Can't get into ketosis

I am awaiting an answer to your question. I’ve been doing this for five weeks and I check my ketones by urine strips. I only eat between 8 and 12 carbs a day. Only once did a strip show I was clearly in ketosis. Those colors on the low end are so close I’m not sure if I’ve hit it or not! If I’m eating so few carbs a day, surely I should be in ketosis, right?

Are you tracking net carbs or total carbs?  If it’s net carbs that is way too many carbs. Try tracking total carbs and get as close to 20g as you can. 

Eddie Appell Keto products use Net carbs as a way to sell you their products.  Keto has become such a popular diet that an industry has sprung up around it and they will do anything to convince you their product fits into your lifestyle. 

Everyone's experience is different so take this as only advice, but find your own path . . . do not use Keto products.  This is a new lifestyle and if you are using Keto products to try to continue to satiate your cravings for sweets and other carb heavy products you may not have long term success.   Only eat real food (meats, high fat cheese, low carb vegetables and nuts) and only count total Carbs.  30 total carbs might work for you, but most people I speak with who have any significant amount of weigh to lose do not start to find success until the can get their total carbs around that 20 mark.  Later, when you are maintaining you can add some back in until you find your "sweet spot" but try to use total carbs.

Decrease In Blood Ketone Levels Over Time

It can be confusing.  I went through it.  Here what I found out.

What initially occurs when you begin, or in your case start back on the Keto Diet, is the body overreacts; it produce more ketones than you need for energy.  You end up with a high amount of blood ketones, which gives you a high ketone reading.

That all changes once you become...

Keto Adapted

The body realizes that it is over producing ketones for energy and cuts back; only producing enough ketones for your energy demands and use. 

It similar to when you decrease your calorie intake.  Eventually, your body decreases your metabolic rate; it become more metabolically efficient.  

Keto Strips

I started out with them.  However, they stopped working for the same reason. 

Once Keto Adaption occurs,  urine ketones decease; which makes is confusing.

You know your on the diet and cannot understand.  I've been down this road, as well. 

Increasing Ketone Levels

One method of increasing levels is to increase your fat intake, especially MCT Oil.  I did that and dramatically increase my Ketone Levels from a 0.8 and 1.0 to 2.5 and 2.8.

The issue with that is that increasing calories, even on a Keto Diet, will increases body weight. 

Take Home Message

If, as you are, consuming the right number of macro percentage, you're in ketosis. 

With that said, here something that will provide you with some additional feed back...

A Cheap Breathalyzer

Breathalyzers measure breath alcohol; ethanol from liquor and isoproply from acetone ketones.

Cheap Breathalyzers cannot distinguish between the two.  By cheap, I mean around $10.00.

Thus, if you are on keto and not drinking, a reading  of 0.02 means you are in light ketosis.  A high reading of let's say 0.05 means you are in a deeper state of ketosis.

 More Expensive Breathalyzers

The more expensive Breathalyzer like Ketonix and police Breathalyzers can distinguish between liquor and acetone alcohols.  

So, if you were had to take a police Breathalyzer Test, you should be fine.

Kenny Croxdale

Danimi great advise

Eddie Appell said:
I'm using a tester that tests my blood, not urine or breath.  I've heard it's the most accurate?  Everything you said makes sense.

 Ketone Blood Monitor

I have one of them, as well.  I plot my blood ketones, glucose, and GKI (Glucose-Ketone Index).

My blood ketones dropped after a while while maintaining the same keto macro intake. 

I did my homework and, as reported in the previous post, found that once you are Keto Adapted, blood ketones drop.   To reiterate, that because your body only produces the amount of ketones you need for energy. 

Since you are using those ketones for energy, there are less ketones in the blood. 

Jacking Up My Ketones

I then decided to increase my my fat intake, especially my MCT oil. 

My blood ketones went from around 0.8 to 2.5 and 2.8., literally over night.  

Eddie Appell said:
I decided to take Danimi's advice as well and am trying to limit my total carbs to 30/day. 

