On Reaching Ketosis - The Keto Cut Day 4
Welcome to day 4 of The Keto Cut - a series that will follow my daily routines as I cut for the summer on a ketogenic diet. These posts may not be for all of you as they are intensely focused on fitness and nutrition. Health is one of the most important parts of my life and I take it very seriously and I figured I would share my experiences and daily "logs" with all of you who may also be interested in this topic.
On Reaching Ketosis
For this section on reaching ketosis I'm going to address 2 really common questions:
- How do you reach ketosis?
- How do you know when you're in ketosis.
(1) How do you reach ketosis?
I figured I would clear this up by listing the specific things that one should do when trying to reach ketosis:
Restrict your carbs: this is the obvious and most important factor when it comes to reaching ketosis - you have to lower your carb intake significantly. Most people will find that anything below 35g of carbs per day is sufficient for getting into ketosis. It varies greatly from person to person and is also impacted by your activity level. For example, some athletes follow a ketogenic diet, but still eat 100-150g of carbs per day. You may have to experiment with it a little, I recommend going low - about 20g per day - and then working your way up by slowly adding a few more carbs.
Eat enough fat: this is surprisingly a huge issue for many new keto dieters. It's hard to change your mentality from the traditional view of avoiding fat at all costs to the keto view of eat tons of fat. It's very common for new keto dieters to lose weight when starting the keto diet, but then hit a plateau aftter a short period of time because their body is exhausted from carb AND fat deprivation. Make sure you figure out how many calories per day you need for your fats and that you're accurately hitting that number.
Watch your protein: many new keto dieters, especially those from the weight-lifting community, tend to overdo their protein intake. I personally eat 1g per lb of lean body mass (about 170g for me). If your body has excess protein, it can convert that extra protein into glucose which can knock you out of ketosis. I struggled to stay in ketosis during my first attempt at the diet because my protein was too high - I think I was eating around 220g per day at the time, but I also had less lean body mass than I do now.
Water is your friend: it's easy to get a little dehydrated when you first try to reach ketosis - this can happen for a lot of different reasons: you tend to eat saltier foods, you tend to feel more full and thus drink less water, etc etc. Water is a really great way to keep your body refreshed and keep you from losing your mind.
(2) How do you know when you're in ketosis?
This is a kind of complicated question to answer. There are a few "symptoms" or "signs" of being in ketosis, and you can try to use these to gauge whether or not you feel like you're in ketosis, but the only way to really know for sure that you're in ketosis is to find a way to measure the level ketones in your body. You can measure your ketones with "keto strips" found at local drugstores or even blood-glucose monitors (there's some great ones on Amazon).
Here are the "symptoms" that you can use to try and "feel" ketosis:
- More bathroom breaks
- A dry mouth and/or bad breath
- Reduced hunger and reduced fatigue
Day 4 Log:
Weigh-In:
| Start Weight | Goal Weight | Weight Lost |
|---|---|---|
| 198 | 173 | 2.6 |
| Today's Weight | Fat Mass (%) | Body Mass BMI |
|---|---|---|
| 195 | 25.1 | 27.1 |
Workout:
Pull Day (back, biceps, traps, rear delts)
| Movement | Weight lbs | # Reps | # Sets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bent Over Barbell Row | 135 | 8-12 | 4 |
| Bent Over Dumbbell Row | 80 | 8-12 | 4 |
| Standing Barbell Curl | 60 | 12-15 | 4 |
| Bicep Preacher Curl Machine | 70 | 12-15 | 4 |
| Seated Dumbbell Bicep Curl | 30 | 12-15 | 4 |
| High Row Machine | 140 | 12-15 | 4 |
| Rear Delt Fly Machine | 90 | 12-15 | 4 |
What I Ate Today:
| Meal | Food |
|---|---|
| 0 | Coffee with 2 TBSP MCT Oil |
| 1 | 4 Eggs, 2 Slices of Cheddar Cheese, 6 oz deli turkey |
| 2 | 8 Oz Chicken and Spinach cooked in 2 TBSP Coconut Oil |
| 3 | 8 Oz Ground Turkey, Mixed Vegetables cooked in 1 TBSP Coconut Oil |
| 4 | 4 Servings of Mixed Nuts, 1 Avocado, 1 TBSP MCT Oil |
Here's the Question of The Day, don't forget to post your answers in the comments!
QOTD: How do you measure your keto levels or how would you measure your keto levels if you attempted the diet? Through science or through intuition? or both?
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave your thoughts below and I look forward to seeing you in the comments!
