Is it recommended to test by blood to check ketone levels or does urine suffice? And if blood is the way to go, what are the levels we are looking for?
And with tribe does the shade matter?
Also, for some reason I feel lethargic, heavy and kinda bad. I’m. I’m not trying to let the scale determine my day but it’s gone up and/or remained the same for like 6 weeks. I lift weights so I’m trying not to be concerned with the numbers.
Suggestions?
Ketostix are next to worthless for checking nutritional ketosis. It’s just not their purpose.
I’ve never found a need to test for ketosis. My hunger tells me. 
This is not a great sign. How long have you been keto? What are you eating? Starting weight, current weight, target weight? Critically, are you eating to a calorie target? Or eating to satiety?
And to your central question, there is absolutely no need to measure ketones. If you are eating less than 20g of carbs per day you WILL be in ketosis. Trust it. Just make sure you are not taking in sneaky carbs.
Absolutely. Before keto, I was ravenously hungry all the time.
Keto has drastically improved the control of both my hunger and my blood sugars. As a T2 diabetic, I no longer need insulin or metformin. My A1c has dropped from 7.3 (on medications) to 5.2 (no medications).
I can definitely see the benefit of testing for ketones. Feeling hungry or not does not give me any true insides if my body is actually in ketosis or not. I rather look at the numbers and would recommend that. But there is also a level of common sense and a learning curve to knowing what you eat and how many carbs are in what you eat.
Between 0.5 to 3.5 milimolar is considered a state of ketosis.
I don’t stand on the scale everyday because the differences are small and it just stresses me out. I stand on the scale once a week now.
Since I’m a T2 diabetic, I do get that type of daily feedback from checking my blood glucose. Before keto, when I needed to take insulin, I often tested 5 or 6 times per day. Now, I typically only check once per day.
So if I get a high blood glucose reading, I do review what I had to eat that day, to look for the likely culprit.
I was expecting a higher number after a few questionable choices yesterday at the Easter brunch we had at my retirement community, but it was only 96, so no problem. 
I’ve been eating keto for 8 months, no real exercise, no testing, no stress just keeping track and limiting carbs to less than 20g net and I have gone from a 205 lb pre diabetic to a 169 lb and still losing weight non pre diabetic. In my opinion and most people’s on the forum testing is not necessary because you can tell you’re in ketosis by how you feel.
Feelings of lethargy are a lack of fuel, not yet fat adapted and too early for fasting everyday. Eat more fat with meals. 