ketosis question

Crlion43

I bought some ketosis sticks yesterday to check if I was in ketosis. Last night it didn't register and remained the beige colour. This morning I tested again and it was dark purple.

Am I getting kicked out of ketosis every day? Does it then kick in after not eating for about 12 hours from dinner to breakfast? Then ketosis stops by the end of the day?

Just very confused. Should the keto sticks remain purple in the evening?

Thanks

gunnerslove77

They say some times dehydration makes the sticks go darkest purple. I'm new to this whole thing so can only give my personal view.. I started lchf this past Jun 5th. during this past month have had 2 occasions where I ate to many carbs and it kicked me out of dark pink to neutral tone.. it took me 3 days to get in to a trace pink then on both occasions the 4 day was where I registered in the darkest pink tones... I try to test 30mins after eating my final meal of the day... it tends to be almost purple after eating fatty pork..

carlsoda

I have also heard they are unreliable. I have never brought them and just trust I am where I need to be. If I have a higher carb day then I just assume I am not in ketosis.

Gallowmere1984

How long have you been running keto? A keto-adapted body will not excrete ketones in the urine, as they are being used for energy. You'd need to check your blood ketone levels.
You never mentioned how many grams of carbs per day you are consuming, so the second part of your post is impossible to even guess at.

noclady1995

Gallowmere1984 wrote: »

How long have you been running keto? A keto-adapted body will not excrete ketones in the urine, as they are being used for energy. You'd need to check your blood ketone levels.

I've never checked either, but this is what I've read,as well, as a more reliable indicator of ketosis (checking blood ketones).

Sunny_Bunny_

Gallowmere1984 wrote: »

How long have you been running keto? A keto-adapted body will not excrete ketones in the urine, as they are being used for energy. You'd need to check your blood ketone levels.
You never mentioned how many grams of carbs per day you are consuming, so the second part of your post is impossible to even guess at.

Well, it will, just not at the same rate as in the beginning.
I'm 14 months Keto and can still turn those things dark. But not if I drink a fair amount of water.

Sunny_Bunny_

Crlion43 wrote: »

I bought some ketosis sticks yesterday to check if I was in ketosis. Last night it didn't register and remained the beige colour. This morning I tested again and it was dark purple.

Am I getting kicked out of ketosis every day? Does it then kick in after not eating for about 12 hours from dinner to breakfast? Then ketosis stops by the end of the day?

Just very confused. Should the keto sticks remain purple in the evening?

Thanks

My basic advice first is, if you're carbs are 50g total or less, you're in ketosis. Don't need sticks to tell you.
Second, there are things that influence the sticks ability to give you an accurate measure of the ketones you're producing. They can only tell you the concentration of them in that particular urine sample.
Third, if the stick shows any ketones at all, that's good enough. Making it darker is not better, worse or anything. It's just that sample had s higher concentration.

In my experience, the sticks always showed the lowest ketones in the morning. My theory is simply that
1.) you have a full bladder, diluting the sample
2.) your body releases cortisol and glycogen to wake you in the morning and these would trigger insulin and effect the morning ketone production.

Other than eating too many carbs at any given meal, or just all day in general... What seems to influence the strips to test negative or small ketones when carbs are low and you know you're making plenty of ketones, is the amount of water you consume and how fast you lose water through urination.
If you are thirsty all day and drink a lot of water and are going pee often, your sample is going to be diluted. Take someone's urine that turned the strip dark, add some water and test again, it won't be dark. It's a diluted sample. It changes nothing about their ketone production.
If you are thirsty all day, you're not getting enough sodium and your body can't hold water. I know you didn't say that you were but that's a common thing I hear when people can't turn the sticks any color when they should be able to.

KarlaYP

I still turn mine purple too! I don't use them very often anymore since I know that what I choose to eat will either keep me in ketosis, or out.

They are cool to see in the beginning as an indicator of the hard work being put into this woe though! Nice to get the "reward" feeling, knowing that your body is utilizing fat! It is said that fluid intake, and amount of time committed to this woe, make the reliability questionable. When they are "negative" it doesn't mean you aren't burning fat. It can mean that your body has learned what it needs, so it utilizes what it needs instead of it being wasted through the urine.

nvmomketo

Ditto all of the above.

My morning ketostix was usually pretty light. I think the first urination of the day can be quite diluted. Plus my blood glucose levels are always at the highest first thing in the morning so it makes sense ketones are lower.

I agree that if you are eating very low carb (below 50g for more than a couple of days) then you are in ketosis. Even if you are at 100g carbs you are in a very mild state of ketosis. Too mild to show up on ketostix.

My ketostix stopped showing much ketones within a few months of starting the diet. I rarely get purple unless I have fasted for a day.