How To Know If You Are In Ketosis

Hey guys! Welcome back to Simply Fat Fueled!

What is ketosis?

When you are on a keto diet, ketosis is a normal process your body goes through when switching metabolism from burning carbs as energy to burning fat as energy. As part of this process, your body produces ketones. Without getting too scientific, ketones are a result of your body breaking down fat as energy when your carb intake is really low. Getting to a state of ketosis and producing ketones is the goal when starting a keto diet - this let's you know that you are doing the diet correctly and are on your way to being a fat burning machine! 

What are some signs that you are in ketosis? 

• Appetite suppression
• Increased focus
• Increased energy
• Decreased brain fog
• Digestive issues (I experienced minor issues that lasted a day or two)
• Weight loss
• Insomnia (I had some trouble sleeping but never felt tired)
• Bad breath (try some sugar-free gum)
• Temporary decrease in strength (this lasted about a week for me)
• Increased ketones in blood and urine

How do you measure ketone levels?

The most accurate way to test your ketone level is with a blood glucose meter or a breath meter. However, the meter plus test strips can be somewhat pricey and it is not necessary to run out and buy one of these if you are on a budget.

A cheaper alternative test is using ketone urine strips which are only a couple bucks for 50 strips. The downside is that these aren't very accurate for various reasons and can throw off a false negative messing with your head and leaving you questioning the diet. If your test comes back negative and you have multiple symptoms listed above, test again in a few hours or the next day. I've noticed that if I'm well hydrated it can dilute the test and show up negative. My point is, don't let test strips discourage you. On the positive side, if the test strip turns any shade of pink, you are producing ketones and are in ketosis.👍👊

Below are my stats for the week. Weight remained the same from last week but I lost a little from my waist and hips so I'll take it! There are so many factors that play a part when it comes to weight loss and I encourage you to measure changes in other ways. Document body measurements like I am currently doing or take before and after pictures. Just because the scale doesn't move doesn't mean changes aren't happening.

**Keep calm and keto on**

Stats on Day 1		Stats on Day 21
Height	5'7"	Height	5'7"
Weight	151 lbs	Weight	148.7 lbs
Body Fat %	34%	Body Fat %	33%
Waist	32.5 inches	Waist	32 inches
Hips	40.5 inches	Hips	39 inches
Chest	35.5 inches	Chest	35 inches
Thighs	23 inches	Thighs	23 inches

Stay tuned for my next blog: Workouts on a keto diet

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