Speed ketosis
How to get into ketosis in 24 hours ? What are the signs of Ketosis (what is ketosis), are some of the questions that a keto diet beginner asks. Ketogenic diet is gaining popularity day by day and people from all walks of life are trying to see what ketosis can do to their well being. Each one of us has different goals. Some try keto diet for weight lose whereas others do it to improve their endurance performance. However, it is sometime challenging to get started with the High Fat Low Carb (HFLC) diet. Here I list three best ways to jump start ketosis. This is also called speed ketosis.
1. Intermittent fasting
Fasting is very common in various cultures because of various religious and health reasons. Intermittent fasting ketosis is the best way to get ketone into your blood. Ketone are the by product of metabolized body fat. Since your body has been using energy whole night. It is great idea not to eat anything till noon. Of course you will feel hungry since you have been without food for over 12 hours. Adding some good fats such as MCT oil or coconut oil to your coffee, tea or smoothies (with no or a few grams of carbs) might be a good start. My keto breakfast looks like this when I am falling off the optimum ketosis wagon. Fasting to get into ketosis is ideal for beginners.
2. Morning exercise
If intermittent fasting is not for you but you still want to reap the benefit of keto diet then morning exercise may be the best way to kick start ketosis. Have a early dinner and first thing in the morning that you might do is some form of physical activity. Run, bike swim or do cross fit. You want to make sure that your glycogen level is low enough so that your body start using fat for fuel. This is my favorite thing to start the day not only because it helps me to stay on track of ketosis but it helps improve the mood for rest of the day.
3. Cut carbohydrates completely
If above mentioned two methods are not for you then cut carbs completely from your food. Cutting out carbs even for 2 weeks will have huge impact .High fat diet will make you feel satiated for longer time. In general, max carbs to stay in ketosis is 30g. This may go up if you are excising.
Start your day with one of these
Hard boiled eggs with some guacamole
Omlette made with coconut oil
Bulletproof Coffee or tea. I make bulletproof chai at home in these three simple steps.
4. Monitor your blood ketone levels:
You will be surprised to see the amount of carbs different vegetables have. Just by eating low carb food items you may not get into the state of ketosis. To make sure that you are burning maximum fat, use blood ketone measuring device. This is also known as blood ketone meter. This is the best way to measure ketones. I describe this in details in the later section of the post.
5. Go without food for more than a day
This might be challenging for some, but i found this one to be the best way to start ketosis. Combine this with exercise and you will see plethora of ketone bodies flowing in your blood. Getting your body into ketosis is not easy, but with some self discipline this is doable.
6. Limit your protein intake
As the fundamentals of ketogenic diet, our maximum daily calories should come from fats (around 70%-80%). This means that our protein intake should be limited to 15-20% or less. If you are consuming more protein than that, this may kick you out of Ketosis. Keep an eye on your macros and you will quickly be burning fat.
7. Use coconut oil/cheese for satiety
Fasting or intermittent fasting is not for everyone. Some people might find it difficult to go without food for more than 10-12 hours. If that is the case for you, use coconut oil and cheese. Drink some water or coffee with that and I guarantee, you wont feel hungry. This will also jump start your ketosis because you are mainly consuming fat and moderate protein. I am more inclined towards coconut oil but a little cheese will also do the job.
8. Do egg fasting
I read about this on internet and tried it for 48 hours. And this certainly helps me put in light ketosis on the first day and almost optimal ketosis on the second day. Eat 6 hard boiled eggs per day with black coffee or water. Withing 24 hours, your body will be mainly using fat as a primary energy source.
9. Do weight training
Some people do not enjoy cardio as much as they do the weight training. This will also help you to jump start your ketosis. You might probably know the muscular people burns fat more efficiently than their lean counterparts. So, hitting the gym combined with controlled carb intake will boost your fat metabolism.
Which one is the best way of all
My personal favorite is fasting with exercise and no carb. However, depending on preference, you may combine more than 2 of the aforementioned methods. If you do this diligently, you will be in ketosis within 24 hours.
Now lets dig deeper into the ways of quantifying ketosis.
How do I know if I am on ketosis or not
There are three ways to know if you your body is using fat properly i.e if you are in ketosis or not. I list them in the following
Blood ketone test strips:
Blood ketone level can be measured using these strips. Since ketone are by products of fat metabolism, they are filtered from blood and can be found in urine. If the concentration of ketone is high, then these stripe change color. Depending on how many ketone are there in your urine, the color of the strips will provide you an idea if you are in ketosis. I have used them but the results from these test strips are highly unreliable. This is because if one is dehydrated it can give you false positive. On the contrary, if you have had enough water it may provide negative results even if you have good ketosis level.
Ketone breath meter:
Since ketone are produced during ketosis, they can be detected using a ketone breathe analyzer. Some people complaint about a foul breathing when the begin their keto diet. This breathe is nothing but volatile ketone that are exhaled out from lungs. I have never tried this technique myself so do not have much comments on that. I will be reading more about this and then will post in my future blog posts.
Blood ketone meter:
This is by far the most accurate method to know if your body is using fat as a fuel. I have used blood ketone meter from keto mojo and i think it provide highly accurate data of blood ketone level. There are some notes as to which keto food are better to stay in the state of ketosis and how i tracked my keone level. I will be providing that data in my coming posts. I have used keto mojo meter myself and heard good things about pPrecision xtra ketone meter as well.
Signs and symptoms of ketosis
- You may lose wight suddenly
- Decline in athletic Performance
- Feeling of satiety
- Bad breathe because of volatile ketone
- Enhanced mental Focus and abundant Energy.
- Fatigue and body ache-I experienced this only for the first week
Concluding remarks and disclaimer:
Ketogenic lifestyle is not for everyone, you should consult your doctor if you have had any health issues. I share my opinion based on my experiences. I have no affiliation with precision xtra or keto mojo.
You can buy keto products using this link . Use coupon code MALIKSMOBILITY to get 10% off on your purchase.
I am an affiliate of Kiss My Keto. This means that I will get little commission if you purchase items using this link or by using coupon code MALIKSMOBILITY . If you plan to do that, thanks a ton.
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