Ketosis Week

(Aviva Riley) #1

Hi All I tried to do the keto diet for one week and did not go into ketosis. Have you experienced this?

(Full Metal KETO AF) #2

Kind of a short trial, I would guess that you were either about to get there or you were still getting enough carbs to keep you out of ketosis. They’re sneaky those carbs! Stay with it and keep carbs under 20grams per day, you’ll get there. :cowboy_hat_face:

(Robert C) #3

How did you test for “did not go into ketosis”?

(Aviva Riley) #4

Test strips David, thank you for responding.

(Aviva Riley) #5

And Rob!

(Aviva Riley) #6

I was just really upset, all information said 1/3 days, with a max of 7 days…

(Robert C) #7

Test strips are not very accurate and you may have had too much water (dilution issues).

If your diet was under 20 grams of carbs, moderate protein and the rest fat - they should have shown ketones as you should be overproducing them.

If you want “ensured ketosis” quickly, fast for a couple of days or go zero carb (meat only) for a couple of days. Test strips should be dark.

You have not mentioned your diet details - there are many keto shortcuts that lead people away from ketosis.

Whole foods - meat and leafy greens usually does the trick.

Quest bars, artificial sweeteners, “keto” approved long shelf-life foods, dairy, nuts etc. tend to do more harm than good.

(Carl Keller) #8

I’m wondering what you are eating and how many carbs you are taking in per day. Some find that they can induce ketosis getting under 50 carbs per day. Some people need to go lower.

(Gabe “No Dogma, Only Science Please!” ) #9

Suggestions:

  • Try for 12 weeks.
  • Test blood for HbA1C, lipids, C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), ALT & AST, fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, an NMR advanded lipoprofile if you can, and an oral glucose tolerance test – and then repeat these tests after 12 weeks on a low carb high fat (LCHF) diet. A DEXA scan at t=0 and t=12 weeks would also be good to see how your body composition has changed. (I can understand if this seems too onerous, but I wish I’d done all these tests back when I started.)
  • If you want to have a biometric test, throw out those pee sticks. Maybe get something like a blood ketone monitor. I have personally found the Abbott Freestyle Libre continuous glucose monitor a very effective tool for knowing how a food affects your blood sugar levels. Sure, it won’t tell you if you’re in ketosis or not, but who really cares? You’ll be fat adapted after a couple of months eating this way, so you can dip in and out of ketosis and it really doesn’t matter unless your epileptic, or have another severe medical condition, in which case you’ll require a far stricter version of the ketogenic diet than most of us are doing. Ketogenic diets for epilepsy are typically 90%+ fat – an exceptionally difficult diet to get right and one that’s a lot less enjoyable, I’d imagine, than the piles of steak I eat.
  • If you don’t cook already, buy Tim Ferriss’s “Four Hour Chef,” which is an amazing intro to cooking and is geared towards a relatively low carb approach (Tim calls it “slow carb” because, well, he includes lentils) and I personally love “The Food Lab.” And invest in some great kitchen equipment like a pressure cooker and a probe thermometer and a cast iron dutch oven. Cooking delicious stuff for yourself will make this sustainable in the long run. 2.5 years for me and counting.

I’m sure there are tips I’ve forgotten but they’re the ones that come to mind first. Let us know how you go!

#10

A blood test, I hope? From what I’ve seen elsewhere, the pee strips are relatively worthless, as they are intended to identify ketoacidosis in type 1 diabetics, not measure nutritional ketosis.

Additional info

(Aviva Riley) #11

Thank you so much everyone.

(Aviva Riley) #12

Last question all- do you also have to watch your calorie intake, or can you eat unlimited amounts? Please excuse my ignorance, I am just starting out and really want this to work. I have got ‘my fitness pal’ and wonder if I can join friends on there.

(Running from stupidity) #13
(Aviva Riley) #14

Thank you. Is this an app?

(Running from stupidity) #15

No, it’s a quick-to-read thread, with an extended part to read if you so desire.

Tracking is a great way to learn about carb amounts in foods. I use and recommend this app/website - it’s vastly better than MFP.

One of the main reasons is that it has a tightly-controlled food database that will only be altered by the staff at the app dev company, not just any nuffie with a phone.

It’s also easy to add your own foods/recipes to, and if you subscribe, has awesome reporting functions.

(Aviva Riley) #16

Brill, I’ll get started. Thank you so much everyone, much appreciated

(Rob) #17

Interesting. I’ve found the urine strips pretty directly correlate with my keto mojo. “Large” usually = 2.0+ blood ketone.

Also find absolutely none following fasted, relatively intense exercise. (Urine strips)