Episodes

Wanted to make a dedicated thread about ketone testing and ketosis.  As I learn, more and more of this makes sense.  I finally bought a blood ketone meter, and have been testing my ketone levels each morning now. I have to say that I was really surprised by the results, and further surprised that I was NOT achieving functional ketosis nearly as quickly as I had hoped.  My levels have been languishing in the .8 realm without additional fasting!  For the record, I eat a really clean diet, but the foods that keep me from reaching good keto numbers were things that should never contain any form of sugar or carbohydrate, yet I saw a small rise in blood sugar, as well as corresponding lower keto numbers at the next morning's test.  We bought smoked brisket the other night from one of the local restaurants in the area.  Who wouldve thought that BRISKET would have added sugars?!  Anyway, the meter has added a lot of clarity to the picture for me, and although the stinking test strips are about a dollar each, at this point in the game, its WORTH IT to me to know! This will surely be a lot of review for many here, but I will post what I have learned anyway:   When we begin to strive for ketosis, we often have leftover glucose stored as glycogen in the liver.  This stored glycogen must be depleted FIRST before ketones are produced and we begin entering ketosis.  This is glycogenolysis.  Stored glycogen is typically exhausted within the first day or so of either fasting, or a proper diet as we strive for here.  Fasting does bring about functional ketosis much sooner. I also now know that our bodies produce three types of ketones!  Acetoacetate ketones will only account for roughly 20 percent of the ketones our body is producing, and are the variety that can be detected by the cost effective urine test strips.  Beta Hydroxybutyrate will make up the remaining bulk of the ketones being produced, with a slim number given to acetone, being the third type.  Beta Hydroxybutyrate can only be sampled via the blood test strips, as in the meter I have.   I purchased the KETOBM meter, for better or worse.  All meters I researched have a small number of negative reviews that do claim inaccuracy.  While this was disheartening, I have also ordered the urine test strips (which havent arrived yet) to remove any uncertainty about test results.  Ideally, the strips and the meter will agree, Let me know your thoughts!

stay clear of the kitchen and eat meat or fat or butter when tempted.  My wife is the same way.  And I have no cravings other than maybe milk.

Just added another long walk, including about 5-7 15-20 second sprints. Total steps for the day, over 10,000.

Your situation would make it much harder on me.  But I guess a person just has to hit a wall to really make a go at Carnivore.  My wall was hit a month ago and thankfully the wife was hitting her own wall.  We decided to give it a go together, which has been very helpful. I think it comes down to a person's motivations.  If you just want to loose a few pounds, I don't think I could do it with Doritos, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, and an endless supply of Bourbon and Coke waiting for me with a stroll into the kitchen.  But my horrible Blood Sugar and Blood Pressure and constant hangovers and the thoughts of my mortality were so overwhelming, I made the change and a house full of crap food wouldn't affect me.   I had to decide if I was going to live a good life or continue killing myself. So a non-participating wife would be harder, but I could still do it.....   Now, don't ask me how an abscessed tooth will affect me, because I failed with that occurrence.

I definitely would count wrestling grandkids! Good for you physically, mentally and emotionally. And relationally!