Hello guys. Ive been following keto for about 9 months. I have stared to messure blood keton levels , but readings are very low, even if I thought I should be in ketosis (0,1-0,3 mmol/l). I have 16% body fat (82kg) so Im not doing keto for fat loss (even thought I lost 2-3%), and I eat about 40g carbs and 150g of protein per day. As Im quite active and do weightlifting 4 times per week, 12k steps per day thought this should not be a problem. I messure blood ketons about 5 hours after lunch (when I do 16-8IF) and 15 min after exercise (weightifting, rowing or just joga depends on the day but it does not seems to have big effect. I feel I should be in ketosis as I can exercise with OMAD, or run 10-15km without eating 16 hours but ketons are nowhere close to 1,5 mmol/l. Any idea why?
Low blood keton levels
Just means your body is efficient and making only what you need. No sense chasing numbers, thereâs loads of topics about this that go into more details.
If you are eating fewer carbs than your body requires for energy, metabolic ketosis is taking place.
As @Shortstuff says maybe nothing. You could also try cutting carbs or do a full day fast to if that changes anything.
Youâve been eating this way for nine months, so your body is getting more efficient at matching production to demand. In the studies Phinney and Volek have done on elite keto-adapted athletes, many of them only registered blood ketones of 0.2 or so. So no need for you to worry.
Youâre showing ketones⌠Youâre in ketosis. That 1.5 ânutritionalâ ketosis is make believe. Ketone levels donât equal fat loss speed. I lost over 100lbs/45kg at those levels. Youâre fine.
So I have messured ketons 3 hours after lunch at 0,1mmok/l 3 h after dinner at 0,4 mmol/l and again after 20 hours of fast at 0,4 mmol/l so even this was not sufficient to increase keton levels. I messured glucose as well at 4,6 mmol/l after 20 hours of fast. I will test it with omad , that is easy for me in the sence of hunger but problematic in terms if consuming 3000 cal in 1 meal for maintenance . It seems that either 150g of protein or a lot of vegetables does not allow me to raise ketons to higher levels.
I understand where youâre coming from about wanting to know your ketone levels. Iâm at an age where Iâd like to see lots higher, hopefully in my brain to keep it perking along successfully as much longer as I can do so. But, unless thereâs some organic dysfunction, I think fretting over ketones is useless. As long as you keep carb consumption very low/no your liver is going to produce what you need and your organs are going to use it. Maybe it just takes time - as in years - for various cells and organs to readapt to utilizing ketones instead of glucose.
So I have just messured ketons after 36hours fast , still 0,3mmol/L. I did 8km run and 1hour weightlifting during this time with no issues so it seems Im not able to get into nutritional ketosis, just fat adaptation.
Nonsense! Or, my less confrontational response - thatâs doubtful. You are in ketosis by the fact of being âfat adaptedâ. In my opinion, the problem goes to Phinney and Volek âdefiningâ nutritional ketosis as â.5mmol and âŚâ They have since admitted that was an arbitrary number and that many athletes they studied subsequently registered .2mmol and lower and were still very much âin ketosisâ.
Ketones are a by-product of fat metabolism. If you eat low enough carbs to keep insulin at a level that does not inhibit lipolysis, then you are burning fat as your primary fuel and generating ketones as a by-product. You are in ketosis. Donât make the mistake of thinking you must have a certain overall level of measurable ketones to be in ketosis. You donât. You just need to be primarily burning fat, not carbs.
Welcome to the forum! ⌠and congratulations on 9 months of low carb eating.
Since youâre not trying to lose weight, may I ask what your objectives are? Do you feel progress toward these goals?
Youâve gotten several replies indicating that (1) measuring ketones is essentially pointless over the long run, and (2) doing so isnât going to tell you much about whether you are or are not in âketosisâ after 9 months of carb-restriction.
Are you still convinced you must have higher ketone levels?
If so, with all due respect, Iâm afraid no one on this forum is going to be able to help you reach some number youâve decided is the acceptable level on your meter.
On the other hand, if youâre significantly restricting carbohydrates, yes, youâre in ketosis. Otherwise, after 9 months, youâd be long dead. 
