Ketone levels increasing

(Naomi Bailey) #1

Newbie here. I’ve been doing keto for 2 months. It’s been great, I’m well within the normal range for my weight now and mentally I feel so much better. I’ve played around with the urine sticks and the cheap breathalyser. I’ve have’nt got hung up on numbers mainly because I don’t really know what they mean! I was hoping to see a decrease as I got fat adapted.

Urine sticks have always been quite dark but the breathalyser has always been between 0.05 and 0.09…like I said I don’t know what that means in terms of blood levels but it was interesting and since I have no life it was slightly entertaining.

Anyway today it’s gone up to 0.19! Last night it was 0.14 but I hadn’t eaten for about 24 hours (very busy and not hungry). I had something to eat and figured it would go down. I’ve eaten dinner today but it’s still really high. I feel fine but I’m intrigued as to why they would suddenly rise. I suppose the breathalyser could be broken but it’s been fairly consistent and I would expect it to get less sensitive.

(TJ Borden) #2

I’m sorry…what exactly is the concern? You’re in ketosis, so why worry about the if you’re testing at .05 versus .19?

(Ron) #3
(Naomi Bailey) #4

I’m not concerned at all. I was just wondering what makes ketone levels increase that much since I hadn’t done anything different. I wondered if certain foods increased ketones.

(Ron) #5

Readings are affected by many other things. Hydration, activity, hormones, anxieties, acidity in your breath from things consumed, etc all play a role. There is no way to explain specific ketone readings.

#6

I’m feeling like I’m ready to quit over these high ketone levels. Today I upped my fat and took 3 ketone readings. The first upon waking was 3.4 at 6:30 the next was at 2:30 which was 4 hours after my meal and it was 2.8, and I just took the last one after spending 50 minutes doing cardio and it was at 4.5… here’s a screen shot of my macros

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(Ron) #7

Exercise has long been known to increase ketone production, even in people without diabetes. Increases in fat mobilization and increased blood flow to the liver during exercise promotes increased fat uptake to the liver and the conversion of fat first to acetyl-CoA and then to the ketone body acetoacetate. Acetoacetate can then convert to the two other ketone bodies – acetone and beta-hydroxybutyrate. These ketone bodies then leave the liver and can be used by muscle as energy.

#8

Ron, you have been so helpful to me all along. I appreciate you and everyone on this forum. What should I do about this? Hell, at this point I don’t know if the high ketones are friend or foe as my head is swimming in information.

(Ron) #9

There is no benefit really in measuring ketone levels because no measuring is accurate, There are so many thing that can cause different readings. Hydration, activity, hormones, anxieties, etc that cause differences so the best thing to do is just measure to make sure you are still in ketosis which is anywhere from .2 and above. Heck I think one of the 2 dudes says that he usually only sees .2 or .3 and he has been in ketosis for a couple years. I don’t even measure them anymore as I know I am adapted and in ketosis. High readings just tell me that your in ketosis and on your way to adaption. Once adapted those numbers will start going down as you will be burning the ketones more efficiently and wont have so many excess ones floating around.:slightly_smiling_face:

#10

I feel skeptical adaption will come tbh… nevertheless I will continue until the two month mark, that’s 3 more weeks. I wish you a pleasant evening. My thanks,
Patty

(Ron) #11

If you keep your carbs around the 20g mark like you have been it will absolutely happen. That limit was set because it assures that one will adapt. Enjoy your evening as well.

(Terence Dean) #12

At least you’re getting them Patty, my highest reading was 0.4 mmol/L after ten weeks of Keto, 15 weeks now and I’m reading 1.3 mmol/L. I put my meter away because it wasn’t helping. I agree with Ron, its possibly the exercise that is pushing them up but the presence of ketones at that level doesn’t mean a lot, only that your body is not using them efficiently at the moment.

(German Ketonian) #13

For all that is holy, do yourself a favor and please don’t use the cheap breathalyzer as an accurate, continuous measurement variable. Yes, you can see whether you exhale acetone, but nothing more. The numbers don’t mean metabolism end products (and I meant to use a more colloquial term for that).

#14

I’m at the two month mark now, I haven’t been tempted to do any of the keytone readings because like you I don’t understand them and everyone seems to have differing opinions. I’m just enjoying the benefits for now without the stress of having “perfect” stats.

I used to be OCD about calorie counting, I don’t want this type of behaviour to be part of my life anymore. When reading the accountability posts in the forum I get anxiety just thinking about being so pedantic with measures, eliminations and calorie restrictions. This has been my biggest feat yet in Keto.

#15

Hey Patty,
It sounds to me like you’re doing great, and you should absolutely not quit just because of the numbers on the meter. I’m about 11 weeks in, and my blood ketones (which ranged from 3.0-6.9 in the first month) now range from about 2.4 to 4.5. For the last four weeks, I have stopped checking them so often, maybe once a week out of curiosity, and have switched to checking my blood glucose instead out of interest in how that’s trending. I have no doubt I’m well into fat-adaptation based on all other signs, and I doubt it matters at all that my ketone readings are coming down super slowly. I’d hate to see you be discouraged when it sounds like you’re on the right track.

#16

Thanks so much for chiming in. Im needing to quit reading but being a librarian Im seeing a ton of keto books come across my desk. The last one I just read has me more confused than ever, ugh. And yes! Ive decided im only going to test ketones once or twice a week, its not worth the worry and self doubt. Hope you have a fabulous Saturday!

(Terence Dean) #17

If you’re still concerned about high levels of ketones, this video by Dr Stephen Phinney will calm you down. He explains what is considered high levels of Ketones, and what level would be considered ketoacidosis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IEuhp8RFMU

#18

Our ketones fluctuate widely throughout the day and depending on what you’re doing. What units are those? Breath meters are usually in ppm. Are you using an actual breath ketone meter like a ketonix, or are you using one meant to guess BAC for drinking?

#19

I’m using a keto mojo that tests the blood

#20

I don’t have a Ketonix anymore, but after hearing an interview with the creator of it and his views of why he thinks measuring breath is better than blood, it’s actually pretty convincing even considering his bias to it. I’ve questioned for a while how reliable blood testing is as far as getting something that matters, yes, and I’m cheap and hate buying the strips. But that aside think about it, when we’re adapting our ketones are through the roof yet we piss out more than we burn, so our production/levels of them didn’t really matter. Then when we’re adapted long term we tend to have lower levels and assume it’s because we’re more efficient and making them on a tighter on demand basis which could be true, but in both cases it’s very normal for some to have low levels and burn off fat like a champ, and others have triple those levels and be in a plateau for months. Breathe acetone however, is directly connected to our metabolism. While I don’t think we have it nailed down the same way we do with measuring C02 levels for figuring out metabolism I think that’s going to wind up being the better way ultimately, I think it has to be seeing that our breathe acetone is directly connected to BURNING ketones as fuel vs just having them to burn. Now that Ketonix has some competition I think all the breathe measurement is gonna step it up the next couple years.