Hi, I am still a newbie. Started at the beginning of October with the goal of losing 15 lbs. I am not overweight just wanted to clean up the excess and be healthy. I have been fairly strict, tracking macros and eating under 20 grams of carbs per day except for one night I drank too much wine and regretted it deeply as I was puking my guts out the next morning. I just got Keto urine sticks this past week and mid week I was at moderate (around a 4) for ketones and now without going off diet at all I only have trace amounts. Just wondering if anyone knows why my body would be kicked out of ketosis. I have lost 10 lbs so far but can’t seem to get past that. Weight goes up and down between 2-4 lbs.
Falling out of Keto for no reason
Juke88
#2
You haven’t fallen out of ketosis. The urine strips are affected by how much water you have drank during the day, and more importantly, how many ketones you are using (urine is what your body is getting rid of).
If you want to continue to use the strips, take anything from “trace” up as a sign you’re on the right track, and if it says “none” then you’ve probably been kicked out.
Most of the people on this forum will tell you to throw them out because they’re inaccurate and not super helpful, but I did use them in the beginning as a rough guide. Hope that helps.
Juke88
#4
As far as feeling like your weight loss has slowed, 10lbs is plenty in a month and you want to make sure you’re well fat adapted before you start getting more aggressive. Weight loss happens in spurts.
If you’re having no issues with hunger, you could start shortening your eating window by doing things like intermittent fasting from 8pm to 2pm and having 2 meals a day.
Just research lots and you’ll figure it out- there are so many resources available between this forum, the podcasts, and books. Good luck!
Lilmaz
(Kimberly)
#5
Newbie myself since May but it’s my understanding that the ketones that show up in your urine are the EXCESS ketones that your body isn’t using it doesn’t mean that your kicked out of ketosis. You could have a zero read which just means your body is using all the ketones for energy that your producing…if I’m wrong here someone correct me…
Ladyred
(Catherine)
#6
Juke88 has it right! Those urine strips are only useful in the beginning of keto. After that they are very inaccurate. If you can’t do blood or breath testing, just go by how you feel. Good luck to you!
JohnH
(John)
#8
I am in week 9 and still turning the urine strips dark purple. I check once every few days. When I run out of these I probably won’t buy another box.
Jojo78
(Jodi)
#9
I am fasting for 16 hours between dinner and when I first eat. My eating window varies though as I have family and we eat dinner at a different time each night! Thanks for the support @juke88! I will just keep in doing what I am doing, you are right, I am very happy I have lost 10lbs already. 
CarlKeller
(Carl Keller)
#12
The closer you get to you ideal weight, the more difficult it becomes to lose weight. Your body is really good at being stingy with fat when you don’t have much of it left. In the meanwhile, enjoy how keto makes you feel. There’s no time limit for you to lose the last 5 pounds… unless you are a boxer, wrestler or super model. 
J_Lynn
(J Lynn)
#14
Hi! I know this is a dated post but I was hoping someone will be able to help. I started keto about 2 months ago. I have lost about 16 lbs. but the last few weeks I haven’t lost anything and have been fluctuating a gain and loss of a lb. I’m totally discouraged and don’t understand why the standstill, and I see that people are saying that the urine strips aren’t very helpful but my irons strip today said 0 ketones 
is this normal to have a standstill? I am really not having any carbs!!
Azi
(Linda )
#15
Yes pauses,stalls and or plateus are very common with keto and all weight loss plans and even gaining up a pound or two has happened to me .
Weight loss is not linear remember to change your macros after every 10lbs or so cos as you lose weight you need less to move a smaller body.
Change your eating window your types of food and mix things up a bit your body adapts to what your doing and tries to fight back so I found keeping it guessing worked well for me 16lbs in 8 weeks is awesome 8lbs a month…
Don’t expect it to always be as fast as that cos it may very well slow down at some point.
Take photos and measurements often when the scales not moving we are losing inches.
But sounds to Me your doing great I lost my fastest after I was fat adapted which happens anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks in and you’ll feel it when your appetite drops so your just not very hungry.
Good luck you got this.
ctviggen
(Bob M)
#16
16 pounds in 2 months is great. Weight loss is not linear, meaning you’ll get plateaus. Also, I’ve often lost no scale weight, but had to make my belts smaller.
(Which is one reason I don’t use the scale. Shocking, I know.)
PaulL
(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing)
#17
Do you want to lose weight, or do you want to lose fat? If the former is your goal, a ketogenic diet may well disappoint you, because eating wholesome, real food to satiety can cause our body to add lean tissue, in particular muscle mass and bone mass. This means that the number on the scale may not drop, because of adding one type of body mass while shedding a different type of mass.
As an example, after my initial loss of about 80 lbs./36.4 kg, my weight was stable for a period of twelve months. At the beginning of that period, I was given a pair of trousers that would not fit over my butt. Twelve months later, I tried them on, and they fit fine, although my weight had not changed. Obviously, the explanation is that I had continued to shed fat during those twelve months, but had added some lean mass at the same time, and the weight loss and the weight gain cancelled each other out.
This is why we suggest using the fit of clothing as an indicator of progress, not the number on the scale. And I put it to you that having stronger muscles and bones is a good thing, even if the scale number goes up as a result.