Ketone Testing Strips.

[shari_dawn]

Today about an hour and a half after working out I decided test. Guess what I've never seen the strips so dark in my life. It almost makes me feel like doing the tae-bo tape again.... almost.

[julirama723]

Re: Ketone Testing Strips.

It's very likely that you are indeed in in ketosis, but the strips will be darker if you're dehydrated, too. (Alcohol will also give a "false positive"). Make sure you're sufficiently hydrated when you test. I believe you're supposed to test at night??? Anyone have an answer for the best time of day to test?

[Mirya]

Re: Ketone Testing Strips.

just sometime after you have eaten. doing it right after working out might giv ea false color due to the fat burning of the work out. <shrugs> I woudl try it resting state after you'v eaten.

[shari_dawn]

Re: Ketone Testing Strips.

I've been in ketosis for some time now. The testing strips have always read a small amount of ketones but this time they were the second from darkest state. I'm sure its because of exercising. I really don't care. i was excited to see the color change. The way i figure is those testing strips test ketones in the urine. After working out I've obviously burned some fat. Its just nice to see a change!

[shari_dawn]

Re: Ketone Testing Strips.

Oh yeah and I am so not dehydrated I drink water like a fish!

[kate58]

Re: Ketone Testing Strips.

This is a modification of something I posted here before, which I rewrote a bit to send to someone who was obsessing a bit too much about their sticks. It's long, but it definitley makes you realise how variable the results you get can be.


How the Ketone test sticks work

We basically produce three different ketones: beta-hydroxybutyrate, acetone, and acetoacetate. The most commonly available sticks test for acetoacetate and/or acetone (depending on which brand you use), but none of them react at all with beta-hydroxybutyrate.

This results in two issues which I think are at the heart of much of the confusion:

1. Beta-hydroxybutyrate is the ketone most likely to be highest in someone on a high fat diet - and it's the one the sticks don't react to AT ALL!!

This is because the sticks are not intended for use as an indicator of whether or not you are burning fat on your low-carb diet, they are intended to monitor diabetics for ketoacidosis. We've just 'borrowed' them for a slightly different purpose. So tests that were intended to detect a pathological change, are now being used to test for a physiological one. So you could be happily pumping out beta-hydroxybutyrate, but producing very little of the other two, and you'd be in ketosis, losing fat but showing only a very mild change of colour on the sticks.

2. Ketostix - probably the most commonly used one - only detects acetoacetate. This is not a major problem as acetoacetate is almost invariably present if you are in ketosis. But - and it's a HUGE BUT - they will give a false negative result if acetone is present above a certain level. This totally explains why some people never turn the sticks - they are producing the 'wrong' (from the sticks point of view) ketone.

I don't know why one person on a high fat diet would produce a different spectrum of ketones than another person, but it certainly seems to happen.

Given those points it's very easy to see why people's results on the sticks are not always what they expect. It's easy to say don't worry about them, but people still do, so the following points may be useful to anyone having a problem:

1. Sticks change colour but getting no weight loss/a weight gain

A color change means you are excreting ketones, burning fat and are in ketosis BUT it is possible to be in ketosis and to not lose or even to gain weight. While a positive test means you are burning fat as your primary fuel it doesn't necessarily mean you are losing weight. If you eat excessively some ketones will be used by your body, some will be excreted (making the sticks positive) and some will be retained and stored as fat.

2. Sticks are pink, but only very pale pink

With respect to identifying ketosis it's like pregnancy - you are or you are not! The sticks do not accurately measure degree or 'quality' of ketosis in all or possibly even most people, as the description of how they work above makes clear. Different people get different colours and this is completely unrelated to either their degree of rate of weight loss or their adherence to the plan.

3. There is no colour change

No colour change does not necessarily mean you are not in ketosis Some people never see a change. No change may just mean that the sticks are detecting none of the specific ketones for which it checks in your urine or your ketone profile may cause a false negative. Or you may just be using up all your ketones in response to your energy needs OR it may be that you will never see a change due to some other individual variation in reponse to this particular test.

Action to Take: Look over your food and water intake, be sure you are eating right and drinking and eating enough. Look for other signs of Ketosis - a smell on your breath, a metallic taste in your mouth, signs that you are losing weight/inchs, reduced appetite, lack of cravings.

4. There is a very strong dark colour change

Before you start celebrating how 'good' your ketosis is, remember that possibly the most common reason for a very dark colour change is dehydration, so it's not necessarily a result you want to see! Ketogenic diets increase your need for fluids. If your water intake is low and/or your salt intake is high, you can easily become dehydrated, even if only mildly, and therefore produce more concentrated urine with a higher concentration of ketones, which in turn will produce a darker colour change.

In the absense of dehydration all a dark colour means that is that you have high levels of the specific ketone or ketones that your sticks test for. It does not mean you have 'better' ketosis than someone with a different or no colour, just different ketosis.

