The Drinkers

Join

Ketosis

Options
nitab56
nitab56 Posts: 5 Member
in Social Groups
I just finished week 7 and have had steady weight loss throughout. Today my PA told me that I tested negative for Ketosis, but couldn't explain what might cause that. She said not to worry about it as I am following the program and still lost 4 pounds. She also said that it is common for Ketosis to taper off between weeks 8-10.
I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this and if it has impacted your weight loss.

Replies

  • HuskerJulie413
    HuskerJulie413 Posts: 84 Member
    edited October 2015
    Options
    How did she test you? Blood or urine? If it was urine than there are reasons why you can test negative. Blood is the most accurate.

    Here are some questions and answers that explain it better than I can!


    I'm following my diet strictly; why won't my strips turn purple?

    Ketones will spill into the urine ONLY when there is more in the blood than is being used as fuel by the body at that particular moment.

    You may have exercised or worked a few hours previously, so your muscles would have used up the ketones as fuel, thus there will be no excess. You may have had a lot of liquids to drink, so the urine is more diluted. Perhaps the strips are not fresh, or the lid was not on tight and some moisture from the atmosphere got in.

    Some low carbers NEVER show above trace or negative even ... yet they burn fat and lose weight just fine. If you're losing weight, and your clothes are getting looser, you're feeling well and not hungry all the time .. then you are successfully in ketosis. Don't get hung up on the strips; they're just a guide, nothing more.


    Will I lose weight faster if the strips show dark purple all the time?

    No. Testing in the darkest purple range all the time is usually a sign of dehydration -- the urine is too concentrated. You need to drink more water to dilute it, and keep the kidneys flushed.

    The liver will make ketones from body fat, the fat you EAT, and from alcohol --- the ketone strips have no way of distinguishing the source of the ketones. So, if you test every day after dinner, and dinner usually contains a lot of fat, then you may very well test for large amounts of ketones all the time. However this does not indicate that any BODY fat was burned.

    The strips only indicate what's happening in the urine. Ketosis happens in the blood and body tissues. If you're showing even a small amount, then you are in ketosis, and fat-burning is taking place. Don't get hung up on the ketone sticks.
  • HuskerJulie413
    HuskerJulie413 Posts: 84 Member
    edited October 2015
    Options
    Another link that was interesting talking about ketosis.

    http://www.fathead-movie.com/index.php/2012/07/09/low-carb-ketosis-not-necessarily/
    The optimal blood ketone level to be most efficient in fat burning is between 0.5 and 3.0 mM. If it's less you may still be in ketosis but you won't be losing weight as easily. If you are higher it doesn't help you lose weight and can indicate starvation. I was able to order a free ketone monitor from Abbott but haven't done enough research to find where I can by cheap ketone sticks. They are pricey! Someone mentioned getting a doctor to prescribe them and you can submit it to insurance. I'll have to look into that.

    Read the page at the above link and also watch the FatHead movie on Netflix if you haven't see it. Very enlightening! There are clips of it on YouTube if you don't have Netflix.

    I've also read that if you are really carbohydrate intolerant that you may need to lower your carbs to 25gm/day to get to that range of 0.5-3.0mM. With 4 shakes at 10 carbs each and an extra 10 carbs for extras 50 grams of carbs is enough to bump some people out of ketosis and is just too high.

    The Art and Science of Low Carb Living is a wonderful book that goes into a lot of detail about this way of eating. http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Science-Carbohydrate-Living/dp/0983490708

  • nitab56
    nitab56 Posts: 5 Member
    Options
    Thanks Julie. You are wealth of information. I truly appreciate it.
  • Lisalovestravel
    Lisalovestravel Posts: 58 Member
    Options
    It's interesting. I've never had a "test" to check for ketosis. I didn't know there were strips. We do the weekly food chart, questionnaire, blood pressure and weight. I had the initial blood test. Other than that, no other kinds of tests. I guess at my clinic they just assume if you're following the diet properly- that you're in ketosis.
  • HuskerJulie413
    HuskerJulie413 Posts: 84 Member
    Options
    We don't do ketosis testing at our clinic either.

Categories