Ketones higher then glucose

#1

Hello today is first time that my ketones were higher than my glucose. Glucose 3 mmols ketones 4.3 mmols. I done 24 hour fast. I can’t even believe it’s possible but I’m pleased. Anyone else experience this?

#2

Normal if you’re fasting, but don’t get sucked into the chasing the ketones addiction either, the number is meaningless unless you’re doing keto for medical / disease management reasons.

Do you feel ok? I’d say I’d be popping glucose tabs if I were down that low, but I’d probably have passed out already.

#3

I feel absolutely fine thank you. I believe that. Gluconeogenesis prevents my glucose drop too much. But I’m not diabetic. I decided to end the fast after 24 hours.

#4

I am aware of that but I’m trying to maintain my insulin sensitivity. Im checking purely as I am new to fasting and want to know how my body reacts during this process. Thank you.

(Bob M) #5

3 = 54 in US units. Not really that low for some people (lower than I’ve seen). If you’re not fasting, what is your “normal” level, say in the morning?

I think I got a 3.4 (glucose) while getting ketones above that (in the 4s), after 4.5 days fasting. I always found that fasting drove glucose down and ketones up. But I don’t get high ketones like that anymore.

#6

Hi Bob if I’m not fasting and as long as I finish my evening meal before 8pm and no snacking my morning glucose is bellow 5. Occasionally just above 5 mmols. I keep my carbs pretty low more ketovore than keto. this morning at 8am glucose was 4.5 mmols, 81.1 mg/dl and ketones 3.1. That is 12 hours after my evening meal. It’s pretty consistent tbh. But if I have something like a Greek yogurt and some walnuts even if straight after dinner it would be 5. something. I still have it as a treat. Not chasing ketones but I’m just so interested how my body is reacting. From my nursing point of you it’s totally against what I learned in the nursing school but this seems to be working for me. I guess my ketones will lower longer I do keto.

#7

4-5 days of fasting seems unbelievable. Up to now I didn’t think I could go without food for a day until I discovered fasting and learned more about it.

#8

Nearly everyone of us could fast for 5 days - if we had no food. Otherwise it may be much trickier… Many can do it moderately easily though. We are humans, not shrews, we can handle some famine. Many people lasted for WAY longer than 5 days without WATER let alone food. (It probably was hellish for most of them, unhealthy and there were conditions to last that long but still. It’s water! It’s way easier without food.)

I wouldn’t want to fast for longer than 48-72 hours regularly (I can’t do it since years but I can wish…) but 5 days aren’t very dangerous for most of us. I would worry about my muscles (no one can persuade me we can do long fasts and get out amino acids somehow. for 1-2-3 days, fine but longer…? it’s a tiny loss and we can gain it back but it would bother me) but I wouldn’t fear serious problems with all my fat reserves and some non-vital muscle mass :wink: I can understand the desire to do rare longer fasts for various reasons. I was very curious once so my only longer (5 day) fast happened. No regrets and it wasn’t even hard with my stubborn curiosity! (I probably easily powered through the first day but then I ate when I got hungry, of course I did, it was me. I always stop if I get properly hungry.)
We have fasting threads here and people say fasting is easy for them. (Except me who can’t even do TMAD every day. And I can fast better than many. It’s very individual. Just like it’s individual if keto damages or enhances your fasting abilities or does nothing to it.)

It’s quite fine not to fast on keto. It’s just what many people find easy after a while. Or they always had longer fasts and like it. I can relate, I love fasting as long as I am not hungry. It is peaceful and convenient. But eating every day is nice too especially if you get hungry every day…

(Bob M) #9

Unbelievable as it may seem, fasting gets easier past about day 2. If I hit day 3, I really started feeling good.

Those are pretty low morning values. Mine are pretty much always above 100 in the morning, then it’ll drop down as the day goes on. Ketones are the opposite: start low, go up over time.

That’s by pin-prick ketone meters, though. I’ve seen some results from people wearing continuous ketone meters, and their results seem much more varied over the course of a day.

#10

I use keto mojo finger prick. I had my blood tests done two weeks in to keto and my bloods seems to be very good and also blood glucose. Don’t take me wrong I’m far from perfect as I’m over weight and menopause is kicking in and occasional red wine I’d causing problems. Because I discovered keto I realised my wrong doings :grinning:

#11

When I did my first 48 hours fast I just couldn’t believe that I could have carried on but I was too scared to carry on. Maybe one day I’ll try again. I need to plan it when I’m not working.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #12

Cahill and his team drove their fasting subjects’ serum glucose even lower than that, back in the 1960’s. But they were fine, because their ketones were elevated. Dr. Phinney likes to joke that the people with the palpitations and the sweats were the ones wearing the lab coats.

