Happy Friday Everyone,

I used the ketostix and it was completely negative no Ketones found. Has anyone else used these strips? I am on day 11 and not in Ketosis. Please help!

Keto strips aren't always accurate. Don't worry about it.

Most LC plans don't even get you to ketosis.

Have you lost anything yet?

Thanks for replying so quickly Lisa. No I haven't lost anything yet. I am still at the same weight. I made a mistake too, I am on day 12 I've have spoken to an Atkin's rep and she said that I was doing everything right...so I don't know what's wrong..

By the way Lisa, CONGRATULATIONS

Thank YOU!

Well... you don't have that much to lose which will REALLY slow you down (and this isn't a real fast "diet" anyway).

Why not post some menus and maybe I can help????

Thanks Lisa,

I posted my daily menu yesturday. It is on page two of the newbie questions under "a newbie having trouble" let me know if you can't find it. I really appreciate your help

same here. I got so frustarted that I lowered my carb intake to almost none. About 7g and still no ketosis acording to the strips. I hear they don't work that well either. Also I have not losta single pound BUT my jeans are fitting better so I think something is happening.

Hi Afox,
Well that makes me feel better. But I wanted to tell you that when I called an atkins representative and told them that I was only having 8 grams of carbs, she told me this was really bad. She saide that with not enough carbs your body goes into starvation mode. She said that you need at least 15 carbs per day for it to work. I guess that I personally just have to be more patient too. I wasted $12 bucks on those strips too

Keto strips are *extremely* affected by how hydrated you are. If your urine light or clear, or if you're doing the 20-mins runs to the bathroom, you will not show positive, despite being in ketosis. If you want to check on this, stop drinking water for a few hours and check then. You may see a difference. The amount of ketones you are producing didn't change, but the amount of water they're disolved in did.

Think of it this way - put a drop of blue food coloring in one cup of water. See the color? Now pour that cup into a 2-quart pitcher and fill. Ketone strips are sort of the same way. A higher, darker reading doesn necessarily mean *more* ketosis; it likely means 'less water'.

Cheers,

Friday

Hi Fridayeyes,

Thanks that makes lots of sense. I'll try again. I do drink tons and tons of water

Well, what did you find??

Cheers,
Friday

I live by these testing strips! I checked about 2 days after I started and it changed to lavender.. I'm on day 8 and for the past 3 days it has stayed the same dark rose-ish color....It was amazing, even when I did "cheat" and had to re-start, it was a pink-ish color, like maybe I never went out of Ketosis?? Who knows.. I just know it makes me feel better when I do it, and it changes colors..

Hey Fridayeyes,

When I did drink less water and tested it, it did turn slightly pinker, but just slightly. I think that I am just going to give up on these strips

Just remember, pink still means 'in ketosis', and it doesn't necessarily mean "less ketosis' than dark red.

Hang in there. If you're in ketosis at all you're doing fine.

Cheers,

Friday