The last few years I’ve been a bit lazy about following a ketogenic diet. I had spinal surgery in 2020, and haven’t gotten back into the kind of shape I was in prior to surgery, both with my diet and with exercise. I’m working to fix both of those now!
I’ve rededicated myself to getting back to following a ketogenic diet, and getting back into riding and hiking shape as I’ve definitely developed a passion for hiking since moving to Colorado several years ago. I was also diagnosed with diverticulosis in early 2021 and I’ve struggled to find foods that won’t cause a flare up. Sadly, it took me several months to figure out that a ketogenic diet would most likely help, given I hadn’t had any serious stomach issues in the 4 years I followed it religiously. Yes, I am sometimes a slow learner…
As much as I love the foods I’m allowed on a ketogenic diet, the reality for me is that I cannot stay in ketosis with just monitoring the food I eat. I have to do more, and below are some of the things that have worked well for me.
1. Fasting. I’ve done 5 day fasts, and I’ve done much shorter intermittent fasting, i.e. eating within a 6-8 hour window. If you are having trouble staying in ketosis, try just skipping a meal (as long as you do not have a medical condition that requires you to eat) and see if you can get back in to ketosis. If not wait longer to eat next time or try my next suggestion.
2. A hard workout in a fasted (or nearly fasted) state. Working out for at least an hour without having much to eat has always worked to boost my ketone levels. Earlier this week we were invited to dinner with friends and the main dish was paella, so I ended up eating rice. I had a hard session on the trainer earlier in the afternoon, so I was curious to see what my ketone levels would be today after eating rice at dinner. I finished my meal last night around 7:30, so I did not eat anything until 12:00 pm today. Before eating lunch I tested my blood for ketones and registered .07 mmol.
If I hadn’t had a tough workout yesterday afternoon in a nearly fasted state, I most likely would have registered lower ketones, and maybe none at all.
3. Tracking my food and drink intake. It is critical to track what you eat daily, and how that corresponds with your ketone levels. Tracking your food intake and what you drink will also help you stay accountable to a ketogenic diet, and it will help you figure out whether a particular food item is negatively impacting your ability to stay in ketosis. There are a lot of prepackaged foods now that are labeled as “Keto” but they usually contain sugar alcohols that can cause your ketone levels to drop (or at least that’s what happens for me). It is not cheap to check your blood, but it appears to be by far the most accurate way to measure ketones.
I currently use a Nova Max ketone meter to test my blood. The testing strips are very expensive ($2.50 each), so I’ve ordered a new one made by KETO MOJO that I read some good reviews about, and the testing sticks are much more affordable at $1.00 each. I’ll post here once it arrives and I’ve had a chance to compare it to the Nova Max meter.