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thrown out of ketosis??

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xMillyLouisex
xMillyLouisex Posts: 171 Member
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have been testing my ketones with the pee sticks and was getting darker pink - 3rd day got to the third one down the colours but yesterday ate 37g of carbs and this morning i was back on the second colour - now this eve im back on no ketones? have i kicked myself out by eating 37gs? i thought i mighhht ov got away with it but i obviously havnt.. do i need to reduce my carbs even more than i did last time to kick start it again? i was consuming around 25g? :) x

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  • doneatfour
    doneatfour Posts: 120 Member
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    You might not have kicked yourself out. Ketone test strips only detect EXCESS ketones. So if you are using them all up, you wouldn't change color. Conversely, you can show pink but be out of ketosis. 37g is a lot to have in one sitting. You might find it is easier to get back in though.
  • xMillyLouisex
    xMillyLouisex Posts: 171 Member
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    no it wasnt in one sitting it was the whole days worth of carbs were 37g, which i didnt think was too bad at the time! thanks for the reply :)
  • SmoothP
    SmoothP Posts: 16 Member
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    If you're really interested in testing your ketone levels, get a blood glucose / ketone meter. The results can be very enlightening. The meters are practically free, but ketone strips are fairly expensive (~$3 each in the US, though I've heard they are cheaper in England). A bit pricey, but in my opinion investing a few bucks / quid to find your optimal carb and protein levels is money (and blood) well spent.

    Plus it's actually pretty damn fun. And if you're American you get to relate to the tons of commercials we have over here targeted at diabetics and trying to get them to switch meters. "Our meter uses less blood!" "Our meter hurts less!" "Our meter reduces grey hairs!" Your mileage may vary on that front.

    At any rate, 37g of carbs over the course of a day shouldn't significantly affect your ketone levels the following evening. It's probable that this particular event was due to the lack of correlation between blood and urine ketone levels. Especially if you colored a stick in the morning, when ketone levels tend to be lowest. Though of course the sticks don't tell you your ketone levels at the time, and you may have dumped a bunch of ketones hours before but subsequently gone into a reduced level of ketosis which lead to a dilution of the ketone concentration in your bladder.

    Or you may be eating excess protein that is going towards gluconeogenesis.

    If you want to be sure, get an actual meter. :)
  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
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    taking a peak at your diary... too much sugar substitute and josephs products/low carb convenience foods.
    you did eat 2 chocolate biscuits, that would do it easily.
    you eat a lot of convenience foods, and those are always questionable.
  • Laura_beau
    Laura_beau Posts: 1,029 Member
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    Hi there

    I've had a peek at your diary too, and if you are only just starting out low carb it is perhaps best to avoid the processed 'low carb' things like the granola, tortilla wraps etc.... Nuts and berries are good low carb snacks but are usually eaten after several weeks on low carb.

    My advice- up your calories (You had your goal set to 1000???) and up your fat. Eat more good fats and protein and less atrificial sweetners for the next couple of weeks and I'm sure you'll see an improvement.
  • xMillyLouisex
    xMillyLouisex Posts: 171 Member
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    thankyou guys uve been really helpful!! yeah im just starting out low carb so its a learning curve isnt it, what would i do without all of u! :)
    and how much is the machine thing that tests ur levels i might invest in one of those?
    x
  • SmoothP
    SmoothP Posts: 16 Member
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    and how much is the machine thing that tests ur levels i might invest in one of those?
    The meters are basically free, the business model is to give them away and make money off of the strips. I use a Nova Max Plus, which the company will send you for free if you fill out a form on their web site, at a drug store / online for $15-20, or thrown in for free if you buy enough strips. The other popular brand that tests both glucose and ketones is the Freestyle Precision Xtra, which costs about the same.

    Of course, ketone strips are about $3 / each, and glucose strips are $0.50 / each, so if you test frequently it can add up. I used to test a couple of times a day when I first got mine, but as I learned how different meals and exercise patterns affected my readings, I've tested less and less. Now I generally only test if I do something unusual food or exercise wise, if I feel excessively tired or energetic, or just for fun.

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