What Is Ketosis?
To understand what ketosis is, we need to define how the body obtains its fuel for energy.
So to start, we have our 3 main sources of energy (or macronutrients).
- Carbohydrates
- Protein
- Fats
Then, we have the process of how the body breaks down each macronutrient, stores it, and uses it to transform them into energy.
- Carbohydrates -> Sugar -> Glucose -> Glycolysis
- Protein -> Amino Acids -> Glucose -> Gluconeogenesis
- Fats -> Fatty Acids -> Ketones -> Ketosis
So, in summary, get into ketosis is when the body obtains its energy through ketones using fats as its main source of energy.
How Does Ketosis Works?
Basically, you are trying to make your body get the energy through ketones (not glucose, as it normally does).
The catch is that ketones don’t show up in your body if you consume too many carbohydrates or proteins.
So how can you make your body produce ketones?
You already know the answer to this one, but yes, you need to increase your fat intake and reduce your protein and carbohydrate intake. Just as an FYI, exercise and intermittent fasting also help, but I will not discuss it in this article to focus only on macros.
How many macros do I need to get in the state of ketosis?
The amount varies from person to person, but the general rule is 70% Fat, 20% Protein, 10% Carbohydrate.
Here is a simple table showing the difference between a balanced diet and a ketogenic diet consuming the same amount of calories.
So here are a few observations from the table:
- Notice that you will consume 100 grams less (405 grams vs. 305 grams) in a ketogenic diet than in a balanced diet. So yes, you will be eating less in a keto diet (overall), but you will feel satiated because fats have more calories/gram. So you won’t feel hungry.
- Remember that food has water weight. This means that the total amount of grams shown in the table doesn’t actually show the weight of the food you are eating. The average person eats 3 to 5 pounds of food in a day (1360 – 2267 grams). 50 to 80 % will be water weight depending on the food you eat.
- In this example, I tried to match the 70/20/10 on a 1,995 calorie intake. But the general rule is to eat only 20 grams of NET carbs. In this case, the graph shows 50 grams of carbs, but you need to subtract the amount of fiber to get your NET Carbs.
- Notice that the percentages are based on calories, not grams. Not sure if you ever had this confusion before, but I did. When you hear about the 70% fats, 20% proteins, 10% carbs, make sure you are using calories, not grams or any other unit of measure.
What does ketosis feel like?
This one is obviously going to be different from person to person, so I will list some of the stages you should feel while going through ketosis, but remember that everyone is different, and it doesn’t mean you should go through all the stages.
Short Term (1 Week Of Ketosis)
- Headache
- Fatigue and weakness (Keto Flu)
- Reduce sleep time
The beginning stages are usually uncomfortable because your body is not used to getting fat as its main energy source. When the glycogen storages start to deplete, you will start having the symptoms above. But don’t worry; they are normal and should go away after the first weeks (but always check with your doctor if any symptom isn’t going away).
Mid Term (14 days of ketosis – 4 Weeks)
- Reduce brain fog
- Increase energy level
- Reduce bloating in your stomach
- Weight Loss
This, I will say, is the sweet spot. You start getting all the benefits of the Keto Diet, and you begin to see the changes in your body.
Long Term (1 Month – Forever?)
- Studies with people going on the keto diet plan are relatively new, so we don’t know the long-term results yet. At the same time, staying in ketosis (all the time) is relatively hard.
- My approach (depending on my goal) is to go on and off. For example, if my goal is weight loss, I do keto during the week (strictly), and not so strict on the weekends. For health benefits, I try to go longer, but once I feel ok (increased focus, energized, good digestion, overall in a good state) I usually go off again. So my suggestion is to define why you want to go on a keto diet, define your goals (weight, sugar levels, cholesterol levels, focus, energy, etc..), and then decide how long to do it.
How Ketosis Burns Fat?
From my understanding, most people are looking to go on keto because of the weight loss benefits, not because of the other health benefits.
So how will you lose fat on a keto diet?
The 2 biggest reasons:
- Hunger cravings start to go away. Why? Your insulin levels are lower and you don’t have the typical sugar spikes that you feel on a high carb diet. In the end, this helps so you don’t overeat when you are on a calorie deficit.
- You train your body to use ketones as fuel and not glucose, so you basically make your body into a fat burning machine. Obviously like any other diet out there, you need to be on a calorie deficit. This applies to all diets on a weight loss goal. But the benefit of a keto diet is that the body gets used to using fat as its main energy source, so when you are on a calorie deficit, it goes straight to the fat.
What Ketosis Levels I Need For Weight Loss?
So first, we need to know how to measure your ketone levels.
Ketones are measured using millimolar per Liter of blood mmol/L.
How many mmol/L should my blood have to be in ketosis?
- 0.5 – 1 mmol/L is called a light nutritional ketosis.
- 1 – 3 mmol/L is called the optimal nutritional ketosis.
- More than 3 mmo/L is when you are exercising and fasting.
- Above 8 mmol/L you could be in a state of ketoacidosis.
So the question is a little tricky because the weight loss is really related to calorie intake rather than the ketone levels in the blood. You will really have more health benefits than weight loss benefits if you increase ketone levels (up to 5 mmol/L), but if you exceed the 8 mmol/L, you may start getting negative results (ketoacidosis).
How can you measure your mmol/L ketones in your blood?
First, it’s important to know that ketones are composed of 3 ketone bodies, BHB, AcAc, and Acetone. So the 3 tests shown below are based on these 3 body measurements.
There are the 3 best ketone meters:
- Blood Test Kit – Measures beta-hydroxybuterate (BHB)
- Urine Strips – Measures acetoacetate (AcAc)
- Breath Meter – Measures acetone
They all have pros and cons, but in summary, the blood test is the most effective but most expensive.
Urine strips are not as effective as blood tests, but they are cheaper and easy to use.
A breath meter would be the last option for accuracy, but it’s obviously the most convenient to start with.
How To Get Into Ketosis?
It’s always a time vs. cost dilemma. How fast do you want results vs. how much money are you willing to invest? Here are 4 approaches going from the most time-consuming but cost-effective to the less time-consuming but cost expensive.
- Read blogs online (like this one) and start making your own meals calculating daily and weekly macros.
- Buy keto recipe books with keto friendly meals and avoid calculating macros for each meal. Just focus on choosing the meals you like and spend time cooking and eating.
- Get a personalized diet plan so you don’t even think what meals to choose from, you already get the meals based on your preferences, gender, and weight goals.
- Buy keto products like exogenous ketones to accelerate the process.