Action to take: Check your water and salt intake to ensure you are getting enough liquids and are not dehydrated. You should be drinking a MINIMUM of 2 litres of water a day. It is recommended that you drink an extra half litre above that for every additional 25lbs you need to lose. And more if you eat a lot of salty food like bacon. Tea/coffee/diet drinks DO NOT count towards that total and alcohol increases your water requirement.

How to check for dehydration: A common sign of dehydration is dark coloured urine - if you are drinking plenty your urine should be very pale yellow to colourless, and you should need to wee regularly. Constipation is another indicator, especially if you are sure you are getting enough fibre/veg. Signs of chronic dehydration include poor sleep, dry warm skin, flushed face, heartburn and headaches.

If you are happy that you are fully hydrated, then don't worry about the actual colour change on the sticks. A dark colour may be normal for you.

5. False Positives

There are certain things that cause false positives on the sticks and may lull you into a false sense of security when in fact your diet has gone awry. One biggie is alcohol - alcohol in the urine will cause a colour change even if there are NO ketones. Testing in the morning before you eat anything is also liable to give a false result - you may have transient ketosis due to your overnight fast. Testing after vigorous exercise can also give false readings. The best time to test is late in the the day, but not after exercise, while well hydrated.

6. Using the sticks or not?

Given all of this potential for variation, the sticks should be considered as no more than a rough guide which some people find useful, though many people have lost lots of weight and kept it off without ever using them at all, and it is certainly not wise to base all your decisions around them.

If you do use them, only compare your results to your previous results under similar conditions (ie time of day, relationship to exercise etc). Don't compare your results to anybody else's, it's meaningless. And be aware of the limitations, the potential for false positives and your degree of hydration. It's important to realise too that as you up your carbs and move towards maintenance you can expect to see fewer ketones in your urine. This is normal and desirable and does not mean you are no longer burning fat as your primary fuel, just that you are in balance, using the ketones that result from fat in your diet for energy, but not spilling them out in your urine any more.


Finally, whatever you do, don't fret about the sticks - the point of this diet is not monitoring little squares of pink, it's seeing inches and pounds go!!

[shari_dawn]

Re: Ketone Testing Strips.

I'm honestly not dehydrated. I have a full glass of water every where I go and I've checked the strips again just to see if they still are dark and they are. But I go pee like 20 some times a day. Its rediculous. (sp.). I don't fret too much over the sticks. I just keep plugging along.

I've always thought that as I burn the fat I've eaten it would produce ketones and turn the stick. Part one is a little unclear for me. Are you saying that the food I eat has no effect on the strips?

Anyway I'm not too worried about it. I don't place a whole lot of stock in these strips. This is the first time I've ever seen it change above small or trace.

[kate58]

Re: Ketone Testing Strips.

I've always thought that as I burn the fat I've eaten it would produce ketones and turn the stick. Part one is a little unclear for me. Are you saying that the food I eat has no effect on the strips?

Not necessarily. A lot of things, as above, affect the strips.

A low carb diet will switch your body from using glucose for energy to using fat, which means you are basically using ketones, which are a product of fat metabolism. But it isn't the case that the food you eat is immediately turned into ketones. It isn't. It is digested and used in various ways, but the ketones are from stored fat in your body being mobilised for use as an energy source. This simplifies it hugely, but basically the fat you eat is first stored, then later used for ketone production - fat is constantly being laid down and being mobilised, it doesn't just sit there.

But obviously if you eat excessively then you can store more energy than you need. It's harder for the body to put dietary fat into storage than it is for it to store the breakdown products of carbs, but it can do it. If you are eating low carb, it will still carryon producing ketones, and you will still see them in your urine, even if there is more fat being stored than is being used up. So you CAN, definitely, be in ketosis and gaining weight. You'd need to be eating quite excessively though.

Nor are all the ketones just peeed out - their main purpose is to provide energy to your body and most of them are used up doing just that. It just when the level of ketones in your blood is high enough, some spill over into your urine.

That's all you are measuring with the sticks - the overflow of ketones. As you up your carbs and lose weight, there blood levels of ketones will not be so high and you won't get the overspill. You are still using ketones for energy, still primarily burning fat as a fuel source, but the sticks will detect nothing as there are no ketones in the uring to detect.

Exercise causes an apparant increase in ketosis, but it's just that muscular work creates a demand for energy, resulting in a lot of ketones moving into the blood, which spill over heavily into the urine. Even people who are not low-carbing get positive tests after heavy workouts - they use ketones for energy once they have run out of their immediate supplies of glucose. Women in labour - and that's a pretty tough work-out!!! - also often show ketones in their urine.

[Porcelain]

Re: Ketone Testing Strips.

This happened to me too, I checked it several times a day at different intervals and it was very dark. It was just all the exercise I was doing. When I got ill feeling and slacked off, the color slacked off too. I stopped worrying about it and I kinda expect it to do it again when I push my body adn change my exercises for March.