Ketosis epic fail - what am I doing wrong? page

[parrottrl]

I managed to get a hold of a blood-ketone meter to supplement my blood-glucose meter. I'm a Type I diabetic with 27 years in, so it wasn't that difficult. Since ketosis is the sine qua non of being a fat-burner and because I have restricted my carbs to 50 - 70g per day, I expected to be generating some noticeable ketones.

Unfortunately, this was very, very much not so (.3 on the meter), even after six hours without eating and a pretty active day at work. My BSL was 77 tonight (93 at lunch) - really good for me this time of day. I've only ingested 26g carbs today so far.

My body cannot possibly be sugar-burning. Where the living F is getting the sugar from? My body is not fat-burning either according to the test. I am reasonably physically active all day from 9 to 6 without only short breaks in front of a computer. My muscles freaking hurt at the end of the freaking day. What is my body using for FUEL???

Help... *cries*

[Betorq]

What kind of carbs did you eat? How much & what kind of water are you drinking? Sleep times & hours?
Also, don't OVER-EXERCISE. Ok, be active, very active, but give yourself recovery time & rest. Monday was a sabbath day for me, I didn't hardly do anything... And it was great, coz I am active the other 6 days.

You may not know this, but actually it's pretty difficult to get into real bonafide ketosis. It can take a week or more. (Thanks, Paleobird, for that helpful info). Also the ketostix are not the definitive indicator of whether you are burning ketones or not. Meters are better, but they aren't 100% accurate either. Also it depends on WHEN you take your meter reading, right?

60% fat, 30% protein & a mere 10% carbs is what you are aiming for. More hardcore would be 80/10/10. I myself (& most of my clients) do an Atkins inspired ketosis, in fact tonite was the start, day 1, of the household ketosis journey that will last anywhere from 10-14 days. Once we're done, we'll venture back to 50-70g/day of carbs & enjoy fruit again too.

Give it more time. Chill some & don't obsess over the meter or ketostix. I go by the taste of metal or the smell of the 1st morning urine stream. I don't ever use the stix, never have

[Fletch666]

Hmm. How long were you that low on the carbs? A day? A week?
If ketosis is the goal, go lower carbs. Try 20g/day. Do that for a week, and then test. And, of course, how accurate is your meter?

[Neckhammer]

Ketosis is a different animal from just being primarily a fat burner. Most people actually shooting for ketosis have to keep carbs bellow 50/day and some need bellow 30/day.

[Betorq]

+1

Yep. Some can achieve it w/ sustained daily carb of about 50g some need to hang more or less 1/2 that. Depends on a lot of individual factors all coming together. Many people fail to grasp or embrace the Fat Festival they need to engage in for 7-10 or more days!!

[parrottrl]

What kind of carbs did you eat? How much & what kind of water are you drinking? Sleep times & hours?

Chill some & don't obsess over the ketostix. I go by the taste of metal or the smell of the 1st morning urine stream. I don't ever use the stix, never have

I've never used ketostix either. I refuse to handle urine. I'm using a meter that takes blood as its sample. It's a Nova Max Plus Glucose & Ketone Meter.

The majority of my carbs today came from an apple w/skin (to handle morning BSL 61), black olives, almonds (1 oz), and single carbs in my tuna, beef sausage, and multivitamin. Nothing seriously non-primal. I need the almonds to get me through the morning without feeling like I'm going to starve.

I sleep from 12:30AM to 7:30AM most nights with a regular interruption at 6:30AM to walk and banish the dog (7 mo. GSD). No, I can't go to bed at 7:00PM and wake at 4:00AM. My life is entirely non-conducive to this cycle. I work until 6 or 9PM. I do graduate school work thereafter. I try very hard to unwind after the hell is over. I am entirely inflexible regarding my nighttime me-time. It's all I have to live for right now.

I actually don't formally exercise that much. I do a couple miles per week with the dog. At work, I am generally standing and/or moving almost nonstop for four - five hours per day. The rest of the time, I'm moving too, but more slowly and steadily with heavy-object lifting a couple times per week. I lift weighs a bit in my home office at night, but not enough to count. I want to walk more, but it's impossible right now. I usually recover Saturday night to Sunday afternoon.

I've been doing low carbs since May 21. Successfully, most days under 100g, since the second week of June.

I still wish I knew what my body was doing for fuel.

[Betorq]

I've never used ketostix either. I refuse to handle urine. I'm using a meter that takes blood as its sample. It's a Nova Max Plus Glucose & Ketone Meter.

Ok, that actually IS a pretty nice meter. It's likely very accurate.

The majority of my carbs today came from an apple w/skin (to handle morning BSL 61), black olives, almonds (1 oz), and single carbs in my tuna, beef sausage, and multivitamin. Nothing seriously non-primal. I need the almonds to get me through the morning without feeling like I'm going to starve.

Bingo. That, to me, indicates you're not getting enough fat in your breakfast. Fatify your breakfast & you'll likely not get those sucky & sudden hunger feelings mid or even late morning. Hell, some days I never even think of snacking til.... it's dinner time! Other times, like a growing boy, I eat 4-5 meals a day.

But seriously, fat fat fat with a side of fat is the path to ketosis & hunger abatement between meals. Pour, pat, & smear it on @ every meal, dude.

I sleep from 12:30AM to 7:30AM most nights with a regular interruption at 6:30AM to walk and banish the dog (7 mo. GSD). No, I can't go to bed at 7:00PM and wake at 4:00AM. My life is entirely non-conducive to this cycle. I work until 6 or 9PM. I do graduate school work thereafter. I try very hard to unwind after the hell is over. I am entirely inflexible regarding my nighttime me-time. It's all I have to live for right now.

I actually don't formally exercise that much. I do a couple miles per week with the dog. At work, I am generally standing and/or moving almost nonstop for four - five hours per day. The rest of the time, I'm moving too, but more slowly and steadily with heavy-object lifting a couple times per week. I lift weighs a bit in my home office at night, but not enough to count. I want to walk more, but it's impossible right now. I usually recover Saturday night to Sunday afternoon.

I've been doing low carbs since May 21. Successfully, most days under 100g, since the second week of June.

I still wish I knew what my body was doing for fuel.

Sleep is likely my biggest issue some of the time too. My highest carb indulgence lately, is a 1/2 banana in a coconut smoothy. Big whoop. But my sleep, at times, is all over the place for me.

So, what exactly are you striving to achieve exactly w/ ketosis? Becoming a fat burning beast? Even without the "ketosis numbers" on your meter, it sounds like you're sticking to +-90-100% primal & that will do it in time anyways, the fat burning switch over. You're almost already there in spirit just not in fat %s, so either go deeper or chill out & enjoy yourself, jaja!

[parrottrl]

Whoops...thanks to Fletch666 for asking about meter accuracy.

I decided to examine the instrument more closely and discovered it gives results in mmol/l instead of mg/dL. I'm not a math person (like whoa...failed algebra twice), but with the help of the Internets, I have found out that .3 mmol/l = 5.4 mg/dL. This is in the upper range of ketosis.

I am a rock star! I am doing it right!!!!

Now I have to be extra careful not to spike my BSL.

PS. Any science-y types that want to check my math. OMG...so grateful.

[Betorq]

Well you are the rock star. And now I feel like a boob, haha...

[parrottrl]

Thanks for all the help! I really appreciate the feedback. I was so frustrated earlier tonight. Now, I really feel better about the future and just sticking with the lifestyle.

Seriously, thank you!