#13

Fear often robs us of a great many things that are good for us. And that fear is most often caused by how we have been previously conditioned to think. Don’t be scared of extended fasting. I could understand being a bit nervous for a 7 day fast, and definitely longer. I think longer ones do require being more careful and very knowledgeable about what you’re doing, how, and why. But under 5 days? Meh. Nothing should scare you. You really can’t hurt yourself. Let your body guide you. If you want to try a 3-day fast you’re not going to starve or hurt yourself. It’s only three days. So long as you listen to your body and don’t get dizzy or dehydrated, or start having unusual and severe physical symptoms, which would signal me to end it for that particular session but not forever. But each time I do a 72-hour fast I’m amazed at how fabulous day 3 is. :rofl: I’m expecting to be faint or have some other issue and the opposite always happens. Ending it is like when you have to say goodbye to a friend you just had a fantastic weekend with and may not see again for a long time. Lol You just don’t want it to end.

I’d encourage you to not worry about timing of work. Again, you rob yourself of experiencing increased energy and productivity and focus at work! You won’t be sick. You’ll have more time on your hands too. Lol

#14

[quote=“PaulL, post:12, topic:121155”]
But they were fine, because their ketones were elevated. Dr. Phinney likes to joke that the people with the palpitations and the sweats were the ones wearing the lab

This makes me giggle as this is me in every day work. Anyone below 4 6 mmols( in the uk) I have to act up on and l try to elevate before I can give insulin and then recheck. That is why I was so worried previously :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

#15

Wow you have totally described me. I’m currently off work due to health issues mainly due to anxiety. I’m trying to fast for this reason as keto diet really help me initially. I will try again. I’m sure many people can relate to me when I say; when we are on holiday we are going to enjoy ourselves not starve. But infant starving it’s what we should do to repair all the damage.

#16

I used to have extreme anxiety, lots of attacks including panic attacks. I had understandable tragedies and stressors occur in my life to cause it, and it was one right after the other for about 10 straight years, but the severity of the anxiety caused by it all was so extreme and episodes would last weeks or months, and it negatively impacted my quality of life. My boys had this too. Keto has helped all of us. My first year on Keto I avoided fasting like the plague. Lol. I didn’t understand and I was solely focused on learning as much as I could about how to eat properly for my health. I wanted to get that down first. And the diet alone helped my anxiety a lot. But I started fasting this past year and love it. I have read a great many things about how it heals us on the inside and repairs damage and sometimes that damage is the cause of anxiety unbeknownst to us. On a scale of 1-10 pre Keto my anxiety was definitely a 9.8. Keto without fasting lowered it to about a 5. Today with fasting I’m easily only a 1 or 2 with occasional episodes that are typical and normal to life circumstances and nothing to be scared about. Sometimes we get worried. Sometimes we get depressed. If there is an understandable reason than a spike to a 3 or 4 for a day or two makes perfect sense.

I had a LOT of things that needed repair, anxiety was just one. This way of eating is my heaven on earth until the real one welcomes me. LOL

#17

I relate to this so much. I’m 51 and I was always fit!!! Well looking fit!!! Probably not that fit as I was smoking and drinking almost every day. I stopped smoking 4 years ago and then I just started to grow and grow !!! I want to feel good again. Even though we both got bit big my husband and I I know he doesn’t like big women so I’m desperate to become what I was when we got together. This may seem vain but it’s not really. My job is also very stressful and that doesn’t help. So the bottom line is. I’m looking to improve my mental health in order to do anything else. This may sound sad. :disappointed:

(KM) #18

I don’t think it sounds sad at all, I think it sounds wise. IMO Mental and emotional health are the underpinning of a good life - without a focus on those as a foundation first / concurrently, anything else is a shallow goal built on sand.

(Bob M) #19

There is some evidence that higher ketones can help with things like depression. Right now, you have pretty high ketone levels, but if you want to try to get some higher levels (say, when not fasting), MCT (medium chain triglycerides, which are short-chain saturated fats) can help raise ketones.

Something like this:

https://a.co/d/binUeUf

NOTE: MCTs can cause tummy issues, so start slowly. Some people can get away with cheaper MCT oils, but I have to have the C8/C10 variety (where C8 and C10 relate to the length of the “chain” for the saturated fat), due to what happens tummy-wise.

#20

I had such ones myself. I clearly remember one, we did some food shopping and after hour 45 it was pure stubbornness to keep me from eating, I was really hungry!
But I had the one long one where it was pretty easy at that point. So it isn’t always the same. No wonder. There are so many factors…