I do the metabostix first thing in the morning before eating anything. They've been getting gradually lighter (I've been on Atkins 12 days) and this morning no ketones shown at all. They're in the original container and are new so should be good.

I've stopped the Atkins supplements because of what seems like side effects, I'm just on a Centrum multivitamin now. Yesterday's menu: Several bacon strips (pretty fatty) and scrambled eggs; two skinless chicken thighs; two cups of lettuce and one cup of asparagus; three oz of mild cheddar cheese; and one hamburger patty grilled, so the fat drained off. Also three cups of decaf coffee and one cup of Cranberry Cove herbal tea with Splenda.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

in addition to the above.

I'm sure not more than 3 Tbs total, though.

Looks pretty OK. You might want to up your fat. Add some mayo to the hamburger to replace the fat that drained off.

Also you might want to input your menus into fitday.com and look at your percentages. I usually keep my fat at 65-70% of my daily calories.

Thanks. I tried fitday, think it will help.

Those unreliable things are not all they are cracked up to be. First of all, they are very finicky as far as exposure to humidity (if you store them in the bathroom you run the risk of ruining them if you shower in there).

Your menus look fine; only thing I would suggest is more fat as paleoanth did (you need not avoid chicken skin now unless you just find its texture generally repulsive like I do ) and more water never hurts.

And who knows, you may be burning all your ketones up so there aren't any "extras" to spill over and respond to the test strip reagent. Just because the strip is negative doesn't mean you aren't successfully losing.

So far, so good!

The only thing I can add, is that you are not suppost to do the testing till later in the day, Atkins sujest that you do it in the evening hours. Maybe this is why you are not getting a reading. :confused:

bacon can have a LOT of sugar in it- how many strips are several strips? I find my loss to slow down on the days that I eat bacon, or too much cream. (Cream has been a hard one for me.....) Keep trying! GO FIGHT WIN!

Thanks for the information on the sticks! I went crazy Saturday and ate 4 handfuls of vanilla wafers ( what is up with that?) anyway, I beat myself up for a few hours and then got back to my senses . I checked with a stip this morning and no color!!! I was very upset. Maybe I'll check later this afternoon - I did not think it would take 2 days to erase 40 carbs (?) . Any other suggestions? Thanks this board has been so helpful.

Didi,
I had the same exact issues....was dark purple for days then gradually started to fade even though I wasn't changing my menu. It was so mentally bad for me and discouraging that I quit the strips all together. I know I'm in Ketosis by my breath and also (I know gross) but the smell of my pee. I'm convinced my strips went bad because I kept them in the bathroom which is vry humid in our house. Don't let the strips dictate your sucess why they are a motivator they also can kill your motivation in an instant when you most likely are still in Ketosis. Give it a week and see if you are still loosing inches or pounds... Don't depend so much on the strips to tell you. Trust me i felt so much better when I threw those darn things out!