How do you know whe. Your in Ketosis?
san814
Posts: 22 Member
How would I ever know when I'm in it?
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Some folks can smell the acetone in their breath (or have a friend or loved one tell them...) or sometimes you can smell the acetoacetate in your urine.
You can buy ketostix at the pharmacy and dip those in urine, they will detect the presence of acetoacetate. This is not always effective, for some (many?) people they eventually stop registering on the urine test because their bodies become more efficient and don't waste the ketones.
There are breath tests you can use, I don't have a link handy but there are some cheap breathilyzers meant for detecting alcohol, which also detect acetone.
And there are blood meters, similar to the glucuse meters, where you use a test strip and a finger-prick of blood, to measure the beta-hydroxybutyrate in your blood.
Personally I use the ketostix - they're cheap and easy to get, and they work for me. I tried a breath meter but found it wasn't very effective for me. I gave it to my sister and it works great for her, while the ketostix never worked at all for her.2 -
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Do 3 days at 20g total carbs and you will be.5
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Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Do 3 days at 20g total carbs and you will be.
I was going to say something along these lines too. If you eat low enough carb, for most it is under 20-50g per day, you will be in fairly deep ketosis. Even if you eat 100-150g of carbs per day the chances are that you'll be in mild ketosis at least some of the time.
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Metal mouth, asparagus pee, ability to go hours between meals without getting hangry.5
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Thanks everyone for you comments. I don't notice a smell to my urine or breath. But I have been for sure under 20 for 17 days now.2
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Under 20 for 17 days would certainly have you in ketosis! Unless you're eating foods with artificial sweeteners or hidden sugars, you can pretty much bank on it
I don't test my breath, blood or urine; I just stick as close to 20g net carbs/day as possible. That alone nearly ensures ketosis.2 -
I itch like hell!!!
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Do sweeteners prevent ketosis?0
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Some sweeteners can cause reactions in some people, including kicking them out of ketosis. The 2 Keto Dudes did an episode about them: 2ketodudes.com/show.aspx?episode=72
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lady_bug_jd wrote: »Do sweeteners prevent ketosis?
Some sweeteners have fillers like dextrin or dextrose which are starches (basically chains of sugars). If it ends in "in" or "ose" it's carbs or sugar.2 -
Too much protein can prevent to too2
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Too much protein can prevent to too
It may temporarily reduce blood ketones but not in the same way carbs do. It's certainly not a reason to restrict protein if you're keto for weight loss and not as treatment for epilepsy or something.
http://www.tuitnutrition.com/2017/07/gluconeogenesis.html?m=11 -
Typically you can determine your minimum protein need by calculating 0.8g per pound of lean body mass. Or you can go with the more generous and super easy advice of Chris Masterjohn and have 1g per pound of ideal body weight. Why you would weigh if you had a totally ideal bmi.1 -
I am having a hard time eating enough protein and fat as I am too full. I am at the end of day two. Keeping under 1600 calories with 5% Carbs/30% Protein/65% fat. Also, is it normal to pee like a horse on day two? I assume I am losing excess water naturally. Just didn't expect it to happen so soon!0
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What Steph_Maks said.. re: strips (Walgreens) and bad urine smell.. plus.. not to be gross but my armpits get a peculiar embarrassing odor and it's strong.. only when I'm keto adapting.0
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LosingIt2WIN wrote: »I am having a hard time eating enough protein and fat as I am too full. I am at the end of day two. Keeping under 1600 calories with 5% Carbs/30% Protein/65% fat. Also, is it normal to pee like a horse on day two? I assume I am losing excess water naturally. Just didn't expect it to happen so soon!
An easy way for me to add protein was some protein powder in my coffee. I add it to all baking too.
Make sure your sodium is between 3000-5000+ mg per day. With all that water weight, you are also losing electrolytes. All normal. If you get fatigued, headaches, nausea, brain fog or muscle aches then you know you need more sodium. If you leave it too long you may need potassium and magnesium too.
For reference, there is 2300 mg of sodium in a teaspoon of table salt.
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Thank you for the advice! I tend to overdo salt so I am probably okay. I felt great today and so far have about 12000 steps in. I am not a big sweet eater but I do love crackers, chips, bread, and all the beans and starchy vegetables. Haven't really missed anything too much yet but am prepared with some low carb substitutes. I made zucchini/parmesan chips yesterday and they were great with some guacamole.0
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River_Goddess wrote: »I don't test my breath, blood or urine; I just stick as close to 20g net carbs/day as possible. That alone nearly ensures ketosis.
This is where I am as well. In the past 10 months I have only been over 20 net a couple of times, and I am usually closer to 10. I figure I have to be in ketosis, so why bother checking?
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sas1uk why the itch..it happened to me too!0
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