Week 1 and 2 mild ketosis shown on strips. Wee 3 no ketones. I’m strict on keto always keeping my carbs under 18. I am an older female, 67. I know they are unreliable but need confirmation j doing diet right. I did lose a few pounds but concerned on how my body is handling this. The series are an upper and downer ??
Need to know where my ketones are
Ilana_Rose
(mole person)
#2
If you are strictly keeping your carbs under 18 grams then you can’t not be in ketosis unless you are having too much protein. It’s more likely though that you just tested at a bad time.
These are my rules for testing using ketone strips in order to get the best results.
First, always test in the later part of the day. Second, never test within 2 hours of having done exercise. Finally, third, never test within 2 hours of a meal. Morning testing, exercise, and food will all disturb the accuracy and lead to very low readings. For myself I always test either right before dinner or right before bed.
I hope this helps.
4dml
#4
I found tracking blood glucose to be a more useful tool for guiding my efforts. It provides immediate feedback on the impact of what I just ate is having on my body. Furthermore, my1daily weight changes were more closely correlated with changes in BG than ketones.
Unlike testing for ketones, glucometers and their strips are cheap. When I’m experimenting, I’ve done multiple readings in a day.
A glucometer is instrumental in tailoring a diet specifically to your body. Determining personal carb tolerance, identifying idiosyncrasies like an insulin spike from dairy, or eating too many calories out to much protein. Troubleshooting problems becomes a process of elimination rather than blindly guessing.
tdean
(Terence Dean)
#5
@Dee_Eichler it takes several weeks to become fat adapted so its almost pointless testing for ketone levels in the early stages of Keto. Concentrate on keeping carbs low enough to drive your BGL down which helps to lower insulin levels. That’s really what you’re trying to achieve to make it work, if you lose weight that’s great too but for now carbs under 20g, moderate protein, fat to satiety is all you need. It took me 10 weeks to adapt and for others its longer so just let your body adapt in its own good time, you’re doing fine.