My ketones are kinda high

keto
science
ketones
(Michael Barrett) #1

Hey there!

I’ve been on a strict ketogenic diet for about a month. Recently, my car was destroyed and I’m left riding my bike, thus upping my activity level. Despite being careful about hydration/electrolytes, I’ve noticed my ketones climbing above the levels I’ve read are optimal.

Using a Keto-Mojo blood ketone and blood glucose meter, I’ve gotten my most dramatic reading yet:

Blood Ketones: 4.3 mmol/L
Blood Glucose: 77 mg/dL

Does it sound like I’m making some sort of classic mistake?

I usually eat a rotation of pastured chicken or duck eggs, grass-fed cheese, wild sardines, avocados, extra virgin olive oil, organic chicken sausage, assorted dark green leafy vegetables, celery, fermented pickles, cucumbers, unsweetened organic almond butter, assorted raw nuts, olives, and unsweetened organic peanut butter, with some broccoli and asparagus thrown in as well when I have them.

I use salt generously while cooking, drink mineral water with lime frequently, take a magnesium citrate supplement, and use Hilyte electrolyte concentate often in my water.

Do I seem to be making any obvious mistakes that might explain the spiked ketones? The measurement I mentioned above was taken at 7:30 PM before dinner, after riding my bike home.

(Warren) #2

How long was your bike ride? Endurance activities can naturally raise ketones and drop glucose. Maybe also test your ketones before your ride.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #3

Don’t worry about it, unless your pancreas has stopped producing insulin. Unless you are constantly thirsty, urinating frequently, and losing weight like the dickens, you are fine. If your pancreas is producing insulin, diabetic ketoacidosis is impossible. The danger level doesn’t even start until 10.0 mmol/dL of serum β-hydroxybutyrate, in any case.

If you were to measure your serum glucose and β-hydroxybutyrate throughout the day, you would find that they fluctuate quite a bit throughout the day.

(Michael Barrett) #4

Thanks, guys. I am indeed not diabetic. I am peeing a lot, but I’m also drinking just over a gallon of water a day, often fortified with electrolytes (because of the constant sweating out during the rides).

I have lost 13 lbs in the past month, but a lot of it was water weight because I’d been eating way too much sugary garbage before. At a guess, only about 4-5 pounds of it was probably actually fat. I went from 192 lbs to 179 lbs.

As for the question about readings before the bike ride, I did a reading about an hour and a half before. At that time, it was as follows:

Blood Ketones: 3.0 mmol/L
Blood Glucose: 82 mg/dL

(Todd Allen) #5

Your numbers and diet sound fine. Early in the fat adaptation process blood ketone levels tend to rise higher more easily. I used to regularly see 8+ mmol/L blood ketones and never experienced any sort of adverse symptoms. Over time the spikes diminished. Now I could probably fast for a week and then chug some MCT oil and still not hit 8.

(Warren) #6

Perfect numbers and having to ride a bike might be the best thing that ever happened to you.