Reading the breathalyzer

(Stefanie sidwell) #1

Ok, I’ve searched and searched and am still coming out confused. I’m seeing sprinklings in other conversations about a formula that takes your breathalyzer reading to MMOL to get a correct ketone level.
On my breathalyzer there are 3 different readings, the %BAC, %oBAC and mg/L…which one and I using? And with that number do I put it into a formula?
Is .05 and .5 the same thing? And is that about the number that shows your entering into ketosis?

I apologize in advance if this topic has beat the dead horse 100 times over, I thought I was clear, but either I’m reading too much and confusing myself or I’ve missed something important.

(G. Andrew Duthie) #2

I don’t think there is any established formula for converting the BAC readings from a breathalyzer into ketone levels.

This post, and a few of the replies, may be helpful in getting some sense of what readings on a cheap breathalyzer correlate with ketosis:

(What The Fast?!) #3

I took my blood this morning and it was 1.8 ketones - my breathalyzer reading was 0.05. (Though I tested it twice after that and it went down to 0.04 and then 0.03…but this happens every time. I use the first reading.)
The highest I’ve seen the breathalyzer is 0.07 when I had about 2.4 ketones. Others have shown over 1.0 on the breathalyzer.

(Stefanie sidwell) #4

I’m showing a pretty consistent .5 on my breathalyzer, on random days it’s been up to .6 or .7…but randomly drops to .3 mostly in the mornings. Am I to assume that it’s really double that or more?

And yes, the 2nd and 3rd reading is always lower, I just don’t even do it more than once anymore.

(G. Andrew Duthie) #5

I am pretty sure that you need to give the device time to clear the sensor from previous readings before using it again. IIRC, the manual for mine said 10 minutes minimum between readings.

(Stefanie sidwell) #6

Awesome @devhammer that was super helpful. So I’ve been staying around 0.5% which I’m learning is pretty good news, and held steady for almost a couple weeks now, but I’ve seen no change in weight yet, is it premature to ask how soon it normally takes to to kick in in the fat burning department?

(G. Andrew Duthie) #7

Sometimes the scale is a liar. If you’re burning fat, but replacing it with muscle, you may not see any net decrease. Measuring (waist, hips, etc.) may be a more accurate way to keep track, or just how your clothes are fitting.

I’ve seen reports that sometimes women find it takes longer to see weight loss, also. Patience. :slight_smile:

(Stefanie sidwell) #8

Yea I’m accustomed to measurements instead of scale. No changes yet… Patience huh… :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: OF COURSE! Lol. Summer is here! This show needs to get on the road…did that sound impatient?

On another note, where in the world did my weird username come from. I tried to go change it back to Thevioletstorm, which is my username, but it keeps telling me that it’s taken. Yea by ME! Grrrr…

(Richard Morris) #9

I’m fixing it Stefanie … it seems you went anonymous before setting up your name and profile pic. Anon wears off after a few days and you then reverted to your account but no longer have your profile pic.

It’s happened to a few people. I’ll get in and manually set it all back to how it should be.

(What The Fast?!) #10

Update! Here are my conversions:

.04-.05 = low to mid 1’s in ketone blood readings
.06.-.07 = high 1’s to low 2’s
.08-.09 = high 2’s to low 3’s (this part I’m assuming because I haven’t blood that.
1.0-1.3 = high 3’s to low 4’s

I blew a 0.12 this morning and my blood ketones were 3.8. That’s by far the highest it’s been for me - I’m 58 hours fasted currently, so there you have it - fasting wins for driving ketones.

@devhammer is it true that level of ketones don’t really matter, it’s just that you’re either in ketosis or you’re not?

Breathalyzer results?
(Stefanie sidwell) #11

I’m about 40 hours fasted as we speak and my number has jumped 3 points. I’m definitely with you on the benefit of fasting spiking your ketones!

And wow…now that’s a good point! I’m new to this so that question probably would have crossed my mind eventually, I guess my ketosis naive brain immediately went into the “more is better” line of thinking, but so once you are at least above a .5 that enters you into ketosis, it’s really unimportant how high it gets beyond that? So the higher is not better?

And…this is my own assumption also, but I kinda got it stuck in my mind that I probably won’t see a whole lot of change in my weight until I’m “fat adapted”?

How long does that generally take and how do I know when that transition happens?

(G. Andrew Duthie) #12

I don’t really know, when it comes to blood/breath levels. I’ve mostly heard that with respect to urine levels, since that’s essentially “extra” ketones that aren’t being utilized by the body. But I’m not an expert on that, so can only share what I’ve heard.

