Welcome, MOP and congrats on your loss so far, you must feel so much better.

Just a comment and a suggestion: Ketostixs measure the remains of burned up ketone bodies that have spilled over into your urine; Your body takes alcohol and turns it into ketone bodies regarless of whether you're eating LC or not. So, yes, the strips would be purple as a matter of course. It's important when you do drink alcohol that you also drink plenty of water, you do not want to be dehydrated.

The suggestion is that you should probably be eating more. I know atkins says not to count calories, and I think that's important when following this WOE, but it is also important you eat enough. For basal metabolic functioning you need a minimum of 10 to 12 times your body weight. In your case that would be 2300 cals. From what you've described above, I don't think you're getting anywhere near that much. Yes, its bizarre, but you do need to eat more, and you need to eat more fat Butter, olive oil, mayo, salad dressings and eat that chicken skin!.

Opps, I have a second suggestion, I would add Magnesium to your supplements. Magnesium is something most of us are deficient in to begin with, which is a bad thing; magnesium controls the fate of potassium and calcium and plays a major part in over 325 chemical reactions w/in our bodies. RDA for mag is 400 - 500 mg day. Be sure to get the chelated kind as it is more easily absorped.

Nat