Low Carber Daily Forum

Join

I think I made it into Ketosis but need advice!

Catawampous
Catawampous Posts: 447 Member
in Social Groups
Hi All!

I made it into ketosis, I think? I got some ketostix by Bayer - Reagent Strips for Urinalysis. These are the right ones, yes?

I know these are not highly accurate as they are made for diabetics testing for ketoacidosis. So am aware this may be off a bit. I did the test and it came out moderate (right in the middle, not dark purple and not real light). Now I wasn't feeling so good today so I barely ate any of my lunch so I know this can affect stuff as well. (Not Keto Flu ... is actually my elbow and that is a long story LOL)

But I am concerned I'm eating too much protein and this is showing up on the test? I can't get myself un-confused from this. I swear I've read five different opinions on what my protein should be. I have set MFP to 30% for this macro and try to hit it. Sometimes yes, sometimes a miss. But is it too high? And could that be affecting the stick reading? Should I bump that down to 25%? They say older women should have a bit more protein and I'm 54 so where should I really be?

Thanks for the help!

Replies

  • Sarahb29
    Sarahb29 Posts: 952 Member
    Yup, those are the ones!

    Check out the keto calculator on the dashboard or just google "keto calculator". The amount of protein is based on your age, gender, height, and weight so you'll have to customize it for you. Make sure when you drop 10-20lbs you go back to this calculator and re-calculate what these macros should be, you won't need as much once you start getting smaller :)

    You're in the moderate range - congrats, sounds like you're in ketosis! Any color on the strip is good. It can be unreliable at times but I liked having it in the beginning to make sure I wasn't messing anything up. As long as you're at 20g net carbs a day, you should stay in ketosis. You can cut those strips in 1/2 to make them last longer too!
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    edited October 2016
    Catawampous wrote: »
    Hi All!

    I made it into ketosis, I think? I got some ketostix by Bayer - Reagent Strips for Urinalysis. These are the right ones, yes?

    I know these are not highly accurate as they are made for diabetics testing for ketoacidosis. So am aware this may be off a bit. I did the test and it came out moderate (right in the middle, not dark purple and not real light). Now I wasn't feeling so good today so I barely ate any of my lunch so I know this can affect stuff as well. (Not Keto Flu ... is actually my elbow and that is a long story LOL)

    But I am concerned I'm eating too much protein and this is showing up on the test? I can't get myself un-confused from this. I swear I've read five different opinions on what my protein should be. I have set MFP to 30% for this macro and try to hit it. Sometimes yes, sometimes a miss. But is it too high? And could that be affecting the stick reading? Should I bump that down to 25%? They say older women should have a bit more protein and I'm 54 so where should I really be?

    Thanks for the help!

    The only way they are not accurate is that it can give you a negative result or show a lower result than what you may have. But it won't show you a higher result than what you are. Literally how quickly your bladder fills up and how full it is can dilute the ketones and possibly show a lower or no result.
    Since you tested in the middle, you are definitely in ketosis. Congrats!


    Really only people that are insulin resistant/diabetic need to limit protein.
    However, the CDC states that 1 in 3 people are insulin resistant and 90% of them don't know it, so it's very common to be.
    The rate at which protein is converted to glucose via gluconeogenesis (GNG) is a demand driven process. A non insulin resistant persons body won't have a high demand for glucose but the high insulin levels that an insulin resistant person has increases the demand and therefore the likelihood of GNG converting too much protein into glucose.
    The more insulin resistant the person, the higher the glucose demand. If you don't suspect IR or doubt that you may be, you probably don't need to worry much about it as far as it interfering with ketosis goes.
    Eating very high protein might be an issue long term in other ways, but it's unlikely to happen as long as you're not trying to do low fat AND low carb. I doubt you'd be able to eat enough protein consistently enough on a high fat diet to be a concern.
    So, don't stress it.

Categories