accidental keto

carepear

I am asking here because I am having a hard time finding an answer online but I was recently at the doctor and had a urinalysis and was told I had ketones present. I am doing a whole 30 and my carbs are very low for me but not low for keto. That day specifically, I was at 155 g carbs.

I'm toying with the idea of following a keto after my whole 30 but was curious as to why I would have ketones present if I wasn't following a keto diet. That day I did feel very hungry and like I had low blood sugar. Is that it?

sljohnson1207

Ketones in urine are pretty common in people that are dieting and exercising, esp. when reducing carbohydrates, even if you aren't into ketogenic levels. You can also get them from intense exercise alone. Anorexia can also cause ketones to show up in urine. Fasting is also a way to have ketones in urine. So, if you had not eaten in a while before the urine test, and had intense exercise sometime in the recent day(s), and when you ate, you chose not to eat a boat load of carbs, yeah, ketones in urine. What was your lab result exactly? 2+ ketones, 3+, 4+????

Unless your blood sugar is really high (over 240 mg/dL) and/or you're a Type I diabetic or Type II diabetic, it shouldn't alarm you or your doctor.

Did they also draw blood and check your blood sugar? Do you have diabetes I or II or pre-diabetes, insulin resistance, hypoglycemia, or PCOS, pregnant, lactating? If so, you may want to look further and monitor blood sugar.

carepear

No, they didn't treat any blood. It was only urine. So if I decide I want to do keto, how will I know I've hit the right spot?

And yes actually, I am lactating.

carepear

Test not treat.

BritDillinger

You can purchase ketostix to test yourself from home with your urine. Dipping a stick into the urine sample for however many seconds that particular test requires (mine is 15 seconds) it will turn a shade to match the sample on the bottle. As long as there are "trace" ketones in your urine, you are in ketosis and it is working.

There are some speculations that ketostix are not reliable, but highly recommended peers and researchers for the ketogenic diet show support for using them as better than nothing. You can splurge the extra bucks to get your own blood sample tester from Amazon, but that's all up to you. I am tempted to when I have the money one day.

There are also physical signs such as "keto breath", a metallic taste in your mouth as if you are sucking on pennies, and a pungent odor to your urine. These symptoms, like the breath, will lessen when your body is adjusted to the ketogenic diet, but definitely keep an eye out for them while starting!

sljohnson1207

My guess is you had ketones because you are on a lower carb diet than usual, and you are lactating. Add in exercise and caloric restriction, and ketones in urine. I think you should probably consult your doctor on doing lower or low carb while lactating. I'm not sure it's really the time to do that, but it should be fine after you wean.