(What The Fast?!) #13

Weight loss is different for everyone. The more you have to lose, generally the faster it will come off in the beginning. For me, I lost a couple lbs of water weight initially, but they came back right away. I’ve been doing keto WOE for about 9 weeks now, no weight change or measurement change, for the first 8 weeks, but I can confidently say I’m fat adapted now (it took me the full 8 weeks. I’ve seen other changes though - I’m able to do long bike rides without fueling on the bike and “shark week” has been wonky (heavy flow, dates off the mark) so I know something is changing internally with my hormones which I’m excited about.

As for weight loss, I’m doing an extended fast right now, lost about 4lbs in the last few days - but expect a couple to come back. We’ll see. This is the first time in my life that I haven’t been focused on short term weight loss and I’m really looking to the long term benefits (hopefully weight loss included).

(KCKO, KCFO) #14

Do you take a big breath first? Don’t. breath normally and on the exhale, get as much air out of your lungs as possible.

I pretty consistently get .05, but when I fast it climbs, 1.10 is the highest. I don’t prick myself, so no idea what a blood monitor would show. But since using my device and incorporating fasting, I am losing again, got down to my current goal weight. I realized with the monitoring and fasting I can lower so trying to figure out my next goal right now.

(What The Fast?!) #15

Nope. I breathe normally. I’ve been comparing my blood to my ketones so I can stop buying the strips. :slight_smile: My normal ketone levels are just under 1.0 (between .06 and .08), for me - that’s about .02 - .03 on Breathalyzer.

(Stefanie sidwell) #16

@collaroygal how soon after being in ketosis did you notice weight change? And how often are you fasting?
I only have about 10 MAYBE 15 if I push to lose, I was there last year, but my body naturally climbed back to my set point, I fight that set point. I did a lot of research and keto is the best way to adjust that set point, so I’m with you @KetoLikeaLady I do want this to be a long term shift instead of fighting that 10 lbs for the rest of my life.
I have chronic pain in my wrists that the medical world has had a hard time figuring out a fix for, and my pain level has gone from a chronic 10 to about a 4 in the last 2 weeks, which even without the Weightloss is a huge incentive. I know there’s amazing benefits, but I suppose like all girls, want to see results in the never ending weight battle also.

(What The Fast?!) #17

Girl. I feel you. I have 15 MAYBE 20 to lose. I live in Vegas - it’s bikini season most of the year here. :slight_smile: Also, it’s the land of perfect bodies. :joy:

I’m trying hard to be patient. :slight_smile: Hoping these 4 lbs from the fast stay off, and will be implementing one 36 hour fast each week. :slight_smile: I do 16:8 most days now.

(KCKO, KCFO) #18

@Thevioletstorm, This might be TMI. I started losing weight as soon as I decided to give Atkins Induction a try last end of July. lost 5 lbs. in the first week, mostly water weight, I was eating at about 40% carb and had gone back up to 170 lbs. before doing the induction. Then things slowed down and eventually stopped even at 20 net g carb (floating between 155-151) So went looking for something to kick start myself and ended up starting to do some Intermittent Fasting around mid March, my bounce was 152-150 doing that. By then I was listening to the Dudes & some other podcasts about fasting while doing LCHF, reading lots of books about T2D and keto, my DH has T2D, I don’t enjoy cooking two different styles at one meal so was looking for something to help him with his goals and myself with mine.

36 days ago, I got my breathalyzer delivered and began tracking my ketosis level with it. On day 12 of tracking my ketones were at .04. I was just eating the way I had been since last fall, but all of a sudden, the scale started moving again. Between 4/21 and 5/21 I went from 149.8 to 140. This might seem slow to some but for me, it is HUGELY successful. Do keep in mind that after a multiple day fast most people put a few lbs. back on as their body rebuilds/heals itself. I have read The Complete Guide to Fasting and listened to lots of Megan Ramos, so my current plan is to eat at my normal level for 3/4 days and for HGH and some autophogy go into fasting for the rest of the week before I see a big drop down of ketones. That is what I am doing on this current fast, I had done the May Zornfast and wanted to keep up the weight loss, so here I am. After hitting my orginal goal I decided to go lower, at 5’3", my goal had been the top of normal. I think I can do a tad bit better, so hopefully I’ll get to the low 130s in the near future, so near 10 more lbs. would be a nice place to hang out.

(What The Fast?!) #19

Where do you listen to Megan Ramos stuff?? I love her!

(KCKO, KCFO) #20

She did a 2ketodudes interview, she co-hosts Jimmy Moore’s new Fasting Talk, Dr. Fung also appears monthly on that podcast, I also found her web page off the IDM main page.