I can tell by a lack of appitite and I'm surprisingly awake! My mouth does have the taste but diluted by 4 liters of water that I drink a day. Oh also I find myself with no cravings.

oops forgot to say about the sticks. I used them alot when I started a few years ago, and I did again a month ago (I wasn't losing and was losing faith) alas due to my high water intake they never change colors, ok they are very faint pink....