So i have been on Keto for a couple of months,! I have lost about 2 kg (i know it’s not much but i am trying to stay positive 
). Sometimes i do wonder if my weight loss should be faster, and sometimes i do blame myself for not measuring my ketones / or basically make sure i am in ketosis, do you think it’s something i should not be ignoring?
Thanks!
Lana
Hi Lana, I have found the metres useful in understanding where I am at - at first I tested using urine strips - super cheap and quite effective - obviously gave me a thrill when I was finally in ketosis and helped me know when I was out of ketosis and seeing what affected these states etc. After a few months I moved onto blood testing. Now that I am about 8 months into my keto woe I have a pretty good sense of my ketone levels - i.e. normal or out and so I test less often. It was very useful in the beginning and less so now. So if you are just starting out and don’t know your ketosis status then getting some ketone urine strips (by far the cheapest) will help you see where you are at. Remember any kind of pink is good - some people obsess about the optimal range of ketosis but in the early stages you just want to see that your body is converting ketones. The reason why people move onto blood or breath testing later is that when their bodies are fat adapted the spill less ketones in their urine and are more efficient at utilising the ketones for energy (generally speaking).
Re losing weight faster or slower - my questions would be: how are you feeling in yourself? Energetic, lethargic, sharp mind or foggy, hungry vs not hungry or not often hungry etc? The answers to your questions may guide you to understand if you are fat adapted yet which will obviously have an effect on how your body sources and utilises energy. A lot of people, especially women, seem to experience healing effects before weight loss. It depends on what is going on in your system. For me personally I lost a tonne of weight quickly (in the first three months) then stalled for a few months and now am losing weight incrementally. However, I have also seen some positive effects on the issues I had and several times have had to tweak things that weren’t working (I.e. my thyroid TSH levels came back elevated and I wanted to find a way to keep thyroid function healthy (and to understand what healthy means etc).
I test with strips once a week for grins and giggles. I smell ketones on my breath, in my sweat, in my urine ( if that’s possible.)
You can try a Cheap Breathalyzer I think it would work better for your purpose 
IF/EF Keto WOE is Self-Discovery 
Good luck and much success in your journey in IF/EF Keto WOE 
I’ve never used a meter. I used strips in the beginning, but they became unnecessary.
For many people the key to losing weight is to lower insulin. Eating food will raise the insulin level. Sugar, and carbs will raise it allot. Protein will raise is some, but not as much as carbs. Fat will raise it a small amount. During fasting, insulin level is at zero. To lose weight, you may wish to experiment with intermittent fasting, or eating one meal a day, or Mike Mosley’s 5:2 diet (fast 2 days a week): https://thefastdiet.co.uk/ The key is to lower insulin level in your body.
Depends on your personality. If you’re the type who’s information driven, testing is motivational and can help decide what changes need to be made. If you’re the type who gets stressed by information, testing is counter productive. If you’re one who takes a laissez-faire, the body will figure it out approach, testing is unnecessary.
I approach my health journey the same way I do a road trip. I figure out where I am. Plan a course to get to the destination. Start driving, continously checking my route with the map. Rerouting as necessary in response to situations that I encounter.
I have health goals (metabolism, body composition, cognitive function). I know my starting and desired targets. I created a plan to achieve them. Not tracking the variables associated with them would be like driving blindfolded.
I measure ketones everyday. I measure glucose even more frequently. Dr Pompa says that high BG can prevent the body from using ketones as fuel. I dunno if that’s correct or not. What I’ve experienced is that glucose correlates more closely to weight loss than ketone levels. Maybe that’s because it more closely reflects insulin levels. I dunno. I don’t need to understand the mechanism to apply the concept. But I needed to track in order to discover it.
Yeah the insulin is the key to weight. But alas no way to measure that at home (yet)
While I was breaking my sugar addiction, measuring ketones was critical to my attitude. I was miserable and needed to see proof of progress.
But the longer I stuck with keto, the less my ketone levels concerned me.
In March, I had my beta hydroxybutyrate measured as part of my bloodwork. I’ll probably forget to ask for that the next time I do bloodwork. That’s how little it matters to me now.
As you said i think it is good if you use to keep you motivated, thanks for the tip 
What a lovely way to describe your journey. Makes a lot of sense. I think i will get a ketones and BG meter and focus more on learning what works with me.
Thank you for the feedback!
As you learn about what works for you, keep in mind that as your body adopts over time that what works will need to be adjusted.
I had urine strips in the beginning and then simply stick to what I thought was working. Soon enough my body and weight loss stalled out because I dropped my monitoring. Now a year later I am using test strips again as validation that my knowledge is seeking continuous improvement - so I now know that I need the feedback loop.
