I was wondering if anyone could help with a question I have regarding ketosis and how it works. My bf has been doing the atkins diet for just over 1 week. He has been following it exact and has gotten past the cravings and so on....the only problem is, he hasnt been losing weight and he cant seem to stay in ketosis, or for that matter, he cant get right into it.

We bought the lipolysis strips that you use to tell how far into ketosis you are and although he is doing everything correctly, he cant seem to get near the darkest area. The even more frustrating part is, by the end of the day he seems to have gone steps backward in the darkness of the ketosis strips, they get lighter as the day goes on, then once he goes to sleep at night and wakes up in the morning, he will use the strip and the results are darker again It has been a continuous cycle.

He takes Anti-inflamatory drugs on a daily basis along with a multi vitamin, would these affect the process of lipolysis and halt weight lose?? How long should you conitnue this diet when you arent seeing any results or unable to reach ketosis?? OR is there anything he could do differently that may help speed things up??
Any advice would be appreciated, thank you

Dark doesn't matter. From what I understand, the colour is affected by the amount of fat you are burning and the concentration in the urine. Just a slight tint tells you that you are in ketosis.

The daily drugs could affect his loss. Perhaps he could post a few days of menus in the Low Carb! Section and the smart chickies can take a boo and spot something. Is he using diet soft drinks, low carb bars and other Frankenfoods, for example.

I'm not sure if it is true or not, but I read on a post somewhere that the darker purple just meant more dehydrated. Drinking more water makes lighter purple, less water, darker - and you're in ketosis either way. Again, I don't know the truth to it!

I have been doing Atkins for 3 years and have never used the strips. They can be just as maddening as the scale.

Tell your boyfriend to take his measurements. It could very well be that he has lost inches but no pounds.

Lyposis strips are used to detect OVER EXCESS of ketones. This means that even the slightest shade of purple or red means that he is overproducing ketones. He should'nt worry, he is fine. Sometimes you can be in ketosis and the strips still wont show, this does'nt mean that all is lost. Also, a good way to kick yourself into ketiosis is to do low-moderate intensity cardio. Such as walking. This helps get rid of the excess glycogen in your liver and muscles and jump starts ketosis even quicker. Cardio is a really good aid, because when you start to deplete all of the glycogen, then your body has no choice but to burn fat, and it continues even after he is done with his cardio for the day. 30 min should be fine.


Dont worry! He is fine!


DG