Tue, Jan-20-04, 20:01
|
|
Senior Member
Posts: 189
|
|
Plan: Atkins OWL 30g
Stats: 150/135/125
BF:?/18%/15%
Progress: 60%
Location: Atlanta
|
|
I get a psychological boost from seeing that I'm in ketosis. That said, just because the stick doesn't turn pink or purple doesn't mean that you're not burning fat. I found that before I started drinking lots of water, I was regularly getting a dark purple shade and feeling very virtuous. Then, when I upped my water intake to 64+ oz per day, I noticed that the test sticks were much lighter in color, and sometimes did not turn color at all. Why? Because the more dilute your urine is, the less ketones will be present in that particular pee sample. Just because your stick reads a very faint shade of pink does not mean that you are any less in ketosis than if you register dark purple. The analogy would be a pregnancy test -- you are not "just a little pregnant" -- you either are or you aren't. In fact, if the stick regularly shows a dark purple, and esp. if you do not drink at least 64 oz of water a day, chances are you are dehydrated.
What I do now is I test every other day or so. I test first thing in the morning when my urine is at its strongest concentration. Even so, with all the water I've been drinking, I never get beyond a Mild to Moderate ketosis reading. If I drink water throughout the day and test later on, the strips barely register, if at all.
So, I don't think they are necessary, but if you are a person who likes concrete types of reassurance, the ketosis strips can give it to you provided you don't let the results make or break your day.
P.S. I don't think the strips are a waste of money. You can find them pretty cheap at any drugstore and they come about 100 to a bottle, enough to last you several months.
|