January Nutritional Ketosis...Are you in the zone?

[kim129]

Hi,

I have been following your threads for about 6 weeks now. I've learned a lot here! Thank you ;0) I received my Nova Max Plus and am doing my first test right now. Can someone please tell me what my sugar reading should be. Also am I correct that my Ketone should be .5 to 1.5?

Thank you,

Kim

[clackley]

Hi Kim. Normal blood sugars range vary according to different definitions of labs etc. but I think 70 (or 4) to 120 (6.5) are considered normal.

Ketones can vary from .5 to 5 or so (at least that is my understanding).

[Georgette76]

Sending prayers your way Buffy!!! Hopefully, they'll give you an answer to your ailment soon!

[kim129]

Thanks Cathy for your reply

Glucose is 91
Ketones are 1.1

Hello to everyone I have been lurking for about 6 weeks now. I have read and read and had myself a bit on overload with the information. Today was my first testing with the Nova Max Plus. It took me about 10 minutes to work up the courage to use the lancet I tested first with the glucose strips. I'm so glad I did because I messed up 3 tests before getting it right. Oh and I also tested on an empty stomach. Hope this was correct.

I really appreciate this thread and all the information you post here. I've learned so much.

Kim

[drjlocarb]

Kim!

Those number look fantastic.

Yes, testing in the morning before eating gives you the best information.

[bjjcaveman]

Originally Posted by kim129

Thanks Cathy for your reply

Glucose is 91
Ketones are 1.1

Hello to everyone I have been lurking for about 6 weeks now. I have read and read and had myself a bit on overload with the information. Today was my first testing with the Nova Max Plus. It took me about 10 minutes to work up the courage to use the lancet I tested first with the glucose strips. I'm so glad I did because I messed up 3 tests before getting it right. Oh and I also tested on an empty stomach. Hope this was correct.

I really appreciate this thread and all the information you post here. I've learned so much.

Kim

Those are great numbers! Especially for someone just starting out!

[bjjcaveman]

Weight: 180.4 -> 182 -> 181.8 -> 180.6 - 179.6 -> 181.2 -> 180.6 -> 179.2
AM Ketones: 1.6 -> 0.8 -> 0.5 -> 1.7 -> 0.7 -> 1.1 -> 0.9 -> 0.9

Day 12 of nutritional ketosis

Starting to feel the satiety thing, where I just eat a little and I'm not hungry for a long time. I'm wondering if this is a turning point where my body is finally getting adapted or if it is temporary.

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by kim129

Thanks Cathy for your reply

Glucose is 91
Ketones are 1.1

Hello to everyone I have been lurking for about 6 weeks now. I have read and read and had myself a bit on overload with the information. Today was my first testing with the Nova Max Plus. It took me about 10 minutes to work up the courage to use the lancet I tested first with the glucose strips. I'm so glad I did because I messed up 3 tests before getting it right. Oh and I also tested on an empty stomach. Hope this was correct.

I really appreciate this thread and all the information you post here. I've learned so much.

Kim

Kim!! Congratulations on your great readings!

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by bjjcaveman

Weight: 180.4 -> 182 -> 181.8 -> 180.6 - 179.6 -> 181.2 -> 180.6 -> 179.2
AM Ketones: 1.6 -> 0.8 -> 0.5 -> 1.7 -> 0.7 -> 1.1 -> 0.9 -> 0.9

Day 12 of nutritional ketosis

Starting to feel the satiety thing, where I just eat a little and I'm not hungry for a long time. I'm wondering if this is a turning point where my body is finally getting adapted or if it is temporary.

I'm hoping that I'm getting to this point too. Yesterday and today I didn't feel overwhelmingly hungry. It's interesting that it would take a while for ketosis to have an effect on appetite.

[bjjcaveman]

Originally Posted by mom2zeke

I'm hoping that I'm getting to this point too. Yesterday and today I didn't feel overwhelmingly hungry. It's interesting that it would take a while for ketosis to have an effect on appetite.

Ya! this kind of corresponds with what Buffy observed.. I remember her saying something like it taking around a month or so for her appetite to come down... so maybe that's what's happening to us?

this will be interesting to pay attention to. Volek and Phinney make it seem like simply eating a lot of fat would make you full... but maybe for some people it takes some time for ketoadaptation and then even more time for appetite to respond?

