a couple of needles before I got a decent drop of blood. I was surprised that my ketone level was 7.4!!! I am not diabetic and not on any meds. My blood tests have never shown an issue. Should I be concerned?
No worries! Jimmy Moore said I am incredibly normal in response to my Tweet!!!
