Hi everyone.

How do you know when you are in ketosis? I know you are supposed to acquire energy, but I have some medical issues that make that impossible.

I don't have bad breath. (thankfully) Is there any other way to tell?

Thanks in advance!

The most accurate way to tell is to get a meter and the little sticks that take a drop of blood from your finger, similar to the blood sugar testing kits that diabetics use.

The ketostix that folks use for the urine are very inaccurate.

One can be in ketosis and not lose weight if the calorie intake is higher than what the body can use. One can lose weight on low carb:high fat and not be in ketosis.

I don't worry about the level of ketones in the urine. I just follow the food plan. It works for me.

I'm not sure that I agree entirely with the "ketostix are inaccurate" statement. Ketostix are quite effective at detecting ketones in the urine. The amount detected may vary, but as a test for positive/negative for ketones, they work great.

I use the Ketostix religiously. I vary in the strength of the ketones it picks up, but I trust what they say.

I think the Ketostix are a much cheaper option than a meter.

.....just my humble 2 cents worth.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so ungracious about the ketostix. I've just heard a couple of folks complain about them for a long time.

It all depends on what one expects to measure.

Interesting! I didn't know there was a meter to read ketones by blood. I almost never show I am in ketosis on ketostrips. I know I am based on breath, taste in mouth, and other physical symptoms.

I looked up the meter (precision xtra) and found the pricing varies widely. It runs 15.00 usd to 134.00 usd depending on who you order from and what the kit contains. Test strips for the ketones run about 55.00 usd per 100 strips. The glucose strips are priced slightly less for 100 count.

For me, it might be worth it. I periodically check my blood sugar anyway. (I run too low at times and respond too strongly to some "approved" veggies.)


I also find that I spend about $20.00 for 50 ketostrips and almost never get a reading of any value. That, for me, is a wasted $20.00.

I know that ketones can be in your blood and not in your urine. I know they can be lost in your sweat or on your breath. All of those reasons can cause a person to NOT show in ketosis on ketostrips. Also, being dehydrated or too hydrated will change a urine reading but, it will not effect the meter reading the same way.

According to some things I read on pub med, the meter will be more "timely" because ketones in the urine are already processed and hours old. The reading can be either too high or too low compared to the current state in the blood.

Granted, this level of precision may be unnecessary for us. We are just monitoring for our own benefit and not for the diabetic emergency risks which this meter was designed for. It is probably still most useful to someone with diabetes or known blood sugar disorders. In those cases, it is probably covered to some extent by insurance.

Just in case this is of value to someone, here is the abbot labs link and the map for any insurance questions.

http://www.abbottdiabetescare.com/co...ofile_0004.htm

I read your post and immediately thought, "One of the reasons I decided to do IP was so that I wouldn't have to spend the rest of my life pricking my finger and monitoring my blood." My dad developed Type II diabetes, and I didn't want that future for myself, mostly because I hate the thought of constantly using a meter. Just makes me glad that the ketostrips work for me. That said, great post...as usual!

Thanks! I KNOW! The thing is I started this program because I didn't want to develop diabetes and didn't want need to, on a compulsory basis, prick my finger! LOL

I still prick when needed. I have been prone to low blood sugar drops since I was a teenager. I really notice it if I don't seem to be in a strong ketosis. I also react weird to this like turnips, rutabaga, tomatoes, fennel, brussel sprouts. They have the ability to really pop my sugars up if I eat too many. I haven't given them up but I do use them sparingly.

Ketosis is a funny topic and one on which I am having a challenge getting much information on from Google.

Maybe you all can help?

Are there tell tale signs for when you come out of ketosis like when you go in? And, if you fall off the ketosis wagon, how long does it take to get back on? Is it the same amount of time regardless of your carb intake and stores?

My litany of questions is fueled by my failure to realize I fell out- though I would have sworn I wasn't "cheating". The dry mouth and the headaches from the last couple days now make sense..