If anyone else out there has had success with NK, maybe you can chime in?

[MerryKate]

It took me the better part of two weeks to have full appetite suppression with ketosis. My appetite started decreasing within 2 days of starting NK, tho. It also wavers a bit, if I eat too much protein or the wrong kinds of carbs (for some reason, fruits trip me up). Hope that helps.

[lowcarbella]

Hi Shelley,
in case you haven't noticed ,I have posted the fat fast thread for kickstarting NK separately.
I have some more recipes I will add soon.
I notice that when I eat a lot of fat ,I get diarheaa.I do lose weight,but I guess too much fat too fast cannot be digested by my system.This is really getiing too complicated ,finally I just found out what works,but then it gives me the runs.No fun way to lose weight.
That said ,from Jan 1st I was LCing,last Monday I started on fat fast,quickly got me into ketosis,now I am on Modified fat fast.Planning to add more ,but slowly.I think I have a limit of protein and fat that I can eat at one meal,or else it knocks me out of ketosis.
I am still playing with the portions and grams.
So far I have lost all 9 the pounds gained from holidays,some was water weight.
I heard that supplementing with bioflavonoids helps with diarheaa,any suggestions/experience with this?
I have a goal of reaching 180/175 pounds by March 2.Right now I weigh 190lbs.
Is this too ambitious?I have a big function coming up and have a certain dress size in mind.

[clackley]

Good morning! Checked my ketones after a night out which exceeded both carbs and protein and somehow had the same ketone reading this morning. I am puzzled but happy.

Ketones 2.9 and b.g. 5 (90).

[BigRunner]

Good morning everyone.

Just checking in. See the pattern developing. Lose a pound... stay the same 4 days...lose a pound ...repeat (I update stats every other day when I test BK)

Weight: 201 --> 199 --> 198 --> 198 --> 197 --> 197
BK: 2.1 --> 2.8 --> 3.2 --> 2.8 --> 2.6--> 2.2

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by bjjcaveman

Ya! this kind of corresponds with what Buffy observed.. I remember her saying something like it taking around a month or so for her appetite to come down... so maybe that's what's happening to us?

this will be interesting to pay attention to. Volek and Phinney make it seem like simply eating a lot of fat would make you full... but maybe for some people it takes some time for ketoadaptation and then even more time for appetite to respond?

If anyone else out there has had success with NK, maybe you can chime in?

That's an interesting theory and I hope that it's true. I have a lot of experiments that I would like to see done on people who are following NK. For now it's just all of us trying to figure it out. I love reading what everyone is doing and how it works. I think that there are clues that are (hopefully) pointing in the right direction.

Originally Posted by MerryKate

It took me the better part of two weeks to have full appetite suppression with ketosis. My appetite started decreasing within 2 days of starting NK, tho. It also wavers a bit, if I eat too much protein or the wrong kinds of carbs (for some reason, fruits trip me up). Hope that helps.

What do you do differently with ketosis vs. NK? Isn't NK just sustained ketosis over a period of time? I know that in the past I thought I was in ketosis but probably wasn't due to overeating protein.

Originally Posted by lowcarbella

Hi Shelley,
in case you haven't noticed ,I have posted the fat fast thread for kickstarting NK separately.
I have some more recipes I will add soon.
I notice that when I eat a lot of fat ,I get diarheaa.I do lose weight,but I guess too much fat too fast cannot be digested by my system.This is really getiing too complicated ,finally I just found out what works,but then it gives me the runs.No fun way to lose weight.
That said ,from Jan 1st I was LCing,last Monday I started on fat fast,quickly got me into ketosis,now I am on Modified fat fast.Planning to add more ,but slowly.I think I have a limit of protein and fat that I can eat at one meal,or else it knocks me out of ketosis.
I am still playing with the portions and grams.
So far I have lost all 9 the pounds gained from holidays,some was water weight.
I heard that supplementing with bioflavonoids helps with diarheaa,any suggestions/experience with this?
I have a goal of reaching 180/175 pounds by March 2.Right now I weigh 190lbs.
Is this too ambitious?I have a big function coming up and have a certain dress size in mind.

Thanks for all of the great fat-fast information. I know that Dr. Atkins advised it for extreme cases of metabolic resistance. And in light of what we know about protein and how it can get in the way of ketosis for some people it seems like a great jump-starter. The older I get the more I really love Dr. Atkins!

