After 2 months strict Keto pee strips still negative-trace

(Mike) #1

I"ve been eating 3 eggs fried in butter & 2 slices of bacon and bulletproof coffee every morning. 80/20 burger with cheddar cheese and a slice of avocado for lunch. A can of tuna for a 2 o’clock snack and chicken or fish and a salad for dinner. Sea salt almonds for a snack. No sweets, no bread pasta or pizza for 2 months. Crossfit 4 days a week. I have lost weight, #248- #221. Feel Great, never hungry. The issue is 2 separate bottles of keto strips have never said more than " trace " keto? I see people online say in a week the strips are purple!!! WTH!
Averaging 80% fat, 15% protein. HELP!

(Allie) #2

Throw them away they’re the most inaccurate way possible of testing.

Judge by how you feel and the results you’re seeing. The pee sticks only measure one type of ketone (there are three) and they only measure what your body is wasting (over-producing and not using) so it probably just means you’re using them efficiently. Seriously, don’t waste time and money on them (and certainly don’t stress!)

(Cathy) #3

Urine test strips can only tell you one thing definitively and that is that you have been in ketosis in the recent past. They CANNOT tell you that you are not and have not been in keto. The reason is that they are picking up a waste product of a type of ketone that is not being used efficiently by the body. Many people who have been keto for a long time, get negative readings with those urine strips and positive readings with blood meter tests. Their bodies have become efficient with the use of ketones.

As suggested above - throw them out and either get a blood testing kit or judge by how you feel!

Congrats on your wonderful progress!!!

(Andrew) #4

After fasting for 3 & 4 days, I barely turned the strips any colors (with a blood reading in the 4+). I have had them turn pretty dark randomly just eating keto but I have no idea what logic the kidney is using.

I would take “trace” ketones as a positive and use them that way.

(Frank) #5

I am using a Ketonix which has shown me to be in Keto increasing each day. The strips I have show negative, I prefer to put my faith in the Ketonix.

#6

Urine strips only work for brand new keto participants in the few weeks. After that they become unreliable and give inaccurate results.

Get a blood meter. I use keto-mojo, which is a good one.

(Ken) #7

You’re absolutely fine. Strips only show excess ketones excreted in your urine. Don’t get nutty about ketone levels, you’re clearly in lipolysis, losing fat, and being successful. Lipolysis drives ketosis, ketosis doesn’t drive lipolysis.

#8

Not really. You cannot generalize. I’ve been seeing dark purple on the pee strips even after a year of strict ketosis.

(Dan Dan) #9

You can try a Cheap Breathalyzer I think it would work better for your purpose :thinking:

“May the Force (fat adaption) be with you”

IF/EF Keto WOE is Self-Discovery :wink:

Good luck and much success in your journey in IF/EF Keto WOE :grin:

(Mike W.) #10

Drink more water. You’re likely dehydrated.

#11

Interesting because when I fast that is when my urine ketones are the most positive (to date - only been at this since August 2017). I don’t put too much mind onto the color of the stick (vs how I feel) but I do get curious and test periodically just to see what is happening. We certainly are curious biological creatures how we respond similarly - but not quite the same. :slightly_smiling_face:

#12

Keep in mind that ketone levels are highest late at night, and, blood ketone levels may not be reflected in urinalysis.

I usually hit the hay around midnight/1am and every few weeks when I re-check with ketostix it’s purple - but earlier in the day it shows barely anything.

(Allie) #13

This is different for different people. Mine are highest around the middle of the day and lowest in the evening.

(Bunny) #14

”…For the avid keto folks who have been on the diet for a while, you may be using the ketone blood meter instead. Your testing time, as noted above, depends on why you’re testing. Testing while fasted can be a great way to determine your baseline ketone levels. However, you may find it interesting to see how your body adapts to different foods or even after training. For this reason, testing blood ketones can be done throughout the day to provide a nice snapshot of what is currently going on in your body! Keep in mind, however that movement and exercise can drastically change the dynamics of ketone readings and thus may show differences in levels even with just a mild walk around the house. …” https://ketogenic.com/overview/testing-ketones/

”… A single avocado can have enough carbs to kick some people out of ketosis. The key word here is “some” people…” http://www.dranthonygustin.com/top-10-ketosis-mistakes-prevent/

#15

Those could be inaccurate too. False negatives and false positives happen once you’re keto adapted. If you care about accuracy, a blood meter is the best way to go.

(Allie) #16

And quite often the darkest colours are caused by dehydration, especially if testing early morning.

#17

I’ve been testing in parallel - urine and blood - and, for me, they correlate reasonably well.

(Adam Kirby) #18

Pee strips never worked for me, even though I can get rancid acetone breath. If you feel good and not hungry there’s your proof that the diet is working.

(Bunny) #19

I like this gals approach and logic!

Being Fat Adapted Versus “In Ketosis”

#20

Keto strips are pretty worthless. That being said, too much and/or certain types of protein can suppress urine spillage. Mine have read negative once I was past 8 weeks, even when my blood ketones register 1.5 - 2.0.