Very high ketone levels in Week 1
Advice please. I’m on Day 4 and my ketone levels (urine) are 8+. I feel terrible, dizzy and weak, despite drinking lots and having salt (ugh). I read that this could be due to lots of ketones being produced before my body has adapted to using them for fuel.
Is this right?
And should I eat more carbs or push through?
(I’m not diabetic.)
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These are fasting levels. 10 is ketoacidosis which is dangerous. You feel bad, eat for goodness sake. Absolutely no reason for really high ketones for weight loss. Keto is NOT fast weight loss, so relax!
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655721be-5539-3262-9b01-1953484d9fa5 thanks for the reply. I am eating - a good 1,500 calories a day and I'm an inactive 50+ woman. So definitely not fasting!
My question really was round whether it's true that there's a phase where you're making lots of ketones but your body hasn't yet adjusted to burning them. Do you know?
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Lucy Walker
I’m 1 month in but I almost stopped because I felt terrible. Headaches, nausea, weak, and shaky and my Ketone levels have been 3-4.5. I changed nothing on my own, just kept doing what I was doing. Then about 8 days in I felt fantastic! I guess it’s called the “keto flu” and almost everyone experiences it in the beginning. I agree that you should eat more but just hang in there and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Good luck. 👍
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Sandy Thankyou so much :-).
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Lucy Walker
Sorry, somehow missed how long you’d been on the plan😐. Agree with Sandy, go ahead and eat more and drink a lot of water. As you become fat adapted you can drop calories. Because you are inactive ketones are not being used as readily as one who exercises of course. You may need to adjust your fat consumption so that you’ll use body fat stored for energy instead of plate fat. Strict adherence to macro percentages is not necessary unless you are dealing with specific health issues.
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Thanks again. What I’m looking into is whether, during the first few days, there is in fact a period where you produce ketones but can’t burn them, giving misleadingly high urine results.
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Urine testing for ketones is not nearly as accurate as blood testing. I purchased the keto-mojo which has helped me tremendously.