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Damn! Nice tables to input your sets and reps, i should do something like that, i normally go for the heaviest weight i can :P
I've never seen one of those keto strips, i think they don't sell those in my country, weird...
You could also make a graph where you measure your body fat, weight, water weight, etc... print screen it and post it with your post
Thanks, I also go as heavy as I can (while still staying in the rep ranges). I'm a form nut, so if I can't do something for reps with near-perfect form, then I will drop the weight until I can.
Hmm, they may have a different name, but they're really popular in drug stores near me like Walgreens for example.
That's a phenomenal idea, I definitely will try and make something like that, thanks for the suggestion @teutonium!
I'm giving you suggestions left and right :P I need to start charging you for these ideas ahha, just kiding, have fun on your diet, i'm also trying to cut down a little, i was eating way to many carbs, my body was starting to store a little fat, i could decrease the protein and fat, but i like to have bought in a good amount, 220g protein and 100g fat, sometimes 250g P /130 fat, it really depends on how i'm feeling :P My body grows just by having a large supply of protein, 220g is more than enough in my experience
Man these posts are well done. The detail is fantastic. I tend to work by intuition believe it or not but with something this extreme i always combine science with intuition. Great question!
Thanks @sequentialvibe! I'm loving these posts as well, they are really fun to make and I keep finding ways to tweak them. Hopefully they will continue to get better with time! I also work with mainly intuition but usually confirm with science - ketostix, blood monitors, etc.
I suffer from PCOS and Keto is what is usually recommended to ease up the symptoms but I find it so difficult because being the Asian that I am, I can never let go of my favorite carb- Rice!
Keto does seem to solve or at least aid in a lot of different conditions, it may be a great lifestyle choice for you! It really helps my skin and overall mood and energy levels. I'm also a HUGE rice eater, so when I'm on Keto I will stay on the no-carb routine for about 12-14 days and then on that "cheat day" I will eat tons and tons of rice, pasta, bread, etc. Maybe that will work better for you! It's called a Cyclical Ketogenic Diet.
I've heard a lot about the keto diet, but really have never known how to go about entering ketosis. I shall be following more closely, as there is a lot to learn from your posts regarding your keto cut log!!
Keep up the solid work @khaleelkazi
Respect from @conradsuperb
Thanks @conradsuperb! I love Keto and I think it's mentally, emotionally, and physically beneficial for a lot of people! It really helps with my mood, energy levels, skin clarity, etc. There's a lot of benefits and it's not a very hard regime!
I will have to keep diligent on your posts so I can learn more.
the benefits you mention are similar to what I get from practicing yoga and meditation on a daily basis
Solid article. I have 3 friends on the Keto diet and they all use the Keto urine test strips to ensure their body is in ketosis.
Tempted to try this diet, but at the same time worried about "cheat" days derailing the success of the plan (hey I like beer... which has tons of carbs...)
Thanks @digitaldruid! I love the keto diet, and the strips are decently accurate, I use them occasionally. I recommend trying it out. I usually have a "cheat" day every 12-14 days and load up on pasta and bread and rice and anything else I'm really craving - even chocolate cake sometimes! I also know a lot of people who drink their alcohol on these days as well.
Well knitted and detailed fitness piece.
Thanks for sharing this @khaleelkazi
To answer your question, I would measure my keto level using my intuition (Its the most readily available option). Probably I would use scientific methods to confirm.
Hey @fada.emma! Thanks!
I usually do a mix of both when I'm doing a keto diet - I like to use intuition to find my levels of hunger and also "feel" ketosis while also confirming with the "scientific methods" of ketostix and other detection products. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Wow. That's amazing.
What are the other detection products?@khaleelkazi
Well knitted and detailed fitness piece.
Thanks for sharing this @khaleelkazi
To answer your question, I would measure my keto level using my intuition (Its the most readily available option). Probably I would use scientific methods to confirm.
Great info man thank you very much!
Thanks, what was your favorite part of this post? Did you see the QOTD?
I never heard of it before. why is dry mouth and bad breath an indication? Great info. Thanks. Joy
They are side effects of your body's increased production of ketones. If you're experiencing those symptoms, it likely means that your body is producing more ketones than usual and thus, you may be in ketosis.
I use MyFitnessPal to track macros. Down 12 # first two months but plateaued now. So have to increase fat and start exercising seriously. Thanks for sharing your journey!
Hey @hella-g! That's amazing! I also use myfitnesspal to track macros - which gives me a great idea for these posts..
Yes, increasing fat and exercising would definitely be ways to break through a plateau. Also check up on your sleeping schedule and protein levels - those are 2 big ones that sometimes get my keto diets tripped up.