I recently went to the doctor to get some testing done, mainly because I had an abnormally long period and as soon as that was over, I noticed that my urine was way darker than normal. (I drink tons of water every day and keep myself very well hydrated).

Anyways, the doctor did a urine test and said that I had a rather high level of ketones in my urine, and apparently was in a state of ketosis? All of my other bloodwork and tests came back totally fine. The first thing he asked me was if I was on a diet or not. Of course, I just started calorie counting about 3 weeks ago. Apparently this happens when the body starts burning fat for fuel instead of stored sugars? I've been eating 1200 calories a day and losing weight at a pretty rapid rate. What concerns me is that he said he normally sees this in his patients with anorexia. He didn't really give me a clear answer on if it dangerous or not to be in this mode, just that I should make sure I'm taking a multivitamin if I'm cutting calories.

I think it just scared me about how he said normally it is people with eating disorders that have this... Could this be a sign I'm not giving my body enough? I'm really paranoid about this now. Should I start eating more? I take a multivitamin every day, and all of my bloodwork showed that my levels are normal across the board.

I think it just means that you're burning fat. You're working on creating a calorie deficit. You want to burn fat. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing.

I think if it was hazardous to your health he would tell you so. Then again 1200 calories is not very much for someone of your height. If your worried then try upping your calories in increments and maybe it will get you out of that state.

I would agree. I am losing consistently on 1,800 a day (though I do exercise a lot). 1,200 seems very little, even if you don't exercise. Are you hungry a lot?

I always have acetone in my urine. The doctor has never said anything about it.

If your body is burning fat, you will produce ketones, like others said.

Just make sure you're getting enough nutrition, and you feel well.

That was quite alarmist for the doctor to say. Anorexia is of course a mental illness not just a diet and I am sure you know in your mind it is not at all how you feel. Maybe ask the doctor for some advice about how he suggests you are best to lose weight healthily?
xxx

Be sure to drink enough water, your urine should be very pale yellow or clear.

Ketosis is something a lot of people strive for while losing weight, I know specifically the IP crowd, I believe they even use those pee sticks to see if they are in ketosis. But, like others said, you might want to up your calories, as 1200 is quite low.

I am curious why you didn't ask your doctor these questions while you were there if the ketosis thing resonated so much with you? He might be the best source of information.

+1 on the multivitamin, just don't take it on an empty stomach -- it might make you sick. (Don't be like me and learn from experience!)

Regarding your caloric intake; do you feel good and are you eating healthy? I am also eating around 1,200 calories, but calorie cycling, and on days that I eat lower calories I am really focusing on only whole foods. Actually, in general I am eating whole foods with some crackers (whole grain etc). Make your calories count and eat a well, balanced diet : )

Thanks for the responses everyone!

Dorian- I did ask my doctor all of these questions, but he didn't really give me a clear answer. He just told me to make sure I take a multivitamin and that sometimes it can mean you aren't getting enough food for your body. He was really unwilling to tell me anything one way or the other : C. Also, thanks for the advice on the multivitamin! I had been taking it in the mornings a couple of hours before breakfast, and couldn't figure out why I was always feeling so ill at that time.

Northern Rose- Surprisingly, I'm actually less hungry the way I'm currently eating than I was back when I was eating 2500+ calories a day. I think that it is because I am actively working on choosing more wholesome foods, and even eating small portions is leaving me very well satisfied.

Everyone else- Thanks so much for the advice! I think I'm going to stick with 1200 for now as long as I continue to feel satisfied and have no negative symptoms. It sounds like this isn't as bad as I was imagining it could be. If I start to have any symptoms of not consuming enough energy I'll try bumping up to 1500. I figure that, at least for now, I should probably not mess with a formula that seems to be working well for me currently.

You should really go back to the doctor and ask for a clear answer.
The ketones in your urine are a sign that you are not consuming enough energy!

When you are in a high caloric deficit and there is not enough glucose in your blood, your fat cells "deliver" fatty acids to your liver. They deliver so many fatty acids in fact that the krebs cycle (which fuels the electron transport chain, which brings the actual energy (ATP) to the cells) stopps working. If the Krebs cycle stopps working a substance called "acetyl coenzyme A" (which comes from the fatty acids) starts accumulating in the liver cells. The liver then transforms that acetyl coA to ketones. Those ketones then travel to the cells of your body that cannot use fatty acids as fuel (brain cells). They transform the ketones back to acetyl coA that can then enter the krebs cycle and bring energy to the cells.

So that's where the ketones come from. I tried to keep it simple, I hope it's understandable. I found it quite complicated when I first heard about it in class.
I don't know if it's healthy to stay in ketosis for too long, so like I said before, if I were you I would go back to your doctor. He should give you clear answers and explain everything to you!

*There is no danger to being in ketosis and it doesn't mean you're consuming too little energy.

It could also mean she is just staying away of carbohydrates, yes. But on a regular diet ketones are produced when you don't consume enough energy.
Still, 1200calories is very low and it can't hurt to go seek professional advice. There is a difference between being on a low card/high protein diet and monitoring what exactly goes into your body or just "starving" yourself by eating too little.

Being in ketosis for long periods of time is not healthy. It makes your body's environment more acidic. It is also more stressful on your kidneys. It is best to do this under a doctor's supervision. This does not mean that it will harm you for sure, because I am sure that some people do lose a lot of weight by being in ketosis BUT most of those diets only maintain ketosis for a certain period of time. Monitor thr way you feel, if anything is abnormal get to the doctor. Sounds like you are pretty in tune with the your body. Good luck.

Source? Ketoacidosis is dangerous and I've seen people confuse the two terms before but I'm interested to know how long term ketosis is not healthy.