I would not worry about monitoring your ketones, either by urine strips or breath tester. Keto really isn’t difficult (although it took me about a month of doing it and constant reading to lighten up and relax about my program. At first, I was very concerned about whether or not I was “doing it right.”). Read/watch dietdoctor.com. Stick to under 20 g of carbs a day (I usually do bet. 8-15/day with no problem, but I love meat, eggs, moderate cheese, etc.). No need for protein powder - eat your protein, and the fattier the better. Make delicious, simple meals - they don’t have to be elaborate. Meat, veggie, butter, maybe a salad. I don’t really cook anything time consuming or difficult. Slap a piece of meat in a pan, make some cole slaw, steam some broccoli, make a salad, have a little cheese, eat some pepperoni, scramble some eggs and put delicious stuff on them, etc. Eat as much as you need until you aren’t hungry. If that’s once a day or three times a day, so be it. Ease into IF. It will come naturally once your body has adjusted - you won’t feel like eating so much, but yet you won’t be hungry. For guys who want to build muscle, search for weight lifting on here, or message the people who are buff and working out. There are a bunch of them on this forum that I’m sure could help you @Karim_Wassef, etc. Good luck. Let us know how it’s going.
Keto diet to lose fat not muscle / weight?
Thanks Marianne, I have just got back from the gym, I had 2 chicken drum stick
s instead of protein powder.
I decided to take a photo now and then see how I look in a few weeks, as you can see my stomach needs some work
I do strength training for fitness but not for bulk. I am five weeks into adding the strength training and running 30 miles a week. No real diet changes. My weight is dropping slightly and I can feel muscle growth. I am finally starting to see some reduction in my belly fat. Hoping I can keep it off with keto this time. Curious, do you shave that chest? If I posted a picture like that people would think I was a wookie.
Okay so I’ve been eating low carbs for one week and I did a urine strip test, the colour band was definitely purple indicating ++40(3.9). Is this me in ketosis do you think?
Keep carbs low and your body won’t have a choice in the matter. Looks like you are there, now the long slog to fat adaption.
It can take from three weeks to three months (sometimes longer). It’s a gradual process so each day is a step in the right direction.
Looking at it from this perspective (a couple of years out), I miss those days. You will never lose fat quite as fast again because this is where your liver is going to go into overdrive and waste substantial fat into ketones. You will be breathing, sweating and peeing more ketones than you will probably ever again.
So enjoy this window of inefficiency. Once you’re fat adapted, your body and liver will prefer ketones and it will only make enough to balance your needs. Efficiency is great for survival but if you’re wanting to lose fat, you’re looking for inefficiency and that time is right now.
Aren’t chicken legs so much better than protein powder! (you can also dip them in some blue cheese dressing for added taste and fat). I read a post on here from someone, just before I started, that implored newbies to take their measurements before starting. (For me, the only measurement I really cared about was my belly - but I still didn’t take their advice.) Dumb!!! I wish so bad I had a do-over. I regret it so much now, because I have lost my belly almost completely. I feel like a normal person now, even though I still have a ways to go. I am not ashamed of my appearance anymore, I have a “figure” again, and my clothes hang nicely.
So, I would encourage you to take your waste measurement - don’t wait. If you don’t have a cloth tape measure, you can use a string and measure how long it is. I think in no time, you will be amazed at how much your stomach goes down.
Good luck!
And the more I learn about seed oils the less often I want to eat out. You know that’s what they fry everything in. Sad but true.
I got the drill out a couple of months ago and added 3 more holes to a belt that didn’t even fit 6 months ago 
I know this has been talked to death, but is it worth me getting a breath tester, or are they a complete waste of time.!
I personally measure blood glucose and ketones, but breath ketones may be a good additional data point.
It depends on what you’re trying to measure
If you’re hellbent on monitoring ketones then breath testers are fine, but trust me, as long as you stick with it, you will be in ketosis. Timeframes don’t matter because, if you happen to not be in ketosis when you check your levels, you’re still going have to follow the ketogenic way of eating to get into ketosis