My own experience is that I do better setting goals for actions/habits rather than specific weights at specific times. So while you might be able to get to that weight by March 2nd, your body might have other plans.

Originally Posted by clackley

Good morning! Checked my ketones after a night out which exceeded both carbs and protein and somehow had the same ketone reading this morning. I am puzzled but happy.

Ketones 2.9 and b.g. 5 (90).

That's very interesting. Maybe you have greater leeway than you thought for ketosis?

Originally Posted by BigRunner

Good morning everyone.

Just checking in. See the pattern developing. Lose a pound... stay the same 4 days...lose a pound ...repeat (I update stats every other day when I test BK)

Weight: 201 --> 199 --> 198 --> 198 --> 197 --> 197
BK: 2.1 --> 2.8 --> 3.2 --> 2.8 --> 2.6--> 2.2

You're doing so well! I think we may all fall into patterns for loss if we pay attention. I always stayed the same for a week or two and then dropped 3-4 pounds within a few days.


Here are my stats this morning:

Weight: 147.6 ->148.2 ->148 ->147 ->147.2 -> 147.2 -> 147 -> 146.8 -> 146 -> 145.4 -> 146.4 -> 146.2 -> 147 -> 146.8 -> 147.6 -> 147.4 -> 146.6 -> 145.8

AM Ketones: 0.2 -> 0.2 -> 0.1 -> 0.2 -> 0.3 -> 0.3 -> 0.8 -> 1.0 -> 1.2 -> 1.1 -> 1.4 -> 1.7 -> 1.2 -> 1.5 -> 1.1 -> 1.4 -> .9

I'm feeling pretty good overall and I think that my body is getting used to living in ketosis again. There were a few times over the past few weeks that I questioned why I'm even doing this. I do think that the hormonal cascade that happens with weight loss along with the transition back into ketosis played a large role in my mental state.

How is everyone else doing?

[NKSL55]

Originally Posted by mom2zeke

I'm feeling pretty good overall and I think that my body is getting used to living in ketosis again. There were a few times over the past few weeks that I questioned why I'm even doing this. I do think that the hormonal cascade that happens with weight loss along with the transition back into ketosis played a large role in my mental state.

Hi Kristn,
Yeah, I have to admit I was a little worried at your apparent mental state. Might mean you have to plan for that after your annual "carb splurge". I mean if you were expecting it, it might be easier to manage than getting blind-sided by it.

By the way, any "carb-sickness" when you did indulge? That is, feeling sick from the sugar, etc?

--
Phillip

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by NKSL55

Hi Kristn,
Yeah, I have to admit I was a little worried at your apparent mental state. Might mean you have to plan for that after your annual "carb splurge". I mean if you were expecting it, it might be easier to manage than getting blind-sided by it.

By the way, any "carb-sickness" when you did indulge? That is, feeling sick from the sugar, etc?

--
Phillip

Strangely no carb-sickness at all.

My personal experience and what I've learned from reading the blogs of people living in a weight-reduced state is that it can make you a bit crazy. My theory is that hormones affect your mental state and the hormones that are released to try and get you to gain back the weight that you've lost are very powerful. When you combine this with the metabolic reduction that comes along with losing weight it's not surprising that people "lose their willpower" and gain back their lost weight.

I'm hoping that sustained ketosis can mitigate this somewhat. But there are still ups and downs and it doesn't help to be a hormone-cycling female on top of it all.

[portcop01]

Kristin I love your post! Right now I really tring to figure out it all! I no for sure if I don't get enough fat I get hungry if I eat to much protein I will not lose weight.im going to purtio Rico in 9 days just don't no how I'm going to eat while there for 7 days.i no I would like to have a rum and diet coke,I just don't want to over do it but don't want to be worrying about what to eat, it's a life time vacation..it's going to be hard!!

[bjjcaveman]

Weight: 180.4 -> 182 -> 181.8 -> 180.6 - 179.6 -> 181.2 -> 180.6 -> 179.2 -> 179.6
AM Ketones: 1.6 -> 0.8 -> 0.5 -> 1.7 -> 0.7 -> 1.1 -> 0.9 -> 0.9 -> 0.6

Day 13 of nutritional ketosis

Had Chinese food for dinner last night.. And even though I asked them to hold the corn starch which they did because I noticed the sauces were less viscous, I suspected my ketones would still take a hit because of the other stuff in there (I only ate broccoli and beef and chicken).

