New here - restarted keto WOE this week and still not in ketosis
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epona_mus
Posts: 207 Member
Hi everyone... I'm back on the keto-wagon and eating <20 g net carbs / day and still no appreciable loss and ketostix are still negative.
Can someone look at my diary and tell me what I should change?
Can someone look at my diary and tell me what I should change?
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Replies
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If you're eating less than 20g you're in ketosis. Your body has no other choice but to make its own glucose at that point.
Urine strips can easily show negative for ketones due to dilution of urine and even vary by time of day.
Test at night. Ketones should be highest that time of day and less likely to show completely negative even if you're super hydrated
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The other thing with ketostix is that they only test for one specific ketone, while you're body will create and use three different ones. Ketostix can show up negative under a lot of circumstances. Don't fret too much, and keep your carbs under 5%. Make sure that you're counting net carbs (total - fiber), as fiber will help make toilet time less unpleasant.
Also, make sure that you're not eating too much protein. Keep it to roughly 35% as your body can convert excess protein to glucose, keeping you out ketosis.1 -
Fiber can make bathroom issues for people too. Some people avoid it as much as possible or entirely for this reason.
And the protein thing isn't really the issue as it's often spoken of being. It needs insulin for uptake of amino acids into cells but this is an entirely different use of insulin than glucose. People assume the SLIGHT increase in insulin that temporarily reduces or pauses ketosis is due to glucose, but it's not. Protein does not equal cake. It equals lean tissue repair, muscle maintenance and bone density.
http://www.ketotic.org/2012/08/if-you-eat-excess-protein-does-it-turn.html?m=13 -
Thanks for the reassurance. I will try testing at night... I have been testing first thing in the morning.
My protein is set to 37% (93 g on 1000-1200kcal/day) and I have been averaging around 70g/day.
Is there anything else I should beware of? I am counting net carbs (correctly, I think? Carb g - fiber g?)
Thanks!
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Since fat is not as important as carbs and protein, I'd suggest looking at net carb and protein grams, not percentages -
Say you have your carbs and protein targets set at (no more than) 25g of net carbs and (at least) 100g of protein.
If you eat 50g of fat one day and 150g the next, your macro percentages will be radically different, but the carbs will still be restricted and the protein adequate. (The only difference would be the proportion of body vs. dietary fat you'd burn, but that doesn't affect ketosis... .)3 -
In my MFP diary, my goals are set to grams not percentage. I have not exceeded 20 g net carbs on any day and am now trying to eat less protein g too.
I'm wondering now if I have calculated my macros correctly....0 -
I'm sure you're in ketosis. Seriously, I Wouldn't lower protein for the purpose of turning a pee strip purple. Your body NEEDS protein. You don't need purple pee strips.
How long have you been keto and how much have you lost and how much do you have to lose?1 -
Thanks... that is reassuring. I have been eating keto since Monday (this is Day 6). The scale finally moved this morning (-4.8 lb) but I am pretty sure that is all water since I was pretty bloated at the start. I have 65 lb to lose :-(
I re-calculated my macros here: https://www.ruled.me/keto-calculator/
Carbohydrates 8 % or 20 g
Fat 65 % or 72 g
Protein 27 % or 68 g
My diary tracks by the gram. Does that calculation look right?0 -
Also, thanks to all who have responded... I appreciate your insights.0
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Thanks... that is reassuring. I have been eating keto since Monday (this is Day 6). The scale finally moved this morning (-4.8 lb) but I am pretty sure that is all water since I was pretty bloated at the start. I have 65 lb to lose :-(
I re-calculated my macros here: https://www.ruled.me/keto-calculator/
Carbohydrates 8 % or 20 g
Fat 65 % or 72 g
Protein 27 % or 68 g
My diary tracks by the gram. Does that calculation look right?
That seems reasonable as long as you know that protein amount is a minimum you need to reach and it's totally ok to exceed. You don't need to specifically aim to not go over it.
Though you do want to aim to not go over carbs or fat.
I actually prefer this calculator
https://ketogains.com/ketogains-calculator/
But again, I think what you calculated looks totally fine.
