Keto diet but barely in ketosis

[Gainjin260]

Anybody else on Keto? I'm cutting currently at 2600 cal with daily goals of 5/60/35 percent carb/fat/protein. I stay between 45-65 g of carbs per day. All from veggies and avocados. I'm only getting trace amounts of ketones on the strips. I've read too much protein can kick you out of ketosis, but I'm lifting hard and don't want to starve my muscles.

Any thoughts? This diet is working well for me and I'm on my way to achieving my weight goal. I'm just wondering if it's worth tweaking things to get into full blow ketosis.

Typically eat 50g carb 230 P 175 F.

 

[cybrsage]

Reduce the carbs even further then, removing the avocados from your diet. Remove carrots and other non-green leafy vegetables as well. Use a multi-vitamin to replace the nutrients you may be missing. You can drop your carbs much lower and at some magic point (slightly different for everyone) you will fall into keto.

 

[Gainjin260]

Ok. Will drop avocado and all veggies save for cabbage and keep carbs under 20 for the next couple days. Thanks.

 

[Megatron28]

For Keto you should keep Net Carbs under 30g per day. Make sure you know the difference between net carbs and total carbs.

 

[Roush]

Anybody else on Keto? I'm cutting currently at 2600 cal with daily goals of 5/60/35 percent carb/fat/protein. I stay between 45-65 g of carbs per day. All from veggies and avocados. I'm only getting trace amounts of ketones on the strips. I've read too much protein can kick you out of ketosis, but I'm lifting hard and don't want to starve my muscles.

Any thoughts? This diet is working well for me and I'm on my way to achieving my weight goal. I'm just wondering if it's worth tweaking things to get into full blow ketosis.

Typically eat 50g carb 230 P 175 F.

you don't have to have a ton of protein in your diet to be 'muscle sparing' when you are in ketosis. Why ? because when you are in ketosis your body uses fat and ketones for fuel and NOT muscle, so your very unlikely to catabolize muscle for fuel.
ketogenic diets are muscle sparing by nature.

however, if you eat too much protein your body will convert that to glucose and use that for fuel and kick you out of ketosis. So keep your protein intake in check and don't let it get too high . remember, fat is your bodies mains source of fuel and your bodies highest dietary need while in ketosis.

What are your goals with this diet?

restrict your carbs to 20 g per day if you can and you will get in ketosis much quicker .. that means eat less vegetables and more fat.


edit note : ALSO you need to test ketone levels in the blood to see your actual ketone levels ,, the piss strips only tell you how much ketones you are 'wasting' out of your body through urination, having a very very low level of ketones in urine can be a good thing and a sign your body is using ketones efficiently, and not necessarily mean your not in ketosis

 

[Gainjin260]

you don't have to have a ton of protein in your diet to be 'muscle sparing' when you are in ketosis. Why ? because when you are in ketosis your body uses fat and ketones for fuel and NOT muscle, so your very unlikely to catabolize muscle for fuel.
ketogenic diets are muscle sparing by nature.

however, if you eat too much protein your body will convert that to glucose and use that for fuel and kick you out of ketosis. So keep your protein intake in check and don't let it get too high . remember, fat is your bodies mains source of fuel and your bodies highest dietary need while in ketosis.

What are your goals with this diet?

restrict your carbs to 20 g per day if you can and you will get in ketosis much quicker .. that means eat less vegetables and more fat.


edit note : ALSO you need to test ketone levels in the blood to see your actual ketone levels ,, the piss strips only tell you how much ketones you are 'wasting' out of your body through urination, having a very very low level of ketones in urine can be a good thing and a sign your body is using ketones efficiently, and not necessarily mean your not in ketosis

My goal for this diet is to get to under 15% BF so I can do my first proper cycle. I started TRT 5 weeks ago and it just started to kick in. I've dropped about 3 kilos in 4 weeks on this diet. looking to drop at least another 5. Specifically I aim to lose 1 kilo per week for the next 2 months. Not sure how lean muscle gain with TRT will factor in.

When you say keep protein in check, what grams per pound? (sorry for Kilo and Pound mix and match, but I'm American and live in a Metric country) I've changed my Macro goals to 5/25/70 C/P/F % which equates to 163g of protein a day for me. I'm 105K or 231 lbs currently. I'm 35 and 6'2" or 188cm.

