measuring ketones
totaloblivia
Posts: 1,164 Member
Hi, New to all this! Am on day 11 and feeling good. Have lost 9lbs water weight. I measured blood ketones for the first time today and got 0.5mmol per litre. It seems to be just in the ketones range - is that correct in your experience? How often do you test? Was a bit of a gaff, but I guess it will get easier? Grateful for any advice and comments from all you lovely low carbers.... I still feel hungry though despite eating tons of calories - any thoughts? Thanks again x
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Faff I meant, not gaff! My first was a gaff as didn't produce enough blood to measure and so wasted an expensive testing strip....curses0
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Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but as long as you're in ketosis you will get the benefits of being in ketosis. But you say you're still feeling hungry...you may still be transitioning as that is one of the benefits of ketosis...many people feel full longer.
I know measuring blood is the most accurate way, but I don't want to spend money on the strips. I test using just ketostix, but that is not accurate and varies on hydration, etc. I just do it to see if I'm in ketosis. It gives me motivation to keep going and not cheat.0 -
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but as long as you're in ketosis you will get the benefits of being in ketosis. But you say you're still feeling hungry...you may still be transitioning as that is one of the benefits of ketosis...many people feel full longer.
I know measuring blood is the most accurate way, but I don't want to spend money on the strips. I test using just ketostix, but that is not accurate and varies on hydration, etc. I just do it to see if I'm in ketosis. It gives me motivation to keep going and not cheat.
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I bought Ketostix today after not using for a very long time.
Does the deeper the color indicate you are burning more fat than the lighter end of the range?
I am back tracking my daily intake and have found a few , ahem, flaws in carb intake which I shall correct. To early for nuts, and even one ounce is 5 carbs. Terrible
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annieboomboom wrote: »I bought Ketostix today after not using for a very long time.
Does the deeper the color indicate you are burning more fat than the lighter end of the range?
No. For what information they give (which is flawed), it is binary. You are either producing excess ketones or you're not. The color is more an indicator of hydration than it is of amount of fat being burned. Note, if you are fully keto-adapted, it is completely possible for the sticks to test negative even when you're in ketosis. So, they're not extremely useful for much of anything.
Ketostick changes color: You have excess ketones in your urine (you are/were in ketosis)... you have no idea what level of ketosis that is/may have been.
Ketostick doesn't change color: You may or may not be in ketosis... you can't tell.
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http://www.lowcarbluxury.com/ketostix.html
Found this article in our facebook group. I am considering getting the sticks.0 -
At .5 you are in ketosis so that is good in the short time you have been low carb.
Monday and Tuesday I went way over on carbs eating Christmas oranges there were starting to go bad. Today it was good size bag of black cherries so I have been measuring in at .2 blood ketones. Since I carb loaded on whole fruit this time unlike pasta a couple months ago I have not felt really bad as I did after pigging out on carbs. I am looking forward to getting back into the .5-3 range.
I still do not like the prick but testing the blood levels gives the most info on ketone levels.0 -
as always, good information. So helpful when the process is slower than I would wish. It helps keep me on the straight and narrow toward a longer range goal.0
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Measuring ketone/glucose levels helps me better understand the relationship to weight loss. As I mentioned before I went high fruit carbs (oranges that were getting over ripe Mon/Tue about 75g each day and a lot of cherries Wed). I was aware carb loading impacts my old body more than some report.
Ketone level was .2 last couple days and fasting blood was 110. Today fasting BG was 113 with .3 ketone level.
Now I have to really stay away from the carbs and see if I can return to Fasting reading of more like 80 BG and .9-3.0 ketone level range and how long it takes to do so. Jumping from carb burning to fat burning I do think takes more effort in my case. Last night I also sensed some carb cravings returned but I did not go into the kitchen but did hit the almonds which I have to watch. Oh I did get into a stash of macadamia nuts that I ate on from 2pm to 9 pm.
