Three weeks into keto but body not in full ketosis

(Dan) #1

Hey Guys,

I am glad I found this forum because I have been extremely frustrated the last two days. My wife and I started keto 21 days ago. In terms of food, we love it. I think this is a sustainable lifestyle where we can eat foods we enjoy and still be within the keto guidelines.

My only frustration at the moment is when I test my ketones on the urine strips, I am still only mild pink, which means that there is a hint of ketones, but they are not strong. I was wondering if anyone here would be able to let me know if I am doing something wrong, and why I am not further into ketotis at the moment. I first noticed a trace of ketones after 1 week, but I expected the color to get darker as time went on, and it has not.

I used a keto calculator to come to the following macros: 160-180g protein a day, 150-170g fat, and 20 net carbs. In the last three weeks, I have stuck to these, a few times I got up to 24 net carbs, but one day like that shouldn’t kill me, or so I have read in other forums.

I absolutely have noticed some changes; I am fitting into my pants better which is great. I also have crazy dry mouth, which has led to me drinking well over a gallon of water a day. In fact, my first question is, could that be impacting the ketone strip, if I am drinking so much water that so much of my urine is just water so it is not getting the proper results?

I am not the craziest “clean” keto person youll meet- Ill use dressings and things that may have added sugars and all, and I use lite mayo in egg salad, but overall I always hit those fat and carb macros. Does anyone have any idea why my ketone strips are not darker by now? Or am I just being impatient?

#2

The strips show you are producing ketones - that is the limit of what they do :slight_smile: How many you are excreting depends on the individual and how hydrated you are. You can test this yourself by comparing your first pee of the day, which will have the highest concentration of ketones because they have been accumulating in your bladder all night, with your second after a drink. You will also see a difference in urine colour - that is the hydration part. The how many you excrete part depends on your metabolism. Note that what you are testing is a WASTE product so this is what your body is getting rid of after it has used what it wants. This is why a lot of people find that they stop showing at all on pee sticks after a long time on keto because they are simply more efficient at using them.
Long story short - you are peeing ketones so you are in ketosis. WIN.

(Running from stupidity) #3

Aye, using the strips. They’re incredibly unreliable and a waste of money.

The NSVs are all the evidence you need.

Buy bacon with he money saved by not using the strips.

(Dan) #4

Thank you for the very quick reply, so please excuse my extremely rookie question; What are NSV’s? lol

And heck yes to the bacon!

#5

Well actually not in this case because they have done their job perfectly! They are pretty cheap and you can double the yield by cutting them in half if you want to get more value. Lots of people like to see affirmation in this simple way. The trouble is that they can be unreliable, as you say, but they work more than they don’t (in my opinion anyway) as this first “Am I in ketosis yet?” test.

#6

Non Scale Victory - so anything that is not what you see on the scales

(bulkbiker) #7

NSV’s are non-scale victories… i.e things like waist reduction even though the scale remains the same… or other disease symptom reductions.

#8

I have a feeling you will find this post useful going forward @KetoDan88 :wink:

(Dan) #9

Awesome Daisy, thank you, I am looking over it all now!

(Running from stupidity) #10

Working this time doesn’t mean they’re not unreliable overall, it just means they’ve worked this time. They’re also confusing because of the colours leading people to think that “more is better,” and so mere traces aren’t seen as getting it right.

I do think that the breathalyser is a better first option, as it’s got no ongoing costs AND you don’t have to wee on it :slight_smile: Then when the novelty has worn off you can give it to someone else who you’ve conned into doing keto. Assuming you didn’t wee on it :slight_smile:

(Dan) #11

So thank you for quickly talking me off the ledge with those keto strips! All these replies this early on a Monday morning; I can already tell I am going to love this forum.

I guess I have one more question; I am searching around the forum and I see a few posts saying that even though they are “keto” friendly, to try not to rely on keto breads, bagels, desserts, ect.

Is this accurate? My favorite food in the world is bagels, so every sunday I make a bunch of fat head bagels and eat one per day. It appears that some posts here discourage this, but my question is as long as my overall macros at the end of the day are good in terms of fats, net carbs and protein, does it matter how I get there?

#12

Haha - yes do not wee on a Ketonix! Actually, I found the Ketonix really unreliable, pee sticks have always turned pink (I don’t care about the colour and how dark it is) for me and the only really reliable form of testing I have found is blood.

#13

It depends! Mostly it depends on your goals and the results you have along the way. If you can include a bagel a day and get the results you want and feel great then that is great. If you find you are not getting the results you are looking for it may be something to look at - MAY be and only one of a number of things. As always, it depends on you. Keto is not a fixed way of eating that you have to adhere to. It is a way of eating that you can adapt and tailor to suit YOU. Yes, OK there are some general rules that apply to everyone like finding your carb threshold. That is why you will hear everyone talk about the seemingly magic number of <20 grams of carbs per day because it will work for everyone although even then if you truly want it to work for everyone you need to say total carbs <20 grams. In reality, many people have a much higher threshold of how many carbs they can eat in a day and what makes up those carbs and get all the benefits of keto and be in ketosis. Plenty of people also get all the benefits they want and the results they are looking for at a higher level than that so low carb rather than keto. See where I am going with this? :smiley: It all depends on you.

(bulkbiker) #14

Its also going to depend on your relationship with food.
I used to be a bread addict so anything bread-like triggers those old feelings … I know I couldn’t only eat one bagel so now don’t have any. If you are ok with just having one and it fits your macros then great but for me it would be a slippery slope.

(Running from stupidity) #15

Yup.

This.

#16

Yes that is me too :slight_smile:

(*Tame Those Ghrelin Gremlins) #17

Welcome! :grinning: you sound like you’re doing everything just fine. Those strips aren’t going to tell you the whole story or reveal the big picture. If you feel great and see other changes then the weight should fall of naturally. Keep up the good work!

#18

I am not a pro yet but one thing I’ve heard is that some people can’t count net carbs. I think I am one of them. I didn’t start to lose until I started counting actual carbs and not subtract the dietary fiber. I know many of the strips don’t work, but I just found good ones called Castle James Ketone Test Strips. I found them on Amazon and had myself and my son test them (he’s a carbaholic) and they worked (his were white and mine were dark purple). You could try those but you should know when you’re in it once the weight starts slipping away (among the other telltale signs).

(Dan) #19

yikes, I sure as heck hope I am ok with net carbs. I can handle 25-30 total carbs per day, but not under 20!

#20

Do you always hit those macros because you feel you ‘should’, or because you’re actually hungry? 160-180g protein a day + 150-170g fat seems a fair bit. Or as Ted Naiman says:

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Just something to consider?