Hello All,

I have been low carbing for about a month now and I very seldom see Ketosis on the Ketone Strips. Is this okay? Occasionally I've had cotton mouth but that's not often. I'm beginning to wonder whether or not keeping the carbs low is working.... I'm trying to stick to around 40 carbs per day.... Any help would be appreciated....

Forty grams may be too high for you to be in ketosis, but a handful of people never show ketones on the strips. The best indicator is a funny taste in your mouth, in my opinion.

Some people don't measure much on the stix, sometimes the stix are crap, sometimes it's due to drinking too much water!

40 carbs, however, wouldn't put most people into ketosis (esp if you're talking net carbs) But if you're losing, why worry?

Usually the only way I can get the ketosis sticks to registar is to keep my carb intake VERY LOW (around 10 to 20 a day). Have you been loseing weight each week? You might try lowering your carbs to 20 or less or start the induction phase again. I know for me, if I have too much caffeene, splenda, veggies, I fall out of ketosis quickly. See if that helps.

Thats IMO! Good luck and keep going, I think it will pay off much more than you realize right now.

Actually, I lost 5 pounds first week of induction....lost two the second week of induction....3rd and 4th weeks gained it back....no loss since. I added Fiber One cereal back to my diet because the veggies and fiber supplements weren't doing the trick and I felt unhealthy....used to going to potty daily.... I tracked my calories after the gain in Fitday and they were around 1500 calories per dayy with just a tad over 20. Upped it to 40 after induction to account for the high fiber cereal....

Any suggestions would be appreciated....

I have only ever gotten a reading on Ketostix when my carbs were UNDER 20. If you eat Fiber One, that's a humongous carb hit, and I would never get a reading eating that stuff.

By the way, I eat a salad a day, including a bit of celery, carrot, tomato, cucumber, a small spoon of raw sunflower seeds. I'm as regular as clockwork. Fiber One type things are terribly bloating due to the grain/gluten aspect of them. I cannot lose a single pound no matter whatever else I do if I have any cereal/grains etc.

Thanks CMCM....to be honest it is easier to eat veggies instead of salad because I can't figure out how to make the salad leaves last long.... I'll try having the salad instead of the veggies and see if that helps any. Thanks!

Do you mean "last long" in terms of keeping you full? Or the lettuce staying nice and not spoiling?

I buy the bagged lettuce....I find specials, and I can eat a bag of it in a couple of meals.

As for the meal, that's not ALL I eat.....I put an olive oil/balsamic vinegar mix on the salad...about 1T, and it's lovely, provides good fat, provides a sense of satiety. PLUS....with the salad I have some kind of meat, cold cuts type of thing, plus an ounce of cheese, sometimes I'll have a boiled egg or deviled egg as well. All of this makes for a very satisfying meal. And good roughage from the raw veggie stuff, which of course is what you want to "move" things along later!

you won't get into ketosis eating fibre one.

Take Milk of Magnesia. Supplements don't work as well as they work in the system differently.

Ditch the cereal.

I sometimes show ketosis but it doesn't really correlate with what the scale says. Don't worry about it so much- the scale will tell you (as will your tongue- I sometimes think it smells nutty).

The smartest thing is not get all worried about having a BM once a day. That's not necessary, or advantageous.

I honestly wonder where in the world the idea came from.

I can show some color on the sticks every now and then, but if you are drinking h20, and are hydrated the right way, it may never show. Also, the cereal is too high in carbs... ditch it. I do not have a bm every day, and thats ok with me. If you feel you need to go more, they have sugar free metemucil on the shelves at walmart.. get that. It helps.. you can have it every morning. like orange juice. I would reccoment to lower your carbs also. Well, if you are comfortable with 40 then stay there, but maybe redo induction to adjust your system again, and stay legal.. Just my 2cents worth.. good luck, and may that scale start trickling down again for you!!

Asparagus pops into mind for fiber content. Don't forget the hollandaise sauce.

The few times I've had a reading on a ketostick, its been light pink. I drink lots of liquids, though.

Hello there,
As everyone here says... and I totally agree... you just won't get into ketosis eating fibre one.
In my own experience I only show ketones in the stix when eating those allowed 20g of good carbs, mostly from my salads and veggies.
I dont even take fiber supplements any more (I used to be constipaded during induction), but I noticed that as the weeks go by, and having plenty of fat in my diet my constipation issues are completely gone
Even when I dont need to 'go' everyday, usually I 'go' 4 times a week, which is perfectly fine for your body.
I am sure your body will adjust , Good luck
Greeting from Brazil and Have a great Atkins Day
Yvette

Pennink, thanks for the MOM suggestion.

All, thanks for your comments. I was hesitant to skip the cereal because I"m using to "going" daily and my body just feels right doing that.... I guess I'll also take the suggestion to go back to induction and see what the yields for me.

I really do appreciate everyone's suggestions because you've been very very helpful....

TJ