When I get low ketone readings I can mentally go back an find the 'carb'. My morning weight is up by 3 pounds after a few days on the carbs but I feel OK. When I did the carb loading (pasta and a milk shake) Thanksgiving the weight shot up 6 pounds and I felt very badly. In my case it seems fruit carbs have a less negative impact on my body and less water gain than from grain/pasta carbs. Another thing after three fruit high carb days (100+ grams when factoring in macadamia nuts eaten over the last 5 days) my arthritis pain as not returned like it did at Thanksgiving from a pasta/refined sugar carb load.
Until testing glucose and ketones over the past few days and doing some reading I did not know being in nutritional ketosis for three month had made me more Insulin resistant. When I was in ketosis my fasting blood glucose levels were often in the 60-80 range with ketone levels in the 1-2 range. I did not have a meter to test either before going low carb.
Clearing in my case I can not loose weight if I do not keep my peak (after meals) blood glucose at or below 100 (USA). This helps me to understand WHY I must stay far away from all sugars if I am going to lose any weight. Fat and moderate Protein are my healthy friends in my case.
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I use the ketostix because I like seeing the pretty colors...and it's affirmation that I am on track. There are day when I am tempted to test during every visit to the powder room (and drinking so much water means a lot of visits!). I know they are fallible, but not usually during the initial phases which is when we (newbies) need the external confirmation the most. I think as time goes on, or if I start processing more efficiently, I may stop. However, as long as they turn even pink then I will continue to use them. I know a lot of people like the reliability of the blood meters, and maybe some day I'll give them a whirl, but honestly, I'm rather not prick myself daily.
As far as the colors I get, usually I am only darker purple in the morning, just because I do drink so much water.0 -
I do not like the prick part either. For a quick and dirty test to see if I am ketosis at any level I use a $15 breath analyzer. I pull both a glucose and ketone level if I prick and record. While at $1.50 for ketone testing strips for my meter adds up I like the details. There is a bit of correlation with the breath analyzer and the meter but it is a very weak one. Basically if I get any readout on the breath analyzer I know I am OK ketone level wise.0
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If your breath stinks your in Keto
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GaleHawkins wrote: »I do not like the prick part either. For a quick and dirty test to see if I am ketosis at any level I use a $15 breath analyzer. I pull both a glucose and ketone level if I prick and record. While at $1.50 for ketone testing strips for my meter adds up I like the details. There is a bit of correlation with the breath analyzer and the meter but it is a very weak one. Basically if I get any readout on the breath analyzer I know I am OK ketone level wise.
Thanks for all your helpful advice - where did you get the breath meter? I am in the UK so obviously you can't advise on that, but maybe I could get it shipped from US.
I didn't really like the prick for blood ketone testing either, but am a bit of a wuss - and the strips are really expensive! Although, now i've invested in the blood meter, i should get the use out of it! I got "comfort" lancets, so the prick wasn't too bad due to thinner spike, but then I struggled to get enough of a blood drop for the strip. You live and learn I suppose.
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I use the ketostix because I like seeing the pretty colors...and it's affirmation that I am on track. There are day when I am tempted to test during every visit to the powder room (and drinking so much water means a lot of visits!). I know they are fallible, but not usually during the initial phases which is when we (newbies) need the external confirmation the most. I think as time goes on, or if I start processing more efficiently, I may stop. However, as long as they turn even pink then I will continue to use them. I know a lot of people like the reliability of the blood meters, and maybe some day I'll give them a whirl, but honestly, I'm rather not prick myself daily.
As far as the colors I get, usually I am only darker purple in the morning, just because I do drink so much water.
I used Ketostix the first week and I did find it helpful and motivating to see the change from pale to darker, but, as you say, i did read they become less helpful as you go on. I used comfort lancet for the "prick" for the blood meter and it wasn't too bad ( just not used to it so didn't like it), but as I said, i then didn't have a very big drop of blood.Thanks for your help.0 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »At .5 you are in ketosis so that is good in the short time you have been low carb.
Monday and Tuesday I went way over on carbs eating Christmas oranges there were starting to go bad. Today it was good size bag of black cherries so I have been measuring in at .2 blood ketones. Since I carb loaded on whole fruit this time unlike pasta a couple months ago I have not felt really bad as I did after pigging out on carbs. I am looking forward to getting back into the .5-3 range.
I still do not like the prick but testing the blood levels gives the most info on ketone levels.
