Keto Test Strip After a week; low results

(Chris) #1

Hi, Ive been doing keto for a week now. I just did a test strip and it gave me a much lower number than I expected between .5 and 1.5 which says trace or small amount. Is this normal or weird? Ive only been eating vegetables, meat, cheese, eggs, un sweetened greek yogurt and occasionally peanuts and almonds. I feel good when I am not hungry but when I get hungry I feel really bad.

(less is more, more or less) #2

Normal. I’ve rarely made those strips blush, and I’ve lost 60+ pounds and 6” at the waist. Thanks for posting your menu. Skip peanuts for now, too high carb. Almonds are lower in carb, but easy to break the 20 total (not net!) grams/day limit on them. Skip the unsweetened yogurt as well, very high in carbs. Where’s the butter and other delicious fats?

Check out http://pwop.com/download/TheKetogenicDietInANutshell.pdf it’s a good read for the neophyte.

(Chris) #3

No yogurt? I was told in another thread yogurt was fine. It has been making me feel strangely satiated, I guess thats because of the carbs…

(less is more, more or less) #4

No yogurt on page 4. Recall, this is neophyte focused. If you’ve done LCHF for years, you may slowly add foods not on page 4, presuming your savvy has increased.

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #5

The test strips are not testing the level of ketosis you are in rather than the ketones you are wasting through your urine as your body is not using them effectively yet. You’re on the right track.

#6

Hi, I have been in on the Keto diet for about six weeks and I did my first keto urine strip today - it was 0.8. I am 57 years old. Would you say this was ok or too high? The only carb I get is from veggies, a bit of dairy and a rare glass of beer. I eat a mix of fats - olive oil on salads, mainly lard for cooking, butter and MCT in coffee.
You last sentence, about the body excreting ketones, makes sense.

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #7

I’d say you are close to fat adaption, do not worry about chasing ketones, as long as you can assure you’re eating less than <20g a day you are in ketosis, there is no need to go changing anything based on those results :slight_smile:

(Chris) #8

I just did the test again and it was a dark purple! This morning it was a very light pink just like it looked when I posted this thread. Now its says Im at an at an 8 at least! I wonder if you get different results at different times of the day.

(Alex Peralta) #9

That could mean you are dehydrated. The strips test for what you are wasting. .5 and up you are probably good. I never had luck with the strips. They worked for a week and stayed pale after yet blood test showed high levels.

(Ethan) #10

More likely keto adaptation than fat adaption

#11

Thanks for the reply.

The next phase for me is learning how to measure the amount of carb I eat. I have no idea. I’ve been reducing it steadily until there is practically no obvious carb and especially no sugar in the cupboard or fridge. This did provide times of mild panic in the supermarket. I had no idea how widespread carbohydrate is!!

Recently I had a meeting in London. It’s a three hour train journey away. I left home without eating because I wasn’t hungry. I then discovered there is practically no carb-free food in train stations. At the meeting, sandwiches were provided. I was hungry at this point and a bit spaced-out, so in desperation I asked for a spoon and to everyone’s slight amazement I ate the fillings and not the bread. I did try to explain …

(Chris) #12

Ok, so the consensus here is dont worry about the strips?

(Buck Allred) #13

The strips are really very unreliable. They are at best a very rough estimate. Additionally keep in mind that you if you are on a drug like jardiance, which causes you to urinate glucose, the strips are essentially totally unreliable. The glucose in your urine makes them turn purple.

The proper test is a blood Ketone meter. They cost a few dollars. If you really want to know with specificity then go ahead and buy one.