I'm still on the road so it's hard to keep my foods under control since I'm not cooking my own stuff.

[bjjcaveman]

Originally Posted by mom2zeke

That's an interesting theory and I hope that it's true. I have a lot of experiments that I would like to see done on people who are following NK. For now it's just all of us trying to figure it out. I love reading what everyone is doing and how it works. I think that there are clues that are (hopefully) pointing in the right direction.



What do you do differently with ketosis vs. NK? Isn't NK just sustained ketosis over a period of time? I know that in the past I thought I was in ketosis but probably wasn't due to overeating protein.



Thanks for all of the great fat-fast information. I know that Dr. Atkins advised it for extreme cases of metabolic resistance. And in light of what we know about protein and how it can get in the way of ketosis for some people it seems like a great jump-starter. The older I get the more I really love Dr. Atkins!

My own experience is that I do better setting goals for actions/habits rather than specific weights at specific times. So while you might be able to get to that weight by March 2nd, your body might have other plans.



That's very interesting. Maybe you have greater leeway than you thought for ketosis?



You're doing so well! I think we may all fall into patterns for loss if we pay attention. I always stayed the same for a week or two and then dropped 3-4 pounds within a few days.


Here are my stats this morning:

Weight: 147.6 ->148.2 ->148 ->147 ->147.2 -> 147.2 -> 147 -> 146.8 -> 146 -> 145.4 -> 146.4 -> 146.2 -> 147 -> 146.8 -> 147.6 -> 147.4 -> 146.6 -> 145.8

AM Ketones: 0.2 -> 0.2 -> 0.1 -> 0.2 -> 0.3 -> 0.3 -> 0.8 -> 1.0 -> 1.2 -> 1.1 -> 1.4 -> 1.7 -> 1.2 -> 1.5 -> 1.1 -> 1.4 -> .9

I'm feeling pretty good overall and I think that my body is getting used to living in ketosis again. There were a few times over the past few weeks that I questioned why I'm even doing this. I do think that the hormonal cascade that happens with weight loss along with the transition back into ketosis played a large role in my mental state.

How is everyone else doing?

Great to see the weight loss and day 11 of ketosis. Seems like for both of us it takes at least 10 ish days for things to settle down.

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by portcop01

Kristin I love your post! Right now I really tring to figure out it all! I no for sure if I don't get enough fat I get hungry if I eat to much protein I will not lose weight.im going to purtio Rico in 9 days just don't no how I'm going to eat while there for 7 days.i no I would like to have a rum and diet coke,I just don't want to over do it but don't want to be worrying about what to eat, it's a life time vacation..it's going to be hard!!

Will you be eating out for all of your meals in Puerto Rico?

If it was me I would put together a plan before I went and then stick to it. I would allow myself enough leeway so that I didn't feel that my vacation was ruined because I was trying to stick to an unrealistic plan.

Planning ahead always helps me because I don't have to make a choice in the moment when I'm faced with a decision--I just defer to my plan.

[portcop01]

Most time eating out I've pretty much not been eating veggies mostly meat and eggs,so I think I'll eat meat and salad a lot down there we will have a apt.so can cook a little plus I only eat two meals aday.do you think the rum and diet coke will make me gain lots!!i like wine but I no it's to much sugar it will throw my body out of whack .

I got into my size 10 jeans this morning. I was in 18 in July

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by portcop01

Most time eating out I've pretty much not been eating veggies mostly meat and eggs,so I think I'll eat meat and salad a lot down there we will have a apt.so can cook a little plus I only eat two meals aday.do you think the rum and diet coke will make me gain lots!!i like wine but I no it's to much sugar it will throw my body out of whack .

I got into my size 10 jeans this morning. I was in 18 in July

Congrats on the size 10 jeans!

If you have an apartment it will be so much easier!! I don't know much about rum, but I think that the clear is better than the dark? I think you'll be fine with rum and diet coke and it will feel more like a vacation.

[MerryKate]

Originally Posted by mom2zeke

What do you do differently with ketosis vs. NK? Isn't NK just sustained ketosis over a period of time? I know that in the past I thought I was in ketosis but probably wasn't due to overeating protein.

