Markette Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Today I learned about ketosis. Yesterday, Day 15 for me, I had a lady doctor's appointment wherein they collected a urine sample. My ketones were sky high and prompted my doctor -- who I had never seen before -- to tell me he didn't think I was eating well. I laughed, insisted that I eat quite well, and asked him to explain his concern more fully. He explained that ketones indicate I am passing fat, that I'm not eating well, starving. He insisted that I grab a fruit juice on the way home, push fluids the rest of the night, and follow up with my GP. Let me tell you, that much glucose at once felt weird, but who was I to argue with his quite insistent orders? After some Google-fu, I found out that that's not exactly what ketones are, or what high ketones in urine means, but close. They're a byproduct of my body burning fat for energy instead of glucose. They are a warning sign if you're a Type I diabetic (I'm not) or have liver issues (I don't know of any) and can be a tell-tale sign of anorexia or starvation or fasting (uh, no), but for folks on low-carb, high-fat diets, they more often indicate that your metabolism has shifted from processing glucose to processing fat for fuel. On top of the high ketone level in my urine, I felt terrible all day long. I couldn't sleep the night before, had another base-of-the-neck migraine-like headache, had the chills, and finally vomited around 3am. I chalked it up to the flu or the issue that had brought me to my doctor to begin with, but after further research, I'm wondering if I might actually be transitioning to a ketogenic metabolism and have a touch of the "ketosis flu". I'm not much of an athlete these days, and ketosis certainly isn't the goal of my Whole30. I did some quick research on this forum and saw that other ladies -- mainly pregnant ones -- had doctors who were concerned with high ketones while they were Whole30ing. They increased their caloric intake via more starches. So I also decided to tweak my diet even more this round and increase my starch (yams, bananas, squash, etc.) intake and see how I feel. I'm seeing my GP next week -- also for the first time -- and I'd like to be able to ask some pointed questions about the paleo diet and ketosis and ketoacidosis, as I'm sure another urinalysis will reveal the same high ketone levels and probably bring similar concerns. I've been strict paleo since 2011, am 114 pounds, 5'4", and have a very low body fat -- I'm not opposed to remaining in ketosis, but am concerned that I don't have a ton of fat on my frame to burn and want to monitor my diet and health responsibly. Has anyone else -- especially ladies -- had high ketone levels in their urine? Any precautions I should be aware of? Any tweaks to a Whole30 you'd recommend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina R Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 This has been discussed on this forum http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/2737-why-is-nobody-talking-about-ketosis/. Here is a thread that might help. You can also search google "whole30 Ketosis" for other answers on the forum. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkor Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Bonus ketosis! Lucky! Several of us are aiming for it here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praxisproject Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 If you want to avoid ketosis, you can test for it yourself at home with Ketostix or other test strips (this is what diabetics use who are trying to avoid ketoacidosis - so never buy the last bottle at the chemist). If you test after meals and first thing in the morning, you'll get a feel for what you need to eat to stay out of ketosis (it's the same technique for those trying to stay in it). You can also get a blood meter, but that seems excessive for your needs. Ketosis will only occur if you don't have enough "sugar" to burn in your body and switch to burning fat instead. Starchy veggies are the best, but fruits too will provide more "sugar" fuel. Ketones are a great source of fuel, but some people feel better not in ketosis, just as some people feel better in it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markette Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 Update: After posting this, I turned on my Google Fu and did a bunch of reading about ketosis and ketones. And then I made sure that my meals had both a green veggie in it and a starchier veggie (yams, squash, rutabaga, plantains, etc.) in it as well. A week later, I had another urine sample taken and this time there were no ketones. I find it fascinating that I now have this close control over how my body is functioning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkor Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Love the "black box" approach --- we get to play with the inputs to our body (food, exercise, lifestyle) and then watch the outputs (performance, blood work, state of mind). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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