I got my meter but I'm waiting for my test strips to arrive. I'm curious. How many grams of carbs do you guys aim for? Are you going my net carbs or total? I'm trying to stay below 30 total grams and they pretty much all come from vegetables. If you're eating lots of veg, how can you keep your carbs so low? I have my macros set at f65, p25, c10. I'm only 5'1", 135#.

The ketone levels are all over the place, some weeks the diet has little impact on them and workouts influence the levels. And suddenly, the levels go up and down with diet and not exercise. I usually don't bother if its workouts or diet which impact as long as I stay over 1.0 milli molar. Also, if you eat coconut oil or butter, its usually higher. On the days I run my half marathons, I am in deep ketosis of over >3.0 milli molars even after eating close to 80-100 g of carbs.

So all the Easter candy was sitting on my desk starring at me when I got in this morning. And yes, I had a few pieces of chocolate. But I've avoided all the cupcakes, cookies, brownies, etc.

I decided to test my ketones 2 hrs later... I measured at a 4.2! My highest yet. So I think I can handle a few pieces of dark chocolate in the future as a treat if I'm really craving it. Possibly take some MCT oil shortly thereafter to ensure I stay in ketosis.

Nothing unusual about this morning either. Just plain tea and some chocolate when I shouldn't have broken my fast until noonish. Its hard to tell what affects ketone readings but I will say that my weight has stagnated since the 9th! Since then my weight has bounced around a few pounds. Strange! But all other indicators tell me I'm doing well so I'm staying the course.

I started keeping my records here. I actually need to update a few things on it:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ArBRbUS66J3HdHZ3WmE0S19IN2EyT3hzeXpvLTAwU3c&usp=drive_web#gid=0

I didn't weight myself from the beginning. My first weigh-in was March22nd. In that first week it was about a 3lb loss. The next week was a 2lb loss. The next was about 1.5lbs loss. Things have been bouncing around a lot since then but I'll weigh in tomorrow as my final week loss number.

As you can see, my weight has really stagnated for just over a week. Strange because I'm losing inches. In fact, my best fitting pair of jeans from Torrid are roomy and not flattering anymore. Especially in the thighs, butt, and hips.

I'm gonna stay on course for a bit longer especially because I've suspected a hormone imbalance that often makes it hard to lose weight and causes a lot of plateaus. If this keeps up, I'll definitely need to see a doctor to test for those things. I was hoping they would work themselves out.

I have much more to go! lol

I'm an accountant. Used to date an engineer and we got along pretty well. :P

I've had the same experience on keto! I used to not be able to eat anything spicy without getting heart burn and a stomach ache quickly thereafter. Now I can have all the hot sauce I want. Chicken wings? Bring em on. Sriracha? Hell yes.

Two years ago I went low carb and it completely cleared up the back pain I had been having for months prior with no relief.

I'm not sure keto is for me, indefinitely since its so strict. But I do know that i feel better when i limit carbs, sugar and starchy foods. If i want to feel good, I will at least need to be low carb.

I agree. Higher score doesn't necessarily mean more scale losses.

Yesterday i had the most carbs i've had in a long time. about 60-70. I went a little overboard on the easter candy. This morning about 45min after waking I checked my ketones and i got a 0.9 - my lowest by far but still in ketosis. So it's back on track for me.

I'm still bouncing around those same 3lbs! Its getting frustrating especially since shark week is around the corner and I was hoping to make some more progress before then. I'm still going to stay the course for now but I am looking into making some changes. Namely, gluten and dairy restriction or increasing carbs to 30-50g a day, preferably from low GI foods. But we will see where this journey brings me.