My body is definitely used to burning fat as fuel. My pre-workout is 2TB coconut and/or MCT oil, black coffee and Arginine. I'm good to go for 2 hours off that.

Thanks for the responses.

 

[Megatron28]

My goal for this diet is to get to under 15% BF so I can do my first proper cycle. I started TRT 5 weeks ago and it just started to kick in. I've dropped about 3 kilos in 4 weeks on this diet. looking to drop at least another 5. Specifically I aim to lose 1 kilo per week for the next 2 months. Not sure how lean muscle gain with TRT will factor in.

When you say keep protein in check, what grams per pound? (sorry for Kilo and Pound mix and match, but I'm American and live in a Metric country) I've changed my Macro goals to 5/25/70 C/P/F % which equates to 163g of protein a day for me. I'm 105K or 231 lbs currently. I'm 35 and 6'2" or 188cm.

My body is definitely used to burning fat as fuel. My pre-workout is 2TB coconut and/or MCT oil, black coffee and Arginine. I'm good to go for 2 hours off that.

Thanks for the responses.

Just get at least 150g of protein per day. I personally wouldn't worry about too much protein since you are in such a severe caloric restriction it doesn't seem likely to be an issue. You will stay in ketosis if you keep net carbs below 30g per day.

 

[halfwit]

Anybody else on Keto? I'm cutting currently at 2600 cal with daily goals of 5/60/35 percent carb/fat/protein. I stay between 45-65 g of carbs per day. All from veggies and avocados. I'm only getting trace amounts of ketones on the strips. I've read too much protein can kick you out of ketosis, but I'm lifting hard and don't want to starve my muscles.

Any thoughts? This diet is working well for me and I'm on my way to achieving my weight goal. I'm just wondering if it's worth tweaking things to get into full blow ketosis.

Typically eat 50g carb 230 P 175 F.

Is the weight still coming off? Are you NOT getting hunger pangs, or dizziness spells?

You're probably fine and still in ketosis. The strips are a tool intended to help SEDENTARY folks identify the presence of ketones in the urine, which is a bad thing for their particular intended use. It just so happens that they can also be used to detect ketones in urine when it's a desired effect - the big difference being that if you're active, you'll NEVER peg that strip deep purple. As long as you're still seeing results, and you hit the second color band, you're fine.

My .02c

 

[Megatron28]

I never got to deep purple either regardless of how few carbs I ate but I was definitely in Ketosis.

 

[Roush]

My goal for this diet is to get to under 15% BF so I can do my first proper cycle. I started TRT 5 weeks ago and it just started to kick in. I've dropped about 3 kilos in 4 weeks on this diet. looking to drop at least another 5. Specifically I aim to lose 1 kilo per week for the next 2 months. Not sure how lean muscle gain with TRT will factor in.

When you say keep protein in check, what grams per pound? (sorry for Kilo and Pound mix and match, but I'm American and live in a Metric country) I've changed my Macro goals to 5/25/70 C/P/F % which equates to 163g of protein a day for me. I'm 105K or 231 lbs currently. I'm 35 and 6'2" or 188cm.

My body is definitely used to burning fat as fuel. My pre-workout is 2TB coconut and/or MCT oil, black coffee and Arginine. I'm good to go for 2 hours off that.

Thanks for the responses.

Just starting TRT will make a big difference. If you had a testosterone deffeciency and you correct that to optimal levels then your body will get an anabolic response from that. A response similar to that of a guy with normal testosterone levels when he runs a 'cycle' of test and gets to super physiological levels.

this anabolic response is not linear though (meaning its not equal across the board). A guy with normal test levels of say 400 and he increases it to 800, he may not get an anabolic response (thats why natural test boosters, even if they worked and boosted natural testosterone levels that does not mean they increase muscle at all) . You however, if you have a deficiency in testosterone, say your at 200, and you correct that defficiency and that means getting to say an optimal 800 , then for you are very likely to get an anabolic response from that (again just like someone who runs 500mg a week of test and gets to 2500+).

