I'm in my 6th day of Induction and my Ketostix are not registering any changes. I drink about 112 ounces of water daily. Could I be drinking too much water and diluting the results? Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on the topic.

Hmmm.... well, I can say that there are people who will get into Ketosis and the strips never show anything. Not sure why -- I've never used them because I can tell when I'm there -- I feel different. But just in case, why not post an example menu so that we can see if there is anything that stands out? Sorry I couldn't be more help right off the bat!

JustJ280: Thanks for the quick reply! Here's today's plan:

Breakfast:1 Atkins Bar
2 cups coffee with heavy cream

Snack:Red pepper slices

Lunch:Chicken salad (canned chicken, mayo, celery, chives)
Salad mix
1 TBSP bacon
2 TBSP ranch dressing
1/4 cup mushrooms

Dinner @ Ruby Tuesday:Sole & shrimp
Roasted spaghetti squash
Grilled asparagus

I calculate 29 grams of carbs. Lemme know what you think.

I don't know - I have heard the sticks aren't always that accurate.

I'm curious, though, why are you drinking so much water? That's fourteen 8 oz. glasses of water a day! Unless I were working out and sweating a tremendous water, that would be a lot of water.

While I do run 3 miles/4 days per week, I mainly drink that much water to keep my tummy full and to ward off feeling hungry.

I've been on Atkins 'induction' phase about a week and a half and have lost 6 lbs, so I'm assuming I'm in Ketosis. I just ordered some Ketostix to make sure. I did hear that you can tell if you get a metallic taste in your mouth or others say bad breath? I'm not entirely sure on that though. I would say if you are losing then you are probably in it

Are you counting net carbs, or total carbs with the atkins bar? Usually if I have one, I count the full carbs.

It looks like your doing everything right otherwise....are you losing weight? If so,I wouldn't worry about it, I don't use the ketostix myself.

I was only counting net carbs in the Atkins bar.

I am still losing weight, so I suppose I should be happy about that and stop sweating the small stuff (as they say.) I'll focus more on the things I can control (food intake) rather than the things I cannot (Ketostix.)

I went up to 25 carbs on one day testing my body and the next day my color went from dark purple (really dark) to moderate. I got right back on track after I went back down to less then 20 but if you have been eating that may carbs for the whole 6 days that maybe why. The reason to do induction is to help clear your body and burn fat. Maybe you still just have to much plus the water issue.

go a few days without the Atkins bars and see if you can turn those stix pink. PINK not purple .....you can't be in a little ketosis...it's like being a little pregnant. The darker the stick the more dehydrated you are. So pink is good. Atkins bars can throw me out of ketosis even counting the net carbs. Something about sugar alcohols can affect some people's metabolism...

I can't do the Atkin's products. Once in a while as a 'filler' is ok, but on a regular basis something in them messes me up. I don't worry about Ketosis and never had, but from looking at your menu, honestly, I don't think you're eating enough. You don't watch cals on Atkins, but form looking at your menu, your cals look very low to me. Instead of the bar at breakfast, try an actual meal. Add some cheese or healthy fats to your snack (like some sliced avocado with your bell pepper). That way you do a few things like feel more satisfied and not feel the need to 'fill up' with water, you're giving your body more fuel to burn fat, and you don't need artificial things. But other than that, it's looking good! I'd just worry about losing and not the Ketosis! Good luck and keep it up!

All very good points, ladies. I really appreciate the awesome feedback. I'm going to lay off the Atkins bars and see how that works and not put so much stock in the Ketostix. In addition, I'm going to stick around 1500 cals/day and keep up with my running. As long as I'm losing weight, I'm a happy camper.

I think 1500 cal/day is a not much and you will be hungry. Are you making sure you are getting enough fat? the high fat content on atkins helps you not feel so hungry. I agree with getting the bars out of sight. that may help a lot.

I drink a ton of water almost 100oz's a day 3 or 4 20 oz bottles I dont think I am dehydrated because when I pee on them during the day they are always lighter but when I use them only in the morning they are always much darker because your urine is much more concentrated in the morning plus this is how I tell if I have had to many carbs because I am just using my morning sample.
However I do think it can be an indicator your not getting enough water and an idicator that your drinking a lot of water. but I am the type of person that when I was pregnant the only time I ever got a positive pg test was with FMU NEVER got one during the day. So that why I figured the same would be best here. How ever I dont think you not in ketosis just because its lighter just when mine changes I can tell somthing in my diet may have changed.