Lower Carbohydrate Intake

That may help a little with increasing your blood ketone reading.  However, at some point your body is going to adapt (The General Adaptation Syndrome). 

Adaptation means the body is going to find a way to be frugal with its ketone, energy production.  It's a survival mechanism.

That is what occurs when you drop you calories.  Eventually, the body's metabolism slow down and learn to live on your new calorie intake; you weight loss stops.

A good research paper found that rotating calories ensured people were able to maintain weight.  The finding was that the body adapted to most changes in around two weeks. 

The research determined that by rotating calories every two week, individuals were able to maintain weight loss.  

 Eddie Appell said:
I do see a lot of successful low-carb dieters using the net carbs as a guide, so I think there's value there beyond marketing hype, but I do think, at least initially, that I need to limit my total carbs to under 50 per day, and I'm trying to be as close to 30 as I can.

Net Carbohydrates

I am not a fan of this concept. It provides some small assistance.  However, what it comes down to it the number of carbohydrates, regardless in the amount of fiber that is consumed. 

A hyperbolic example would be someone who consumed 100 gram of carbohydrates along with 50 gram of fiber to ensure they were at 50 gram of net carbohydrates for the day.  it doesn't work that way.

Breath Ketones

As you mentioned, Blood Ketones are the gold standard.  

Unfortunately, once you become Keto Adapted your blood ketone drop.  This makes it confusing when you know your doing everything right; as was my case. 

The Ketone Breathalyzers, in this case, provide you immediate feedback on you ketones.  

Sources: 

Measure Breath Ketones without a Ketonix (using a cheap breathalyzer) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktZ6WtM3QNo

This video goes into how a cheap breathalyzer is effective at measuring ketones. 

) paid $8.50 (which included shipping for my AT6000 GreenWon that I got direct from China, AliExpress. 

JIMMY RANTS 074: Higher Ketones Don't Equal Weight Loss On Keto (But Lower Blood Sugar Does) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo28xP9ToXs&t=167s

Moore explain how the body Keto Adapts and how the body ketone levels decrease; more ketones are being used for energy and less are being produced. 

 Intermittent energy restriction improves weight loss efficiency in obese men: the MATADOR study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28925405/

This goes into how the body adapts (The General Adaptation Syndrome) to a lower calorie intake after approximately two weeks. 

The research determined continuously rotating calorie intake down for two week and then up for two week ensure more weight/fat loss while maintaining more muscle mass.

Kenny Croxdale

I started keto at the end of July 2019, so now I have completed one year of keto.

Basically, it is a story of success. I lost about 23kg in a few months, and I have kept my ideal weight decently well (now, I should lose 1.5kg to be perfect).

It is obvious to me that bread (and wheat in general) is my kryptonite. Sugar also, but I was less addicted to sugar.

Instead, basic carbs like vegetables, and even fruits (especially blackberries and strawberries) I can eat them in industrial amounts. In fact, they are the basis of my food intake.

I also eat lots of olive oil (lots!) and a decent amount of protein.

I do time restricted feeding: I do not have breakfast. I am more hungry at night, though, and scientific research says I should reduce food intake 2/3 hours before bed, but I cannot do it. Instead, skipping breakfast is easy for me.

I do chaffles-which-are-not-chaffles: 30g of chia, 120g of water, an egg, 35g of psyllium husk, salt and olive oil, and I leave this batter into the chaffle maker for about 15 minutes. It is like bread! Sometimes I add some species into it.

I eat pasta made of surimi, which in texture is basically identical to wheat pasta. Very satisfying.

If I need to eat something sweet, I either eat spoonfulls of erythritol together with a yoghourt, or I do some fat bomb (olive oil, cocoa, erythritol, and to the freezer!).

I should return to exercising more. I hope this second year I will be better in that.

i followed a keto diet called the 28 day keto challenge

and finally  "You don’t have to be great to start, but you do have to start to be great."– Zig Ziglar