Ketosis is a metabolic state whereby the body uses ketones instead of glucose for energy. Ketones are water-soluble molecules produced by the liver when there’s inadequate glucose for energy uses in the body.
If you’ve turned to the keto diet in order to lose weight or increase your energy levels, you must be wondering how long it’ll take for Ketosis to work.
The short answer is that it depends. Some people take 2 days to start seeing results of Ketosis, while it can take a week for others.
How long it takes will depend on various factors, which I’ll introduce and explain further below.
How to Get into Ketosis
To get into Ketosis, you need to restrict your carbohydrate intake and increase the fats that you eat. This is geared towards forcing the body to quit using carbs as the energy source.
With more fat in your body and little glucose, your liver will turn fatty acids to ketones for energy. This is what gets you into Ketosis.
In order to get into this state, you’ll need to:
Restrict Your Carb Intake
Eating fewer carbs results in low blood sugar levels. This reduces the production of insulin and thereby encourages your body to burn fat to produce ketones for energy.
To maintain Ketosis, you should keep your daily carb intake below 20 grams. To attain this, you’ll need to do away with processed foods that contain added sugars.
Condiments such as sauces can contribute a lot to your daily carb intake, so you should be extra wary about everything that you eat.
Opting for snacks with low carbs can be a great way to avoid unknowingly consuming too many carbs while on a keto diet. There are countless products in the market that claim to be Keto.
Unfortunately, most of these are filled with unhealthy fillers, sugars, gluten, and synthetic ingredients. Perfect Keto is one of the genuine brands that you can trust for keto snacks and products that contain clean ingredients and very low carbs.
Their bars contain just 3 grams of carbs and contain no added sugars. This provides you with delicious snacks to eat throughout the day without indulging in carbs.
The Perfect Keto snacks will also suppress your carbs cravings, which makes it all the easier to get into Ketosis.
Increase Your Fat Intake
The more fat that you eat, the more ketones that your liver is able to produce. But, you need to make sure that you’re eating healthy fats that’ll not raise the bad cholesterol levels in your blood.
Some of the healthy fats that will help you get into Ketosis can be derived from coconut oil, nut butter, avocado, almonds, and butter.
Besides my diet, I love getting my daily dose of healthy fats through the Perfect Keto bars. I especially love their almond butter brownie bar, which is made using real food ingredients.
Their nut butter is also one I would recommend. It’s the ideal mix of nut and fats and always gives me an energy boost.
Use Exogenous Ketones
If you’re having trouble keeping up with your keto diet or simply want to see results faster, you can opt for exogenous ketones. These are ketone bodies that are ingested in order to increase the blood ketone levels.
Types include salts, esters, and MCT oil. By using these products, you can support weight loss, energy production, and mental performance.
These tips can help your body produce ketones faster while on a keto diet. This allows you to get into a state of Ketosis.
However, you should know that Ketosis takes a bit longer to occur compared to the period it takes to raise the ketone levels in the blood.
The factors that determine how long your body will take to start producing energy using the ketones include:
- Your daily carb intake
- Your level of physical activity
- Age
- Daily protein and fat intake
- Metabolism rate
It’ll also depend on how much glycogen you had stored up before opting for a keto diet. This is because your body has to use up all the glucose stored in order to get into Ketosis.
Therefore, if you had less stored glycogen, Ketosis will kick in faster. But if there’s a lot of glucose in your body, it’ll take a bit longer.
Why Some People Reach Ketosis Faster
Based on the factors that I’ve mentioned, some people can reach Ketosis faster than others. You can belong to this category if you:
- Take part in the extensive exercise. Physical exercise leads to lowered blood sugar levels, which promotes Ketosis.
- Are you able to keep your daily carb intake below 20 grams? Taking more can get in the way of Ketosis since the body will still be using excess glucose for energy.
- Take part in intermittent fasting, which encourages the body to oxidize fats for energy. This increases the levels of ketones in the blood and induces Ketosis.
It’s also important to make sure that you’re eating a lot more fats compared to proteins and carbohydrates. Taking lots of proteins can also lead to glucose production, which will delay Ketosis.
Fats should take up at least 70% of your daily calorie intake, with 20% proteins and 10% carbohydrates.
Avoid sugars as much as possible if you want Ketosis to work faster for you. Cut off most of your carbs, and keep an eye on the proteins too.
Perfect Keto has a variety of products that can help you keep your energy levels up to ensure that you stay away from carbs or proteins that can stall Ketosis. Their exogenous keto base provides an energy boost that can sustain you through tough workouts and keep you from reaching for sugary foods in between meals.
Signs of Ketosis
You now know how to speed up Ketosis, but… How do you know that it’s working?
Here are the signs to watch out for:
Keto Flu
Keto flu is one sure sign that your body is getting into Ketosis, but it’s not the most enjoyable of experiences. This flu is characterized by fatigue, nausea, headaches, and a bunch of other unpleasant symptoms shortly after you begin your keto diet regimen.
With some Perfect Keto snacks and exogenous ketones, however, you can safely bypass this stage without getting your body out of Ketosis.
Increased Thirst
Increased ketone levels in the body disturb the electrolyte balance, which leads to dehydration. When you feel thirsty after beginning your keto lifestyle, it’s due to the sudden shift in ketone levels in your blood.
Improved Energy Levels
It’s normal to feel fatigued and weak when you first begin a keto diet. This is because your body uses up the available glycogen stores for energy, then takes some time before effectively using ketones and a fuel source.
When your energy levels start improving after this dip, it’s a sign that Ketosis has taken off in your body.
Enhanced Mental Clarity
When Ketosis starts working, your mental clarity will improve. This is because your body is able to provide enough energy for brain activity, and there are fewer sugars that can cause brain fog.
An even sure way of determining whether Ketosis is working is testing your body’s ketone levels.
Measuring for Ketosis
The three types of ketones produced in the body are beta-hydroxybutyrate, acetone, and acetoacetate. You can measure the levels of each of these to see whether your body has attained Ketosis.
The various ways to measure if you’re in Ketosis are:
Blood Testing
A blood test is used to check the levels of beta-hydroxybutyrate in the blood. You can get it done at a lab, or get a home blood ketone meter.
If your beta-hydroxybutyrate levels are above 0.3mmol/L, it’s a sign that more ketones are being produced in the body. But, levels between 1-3mmol/L are better to attain and maintain Ketosis.
Urine Testing
Urine testing is easy, but it’s not as reliable as blood testing. For this test, you’ll need to pee on a urine strip.
The subsequent color changes will then give you an indication of whether your body has reached Ketosis or not. Urine tests are used to check for acetoacetate ketone levels.
Breath Testing
You can use a ketone breath meter to check the levels of acetone in your body. Acetone is the ketone that causes bad breath in some people once their body gets into Ketosis.
Like the urine test, the meter will flash a certain color to indicate the ketone levels, and whether your body has entered Ketosis.
I use Perfect Keto testing strips when I want to know how my Ketosis is doing. They’re easy-to-use, lab-grade urine strips that give me accurate results and let me know whether I need to put more effort into my keto lifestyle.
Conclusion
How long it takes for Ketosis to work varies from one person to the other. To ensure that it happens faster for you, restrict your carbs as much as possible, and increase your healthy fats intake. If you want to learn how to get into Ketosis in only 24 hours, I’ve written about it here.
Keto products from reliable brands such as Perfect Keto can also help you get to Ketosis faster and maintain it.
Whether it takes you a couple of days or a week, don’t do anything that can take you out of a ketosis state, such as reaching for a snack with too many carbs.