Month in, everything is going great - curious about my ketone numbers though?

(Dwayne Kittelson) #1

first things first, just to give you an idea on where I may be with fat adaption. I did a 7 day water fast early December and went into ketosis for the first time. After I broke the fast I stayed in ketosis for about 5 days then went back to carbs for the rest of December. I started off January 1st strict keto by eating OMAD Keto for 3 days then starting a 10 day water fast from the 3rd to the 13th. Every single day of the was was extremely easy so I have a feeling those 3 feels of OMAD keto put me into ketosis pretty quick. Since I broke my fast on the 13th Iā€™ve been strict Keto (no dairy or non fibre) and doing 16:8 Intermittent fasting.

Thats my background, short, but I think my fasts have sped up fat adaption ALOT because I feel amazing, burning fat, ketones are high - which brings me to why Iā€™m here. I never used to test, I just picked up a Freestyle Precision Neo and Iā€™m actually astonished at how high my ketone levels are. According to some charts I would be in ā€˜starvation ketosisā€™. My first day testing (3 days ago) I averaged about 2.8 mmol which is great. But since then Iā€™ve been over 3 on every test (x3 a day most were 3.5+) and then today I tested 4.1 mmol and 4.6mmol/L after having 2 meals and being up for awhile moving around.

What could my high ketone levels mean? I havenā€™t been able to check glucose yet but Iā€™m ASSUMING itā€™s good since I havenā€™t had a gram of sugar all month and I know how to avoid hidden sugars, Iā€™m very strict with my diet.

(Carl Keller) #2

Unless you are type 1 diabetic I wouldnā€™t worry too much about the levels being a little over ā€œoptimalā€ range. Your body knows what it is doing. :wink:

That right there should be assurance that you are doing fine.

Your body prefers your BG at a certain and constant level and even if you donā€™t eat a gram of sugar, it can manufacture glucose in the liver through a process called Gluconeogenesis. So a stable BG is healthier than a low or high BG.

Hereā€™s a really interesting article about a guy who studied the times that his ketone levels were highest and lowest and what may have influenced those changes. At the end, please note that his readings varied from Toddā€™s and Ramzyā€™s.

(Dwayne Kittelson) #3

Thanks, I measured glucose tonight and my GKI is still in that cancer/epileptic range though.

Glucose was 66.6 mg/dl and then 70mg/dl with ketones of 3.1 and 4.0 giving me a GKI of 1.2 and 0.9.

(Carl Keller) #4

In your case, what might be driving the GKI so low (besides the EF) is that you are overproducing ketones and as your body gets better at understanding your metabolic needs, that number should go lower.

Now your BG does seem lower than optimal (somewhere in the 80s) and I can understand your concern. Many definitions of hypoglycemia suggest that a BG less than 70 is hypoglycemic but you say you feel great. I would really pay attention to your body and if you notice any of these signs, you should seek treatment and at least eat more carbs:

Confusion, heart palpitations, shakiness, and anxiety are symptoms.

People may experience:

Whole body: excess sweating, excessive hunger, fainting, fatigue, lightheadedness, or shakiness

Gastrointestinal: nausea or vomiting

Cognitive: mental confusion or unresponsiveness

Mouth: dryness or tingling lips

Also common: anxiety, blurred vision, headache, irritability, pallor, palpitations, sensation of pins and needles, sleepiness, slurred speech, tremor, or unsteadiness.

Iā€™m also curious to know how your BG would respond to eating more carbs to understand if the hormones that are supposed to regulate and stabilize your BG are working properly.

And please understand that I am not a doctor. I look at all of this with great fascination.