Everyone has heard of ketosis, and you know it is a metabolic state that your body puts itself into to burn fat for fuel. So, you start the keto diet and count everything that you eat but are unsure that you are doing the right thing to put yourself into ketosis. Here are four signs that you will notice as you get closer to ketosis.
1. Fatigue When you start the keto diet, you are cutting your carbs to low levels in a short space of time; your body will need to stop using carbs as a source of energy and switch itself to burning fat. The phase of switching from carbs to fat is called keto-flu, and you can experience a reduction in energy levels feel like the world is collapsing. After a few weeks, your body will switch to burning fat for fuel, and you will start to get all the energy your body requires Because you are experiencing fatigue doesn't mean you are entering ketosis, you could generally be tired.
2. Keto Urine Test Strips Keto test strips can be used in your own house. You would hold the keto strip in the stream of your urine and wait around ten to fifteen minutes to get a reading. The results are compared to a color guide that is on the bottle, and you want to be within the lower to mid-range colors. To make sure you are getting the most accurate readings you want to test at precisely the same time each day and with the same amount of hydration levels. This can be first thing in the morning as you wake up due to it being the same time and you haven't drunk water. This is an excellent way to get accurate readings, but the downside is that it is easy to get inaccurate readings due to your hydration levels and if you are using supplements.
3. Keto Blood Test This is the quickest and most accurate test you can do by pricking your finger on the needle which then takes a reading and gives you a reading within seconds. Having a level of between 0.5 and 5ml is an accurate way of finding out if you are in ketosis. The drawbacks of a blood meter are that they are expensive usually starting at $55 and can go into the thousands.
4. Keto Breath If you have been on a keto diet for quite some time, you may notice your breath smelly entirely different. There is nothing to stress about as nearly everyone who starts the keto diet will have breath that smells. The reason is that ketones are rising in the body, but it doesn't last long and goes away when you have become fully keto-adapted. Some devices can test your breath but cost a lot of money, but you can always purchase a cheap breathalyzer. Many other ways will tell you are in ketosis, but the blood meter is by far the most accurate way. Find a method that you want to measure ketones with stick with it.