Atkins 2 months but Ketone is white

[R_Judy]

Help! I have been on atkins for two months on Monday. I bought some ketone test strips just to confirm how I am doing. They stayed white!! I have only fell off the wagon one meal. My meals are posted in my journal. What can I be doing wrong??? Any and all thoughts appreciated.

 

[DoeWDW]

I'll have to take a look back at your journal, but I wanted to send a out right now! I bet you are feeling so frustrated!

I don't use the ketone strips myself so I'm hoping someone with more expertise in that area has some ideas.

 

[dizneegirl]

Could be any number of things.

Are you losing weight? Inches? Either?

Strips are flakey... if they're old, or have been too hot or too cold or too moist, they may no longer register, even if you're in ketosis. They're not even always accurate... if you've eaten a large amount of dietary fat, you may register high on the ketones - not because you're actually burning fat, but because the fat you ate is being flushed out.

A more accurate measure of ketosis are the side effects... do you have that metallic taste in your mouth? Ketosis breath? Is your appetite suppressed?

If you're losing either pounds or inches, you feel good, have energy, etc. - I certainly wouldn't worry about what any old sticks have to say about it.

 

[Otto's Doll]

DH and I use them, (me more than him.) they always show color for me if I am on plan, but NEVER (I mean never ever) show anything for him. And he consistantly loses weight, whereas I am not as regular. My point being, don't worry about it.
I have to second the remark about them being flakey, they seem to become outdated very quickly.
As long as you are losing weight, you are doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing!

 

[nativetxn]

Some people never see a change in the strip. There is some interesting info about ketosis <b>HERE</b>

 

[gshoemate]

Depends on when you use them also. If I use them in the morning, they show up white or very light. But if I use them as soon as I get home from the gym, they are a darker pink, then a few hours, white again. I use them more as a mental thing, to kind of help me keep on track. As long as your losing inches and/or weight, I wouldn't depend on the strips.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

Judy, couple things.............

1) I hate to say this, but do you think you should temporarily cut out the protein bars. The reason I say this is that for some people they can slow down weight loss. I wonder if they would be the culprit with the ketosticks, I don't know.

2) Was it on March 4th that you had the tortilla chips?? If so, it takes at least 48 hours to get carbs out of your system. And if you tested March 5th, you might not have waited long enough to get into ketosis.

3) Are you losing weight or inches?? Like others have said, you don't HAVE to be pink on the sticks to lose weight. I know it is nice to see though, and can understand your frustration.

4) (Did I say a COUPLE of things...... ) You might want to try fitday.com. Try imputing what you eat for a couple/three days to see EXACTLY the amount of carbs you are eating. It was amazing to me how the carbs would add up. Sometimes I just do a mental calculation, but once or twice a week I will put my info. on fitday.com just to keep myself in check.

And LASTLY......... if you do eventually get the ketostick pink, don't get hung up on how dark it is. If you are drinking as much water as you should be, the stick will probably never get purple. When mine turned purple, I realized I wasn't getting enough water.

Hope any of this helps. Feel free to pm me if you want to chat more. You really are doing a great job, Judy. We are all so proud of you.

 

[JustMe28]

If you're losing pounds and/or inches, I wouldn't care what color the strips are.