I am finding the same. Have been on keto 5 weeks. Lots of energy but my breath test shows only 1-3 and says I am hardly in Ketosis. I havenât lost weight beyond the initial 3Kgs. I am not very hungry either. I have coffee with cream at breakfast, salmon steak with salad for lunch and maybe a chop with steamed cauliflower/broccoli in evening. I drink water or tea with almond milk. What am I doing wrong? I may have a sow metabolism at 74.
Well, my objective is longetivity, mental clarity and overal athletic performance. Loosing weight is kind of natural without carbs , I have just messured 14% BF what would not happend so easily with carbs. But I understand you point I will stop messure ketons and just focus on exercise and nutrition.
We sound alike (although I may be a bit older) in that losing weight wasnât really our issue, general health and mental clarity/focus were motivators. (In my case, I was also trying to entice my wife to carb-restrict for her health challenges), After not long into keto eating, I couldnât believe the differences Iâd experienced (as did she)âŚ
Are you feeling any changes in mental clarity?
Athletic performance is a trickier topic ⌠depending whether your primary activities entail sprint-like bursts of energy, or longer-term endurance/marathon activities.
If you havenât already, read Phinney/Volekâs works on athletic performance on carb restriction. Thereâs a lot there, but the bottom line is, it takes time to fully adapt but once you do, endurance is well-served through keto eating.
Best wishes.
Welcome to the forum, Sarah. As I pointed out above ketone measurements on some device do not - repeat: do not! - define whether or not youâre âin ketosisâ. Unless you are diabetic, eating low/no carbs for several weeks will drive down your insulin sufficiently to enable you to metabolize fats rather than glucose for most of your energy. Once your metabolism is burning mostly fats rather than glucose, you are âin ketosisâ. The key here is âcut out the carbsâ the less you eat the better. Once youâre âin ketosisâ your metabolism will determine how much or how little ketones you need and produce them accordingly. Best wishes.
That is so so reassuring. Thank you! I have one more question: should I, or should I not be taking the keto supplements? I got Dr. Berg Electrolytes, then read an article that said it just stopped my own ketones from being produced and should not be used. Kind regards. Sarah
Depends somewhat upon your age and condition of your mental health. If youâre young or middle aged supplementing exogenous ketones will not likely be of much benefit other than boosting the numbers on a measuring device. Itâs more important that you metabolize mostly fat and let your metabolism/liver make however many ketones are appropriate. If youâre older - and potential and/or actual mental decline is a consideration - then exogenous ketones may be beneficial. I just posted this in anther topic which is pertinent:
PS: Iâm 76, so this stuff is of interest to me!
Sebastian
Chasing higher ketones is a classic error. Totally unnecessary, and many people achieve their goals on keto having never measured ketone levels once.
Frankly, itâs an irrelevance, and it is a real shame that this way of eating is called Ketogenic because it makes people think generating ketones is the goal. It isnât. Ketones happen along the way, but the goal is to change our fuel to fat. Ketones happen to be a by-product of that, but if you are fueling your body mostly on fats, and you are moving towards your health and fitness goals, then all is well.
You donât need ketones to be measured at a certain level. It is just unnecessary.
Cheers
Alec
@SarahP1 Welcome!
I think you may be conflating two separate issues ⌠are you talking about taking electrolytes (salt replacement) or exogenous ketones (ketones ingested from a supplement, i.e., not through your own bodyâs production)?
If electrolytes: You definitely need to stay properly hydrated and keep your salt (NaCl, Mg, K) in a healthy range - especially when transitioning to carb-restricted eating during which you will lose lots of both and they need to be replaced. While I see no reason to go out and by some particular brand of electrolytes, if you have them, thereâs no reason not to use them to maintain your proper hydration, avoid âketo fluâ that some experience, etc.
If youâre talking about exogenous ketones as a supplement, Iâm in the âno wayâ camp - unless thereâs a compelling reason like you have a serious health condition - which you have not mentioned so I am assuming not.
Others can chime in with either supporting or opposing views (thatâs part of what makes this forum educational and thought-provoking), but my own view is a resounding YES to maintaining electrolytes and NO to supplemental ketone ingestion (barring a specific health need, cancer patient, etc.)
YMMV - And congratulations on getting started.
These exogenous ketones always make me laugh⌠I ingest exogenous ketones, I have ketone bodies in my system, I am therefore ketogenic. Eeeeerrrrrrr⌠no. You are ketogenic when you burn primarily fat for fuel. The existence of ketone bodies in the system means nothing at all.