The morning ketone levels are going to be low, but (and you probably know this) you want it at 0.5 since that's nutritional ketosis. If it's at 0.5 then you're fine. Sounds like maybe you could lower the carbs a bit and see how your ketones are in the morning. The morning blood ketone levels tend to be the lowest. They go up after eating and after exercise. So if you test in the evening, I'm sure your levels are higher than what you see in the morning.

I just pick one time of day to test the blood ketone levels and stick to it. In the morning I can be around 0.7 and the rest of the day, it can go up to 1.5-2.0. I don't think I ever hit really high levels of 3.0+, but you don't have to. If you hit nutritional ketosis, you're fine.

Your diary is not open. When I did test, the best time I got my readings was in the evening. Are you overdoing the protein? Excess protein will turn to glucose therefore not get you into ketosis. Maybe keep your protein higher on lifting days but on days you are not lifting them lower them. Of course keep protein high enough to maintain your muscle mass. This site has great information on lifting and protein levels. http://www.reddit.com/r/ketogains

I test because I'm a weirdo who likes lab tests and info on how my body is functioning. :laugh:

Not T2 but have a family history of it, so I keep an eye no the BG as well.

Have you considered doing some IF to see if that helps? Sometimes I eat breakfast around 11 am.

My goal is to lose 10 more pounds and get my A1C as low as I can get it.

"Do you test every day?"

Heck no. Used to do that in the beginning, but what's the point? If you're not eating more than 30g of net carbs per day, you're in ketosis. These days I only ever test out of curiosity when for some reason I ate more carbs. But even then I rarely ever drop out of ketosis - my body seems to have a knack for it.

Hi
I bought a breath ketone meter (Ketonix.com). I've found it to be very reliable. I've done some parallel testing and compared values with some others (older model) to determine relative values to blood/beta-hydroxybutyrate.
My values on my "blog" here on MFP: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/PatchEFog
My diary is open to friends, so if you're interested, just send me a FR.

Dear Patch,

I was on a path to get the ketone blood meter. But after seeing your post, the Ketonix alternative looks way better. I went to their site and Amazon and read the good reviews. I like the idea that it tests as much as you want.

Being in engineering, I have been involved with other sensoring types of equipment like this tester. The thing I noticed is that a lot of sensors degrade over time. I don't know how long this device has been out, but I wish I could see if it still is accurate after a year or more. I am hoping that they have tested them for thousands of cycles.

I was going to purchase one today, but they are all out. All models. It was due to China (see their FaceBook page). It sounds like they will be getting shipments soon though.

THANK YOU for posting this.... how timely for me....!

Dan the Man from Michigan that used to be a Texan

No problem, Dan.
The analyzer is not much different than the breathalyzers they use for alcohol consumption (DUI field testing), though I think the Ketonix is calibrated to be more sensitive. If you were to write Michel, he might be able to provide insight as to their mechanical and software testing. I haven't taken the thing apart, but I'm imagining there's some sort of EPROM in there. I've wondered more about the corrosion factor from the air humidity.... but I think he is very aware of all of these challenges and has addressed much of them in the production. The devices haven't been around that long, so I don't know how much extensive testing they've accomplished, but it would be interesting to know. I think you bring up a very important set of points regarding ongoing and long-term reliability. While I think I can utilize the Ketonix primarily for my needs, being as OCD as I am, I see myself occasionally re-verifying values with my Precision Xtra blood meter for beta-hydroxybutyrate.... It'll be a peace of mind issue. Even if the device lasts a year, I'll have saved a lot of money. $2-$5 a strip for blood testing is a bit rich for my blood. I've already done 483 tests with my device. Given my menu before my fat fast and now on the same menu and getting the same average in terms of Ketonix values, I see no appreciable difference at this point. I'll have to give consideration as to how many tests I should perform before also doing some blood testing. At this point, I'm thinking some parallel testing every 1000-or-so Ketonix tests.

As with any type of testing like this (urine or breath ketone), they are less reliable because they are essentially "waste" products, though the breath seems MUCH more reliable for me than the urine (which has NEVER showed anything greater than small/moderate ketone).

For the uninitiated, here is the article I push to explain the differences between urine ketone and blood 'ketone' testing:
http://ketopia.com/why-you-need-to-stop-worrying-about-the-color-of-your-ketostix/

I bought a ketone meter & I'm wondering if anyone else is testing blood samples.

Though I pee pink to purple on the regular, I've hit a bit of a stall =P So I thought I might try testing to see what's happening.

My lifts are progressing but I find I'm digging deeper for those last 2 reps as opposed to breezing through.

Anyhow, just wondering if there's anyone who's tested using a meter to help me figure out where I could be going wrong.

I'm at a loss for when the best time to test is, so I've tested only fasting so far, and ketostix always indicate.
I'm weight training 3x weekly & walking daily. I'm keeping my net carbs to btw. 30 and 40 g per day. Diary is open in case anyone wants to take a look.

I'm aiming to keep my calories at < 1800 per day, I'm 45 yrs old, 5' and currently 129#'s. Prior to increasing my carbs to btw
50-100 grams gross, I had been maintaining 125-126 # easily at 2-2300 cal per day. Incidentally, when I was at this level of carbs & calories, I was flying through my lifts.

This morning, FBG 85 mg/dl (low for me, usually I test at about 90-98 mg/dl)
Fasting blood ketone levels were a dismal 0.3 m/M.

Anyway, anyone want to compare notes?

It depends on individual and your activity levels at time of the day. I get maximum ketone readings in the morning in a fasted state and usually lower during the day.

I'm aiming to keep my calories at < 1800 per day, I'm 45 yrs old, 5' and currently 129#'s. Prior to increasing my carbs to btw
50-100 grams gross, I had been maintaining 125-126 # easily at 2-2300 cal per day. Incidentally, when I was at this level of carbs & calories, I was flying through my lifts.

Anyway, anyone want to compare notes?

IMO your gross carbs might be too high. I found success with twice daily blood ketone tests (AM and PM) with reducing gross carbs to less than 20/day. I don't care what the net is. I only focus on gross. I'm consistently at 2.3 to 2.5 YMMV as each person processes carbs/proteins differently.

What I found using consistent and repeated twice/thrice daily blood testing is that not only daily carbs make a difference BUT the type of protein and carbs and artificial sweeteners make a HUGE difference on BG and BK levels. Test for a month.... get your numbers..... and then you'll have your road map will be laid out for you based on your own body and not what works for me or others.