Yesterday I was at a work function and had a few beer and had some pasta at the dinnerš© I fully expected to have to work my ass off to get back into a keto state. Iāve only been doing keto for 3 weeks- yet follow it to a tee and have not eaten more than 20g of carbs per day. Iām usually dark purple on the keto sticks. This morning I was still in moderate ketosis according to the sticks. Checked again this afternoon and still in ketosis. Iām surprised and wondering why? Does anyone have an answer?
Had carb heavy day- yet still in ketosis. Why?
Rian
#2
Pee sticks are totally worthless, youāve just proven that yet again. We recommend blood ketone meters.
Lillis
(Lisa)
#3
Iāve heard that- but when I first started keto it took a few days for the sticks to change colour- Iād assume thatās because it works to some degree to detect ketones no?
Rian
#4
The general consensus here is that they are a waste of time and money. If you want to test, either a blood or breath meter is much better method.
infromsea
(Tim W)
#5
Do you still feel like you are in ketosis?
One possible answer, your body might take longer to perform some of itās processes and you might find yourself kicked out of ketosis ālater than expectedā.
Having done multiple self experiments Iāve found that some things take longer than others. Just because we eat asparagus and our urine smells a few hours later, that doesnāt mean all of the bodies digestion, fat processing etc. happens as quickly.
For example, having a bowel movement 3 days into a fast, thatās an indicator that the food in the digestive system might take a little longer to process then expected (for me at least, your results may vary). Iāve also found that other reactions can take 3-4 days, if I get behind on sodium or stop taking my mag, I feel it 2-3 days after dropping off, and then it takes me 3-4 days of supplementing to get back to homeostasis.
So, back to the beginning, do you feel like you are still in ketosis? Note your response over the next few days and youāll have some insights into how your body works.
Good luck!
4dml
#6
Possibility #1: If you eat below your personal carb threshold (eat no more carbs than your body can process efficiently) then you will stay in ketosis. 20g is a somewhat arbitrary number. Insulin sensitive folks can tolerate more carbs than those who are metabolically deranged.
Possibility #2: If you are in deep ketosis, it could take more than 1 meal to drive you off ketosis. If Iām in ketosis as a result of fasting, eating a carby meal wonāt kick me out of ketosis.
Donna
(Meeping up the Science!)
#7
Urine test strips and breathalyzers typically do not test ketones. Rather, they test acetone that correlates with a ketone level - acetone is a byproduct of ketosis, you see. Only blood tests are the most accurate for testing ketones. The strips are indicating that you are producing acetone - they cannot tell you whether or not you are using or metabolizing the ketones. So, you may be in ketosis, but itās hard to tell.
Thing is, you mentioned you had alcohol. Alcohol is metabolized into acetaldehyde which is carcinogenic so we break it down further into acetone, also a by-product of ketosis as I mentioned. And, because you are using strips, itās possible they are detecting the breaking down of the ethanol in the alcohol and not acetone derived from the metabolizing of ketones. Alcohol also can pause ketosis, because ketosis and processing alcohol typically cannot be done at the same time.
As for 20g per day, many people are in ketosis with far higher thresholds, and conversely, many people have lower thresholds. I still will get very minimal blood ketone readings up to 65-70g/day, though now that I eat 95% zero carb I eat far less, of course. I also quit doing blood tests some time ago because I found it annoying, and because I never eat more than 15ish at most, usually.
The body is a dynamic system and we all have ranges for things rather than absolute numbers with a few exceptions, like action potential which is always -70 mV for instance. To what degree you stay in ketosis matters on several factors independent of carbohydrate intake, even.
Lillis
(Lisa)
#8
Ok thanks so much for all the info! I feel I am still in ketosis because Ive been fasting all day and donāt feel hungry at all- something I would never have experienced before on my carb heavy diet. I will watch over the next few days to see what happens! Thanks again:)
240lbfatloss
(Ken)
#9
Lisa,
Having a few beers and some pasta isnāt really many carbs. It wasnāt enough even to start the glycogen recompensation process. All that really happened is you secreted a little extra insulin, and temporarily halted lipolysis. Ketosis probably halted for a short time as well, then quickly resumed. I usually have to eat carbs for more than a day to really halt ketosis. Your strips worked fine, I often use them after eating carbs to tell when Iām back into lipolysis. It sounds like your degree of metabolic derangement is low, and youāve quickly gotten rid of adverse lipogenic adaptations.
Ketone meters are optional, not necessary.
infromsea
(Tim W)
#10
Ken, as usual you provide helpful comments and discuss the actual issue/question at hand.
Baytowvin
(TJ Borden)
#11
So really, you were just bragging about how pasta and beer didnāt knock you out of ketosis, making many of us (myself included) totally jealous 
KetoLikeaLady
(What The Fast?!)
#12
Same for me!
Ha!!
Also - FWIW, I use the sticks as well. They always show deep color when Iām deep in ketosis, usually 2.5 or higher. Because I test both blood and urine, I can tell you there is a correlation though itās not exactly the same. The only times the sticks donāt work for me are when Iām like .6 and under. I donāt base my life around the sticks, but I like to use it for motivation - gives me a sense of accomplishment.
Iām 24 hours into a fast and just tested blood at 1.5, hereās my keto stick:
Carissa
(Carissa JB)
#14
I was going to make a post about drinking a half pint of vodka last night and having a deep purple test strip this morning , but I decided to search Alcohol Ketosis first and Iām glad I did. The breakdown of alcohol into acetone makes perfect sense in relation to the deep purple reading.
I have been living Keto for almost 2 months with almost never more than 20 gross carbs per day and my test strips usually read small or moderate at the very highest.