Does it mean you are burning fat quicker if the keto sticks are at the darkest? I have been on Atkins for a week now, lost 5 LBS, and am obsessed with turning the sticks dark...should I be concerned with the colour as much as I am??
Thanks....

it is my understanding that any shade of pink is proof of being in ketosis and even if it is neg that can mean you are not spilling any ketones into the urine! If you have the metalic keto breath and lbs and inches are coming off then you know you are in ketosis!

To get to the rainbow you must first pass through the rain!

Sometimes I get a little obsessed with this also....I keep reminding myself that it is like a pregnancy test...you either are or you aren't....a number of things could make your test strips lighter....such as drinking the amount of water that you SHOULD be drinking....etc.......I say 'be glad it is pink no matter what the shade'

If I set a goal...then when I finally reach that goal..I am afraid that I will use it as a license to eat..therefore..I have no goal...only to stick to this wol FOREVER!!!

I've recently read a couple low-carb books by different authors and both said the same - ANY pink that registers says you are in ketosis. Lighter rather than darker simply indicates that your urine is more dilute, NOT that there are less ketones in your body!

So any time I see color, I am happy. I think I've only NOT seen it once or twice and couldn't even think what would have caused it, except maybe having drunk extra water, causing the dilution factor to keep it from registering!

I've also read, somewhere, that if you test by passing the stick through the urine stream, you can actually knock off the reactionary chemicals, and that it's better to "pee in a cup" and test from that. I'm too lazy for that route personally!

Char

Don't squat with yer spurs on!

I agree with Lllstric. I think it's an either or thing.

When your bloodstream levels of ketones get over a certain level, your kidneys start dumping them out in your urine. So by the time you see it in your urine, it's already pretty much maxed out in your bloodstream. So any trace should be okay.

Are you losing faster if your color is darker? I guess it's POSSIBLE. I suspect it's probably true, but then there's the issue of your dietary fat creating ketones too, so it gets confusing. I know that my ketones seem to be darkest after hard exercise, so it's probably related.

I'm content as long as the stick tests positive. I've done this for a while now and it works for me. I'm down 51 pounds and still losing.

Plus, if your ketosis level gets to what your body considers "too high," that is, approaching ketoacidosis...your pancreas will release enough insulin to lower your lipolysis level, and that (the insulin release) is just what we're trying to avoid. Pink is good. Maybe purple means you're burning fat faster...but then you're sort of dancing on the edge. Slow and steady wins THIS race!

Laurelyn

I just have to say don't worry too much about the color of the stix. I have lost 55 pounds since may and I rarely show more than a trace.

Steve

Started Atkins 05/10/2003
Starting Weight - 320
Current Weight - 265
Goal Weight - 200

The First Amendment is there to protect all speech, not just the speech you agree with.

And I'd like to add that if your stix register purple, it's possible you aren't drinking enough water. Water is VITAL to this WOE!!

I've never much cared for the ketostix. I find they're too much money for too little benefit.
And my sticks never go beyond small and often have no change. Well I just checked my vial of Bayer ketostix and the unopened expiration date is 1/2002. I never realized this was the first bottle of ketostix that I purchased in late 1998 or early 99. But some of the stix were given to me in late 1999 and they were probably newer. I just comnbined both bottles and that probably explains why sometimes they changed and sometimes they didn't. hey as long as teh scale is going down I won't sweat it. But now I'm curious. Someone send me a ketostix.
Rob