There really isn't a magic ratio. It's all about providing enough protein, limiting carbs and getting just enough fat to aid in satiety but not prevent fat loss.
I think your biggest hurdle is going to be mental.
A couple sneaky negatives stand out to me that can prove to be motivation killers if you're not aware and actively working to overcome them.
On day 5 you saidHi everyone... I'm back on the keto-wagon and eating <20 g net carbs / day and still no appreciable loss and ketostix are still negative.
On day 6 you report 4.8 pounds lost. You use the word "finally".
I'm not sure how much of the 4.8 had already been lost by day 5 or how much you're expecting to lose each week. But even 0.5 pounds a week is a fair loss. I understand wanting to lose faster and expecting scale reduction to be consistent and always downward but the unfortunate truth is it just doesn't happen like that.
Definitely a good portion of that was water and because of that, you're unlikely to have another week with that much lost. And you seem like it was unsatisfactory before the end of week one.
I only say this to help as the next few weeks come with even slower scale losses. You're going to read tons of stuff about rearranging macros to get the "right" ratios to make the scale move and it'll make you crazy and disappointed. Or it'll make you give up. I know because I experienced the crazy/disappointed effect personally.
Things slowed down for me big time with about 20 pounds left to goal and after a year and a half I haven't succeeded in losing a single pound of my last 10-15 of what I decided was goal weight. I changed macros. I did fasting. I did fat fasts and egg fasts. I lowered protein and I started and stopped exercise a dozen times. I posted asking about "stalls" and felt like I was failing. Then I randomly decided to take a new progress photo to see if anything possibly looked different. I was sure the picture was going to be the nail in the coffin on my efforts. But I was pleasantly surprised, and even with this hard, undeniable evidence, I still struggle with why the scale isn't giving me what "I want". But I've learned that what I'm doing is working just fine. I just can't use the scale as the measurement.
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Thank you. That makes sense. You look great BTW - you can tell your body composition really changed in the past 4 mo.
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Only thing I'd note, is watch the gummie vitamins, that's straight sugar-- "Vitafusion™ - Fiber Well Gummies, 6 gummies 15g carbs", all sugar. Might wanna change to some kinda 'one a day' or other vitamin.0
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I thought they were 5 g carbs and 5 g fiber for 2, and <1 g sugar alcohol?
So based on this how do I figure net carbs?
http://www.gummyvites.com/en/vitafusion/Products/vitafusion-Fiber-Well-Gummies/Supplement-Facts0 -
That's still massively high, you're talking about taking 2 vitamins and using up 25% of your daily carbs (remember-- only INSOLUBLE fiber doesn't count against carbs, soluble fiber absorbs water and does not pass through our intestines intact, it is digested... insoluble can't absorb water or break down (or at least not into carbs, it does get broken down by our gut flora but not into stuff that is used by us typically), thus it's not digested.) Those calories in the gummies are coming from somewhere.
You're also taking 6 at a time based on your journal... why not just take a "one a day womens" for 0g carbs? https://labeling.bayercare.com/omr/online/oad-women.pdf
https://ketodietapp.com/Blog/post/2014/11/30/Total-Carbs-or-Net-Carbs-What-Really-Counts
^ explains diff between soluble and insoluble fiber (one affects ketosis, one doesn't)0 -
Because it's not a vitamin? It's a fiber supplement.0
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Eat fiber containing vegetables. You probably don't need a fiber supplement on keto.
I HAD IBS and had taken fiber supplements for many many years. Imagine my shock when everything functioned better without fiber0 -
Thanks... I usually do although I am finding it difficult to balance my vegetables with other things right now due to the carb restrictions. My go-to's are usually cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, spinach and lettuces, and the carbs add up even in a salad.
To be clear, I occassionally have to take a fiber supplement and that is the one I had in the house (the other one I usually have on hand is PEG powder). I have had to supplement fiber since I was a child due to a chronic digestive issue. It didn't go away when I was on a ketogenic diet before, but natural fibers do help and are my preference. But in an emergency when I'm feeling ill, I'm going to take a fiber supplement or laxative, no matter how many carbs it has. My overall health is more important.1