I don't know what it was specifically. I had a bad movie date with my daughter but thought the damage was minimal but that was like 10 days ago. Maybe tic tacs as the culprit?

in my case, investing in these strips might not be a bad idea - considering how much $$ I wasted the last 2 weeks on IP products

thanks for any answers!!
Suzie

This is great information! I have been contemplating if I want to buy the ketostix, but I have heard so many people say that they are not very reliable or consistent. I have hypoglycemia and pre-diabetes, so I have low and high spikes in my blood sugar - hence why I decided IP was a good program for me! I THINK I am still in ketosis! I just feel like my weight loss has slowed down drastically and I can't figure out why! I'm wondering if I should go buy the ketostix or just keep plugging along at a slower rate??

I'll thow in my 2 cents here. I use Ketostix and they work great for me. I used them every day at the beginning so I would know when I was finally in ketosis. Now I know how my body feels when in ketosis and only check once a week or so.

I think the misconception that they don't work is due to the fact that not everyone excretes the same amount keytones in their urine. It is also excreted in your breath and as you progess thru the program your body can be more efficient at using ketones for energy. Thus, if your body is getting rid of keytones in ways other than urine, why would you expect them to show up on the strip?

I tested trace at first, then moderate/heavy for a few weeks, then back to trace. Since I know I was well hydrated the entire time, the change in the reading was due to my body using the keytones more efficiently now.

Just make sure to test first thing in the morning. Throughout the day, as you are drinking your water, the keytones are more diluted.

Thank you for the info! One thing I am unclear on and maybe someone can help me is if you see varying readings, do you do anything different? Or is it just to know how efficiently your body is using the ketones? Does that make sense?

Throw out the tic tacs! They are .5g of carb each piece and here are the
Ingredients:
Sugar, Maltodextrin, Tartaric acid, natural and artificial flavors, rice starch

other that a sugar alcohol that responds like table sugar in the body, same insulin outputs occur, this is just a normal candy.

I know when I am out of ketosis because I crave sugars again. That and my BF is willing to kiss me again! LOL

Seriously though, it is hard to tell if you went out of ketosis for some people. The more efficient your body is at ketosis, you lose weight, are thirsty, have a lack of hunger and cravings, and a "zippy" energy. If gluconeogenesis starts regulating you really well, it feels like you are getting sugar again ( you kind of are) and the ketosis symptoms are more subtle but you are still in ketosis. Maybe losing a little more slowly than you originally did.

I think it is very helpful for hypoglycemia. I do still have some moments it effects me. I try to keep food spaced out about 3 hours to keep things more level.

How long have you been on the program? Part of why the weight loss can slow down dramatically is you have depleted all your glucose and glycogen stores. With that you depleted the related fluids retained (mostly water). Now you are burning only your fat (ideally). If you are fairly close to your end goals, have been reasonably active, you may not have as much fat left that your body is willing to lose. REMEMBER 2 pounds a week is still a good loss for women. I know we say 3 to 5 ON AVERAGE but some of the IP paper work says 2 to 4 pounds for women. And, I know I was told 2 pounds is pretty normal when you are near the end.

Have you discussed any of this with a coach yet?

I was worried that I wasn't in ketosis, even though I'm losing weight...but I just actually kind of tasted my breath and it was bad. Yessss!

p.s. If my husband brings home cookies or cake, now I can just breathe on him.

I am the same way...I have to eat something every 3 hours or I get light headed or queasy. I am really hoping once I get to goal weight that it won't affect me as much!

I just started week 6 yesterday. I lost 10lbs my first week and then it slowed down each week. I still have at least 20 more lbs to go, so there is plenty of fat to lose

My coach says I am doing great and moving right along. He tells me to look at the average which is over 3lbs a week. When I look at it like that, I am very happy with the results. I guess I am just being impatient

I know what you mean! I still have the ketosis taste in my mouth and whenever I start worrying that maybe I kicked myself out of ketosis, my husband tells me from my breath...oh no, dear! you are definitely still in ketosis!