Ketosis is the natural process of metabolism where instead of the glucose, the body starts utilizing ketones. With an increasing rate of diseases because of an unhealthy lifestyle, the Ketogenic diet has become an alternate and effective way to promote weight loss and improve your overall health.
The main role of ketosis is to start using the fats instead of glucose for performing all the metabolic processes of the body. So, when a person enters the state of ketosis their body starts utilizing stored fats instead of glucose. It results in several health benefits such as great mental stability, improvement in health as well as weight loss. Not only this, but it also helps in improving the overall health of the body by increasing the levels of HDL cholesterol and decreasing the level of blood sugar, insulin, and triglycerides.
Now, some people enter into ketosis within no time whereas some people take a little longer. On the other hand, some people struggle to adhere to the ketogenic diet.
Primarily, the time taken to enter into ketosis solely depends upon your body. It varies with the composition of your body, the kind of diet you take, and your lifestyle.
However, the best practice to follow which can help you to enter into ketosis faster is reducing the number of carbohydrates consumed.
Changes in the body during Ketosis
As you make a transition from your regular diet towards ketosis, your body starts showing certain signs and symptoms, which are both positive and negative and can, help you know if you are really into ketosis. These symptoms include fatigue, nausea, bad breath, weight loss, less appetite, increased thirst, and high energy levels in the body.
However, the best way to check if you are really into ketosis is by checking the ketones level in your body.
Ways to measure the Ketones level in the body
As you make a transition towards ketosis the ketones level in your body also starts rising. Besides, testing the level of ketones in your body is the best way to keep a check on your diet. Now, there are different varieties of ketones found in our bodies, which are found in blood, urine, and breath.
So, with the help of blood, urine, or breath tests you can check the ketones level in your body.
- Blood: The level of ketone in the blood can be measured using a ketone metre. It measures the level of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) in your blood, which is a kind of ketone found in the blood. If you are following the keto diet efficiently then the level of BHB in your body should be in the range of 0.5–3.0 mmol/L.
- Urine: Another measure to check the level of ketones in your body is by using urine-testing strips. These urine strips measure the level of acetoacetate in the urine. In this method, you simply have to put a few drops of urine on the strip where the colour of the strip represents the level of ketones in the urine. The darker the colour, the higher is the ketone content. This is considered as one of the best methods to keep a check on ketosis as this method is comparatively much cheaper than the other two methods. Also, you can perform this test on your own.
- Breath: An alternate method to check the level of ketones is using a breath analyzer. It measures the level of acetone in your breath, which is another kind of ketone found in the body.
Tips and Tricks to get into Ketosis faster
Here are some effective tips and tricks you can follow to make your ketosis process easier, simpler, and faster.
- Minimize the quantity of carbohydrates intake: Don’t take more than 20 gm of carbs in your diet. The only way your body will produce more ketones is by reducing the level of carbohydrates in the body. If you do not adhere to this step then you can’t enter into ketosis.
- Fasting for shorter durations: Fasting for shorter duration can be effective in attaining the state of ketosis as it helps the body to utilize the fats present in the body instead of carbohydrates.
- Healthy lifestyle: One of the major reasons for many diseases is the unhealthy lifestyle, which we follow. All the efforts you put into following the keto diet would be null and void if you won’t be physically active. Being physically active is extremely important when it comes to being healthy. So, in ketosis also make a practice to exercise regularly and keep yourself healthy and active. Another plus point of the physical exercise here is as you spend more energy the level of carbs in your body decreases which eventually will result in the production of more and more ketones.
- Minimize the level of protein intake: Apart from minimizing the level of carbohydrates in the body, maintaining the level of proteins in the body is also really important. In general, it is advised to consume no more than 20% of calories as proteins.
- Keep a check on the level of ketones in your body: As you enter into ketosis, you need to keep a check whether your body is responding to your diet and routine. All this can be easily examined by monitoring the level of ketones in your body.
Things to keep in mind during Ketosis
While there are plenty of reasons to get into ketosis such as weight loss and great health. There are also some negative effects as well of this keto diet. So, it is recommended to take the advice of your health expert before entering into ketosis if you have any chronic illness.
Also, do not follow the ketosis for a longer duration of time if you are not feeling safe and healthy.
Summary
If you are passionate and want to lose weight then normally it would take 2-4 days for you to get into ketosis.
However, it is extremely important to follow the keto diet effectively and efficiently and also exercise regularly.
Also, the bottom line – Kindly take the advice from your health practitioner before doing any major changes with your body.