So, this morning at weigh in, they had me do the little ketone strip test and it showed negative. She acted kind of weird about it, looked over the diet carefully and can't figure out why I'm not in ketosis.

Has anyone had this happen?? I also don't understand how my hydration level can go down when I'm drinking 3 times more water then I was before I started the program.... any thoughts??

your hydration level prob didnt go down... the tanita scales, and all bioelectrical impedence measuring devices are not gospel..... not for measuring body fat, lean mass, or hydration levels. They give merely an estimate and a LOT of things can interfere with the reading.... the time of day you did it last time vs this time, whether or not you worked out before last time vs this time, how much food youd had before the reading, what KIND of food you had circulating through your digestive track, whether or not youre bloated or retaining water, etc etc. Its only an estimate, but you can minimize the differences by "re-creating" the same situation under which you are measured, as much as possible.

As far as the ketone stix.... when i lost all my weight through MRC the first go-around, i never ONCE tested positive on those darn sticks. But i lost alot of fat, and very quickly, and i had all the other signs of ketosis (the energy, lack of hunger, metallic taste in my mouth). Honestly it was prob because i was TOO hydrated... my urine was so clear and diluted from all the water i drank i could have been 9 months pregnant and still failed a urine pregnancy test.
So dont sweat it, because you ARE losing~ youve lost 13 POUNDS in 3 WEEKS! thats almost 5 pounds a week avg, even if more came off the first week or two (water weight).
keep doing what youre doing till it stops working.....

Thank you, that makes me feels tons better! I'm feeling good and losing, so something must be working. :-)

P.S. I'm in Denver too! Which center do you go to?

westminster.... you?

My ketone tests have been negative so far, too, but I'm losing & had wondered if it was the amount of water I drink. Thanks for your post, mkroyer.

Hey anjy99--congrats on losing 13 pounds!! That's awesome!!!

Simi- you're doing well yourself!!

Mkroyer- I'm in Lakewood!

Thanks, anjy99! We're both shrinking!! YAY!! I wonder if we'll ever have a postive ketone test, but as long as we're losing, guess it doesn't really matter.

I found out last week that I had a much pinker strip when I didn't drink water right before my weigh in.

I have never tested positive either, but have still lost almost all my weight. Go figure....

my center hasn't even ever asked me to do one I think they get to caught up in what that strip tells you when it all actuality if you are losing good don't worry about it great job on the 13 lbs down, that is fantastic!

My center told me that they want me to only have a slight change in color on the ketone strips. One day my was fairly dark and they did not like that. They never say anything if it is negative.

My center told me that you want it to be negative or trace. The lady said that when its neg or trace it means you are burning fat and not muscle. Which means if you see little or no change then you are burning fat not muscle.

Mine showed small to moderate only a few times... generally after I'd come in to the center following a workout. Try to focus on other factors... how you feel, how your clothes fit, etc... if you get discouraged. It really does help to think about where you've come from!

I agree. I have lost 70 LBS and maybe once showed anything on the strips. I bought my own from the drug store just to test for myself at different times, but don't sweat it as long as you are losing the weight.