Sorry, I think I confused things by using NK and ketosis interchangeably. I was referring to when I started low-carbing again after some time off - it takes a while, even on NK, to get back into ketosis, and the appetite suppression took about a week to be fully in effect. With NK, I keep carbs around 25 net and limit my protein to 57-65 g/day (before I was doing 95-105 g and stalled out for 6 months).

The appetite suppression was definitely there today....I just didn't want to eat, but I got my protein in. My ketones were 0.7 this morning, and I'm finally back to my pre-Christmas weight of 184.5.

[MerryKate]

Originally Posted by portcop01

I got into my size 10 jeans this morning. I was in 18 in July

Woohoo! I'm kinda jealous...that's my goal. Congratulations! And have fun on your trip. Sounds like you've got a good plan.

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by MerryKate

Sorry, I think I confused things by using NK and ketosis interchangeably. I was referring to when I started low-carbing again after some time off - it takes a while, even on NK, to get back into ketosis, and the appetite suppression took about a week to be fully in effect. With NK, I keep carbs around 25 net and limit my protein to 57-65 g/day (before I was doing 95-105 g and stalled out for 6 months).

This totally makes sense. NK seems to be getting a tighter reign on macronutrients to induce sustained ketosis. Even though I've been doing this for quite a while I find the difference between NK and ketosis confusing. I use them interchangeably all the time myself.

The appetite suppression was definitely there today....I just didn't want to eat, but I got my protein in. My ketones were 0.7 this morning, and I'm finally back to my pre-Christmas weight of 184.5.

Woo hoo!! Congratulations on getting back into ketosis and back down to your pre-Christmas weight!!

[mom2zeke]

Good morning everyone!

Here are my stats this morning:

Weight: 147.6 ->148.2 ->148 ->147 ->147.2 -> 147.2 -> 147 -> 146.8 -> 146 -> 145.4 -> 146.4 -> 146.2 -> 147 -> 146.8 -> 147.6 -> 147.4 -> 146.6 -> 145.8 -> 145

AM Ketones: 0.2 -> 0.2 -> 0.1 -> 0.2 -> 0.3 -> 0.3 -> 0.8 -> 1.0 -> 1.2 -> 1.1 -> 1.4 -> 1.7 -> 1.2 -> 1.5 -> 1.1 -> 1.4 -> .9 -> .4

I went over on protein yesterday evening so it's not a surprise that my ketones are down this morning. I was actually surprised that my weight was down this morning. I think that there's a cyclical hormonal aspect to my weight that I have been discounting. When I look back at my records it looks like since I hit my goal my weight has been up right around ovulation every month and then goes back down as I head towards TOM. Previously my weight was up around TOM. I guess it's just another data point to track.

Once I get my ketones back up over .5 I'm going to go to every other day testing unless I go under .5 or over 147lbs. It's coming up on 4 months since I hit goal and I'm starting to feel pretty good about keeping this up and financially it would be great to taper off on the ketone strips.

How is everyone else doing?

[shelley]

Becky...I'm thrilled for you and your 10 pants! You go girl!!!

MerryKate...love your posts and your way of doing what's right for you. And I love your avatar!!! :-)

Kristn....you are doing so well on figuring out what works and doesn't for you, and what TOM means and how things change.....I'm pretty darned impressed with all you've done and so very appreciative that you continue to post for us!!!! Thank you!

[bjjcaveman]

Weight: 181.8 -> 180.6 - 179.6 -> 181.2 -> 180.6 -> 179.2 -> 179.6 -> 181
AM Ketones: 0.5 -> 1.7 -> 0.7 -> 1.1 -> 0.9 -> 0.9 -> 0.6 -> 0.7

Day 14 of nutritional ketosis

Kristn - Great new low on the weight. Interesting to see how fast it can be to drop out of ketosis isn't it? Even by just eating more protein. I think this is one of the drawbacks of the diet that I'm finding out... is that despite it's effectiveness, it can be extremely delicate to maintain... hence the need for constant measurements. You may think you're in ketosis but actually be out of it... but the blood tests are irrefutable.

[MerryKate]

Originally Posted by mom2zeke

I think that there's a cyclical hormonal aspect to my weight that I have been discounting.

FWIW, I found my ketones tend to drop 1-2 days before ToM, even when I'm doing everything right. That might be part of what you're seeing. Oh the joys of womanhood! ;D