Every morning I get up and take a ketosis test. This is a urine test for the presence of ketones in the system.

Then I take my weight on a set of Withings scales, recording my weight and body breakdown. Except this morning, because I forgot and drank half a litre of water. Whoops. Any measurement would be wrong. But anyway, back to ketosis tests…

Ketosis is a state whereby the body responds to low glucose availability. You start to burn your fat stores. The aim of a keto diet is to put your body into a fat burning state.

This morning I had roughly 1 mmol/l in my system. You urinate on a strip and an indicator changes colour. The problem is your hydration level can affect the result, so it’s just a sign that you are in ketosis.

There are many things you can do that are pointless and add little value to dieting and fitness. From my experience, the PAGG stack added nothing - this is a set of pills to aid weight loss. Also, the powders you see advertised on Facebook and so on to zap your bloat and beer belly are useless.

I keep saying to myself: “Forget the tests, it’s not worth it”. But they do give a view on when your body is in ketosis. After a heavy day of carbs, the result will be 0 usually. That said, I’ve had positive readings on a one meal a day diet, even after the day I’ve eaten starchy carbs.

What’s better is to look at the weight of fat lost. And concentrate on the diet, with maybe a few supplements.

Also, I have a tale from my past on similar tests. In 2020, I fell off my bike and ended up in hospital. They were deciding whether to operate on my arm. I was very thirsty and asked for a drink. They gave me a sugary squash. Next thing, they wanted me to do a test for diabetes. “Sir your insulin is spiking…” I explained to the nurse about the drink. I explained that I usually do ketosis tests in the morning and they, naturally, assumed that I was a diabetic… The logic here is: know about keto implies diabetic. Astonishing. It took a little while to explain otherwise, but also to talk about the science. “You’ve given me a sugary drink. My body has spiked insulin to deal with it.”

I’ll continue with the tests until I run out…