Are you wondering how to get into ketosis in 24 hours? Is it possible? Yes, it is! However, with some caveats.
If you are just starting out, and you have never gone through the process of getting your body into a state of metabolic ketosis, you will probably not be successful. Getting into ketosis can take 2-7 days on average the first time.
However, if you have already been keto-adapted in the past, and you have only been out of ketosis for a short period of time, these methods are more likely to work. If you are focused, it is possible to get your body back into ketosis quickly.
The good news is, no matter your body’s history with ketosis, these methods should shorten the length of time it takes your body to reach metabolic ketosis.
1. Stock Up on Keto Diet Foods
Getting your body into ketosis often means working through some intense cravings, especially for foods that are high in carbs and sugar.
Limit your access to carb-heavy foods as much as possible, and stock up on keto-friendly snacks and meals. That way, you’ll have something to grab when the cravings hit.
Don’t know what keto foods to buy? Try some of these:
- Keto snacks to stock up on
- Keto meal ideas
- Quick and easy keto recipes for busy weeknights
- Healthy keto diet recipes (Pinterest board)
2. Incorporate Intermittent Fasting
One way to get into ketosis faster is to intermittently fast. Intermittent Fasting (IF) is the practice of deliberately going without food for longer periods of time, usually on a set schedule, and then allowing for an “eating window”.
But despite the bad reputation it often gets, intermittent fasting has a myriad of health benefits, and plenty of science and experts to back them up.
Because you will not be consuming any carbs, intermittent fasting will force your body to use up its glycogen stores for energy, and eventually begin converting fat into ketones for energy.
3. Drink Coffee
Coffee is a powerful appetite suppressant and can tide you over between meals. If you’re intermittent fasting, drinking coffee in the morning can help you easily skip breakfast, letting you fast from the time you went to bed the night before, until lunch the next day.
If you normally go to bed at 10 pm, this could help you reach a 14 hour fast; A decent kickstart to depleting your body’s glycogen stores.
If you don’t like the taste of coffee, caffeine pills or black tea will do the trick. If you’re drinking black or green tea, you will have to drink about 2 cups to achieve the same result as 1 cup of coffee.
4. Engage in Exercise
Your muscles and liver can store enough glycogen to sustain 90-120 minutes of exercise at an intense pace. This means that it can take anywhere from 1-10 days to burn off your glycogen stores, depending on your activity and carb intake.
In order to get into a ketogenic fat-burning state, you will need to burn off all of your extra glycogen stores. This means that working out, especially intensely, can help you reach ketosis faster.
Short bursts of exercise followed by short periods of rest (such as HIIT) are best for burning glycogen stores with the least amount of effort.
Read more about the benefits of exercise on a keto diet.
5. Exogenous Ketones
Exogenous ketones are water-soluble ketone bodies that are ingested in the form of nutritional supplements. They are controversial in the keto diet world because they are often used and marketed improperly.
The biggest myth touted by ketone marketing companies (and their independent marketers) is that they can be used as a sole method for getting into ketosis. The fact is, if your blood glucose is high, your body will not use ketones and they will simply be eliminated from the body. Essentially, if you are not following a low carb or keto diet, buying exogenous ketones is simply an expensive way to flush ketones down the toilet.
However, if you are already readying your body for ketosis, drinking exogenous ketones can trigger your body to use fat as its primary source of energy. During the beginning stages of ketosis, exogenous ketones can help increase energy levels. They can also be used to fuel a workout if you do heavy weight-lifting, HIIT, or long periods of cardio.
Once the body generates energy using exogenous ketones in the bloodstream, it will continue to look for other sources of ketones in the body, including your fat reserves. This can accelerate your body’s transition to metabolic ketosis.
6. Take Hydration Seriously
By nature, ketogenic diets are dehydrating. Especially when you are trying to reach metabolic ketosis, drinking plenty of water is essential.
Water helps the liver to metabolize fats. When your body is dehydrated, your kidneys cannot function as efficiently. When this happens, the liver is required to help fulfill some of the kidney’s functions. This puts extra strain on the liver, inhibiting its ability to metabolize fat quickly.
In addition, since ketones are a by-product of triglycerides broken down into fatty acids, a strain on the liver means it can’t produce ketones as quickly.
In sum, not drinking enough water means you will burn less body fat and produce fewer ketones.
You should aim to drink 1/2 of your current body weight in ounces of water per day. For example, if you are 180 lbs, you should drink at least 90 ounces of water per day.
Try these 22 ways to drink more water or try making your own flavored water.
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Have you ever been in ketosis? How long did it take you to reach ketosis the first time?
Great tips! I IF during the weekdays and Monday’s are the hardest to hop back in so this is helpful!
While I don’t aim to be keto, I do enjoy IF, coffee first thing in the morning (definitely tides you over) followed by exercise – all of which I feel better doing. Love the other tips should I decide to try out keto!
Such helpful tips! I’m not keto since I’m pregnant, but I have so many friends who would find this helpful.