Thanks again for your help - would you expect the .5 ketone level to increase over time spent in ketosis? Should I be restricting carbs further (aiming for 20g a day, but it's more like 30g by the time I've finished eating!) or will it just get stronger over time, do you think?
I am not missing fruit too much as it's winter where I am, but have started eyeing up my daughter's daily satsuma as it smells so lovely and refreshing. Ketogenic diet perfect for winter as full of comfort food, but not sure how it will be in summer!
Best wishes0 -
Christine_1085 wrote: »http://www.lowcarbluxury.com/ketostix.html
Found this article in our facebook group. I am considering getting the sticks.
that was a great article thank you0 -
annieboomboom wrote: »I bought Ketostix today after not using for a very long time.
Does the deeper the color indicate you are burning more fat than the lighter end of the range?
No. For what information they give (which is flawed), it is binary. You are either producing excess ketones or you're not. The color is more an indicator of hydration than it is of amount of fat being burned. Note, if you are fully keto-adapted, it is completely possible for the sticks to test negative even when you're in ketosis. So, they're not extremely useful for much of anything.
Ketostick changes color: You have excess ketones in your urine (you are/were in ketosis)... you have no idea what level of ketosis that is/may have been.
Ketostick doesn't change color: You may or may not be in ketosis... you can't tell.
that's very helpful - thank you0 -
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but as long as you're in ketosis you will get the benefits of being in ketosis. But you say you're still feeling hungry...you may still be transitioning as that is one of the benefits of ketosis...many people feel full longer.
I know measuring blood is the most accurate way, but I don't want to spend money on the strips. I test using just ketostix, but that is not accurate and varies on hydration, etc. I just do it to see if I'm in ketosis. It gives me motivation to keep going and not cheat.
the motivation is important!0 -
totaloblivia wrote: »GaleHawkins wrote: »I do not like the prick part either. For a quick and dirty test to see if I am ketosis at any level I use a $15 breath analyzer. I pull both a glucose and ketone level if I prick and record. While at $1.50 for ketone testing strips for my meter adds up I like the details. There is a bit of correlation with the breath analyzer and the meter but it is a very weak one. Basically if I get any readout on the breath analyzer I know I am OK ketone level wise.
Thanks for all your helpful advice - where did you get the breath meter? I am in the UK so obviously you can't advise on that, but maybe I could get it shipped from US.
I didn't really like the prick for blood ketone testing either, but am a bit of a wuss - and the strips are really expensive! Although, now i've invested in the blood meter, i should get the use out of it! I got "comfort" lancets, so the prick wasn't too bad due to thinner spike, but then I struggled to get enough of a blood drop for the strip. You live and learn I suppose.
I got my off ebay but China does direct shipping of the same unit.
Any of the 'blow' meters are testing for acetone which is a smaller part of the output of fat burning. Yesterday morning (ketones are higher after activity) I blew a 0000 read out and blood ketones were 0.3. That morning I blew a 0.020 and blood level was still 0.3. A reading around 0.050 typically will mean I am in a state of nutritional ketosis.
Remember I ate a lot of post Christmas fruit (Mon-Wed of this week) that was going to spoil if not eaten and I did want to experiment with carb loading on whole fruit. I should be above 0.5 tomorrow. Unlike loading on pasta and milkshake carbs Thanksgiving I do NOT feel bad this time and instead of gaining 6 water pounds I only gained 3 pounds.
Based on just these two carb loadings after being in ketosis for a few months pigging out on whole fruit carbs was not negative pain wise as when I pigged out on pasta/processed sugar carbs. I do think the source of carbs is a consideration especially in my case.
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GaleHawkins wrote: »totaloblivia wrote: »GaleHawkins wrote: »I do not like the prick part either. For a quick and dirty test to see if I am ketosis at any level I use a $15 breath analyzer. I pull both a glucose and ketone level if I prick and record. While at $1.50 for ketone testing strips for my meter adds up I like the details. There is a bit of correlation with the breath analyzer and the meter but it is a very weak one. Basically if I get any readout on the breath analyzer I know I am OK ketone level wise.
