Diet Experts: how does one know if they're in ketosis?

Your breath smells like an Edible Arrangement

Just a quick google gives this result: No personal experience though

10 Signs and Symptoms That You’re in Ketosis

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1. Bad Breath

People often report bad breath once they reach full ketosis.

It’s actually a common side effect. Many people on ketogenic diets and similar diets, such as the Atkins diet, report that their breath takes on a fruity smell.

This is caused by elevated ketone levels. The specific culprit is acetone, a ketone that exits the body in your urine and breath (4).

While this breath may be less than ideal for your social life, it can be a positive sign for your diet. Many ketogenic dieters brush their teeth several times per day, or use sugar-free gum to solve the issue.

If you’re using gum or other alternatives like sugar-free drinks, check the label for carbs. These may raise your blood sugar levels and reduce ketone levels.

The bad breath usually goes away after some time on the diet. It is not a permanent thing.

Bottom Line: The ketone acetone is partly expelled via your breath, which can cause bad or fruity-smelling breath on a ketogenic diet.
2. Weight Loss

Piece of Red Meat on Parchment Paper

Ketogenic diets, along with normal low-carb diets, are highly effective for losing weight (5, 6).

As dozens of weight loss studies have shown, you will likely experience both short- and long-term weight loss when switching to a ketogenic diet (5, 7).

Fast weight loss can occur during the first week. While some people believe this to be fat loss, it is primarily stored carbs and water being used up (8).

After the initial rapid drop in water weight, you should continue to lose body fat consistently as long as you stick to the diet and remain in a calorie deficit.

Bottom Line: Fast weight loss commonly occurs when you start a ketogenic diet and severely restrict carbohydrates.
3. Increased Ketones in the Blood

Avocado Oil

One of the hallmarks of a ketogenic diet is a reduction in blood sugar levels and an increase in ketones.

As you progress further into a ketogenic diet, you will start to burn fat and ketones as the main fuel sources.

The most reliable and accurate method of measuring ketosis is to measure your blood ketone levels using a specialized meter.

It measures your ketone levels by calculating the amount of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) in your blood.

This is one of the primary ketones present in the bloodstream.

According to some experts on the ketogenic diet, nutritional ketosis is defined as blood ketones ranging from 0.5–3.0 mmol/L.

Measuring ketones in the blood is the most accurate way of testing, and is used in most research studies. However, the main downside is that it requires a small pinprick to draw blood from the finger (9).

A test kit also costs around $30–$40, and then an additional $5 per test. For this reason, most people will just perform one test per week, or every two weeks.

Bottom Line: Testing blood ketone levels with a monitor is the most accurate way to measure whether you are in ketosis or not.
4. Increased Ketones in the Breath or Urine

Another way to measure blood ketone levels is a breath analyzer.

It monitors acetone, one of the three main ketones present in your blood during ketosis (4, 10).

This helps give you an idea about your body’s ketone levels, since more acetone leaves the body when you are in nutritional ketosis (11).

The use of acetone breath analyzers has been shown to be fairly accurate, but less accurate than the blood monitor method.

Another good technique is to measure the presence of ketones in your urine on a daily basis with special indicator strips.

These also measure ketone excretion through the urine and can be a quick and cheap method to assess your ketone levels daily. However, they are not considered very reliable.

Bottom Line: You can measure your ketone levels with a breath analyzer or urine strips. However, they are not as accurate as a blood monitor.
5. Appetite Suppression

Plate With a Small Broccoli Floret

Many people report decreased hunger while following a ketogenic diet.

The reasons why this happens are still being investigated.

However, it’s been suggested the hunger reduction may be due to an increased protein and vegetable intake, along with alterations to your body’s hunger hormones (12).

The ketones themselves may also affect the brain to reduce appetite (13).

Bottom Line: A ketogenic diet can significantly reduce appetite and hunger. If you feel full and don’t need to eat as often as before, then you may be in ketosis.

Also you need to consider bananas are loaded with carbs.

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just wondering since it seems like I'm pretty much doing the diet.

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Good job on what your doing so far, but from what you posted, you might have trouble getting into ketosis.

Protein shakes with strawberries and bananas would most likely knock your macros out of whack by itself and keep you out of ketosis. Lots of sugar and carbs in that. Also, keto is not high protein, that's paleo. You should get most of your calories from fats and non starchy vegetables, have moderate amounts of protein, and little to no carbs/sugar. This pyramid shows what is on the diet:


Also, you really need to track your macros with an app (I recommend my fitness pal). Tracking is pretty much essential to getting into ketosis when starting on this diet.

The ketone urine strips only show the presence of excess ketones. You can be fully keto adapted and show 0 or trace ketones.

The only accurate way to know is to use a blood ketone meter or a Ketonix breath analyzer.

Chase Results, not ketones

First of all, you can buy strips that you pee on and it tells you right then and there if you are in ketosis.

Second, I highly doubt it if you are drinking a carb loaded protein shake. You have to be on a very strict low-carb diet for a few days to over a week to get into ketosis. That shake alone is too many carbs.

If you want to get excited about and pumped on the ketogenic diet, I recommend listening to some of Tim Ferriss's podcasts with Dom D'Agostino. You'll get some pretty deep science in it, but you'll also get both inspirational testimony as well as nuts and bolts advice.

Thanks for the info. I'll try to track the macros just to see where I'm at

There are strips you can buy at Walgreens that you can test you pee