Howdy Howdy

Are ketone test strips a good way to guage fat burning or success of a LC diet? IMHO, no. Too many things effect the outcome.

Being dehydrated will make the test strip appear darker; that is not a sign of greater fat burning.

Eating something fatty and then testing will turn the strip darker; that is not a sign of greater fat burning, only that fat was present and is being burned - it could very well have been dietary fat. The strips cannot differentiate.

Exercise can cause the strips to be lighter as the ketones were burned up for energy and there we less to spill over; this is not a sign of less fat burning.

On a personal note when I was using the stix at the outset I never got above "trace" and yet I lost a lot of fat ( A size 20+ to a size 10).

As for the Frankenfoods (bars, cookies, candies etc) many do find they are a problem. It's very much an individual issue. They bothered me at first, they do not now. There's a good article under "low carb tips (atop the page in orange highlight) on Sugar Alcohols you might want to read.

Cheers!
Nat