You could have faulty sticks, or be a very efficient user of ketones. Now that I've been doing keto for a while, I only get a trace amount of ketones with the sticks. (I can still smell them though). If you're under 20 grams of carbs and not eating huge amounts of protein, you're in ketosis. If you want to be absolutely sure, there are glucometers that can test for ketones in the blood as well as for blood glucose.

As for the weight loss, you didn't say whether you track your calories. If I weren't losing weight after 2 months, I would definitely track calories and maintain a deficit.

dietbepsi wrote: »

lithezebra wrote: »

You could have faulty sticks, or be a very efficient user of ketones.

As for the weight loss, you didn't say whether you track your calories. If I weren't losing weight after 2 months, I would definitely track calories and maintain a deficit.

I've tried more than one package of sticks I really think it's me. Also, yes I track my calories/carbs fat in MFP. I don't go over 1300 a day

How long have you been on 1300 a day? When I lose weight, it's very slow overall, and there are a lot of plateaus, for weeks at a time. It's harder to see progress when you don't have much weight to lose. I would stick with it, unless it's been months, in which case I would consult a dietician.

One more thing. I don't know if you're exercising, and I know that people SAY you don't need to exercise to lose weight, but that's a generalization. Increasing activity helps some people (like me) a lot. I think when you're a smaller person with a relatively small amount to lose, the process can be very slow, and it only gets slower as you get smaller. Weightlifting helps A LOT. Cardio helps A LOT. Even taking a few short walks, standing, and moving around more while you're working helps.

I've never used the sticks. Ive read that they're not exactly reliable, so I've never worried about it. My blood glucose is the measure of success that I use right now as a supplement to the scale. I weigh daily just so I know how my body fluctuates, but I don't beat myself up over a pound or two up or down as its all evened out in the end so far. But it does get frustrating not to see much downward movement over the course of a week. But I know I'm doing the right things so I just try to stay focused.

Are you weighing your food rather than just measuring (or eyeballing)?

The amount of water/fluids in general you consume has an effect on the concentration of acetoacetate in your urine. It doesn't affect how many ketones you're making or using but it affects the test. There's no reason to change anything about your water consumption. It's something that I think commonly makes the tests show lower or no ketones. I don't drink a lot water. Idk why. I'm just not a thirsty person and have a hard time drinking it just because it's good for me. My tests are always at least moderate. The dilution of the urine has to be the explanation. Lots of people on here that eat the same levels of carbs as I do get lower tests and it seems like the only difference is how much water we drink. It's just a theory I think makes sense based on these discussions over the last 9 months. So, don't worry about it.
In my personal experiments with testing for several times a day and at least a whole week, my tests were always lower in the morning, I previously thought they would be higher then. But mine seemed to be higher mid day. Maybe test then. But again, it doesn't mean much if yours doesn't show anything.

I weigh every Fri morning.

I bought sticks way back in '09, used for novelty mostly, I don't bother these days. They definitely expire and weaken over time. They also must be handled properly, always in a sealed container, out of the air/light, as this will weaken them as well...IIRC

Even if the sticks say you're in ketosis, the rest of your diet does matter. If you go over your calories, you will gain. You don't have much to lose, it's a game of patience at this point. I have a little less than 15 to go and I'm aware not to be in a big hurry.

Good luck!

@dietbepsi yay for judgement jeans, that's what I call mine, so much more accurate than scales!
Keto sticks and all the other urine testing sticks are notoriously unreliable. They are unstable, have quite a large tolerance built in and are only a snapshot of what's going on in your urinary system rather than what your body is doing. From a strict science, physiological point of view ketosis is often a short lived phenomena, it occurs soon after you have depleted glycogen and is the precursor for your body becoming fat adapted. However in popular literature the word ketosis remains. Long term fat adaptation is what we're after, the body learns how to use ketones properly and doesn't waste any. The longer you are low carb, the better your fat adaptation gets, the more your body prefers the energy source and with most people an infrequent carb indiscretion will not take you back to being a primary carb burner.

Try intermittent fasting to kick start your weight loss of you are experiencing plateau

Don't forget to measure yourself, if this hasn't been mentioned! The inches drop faster than pounds sometimes (did for me!), and can be great motivation to continue! So glad you have some results to see though! If these jeans already zip it's time for skinnier jeans You are ROCKIN it! Congratulations!!