So taking advantage of this anabolic response right now would be a good idea, imo. While cutting and in a calorie deficit , this anabolic response can help you not only stay 'anti'catabolic' and spare muscle, but very well may help you put on a small amount of muscle at the same time. ADD that to the ketogenic diet your on, which is a 'muscle sparing' diet, and you should be able to lean out very well while maintaining plenty of muscle.
I'd definitely focus efforts on the weight training as well as the weight/fat loss.

your macros look just fine to me for ketosis. Like mega said , you don't really have to worry or try that hard to meet your daily protein goals. Your body will be using dietary fat, body fat and ketones for fuel, so protein/muscle break down is not likely to happen.. and if you get too much protein in then that will convert to glucose in the body and throw you out of ketosis.
Also, remember that a keto diet is best run for at least 12 weeks .. it takes time for your body to adapt.

 

[Gainjin260]

Is the weight still coming off? Are you NOT getting hunger pangs, or dizziness spells?

You're probably fine and still in ketosis. The strips are a tool intended to help SEDENTARY folks identify the presence of ketones in the urine, which is a bad thing for their particular intended use. It just so happens that they can also be used to detect ketones in urine when it's a desired effect - the big difference being that if you're active, you'll NEVER peg that strip deep purple. As long as you're still seeing results, and you hit the second color band, you're fine.

My .02c

Yes to all. Which is significant because my TDEE is 3438 with workouts factored in and I'm hitting 2600 a day. I feel fantastic. It also helps that my mental outlook has improved many times over from what it was pre-TRT.

The weight is coming off, I've fully adjusted to burning fat instead of carbs and the only time I get dizzy is after heavy deadlifts. No red flags, I just figure that I'm doing a lot right, but why not do everything perfectly? Thanks for the 2 pennies Big Bro.

 

[Gainjin260]

Just starting TRT will make a big difference. If you had a testosterone deffeciency and you correct that to optimal levels then your body will get an anabolic response from that. A response similar to that of a guy with normal testosterone levels when he runs a 'cycle' of test and gets to super physiological levels.

this anabolic response is not linear though (meaning its not equal across the board). A guy with normal test levels of say 400 and he increases it to 800, he may not get an anabolic response (thats why natural test boosters, even if they worked and boosted natural testosterone levels that does not mean they increase muscle at all) . You however, if you have a deficiency in testosterone, say your at 200, and you correct that defficiency and that means getting to say an optimal 800 , then for you are very likely to get an anabolic response from that (again just like someone who runs 500mg a week of test and gets to 2500+).

So taking advantage of this anabolic response right now would be a good idea, imo. While cutting and in a calorie deficit , this anabolic response can help you not only stay 'anti'catabolic' and spare muscle, but very well may help you put on a small amount of muscle at the same time. ADD that to the ketogenic diet your on, which is a 'muscle sparing' diet, and you should be able to lean out very well while maintaining plenty of muscle.
I'd definitely focus efforts on the weight training as well as the weight/fat loss.

your macros look just fine to me for ketosis. Like mega said , you don't really have to worry or try that hard to meet your daily protein goals. Your body will be using dietary fat, body fat and ketones for fuel, so protein/muscle break down is not likely to happen.. and if you get too much protein in then that will convert to glucose in the body and throw you out of ketosis.
Also, remember that a keto diet is best run for at least 12 weeks .. it takes time for your body to adapt.

Weight training is always the main focus of my routine. I'm hitting the iron hard and have vastly improved stamina and strength from TRT. I've hit a couple personal bests recently, which is impressive considering the caloric deficit I'm on.

I'm 4 weeks into this 12 week cut. The before to current photos are impressive, but I'll post some after the 8 week mark. The pics from last month are embarrassing, honestly. So I'll wait until you can see some abs poking through.

Thanks for all the advice.

-Gaijin

 

[Milton]

Weight training is always the main focus of my routine. I'm hitting the iron hard and have vastly improved stamina and strength from TRT. I've hit a couple personal bests recently, which is impressive considering the caloric deficit I'm on.

I'm 4 weeks into this 12 week cut. The before to current photos are impressive, but I'll post some after the 8 week mark. The pics from last month are embarrassing, honestly. So I'll wait until you can see some abs poking through.

Thanks for all the advice.

-Gaijin

The got coconut oil over yonder?