My July results on Keto

It's the beginning of a new month, and time to consider what keto has done for me the past July. And I think it's pretty good!

July was days 10 to 40 of my renewed keto lifestyle. And it had some great results. My blood glucose was 170 and 156 on the first two days of July. It was 101 and 93 on the last two days, and today it is 88. Compare those results to when I was on 2 diabetes meds, and still had readings in the mid 200s unless I was on strict low-carb--- a diet at least 1 of my doctors actively discouraged. She wanted me on the dreadful DASH diet, and thought that telling me it was a government-approved diet would encourage me to like it. There was no way to make me like the constant hunger, non-weight-loss, and higher blood sugars on that diet, though.

Fasting: I had 8 fasting days during July, mostly individual days with one 5 day fast. Each time I fasted, my blood glucose became more normal, and since I was on keto the other days, it stayed more normal.

Weight: I weighed 196.8 pounds at the beginning of July, and 185.2 by the end. I had not weighed under 190 since college, maybe since high school! My BMI (body mass index) went from 32.0 to 30.1. My Ketonix says I was in high level ketosis for almost all the days of July.

Clothing size: I bought two pairs of jeans and a pair of shorts in a new, smaller size: XL. And they fit really loose on me. I really want to buy a new pair of jeans in 'L' just to see if it would fit!

There are bad sides to my new keto life, though. I've been feeling so much more energetic, I got a lot of things done, including starting on a major house cleaning. But with all that energy, I spent too much money. Since government disability doesn't PAY much, I have to be very, very careful in August. Which is too bad since I want to buy some new clothes. And I can't even afford a trip to the grocery store this week.

Also, my blood pressure has not improved any. I'm hoping another month will see some changes in that. Keto is supposed to be good for your blood pressure. If I don't see improvement, I will probably have to resort to blood pressure pills. If my 'health care provider' (not a doctor) is willing to prescribe a kind I am willing to take.

Learning to measure your ketones

I started out on the Atkins diet, and on that diet I first learned about the benefits of being in ketosis, and how to check if I was in ketosis using urine test strips.

But the urine test strips are not the most reliable method of testing your state of ketosis. You can be in ketosis and not be putting out many ketones in your urine.

The ideal way is to measure your blood ketones. There are meters for that, similar to the little meters you use to test your blood sugar if you are diabetic.

The problem is the little test strips you have to buy can be pricey, ranging from $1 per strip to $6 per strip, according to Jimmy Moore. It is probably worth doing anyway, but if you have limited funds, there is another way of measuring your state of ketosis that's better than the urine test strips, but not such a big ongoing expense.

This alternative is KetonixⓇ, a meter that tests your breath ketones. I have had one for some years now, and I can test and test and test without having to buy strips or anything for each test. You blow into it, and it lights up in colors, which tell you how deep in ketosis you are.

My own Ketonix is an older model. The current one costs $270 and links up to your computer (I think) and so does more. They only have the one model available, at least on Amazon.com.

For a blood ketone monitor, the KETO-MOJO is advertised on Jimmy Moore's podcasts, and the ketone testing strips are about a dollar each. I'm seriously thinking about getting one, since this is the best test, but my old Ketonix is still working well, and as long as it does, it will do well as a backup device. Maybe I would alternate days between the two testing systems so I would use half as many strips?

Anyway, the important thing is if you make keto testing a daily part of your life, you can tweak your keto diet to work better for YOU. I mean, if I get kicked out of ketosis every time I eat a certain food, maybe I shouldn't eat that food.

Do you test for ketones daily? What method do you use? Are you thinking of trying another method? Do you think testing helps you stay in ketosis?

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