Thanks for all your helpful advice - where did you get the breath meter? I am in the UK so obviously you can't advise on that, but maybe I could get it shipped from US.
I didn't really like the prick for blood ketone testing either, but am a bit of a wuss - and the strips are really expensive! Although, now i've invested in the blood meter, i should get the use out of it! I got "comfort" lancets, so the prick wasn't too bad due to thinner spike, but then I struggled to get enough of a blood drop for the strip. You live and learn I suppose.
I got my off ebay but China does direct shipping of the same unit.
Any of the 'blow' meters are testing for acetone which is a smaller part of the output of fat burning. Yesterday morning (ketones are higher after activity) I blew a 0000 read out and blood ketones were 0.3. That morning I blew a 0.020 and blood level was still 0.3. A reading around 0.050 typically will mean I am in a state of nutritional ketosis.
Remember I ate a lot of post Christmas fruit (Mon-Wed of this week) that was going to spoil if not eaten and I did want to experiment with carb loading on whole fruit. I should be above 0.5 tomorrow. Unlike loading on pasta and milkshake carbs Thanksgiving I do NOT feel bad this time and instead of gaining 6 water pounds I only gained 3 pounds.
Based on just these two carb loadings after being in ketosis for a few months pigging out on whole fruit carbs was not negative pain wise as when I pigged out on pasta/processed sugar carbs. I do think the source of carbs is a consideration especially in my case.
great thanks for the advice!0 -
totaloblivia wrote: »GaleHawkins wrote: »At .5 you are in ketosis so that is good in the short time you have been low carb.
Monday and Tuesday I went way over on carbs eating Christmas oranges there were starting to go bad. Today it was good size bag of black cherries so I have been measuring in at .2 blood ketones. Since I carb loaded on whole fruit this time unlike pasta a couple months ago I have not felt really bad as I did after pigging out on carbs. I am looking forward to getting back into the .5-3 range.
I still do not like the prick but testing the blood levels gives the most info on ketone levels.
Thanks again for your help - would you expect the .5 ketone level to increase over time spent in ketosis? Should I be restricting carbs further (aiming for 20g a day, but it's more like 30g by the time I've finished eating!) or will it just get stronger over time, do you think?
I am not missing fruit too much as it's winter where I am, but have started eyeing up my daughter's daily satsuma as it smells so lovely and refreshing. Ketogenic diet perfect for winter as full of comfort food, but not sure how it will be in summer!
Best wishes
I had been in a state of nutritional ketosis for a couple months when if got my glucose/ketone blood level meter and my ketone range was 0.9 to 3.6 over the first two weeks of testing. A 2.0 reading would have been the average.
More important in my case to lose weight is my blood glucose levels. If can keep down my carbs and protein levels to not trigger over a 100 reading even after eating I can lose weight better. On the fruit I was spiking at like 180 for an hour and this AM fasting I was at 105. When I first got the meter my fasting was in the 60-85 range each morning.
Chemically fat cells normally only will release fat if the glucose level is NOT under 100 in my case. This may be one reason an uncontrolled diabetic will find losing weight hard short of starving themselves and will regain so fast if they start eating even at maintenance?
Eating NO carbs should be one's goal to quick start weight loss. I had about 12 grams of carbs from almonds and one boiled egg this morning and was still hungry so I grabbed two slices of cheese with Zero carbs and finished off my coffee that had four Tablespoons of coconut oil in it. Pork rinds is a zero carb snack food that I keep some bags of in the car when I want a sweet or salty snack.
Playing with carbs earlier this week did start to wake up my old carb cravings. At my age and after 40 years of carb abuse I just need to leave them alone since they are not key to my health. I do not stress over them but need to shoot for max of 25 grams because they are hiding in non carb foods often.
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I use the ketostix because I like seeing the pretty colors...and it's affirmation that I am on track. There are day when I am tempted to test during every visit to the powder room (and drinking so much water means a lot of visits!). I know they are fallible, but not usually during the initial phases which is when we (newbies) need the external confirmation the most. I think as time goes on, or if I start processing more efficiently, I may stop. However, as long as they turn even pink then I will continue to use them. I know a lot of people like the reliability of the blood meters, and maybe some day I'll give them a whirl, but honestly, I'm rather not prick myself daily.
