Health questions & Ketosis

(Maria) #1

I am really confused and wondering if anyone has an answer or solution for me. I began keto on May 6th and have lost 17 pounds. I believe I am fat adopted because I am not hungry or have any cravings. I also have a lot more energy than in the past. I am trying to eat one meal a day, usually dinner around 7 pm and don’t eat again until dinner time the next day, except for 2 cups of black coffee with MCT and water. I have the urine strips and it never shows that I am on ketosis. I do have a lot of health issues and I am wondering if that plays a factor? Can anyone help! Thanks! :pray:t2::pray:t2:

(Susan) #2

Welcome to the forum, Maria.

It would help us more if you would tell us what you eat for examples of that one meal a day that you eat please?

(Murphy Kismet) #3

I’d say your body is using the ketones it’s creating, so nothing to pee out. :smiley::+1:

(The Lackadaisical Ketologist ) #4

Way back when I bought into the whole peeing on a stick sort of lifestyle, I would NEVER get anything but pathetic readings. Yet the weight would burn off my body like a forest fire consumes trees. I have since stopped giving a crap what an overpriced a urine soaked item had to say and focus solely on how I feel and just staying true to my course. No one needs powders, potions, magic oils, or pee sticks to be in ketosis or become fat adapted.

(Cancer Fighting Ketovore :)) #5

After a while many people don’t show much of anything on the pee sticks. People who want to know that kind of information either use a breath tester (lots of topics on that and which are good) or use a blood meter.

17 pounds of loss is good :slight_smile: Are you concerned that you are not in ketosis based on the pee strips, or is something else going on?

(Scott) #6

And the sticks go bad after awhile too.

(Maria) #7

Hi! and thank you so much for getting back to me. I usually, eat chicken, meat or pork some times fish with just a salad. Nothing really on it, except olive oil, bacon bits if have them and a little bit of parmesan cheese. Don’t really weigh the meat with lemon water and that’s it. I don’t eat anything else till dinner time the next day. Except for the weekends, that i have bacon & eggs with black coffee. I do have a lot of health issues. I don’t have a gallbladder, appendix, spleen and recently had Parathyroidectomy and left thyroid Lobectomy plus I was diagnosed with Hashimoto. I’m a mess!

(Maria) #8

Thanks! That makes me feel better, even though mine are not old.

(Maria) #9

Like I said, I do have a lot of health issues, but since I don’t seem to be losing like everyone else. I thought it was because all of the health problems

(Maria) #10

Thanks! That makes me feel better! :slight_smile:

(Cancer Fighting Ketovore :)) #11

Don’t compare yourself to others. :slight_smile: Everyone loses at different rates.
I see that you posted that you don’t have a gallbladder, that can make it harder on a high fat diet, but it can be done. There are others here who don’t have a gallbladder either.

As far as your meal goes, it looks good as far as keeping carbs low, but looks like you might be short on fat. Have you tried tracking your meals to see what your macros are? Macros aren’t the end-all-be-all (except for keeping carbs low), but it can be handy to know what you are doing.

People on this forum like:
Cronometer
CarbManager

(Maria) #12

Thank you so much, I will try to read it all. I seem to have a lot of problem with the macros. I can never get them right. I do have the apps, so I will try to figure it out. Thanks again!

(Carl Keller) #13

If you are restricting carbohydrates and your energy levels are high, then you’re body is running on mostly ketones, regardless of what the unreliable pee strips are telling you. :slight_smile:

I say “mostly” because our red blood cells do need a little glucose but those needs can met by converting protein into glucose via gluconeogenesis in our liver.

(Susan) #14

I had my gallbladder out in 2003, after losing over 100 pounds on a low-fat diet, and destroying it; but, Keto seems to be working for me still =).

#15

Urine strips are a waste of money.

https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/wiki/faq#wiki_all_about_ketostix

Can urine testing strips be used to monitor nutritional ketosis? The short answer: no.

Urine testing strips (commonly referred to by the brand name Ketostix) are intended for type 1 diabetics to monitor for a condition known as diabetic ketoacidosis or DKA. DKA is a life-threatening condition for diabetics which occurs when both blood glucose and blood ketones are high. However, if you are not an insulin-dependent diabetic, your body cannot go into DKA.

Ketostix measure excess levels of one type of ketone body, acetoacetate, in the urine. While in nutritional ketosis the body produces three types of ketone bodies: acetone, acetoacetate, and beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB). As the body becomes fat adapted two things happen: it becomes better at using ketones and it starts converting acetoacetate into BHB. This means that there will be less excess ketones and less of the only type of ketone measured by Ketostix. source.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #16

You don’t mention your starting weight and height. 17 pounds in ten weeks is nothing to scoff at. That’s about 1.5 lbs. per week. If you didn’t have a bunch of excess fat to start with that may be good progress. Most people who lose a lot fast have a lot of excess water weight that evacuates rather quickly at the beginning making keto look like some kind of magic. Loosing thirty pounds in the first month happens when people are like >100lbs. overweight, then it slows way down. :cowboy_hat_face:

@OgreZed I tried to quote your post and it created a new one instead, good information. :slightly_smiling_face: