How Long Does It Take To Get Into Ketosis: Ultimate Guide

Does your New Year resolution include reducing your body weight? 

Then you might have heard of ketosis which requires reducing the intake of carbohydrates. If yes, then one question that must have crossed your mind- how long does it take to get into ketosis? 

Will it take a month, a few weeks, or a few days? Or can it happen in just a day or overnight? This article will answer all your queries about ketosis, its different stages, and its impact. In addition, you’ll also get to know is ketosis dangerous choice for weight loss or not.

Entering into keto will turn your body into a fat-burning machine, and you’ll feel several physical and hormonal changes taking place in your body. So before you know when does ketosis starts, you must know what it is and how it works.

What Is Ketosis?

Primarily used to treat epilepsy in kids, ketosis has now become a weight loss trend.

Ketosis requires restricting your carb intake, modifying protein consumption, and breaking fat for energy production. As a consequence, it’ll switch your body’s primary fuel source from glucose to ketones- a chemical produced in the body from the breakdown of fats.

To understand what is ketosis, you must know that our body breaks carbohydrates to make glucose (which happens to be the primary source of energy for us). Now when you restrict your carb intake, what happens is that your glucose level enormously goes down. In response to this, the body starts using the fat stored in the body to produce energy. The breakdown of fats in the liver produces ketones (aka ketone bodies) which function the same way as glucose.

To produce ketones, the body can either use stored fat or the fat available through the keto diet (nutritional diet).

How Long Does It Take To Get Into Ketosis?

So how long will it take you to enter ketosis, become more energetic, and reduce the fat accumulation in your body? This is a pretty interesting question and depends on the path you take. Some health experts say that you can expect to enter keto state in the first 12 hours. Whereas others believe it takes about a week for a person to get into ketosis.

It’s important to mention again that doctors are not in favor of such a drastic dietary change for weight management. The National Institute of Health (NIH) says weight loss is a side effect of the keto diet. Furthermore, it also states that a keto diet doesn’t restrict fats but reduces appetite and calorie intake which reduces weight.

Furthermore, it has been found that keto diets only restrict certain kinds of fats, not all. This is to say that ketosis is like fasting which makes the body shift to the available fuels for producing energy. As for how long does it take to get into ketosis, it depends on the amount of your carb intake:

But it just doesn’t end here. Many factors affect how long does it take to get into ketosis:

1. Age
2. Health Conditions
3. Intensity of physical activity
4. Metabolic rate
5. Sleep Patterns
6. Anxiety Levels

Symptoms Of Ketosis

Here are the signs that you are in ketosis:

• Short Term Fatigue

Since the body initially takes time to switch from glucose to fats for producing energy. This can result in short-term fatigue because your body will use the residual energy sources once your existing source of energy drains out.

• Bad Breath

While following a keto diet, you must pay attention to your breath. A spike in the level of ketones in your blood stimulates an increase in acetones which consequently affects breath. The odor might be strong enough to make you feel uncomfortable while chatting face-to-face. 

• Increase Of Ketones In Blood

Another sign of entering ketosis is a spike in the level of ketones in the blood. It can be monitored every week or through meters or specially designed testing kits. However, since it has to be done weekly or monthly using meters to prick your finger often can cause wounds.

• Suppressed Appetite

When you start entering into ketosis, you might feel a decrease in your hunger. This is often associated with hormonal changes due to lower levels of glycogen reserves, though the reasons are still confirmed. Nevertheless, people opting for the keto diet have seen a reduction in their appetite.

Is Ketosis Dangerous?

Ketosis was not primarily designed for weight management, rather it was for treating epilepsy in kids and wasn’t recommended for long-term. However, with time, this diet is massively used as a weight loss measure. However, doctors and health experts suggest otherwise.

Since ketosis involves limiting carbs to only 50 grams a day, people opting for this have to majorly decrease the consumption of fruits and grains. This drastic shift brings an enormous change in the body and is quite adverse. As a consequence, the adequate level of vitamins, minerals, and essential phytochemicals isn’t maintained and can give birth to nutritional deficiency. Health experts even suggest that the keto diet which has a major proportion of fats can result in:

• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Insomnia
• High Cholesterol
• Abdominal Pain
• Increase in Low-density Lipoprotein
• Fainting
• Kidney Stones

How To Get Into Ketosis Smartly?

To enter into ketosis safely can be possible if you follow these tips:

• Eat After A Reasonable Gap

We all have been told to eat 5-6 small meals in short gaps to reduce weight. Instead of that limit your meals to the count of 4 and have healthy alternatives. This will help you get in shape faster and at the same time won’t hamper your stomach due to prolonged starving. Prolonged starvation can lead to GORD or GERD which can give birth to lifelong problems.

• Stay Hydrated

To cut off on your calories, drinking plenty of water can be a smart tactic. It will keep you full for longer hours and also eliminate the bad fat from the body.

• Pretend To Ignore Eateries

No matter how lucrative the aroma of restaurant food or street food is, you have to have to try to be true to your will. Otherwise, you’ll search for how long does it take to get into ketosis with cheat day. But your goal should be to only ponder upon healthy eating alternatives. Search on YouTube for such recipes, you’ll surely find an abundance of them.

• Level Up Your Exercise

Another way to shed those extra kilos is to opt for a more intense workout routine. The basic rule of burning more calories than you eat actually works when it comes to making keto healthy.

• Don’t Drop Everything

Although keto involves reducing carbs to enormous levels, it isn’t recommended to drop everything you eat. Instead, eat everything you were previously eating but with proportion control. Eliminating something can result in nutritional deficiencies relating to specific food. Furthermore, make sure to avoid junk food.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How Long Does It Take To Get Into Ketosis?

It usually takes 2 to 3 days (48-72 hours) to enter into ketosis, but this time frame can alter.

Q2. What Are The Signs That You’re In Ketosis?

During the initial weeks of entering into ketosis, you might feel several changes in your body and physical health. You can expect to experience headache, fatigue, bad breath, reduced appetite, etc.

Q3. Is Ketosis Good For Health?

Ketosis has more of the downsides than advantages. It was primarily used to treat epilepsy in kids. But with time it has been seen as a technique to lose weight by cutting down most on the carbs. However, doctors don’t approve of it for weight loss because it might have long-term negative effects including constipation, diarrhea, insomnia, abdominal pain, kidney stones, etc.

Wrapping Up

Transforming into fit and healthy can be a tiresome task for many. However, people try their fingers to the bones in the chase to obtain a fit body and strength. If you’re willing to start keto, you must know how long does it take to get into ketosis. This is important because when you try to keep carbohydrate intake minimal, add the much-needed nutrients to your diet, and promise yourself a disciplined working routine, you want to see results in the expected time.

A person enters ketosis within 2-3 days after adapting to the diet. However, doctors aren’t in favor of using ketosis for weight loss because it is a solution to treat kids with epilepsy.