As far as the colors I get, usually I am only darker purple in the morning, just because I do drink so much water.
I do it for the same reason. I don't have medical reasons to be low carb or keto, so its doesn't matter really as long as I'm losing weight. Seeing the color, especially after a cheat meal/day/week/month, it makes me feel like I'm doing things right. Its also a motivation for me to stay on point.0 -
You and I are in sync MelRC117!!
I do have a question too. I had a cheat yesterday (I intended to have a nibble of a chocolate chip cookie, but ended up inhaling the whole thing!) and logged it and thought OK, that blows my ketosis.
However, last night and this morning, my test strips are still measuring dark pink.
I normally keep my carbs to around 20g, knowing that the food log is not always accurate, I shoot that low on purpose. So, my log is reflecting an intake of 46g net carbs/14% of my daily calories.
My question is, do you think 1) that the carb counts are just that much off 2) I can be in ketosis at that higher level of carb intake or 3) that I am keto-adapted?
I have only recently (Jan 1st) returned to the keto WOE, having giving myself a break over the holidays. During the transition, I did not have any real ketoflu symptoms which was VERY surprising to me. As well.
I know some of you are going to (rightly so) advocate to get the blood meter to really be sure of my ketones level. But based on the wealth of experience here, what do you think of this?
Thx, TGIF!!
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DAM5412 I heard one MD speaking and he said he had to keep carbs at about 25 grams but his wife could do 75-100 grams and still stay into ketosis. I think the more healthy one is would be a plus in handling carbs. Our 17 year old son and daughter are not doing low carb at all and if I ate junk carbs like they do I would not be able to get out of bed in the mornings and would weigh 300 pounds.
Returning to ketosis after a few weeks should be easy. I think it is the first time in a life time of carb burning is what makes moving to being a fat burner is so hard.
A blood glucose/ketone meter is awesome for we tech geeks but in the real world for people with no real health concerns with glucose levels or weight loss knowing actual ketone levels is very much an option in my view. Leaving off the carbs and not going over 100g on protein and making up the rest in Fats insures I get into and stay in Ketosis.
It is one's glucose level that seems to be losing weight on any diet. If I keep my below 100 (USA) weight loss goes much better. Fasting reading of 70-85 work best for weight loss in my case.
The meters cost little to nothing but by hard eBay shopping ketone strips are $1.50 each and they require 2x of the blood of a glucose strip ($0.40) and at first I did not start with a large drop of blood and wasted a few. I have found any bad test strip was due to user ERROR.
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Thanks Gale. I know there are many people who stay in ketosis with the 'higher' carb intake. I took a look through my food logs and realize that my pre-keto carb intake was always very erratic, but almost always over 100 gs. I went through the work out and restrict calories phase and while I initially lost some weight, it plateaued and I was killing myself. Keeping the carbs low was the only way for me to actually lose weight consistently. So, while still on this weight loss journey, I'm going to continue to aim for the 20g a day. However, I'll be interested to see how an occasionally higher intake (not planning them though) affects my losses.
While I started keto specifically for the weight loss, I do sympathize with you and so many others who are doing it for better health. I know it's hard, so you are inspiring. My family has a deep history of CVD and diabetes, both of my parents as well as an older sibling are insulin dependent. Another brother is on metformin and has been told countless times he can still reverse it through lifestyle modification, but he has yet to make that happen. I do not want to end up where they are. So I started low carbing.
Don't we all wish we could bottle that teenage metabolism somehow?0 -
high-fat-nutrition.blogspot.com/2007/10/physiological-insulin-resistance.html
Due to this thread I restarted checking my BG and Ketone levels. I was blown way how high my fasting Blood Glucose level reading were running and spent today doing more research on the subject of low carbing leading to increased insulin resistance.
The increase seems to be normal to Low Carb eating lifestyle and is Physiological and NOT Pathological in nature. This 2007 article explains it well and so current blogs.
In short the brain requires a certain amount of glucose where the muscles do not so the muscles are told to save it for the brain and burn their other options as I understand it.0
This discussion has been closed.