Urine strips are useless if you are particular about keto. They can be dark pink but your blood ketone levels can be well below 0.5 milli molars, which is the real definition of ketosis. Atkins used it in 70's because thats the best he had. None of the Dr's or experts in LCHF diets recommend urine strips.

I concur that the urine strips are not accurate, Especially long term.

I got the Precision Xtra meter that tests glucose and ketones. Can you believe I got the meter for FREE?! It came with all sorts of goodies. I have the test strips on the way too and I still need to get control solution but I should find that at CVS or something pretty easily (i least i hope so!). It took the meter a week to get here.

I'm getting the strips from here: http://www.universaldrugstore.com
Its the cheapest I've found at $2 per strip plus $7 shipping in North America. I've heard on another forum that they require a prescription but that makes no sense. The meters and strips are not controlled like medications. My order shipped out a few days ago without a prescription.

When I start testing I could report back if anyone is interested. I'm fairly certain I am in ketosis because my carbs have been really low and fats about 77-81% at about 1,200-1,700 calories. Several mornings now I've woken up to a pound loss overnight. I don't think its simply water weight since I've been transitioning into LC/keto for about a month now and my weight has yet to fluctuate up at any point (hope this will remain true during 'shark' week soon).

If you can afford the extra expense, i say go for the meter! I'm on a strict budget for car buying reasons so I don't plan to use the meter every day. Probably just every few days and to experiment with my personal reaction to carb intake and ketone level. This should keep the cost down.

Good luck!!

Will do! Perhaps I'll create a new topic to follow when I get everything and get started. I'll probably even log it in excel/google doc because I just am THAT nerdy. :P

When I start testing I could report back if anyone is interested.

Please do - I'd be interested!

Same! In fact, it would be great to have a thread showing some pertinent info over time from people who use the meter. I went ahead and ordered mine. If it's not too much trouble I'll copy-paste my macros for the day along with my results when I test... Hmm, guess I should start tracking my water intake.

Cool! Glad i wont be alone!

I'm starting a google doc, only accessible with the link:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ArBRbUS66J3HdHZ3WmE0S19IN2EyT3hzeXpvLTAwU3c&usp=sharing

Haven't started testing my glucose but I'd like to check in on it every one in a while and I'm thinking do physical measurements every two weeks or so. When I got my scale it came with a neat gadget to make it easier to measure yourself and be more consistent ($25!) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A8SLH8I/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm realllly hoping I see it in the mail this evening! (You guys are getting me more excited. haha)

I'll start a thread once I start testing, hopefully any day now. Skoster1 have you ordered the strips yet?

Those measuring things are great! I wish I had seen that one before I ordered my scale.

I'll either build a spreadsheet like yours or just put extra fields in MFP measurements to track glucose and ketones.

I don't currently do supplements, but I could just add those as things to track in foods and create a custom food for supplements so I don't have to do a separate spreadsheet.

Hmm... Spreadsheet gives more options but is more work, I'll have to decide.

I ordered the meter with strips, but I have to have them sent to a US address and then have someone send them to me at my APO address over here, so it'll be a bit before I get them

Looking forward to it all, though! :-)

Does anyone know where you can get a free meter in Canada?

Ok disregard the last post. I went out & found a meter & strips today. Now i have another question. I got a reading of 0.8 mmol (I'm in Canada so I don't know if its different here or not). what is the optimal reading for ketosis? When I use the urine strips they always show me in Ketosis but now I"m wondering if I am.

more than 0.5 mmol if you go by easier standard.
more than 1.0 mmil if you go by stringent standard.

You should go easy with 0.5mmol as ketosis cutoff. Remember, this value can change depending on the time of the day, workouts, meals, sleep etc. Looks like you are in ketosis.

Really??!! Awesome!!! Now to figure out why I'm not losing any weight for the last two weeks.

Thanks!!

The scale is a poor measuring stick. Best bet is to log what the scale says but only for reference over time and rely on body fat estimates, looking in the mirror, and measuring your various body parts to get a good idea of body changes.

Sometimes I think that if we could just shift the thought process from losing weight to changing body composition we would have a lot more happy, successful dieters in this world.

Check out the pictures on this page:

http://paleozonenutrition.com/2012/04/25/what-does-your-body-look-like-on-the-inside-more-reasons-to-lift-weights/

Hopefully it illustrates how little relevance weight has to our actual goals. Frankly, if I'm 250 lbs and have a great body and am super healthy I'm happier than being 150 lbs flabby and in poor health.

I can't lie, the scale impacts me emotionally, but I think my new plan of not *only* using the scale, but also taking weekly measurements of my body will allow me to have a healthier picture of my body change journey.

I work with disabled kids, and what I always do is offer them as many opportunities to be successful and show their skills as I can. If the scale isn't showing my success I need to focus on the mirror or the measuring tape, or whatever it is which gives the best indication of the changes I'm making.

EDIT: My meter hit my US address and should be sent out by my forwarding service (read: mom and brother *wink*) to my APO. I'll be logging the results as a measurement in MFP.

Got my test strips!

I took my first reading 2 hrs after my dinner (9:15pm) and I got........ 3.9! I'm deep in ketosis!

Background: these last few days haven't been perfect by any means. I had 2 days with too little fat and too much protein. I also had a Cobb salad from chick fil a today so it was more carbs than usual for me lately. Even so, I'm still in ketosis. Good to know that a few bumps in the road won't throw me completely off.

I'll probably measure again in a 2-3 days depending how well I'm doing food wise. It will be good to know my limits.

Ok so I'm bit obsessive compulsive. I just did another test & only got 0.2 :ohwell: down from 0.8

My macros are right on today so I'm not sure what happened. Does it matter what time of day you do it? or before or after meals??