Keto ???
soldiergrl_101
Posts: 2,205 Member
Do you have to be under 50g of carbs to be in Keto? Like I normally average around 57 or less..I am still loosing weight rapidly just not sure if i am in Keto or not
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I have to be under 20g carbs to be in ketosis.0
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Oh wow that low, is it different for everyone. How do you know when your in keto?0
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According to some, if you eat less than a certain threshold, you don't have to worry about whether or not you are.
Personally, I consider it when I'm low enough that I'm not teetering between both worlds: sluggishness, headaches and electrolyte imbalances found just above the sweet spot. Once I'm low enough and adapted, there's energy to spare, like I'm charged with electricity!0 -
I bought some Ketostix from Amazon. Theyre just cheap little cardboard urine tests and they will change color depending how many ketones are in your urine.
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CoconuttyMummy wrote: »I have to be under 20g carbs to be in ketosis.
Another myth.
You are making a BUNCH of ketones at 50g. Not that you actually need to make that many, but you are.
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CoconuttyMummy wrote: »I have to be under 20g carbs to be in ketosis.
Another myth.
You are making a BUNCH of ketones at 50g. Not that you actually need to make that many, but you are.
Its not a myth, Wabmester.
I have obsessively tested for ketones several times a day, every day, for the past 6 weeks since starting keto. There is no doubt that if i go over 20g carbs my ketostix always read negative - under that i get a positive reading for the mostpart (although ive noticed my readings are all weaker since adapting).
I think everyone's body is different. Obviously your height & weight will make a big difference to how many grams carbs you can consume whilst staying in keto ie, if you're lighter & short like me, on a very low calorie allowance (<1200), 20g carbs would be a significantly larger proportion of carbs than for a tall, heavy man, with lots of weight to lose, on a higher calorie allowance. For example 15g carbs is 5% carbs for me, which is about right. But for someone on a 2400 calorie diet it would only be 2.5% carbs, which may be too low for them. Likewise, if i was to consume 50g carbs a day that would be closer to 17% carbs for me (i think - im not good at math!) whereas it would be a lot lower percentage for those consuming more calories.
I dont know if that made any sense, as like i say im pants at math, but as far as i can tell someone on a very low calorie diet cannot eat as many carb grams as someone on much higher daily calories and expect to be in the same level of ketosis, because proportionally the person on low calories would be consuming a much greater percentage of carbs.
Regardless of all that i can assure you i have never attained ketosis consuming 50g carbs a day. I wish i could! Im not reducing my carbs so low because i thought it would be fun!
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The best way to find out if you are in ketosis is through urine, breath or blood testing. If you're new to this WOE, you can get urine test strips near the diabetic section of your local pharmacy. These strips have a reputation for being unreliable, but I use them. Others use the breath meter, which costs around $100 upfront, but I think that's the only cost. Finally, there are blood meters which are said to be the most reliable, but also the most expensive as the test strips are costly.
Each body is different and the longer you follow this WOE, the better you will become at knowing your symptoms of when you are in ketosis. For me, I have a slight runny nose, no swelling and very little appetite most days. But Everybody is different.
As far as how many grams of carbs will keep you in Ketosis, for some people it does have to be VERY low, 20g and lower. Others can eat 50g, 60g and more. But consistently for newbies, aim low, as low as you can get. That will help you kick the glucose out of your body and get your burners focused on stored fat.
Best of luck!0 -
Sorry, it's a function of human physiology, not ketostix or how big you are. I think we've had this conversation before, but your body MUST make ketones to feed your brain when carb levels are too low. It's not an option -- everybody will make a bunch of ketones at 50g carbs.
You might make more at 20g. You'll make even more if you fast. And you'll make more if you exercise while fasting. But making a lot of ketones isn't necessary for weight loss. Just make enough to 1) reduce hunger, and 2) allow your muscles to adapt to the low-glucose environment.
Ketostix are fun, but they just measure excess in the urine. That's useful to know because it tells you that you need to replenish lost sodium that accompanies the ketones in your urine.0 -
As far as how many grams of carbs will keep you in Ketosis, for some people it does have to be VERY low, 20g and lower. Others can eat 50g, 60g and more. But consistently for newbies, aim low, as low as you can get. That will help you kick the glucose out of your body and get your burners focused on stored fat.
This.
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From what I know on ketosis, your body actually enters it every night as you sleep, once your glucose is burned off and will stay in ketosis until you eat a carb heavy meal, hence the intermittent fasting being designed to keep you in that state as long as possible.
Your body will produce different levels of ketones depending on how many carbs you are eating. When you test negative at 50g carbs on the keto sticks that does not mean you are not in ketosis, at 20g you are just producing so much excess ketones that it is registering. As you adapt you will produce less and less excess ketones and even at 20g may not register on the keto sticks.
The 20g "myth" is to get you in to keto fast to help minimize the side effects and time to adapt between switching from glucose burning to fat burning. Once adapted your body will switch back and forth without the nasty side effects. I eat around 50g, sometimes more sometimes less a day. My body will use the glucose first if I eat a carb rich meal and once that is done it will begin creating ketones to fuel me, since I have been low carb for months now my body has depleted the extra glycogen stores and switches over to fat, that will continue until I eat more carbs.
I hope that makes sense, I've been trying to find a link that explains it better, there is so much out there that many of it isn't really based in the science of how our bodies actually work and they make it seem so much more complex than it is.0 -
^ this. 0
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Sorry, it's a function of human physiology, not ketostix. I think we've had this conversation before, but your body MUST make ketones to feed your brain when carb levels are too low. It's not an option -- everybody will make a bunch of ketones at 50g carbs.
You might make more at 20g. You'll make even more if you fast. And you'll make more if you exercise while fasting. But making a lot of ketones isn't necessary for weight loss. Just make enough to 1) reduce hunger, and 2) allow your muscles to adapt to the low-glucose environment.
Ketostix are fun, but they just measure excess in the urine. That's useful to know because it tells you that you need to replenish lost sodium that accompanies the ketones in your urine.
Exactly. And I have to add that once you become fat-adapted, your ketone processing becomes more efficient and there may be no excess spilled in the urine at all, so you'll get a negative or trace. This doesn't happen with the blood or breath. So after awhile, you may not be able to rely on the stix.
There are 3 different types of ketones. FYI.
Acetone in the breath.
Acetoacetate in the urine.
And betahydroxybuturate in the blood.
Here's a good layman's explanation
http://ketopia.com/why-you-need-to-stop-worrying-about-the-color-of-your-ketostix/0 -
I read on the keto board on reddit that ketostix are highly inaccurate, and just because there are excess ketones in your urine, or no ketones in your urine, doesn't mean the same is present in your blood stream.
Here's a pretty good explanation for ketostix:
https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/comments/2xhxd3
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