I’ve heard over 1.0 blood ketones is best for optimal weight loss, but I can’t seem to get over 0.8. I tested this morning after being 12 hrs fasted, and it went down to 0.5. My macros are around 70-75% fat, 20% protein, 4-6% carb. 3 days of last week I did 30-45 mins on an elliptical machine, but no lifting yet. Also, my blood glucose this am was 86.
I know females can have a harder time, but I’m finding it difficult not to be a little discouraged. After only a week, would it be too soon to try a 24hr fast?
If you are testing in the morning you will have lower ketone levels because your body outputs cortisol when you wake and it will drive up blood sugar and down ketones. .05 is means you are in ketosis and are doing fine. Higher ketone levels do not equate to higher weight loss. As one adapts over time ketones will be used more efficiently and over all blood ketone levels will fall as well this could be months or a year.
Measuring blood ketones (BK) is only what’s been created by the liver and currently circulating in the bloodstream and although there’s an assumption that they’re being used by the body, that’s not a direct measurement.
Anecdotally speaking, all other things being equal such as keeping carbs below 20 grams, etc., it seems that for some people, lower ketone measurements are an indicator of deeper keto-adaptation, but this does not mean that lower ketones are better for everyone.
There’s also the trend that BK readings are lower in the morning and may be confounded by the Dawn Phenomenon where blood glucose is higher than normal in the morning keeping ketones lower.
The only way to really know how much fat is being burned for energy is to sit in a controlled environment where they can monitor everything and determine the Respiratory Quotient (RQ) and seeing RQ approach 0.7, but this type of testing is only available to a very small number of people.
Also, the fact that after 1 week you’re already seeing BK levels of nutritional ketosis (NK), is a good sign and it’s far too soon to draw any conclusions about optimal weight loss because ketogenically eating is a marathon and not a sprint.
There are a lot of things going on during keto-adaptation and a rise in blood ketones is only 1 among many, so it’s better to look at the bigger picture instead of focusing on what’s only an indirect indicator of fat burning.
The range of respiratory coefficients for organisms in metabolic balance usually ranges from 1.0 (representing the value expected for pure carbohydrate oxidation) to ~0.7 (the value expected for pure fat oxidation).
