Question about Ketosis

[Fraddycat]

I'm pretty sure I am in ketosis and have been for the last 3 or 4 days, as evidenced by bad taste in my mouth and losing a pound in weight a day (woohoo) but I don't have ketone strips to check at the mo. Anyway, the thing I have noticed in the last 3 or 4 days is an incredible thirst. I could keep constantly drinking all day, I feel constantly dehydrated and am probably drinking an extra 3 pints of water a day. Is that normal?

 

[borofergie]

I'm not sure. I've never found that to be the case, but in the early stages of ketosis your liver kicks out a lot of stored water, so it could be that.

Now get yourself down to the chemists (or onto Amazon), get some ketostix AND SHOW US YOUR PURPLE! (well tell us about it - I don't actually want to see your damp wee-stick).

 

[Fraddycat]

Good point the water loss would explain the quick weight loss - I expect it will slow down soon. Anyway, Ketostix now ordered, promise not to post pictures

 

[wiflib]

Don't believe him Fraddy, he loooooves looking at pee sticks. He's weird like that.

 

[angua]

Hi Fraddy

congrats on the weight loss hopefully its not all water

I have ketone sticks which I use if I feel I've overdone the carbs, and by that I mean 30g instead of 20g, however I do drink shedloads of water etc, so I find the only time my pee stick is purple is first thing in the am (weird if my liver is dumping) and as the day wears on and fluid intake increases the stick gets paler ... always in the middle of the scale really - I guess I'm saying that mine does not always show purple so don't be downhearted if it doesn't

 

[modesty007]

Measuring your blood ketones (in the morning) gives yo a more certain answer whether in nutritional ketosis or not, the urine sticks kan be misguiding (read more on www.dietdoctor.com).

 

[borofergie]

Measuring your blood ketones (in the morning) gives yo a more certain answer whether in nutritional ketosis or not, the urine sticks kan be misguiding (read more on http://www.dietdoctor.com).

I do this. The strips are very expensive though - it costs about £2 a test.

 

[modesty007]

You can buy them from Germany or New Zealand for less;
http://allarznei.de/cgi-bin/geossql.pl? ... nt=6905386
http://www.pharmacydirect.co.nz/Optium- ... =sli&bid=3

 

[Lenny3]

My pee sticks never show purple and Im ultra low carbing. I can never get it any darker than a very pale pink. Still seem to lose about 2lbs a weeks though, so all good!

 

[borofergie]

My pee sticks never show purple and Im ultra low carbing. I can never get it any darker than a very pale pink. Still seem to lose about 2lbs a weeks though, so all good!

To get deep purple, you need to restrict carbs and protein. Less than 0.8g per lb of lean body weight. You can calculate your lean body weight here:
http://www.medindia.net/doctors/Clinica ... weight.asp

 

[paragliderpete]

Hi borofergie,
Just checking your calcs for protien and carbs do you mean g/ kg of lean mass or do you use lbs . I've always used kg for protein , and work on approx 70g per day, on your calcs this would give me an allowance of approx 170g. might explain why I have difficulty building muscle and strength. (my carbs are low at around 20g per day so not an issue )

 

[KetoLiving]

Hey Fraddy!

Congratz on taking the leap into Ketosis! I cover a lot of the expectations going into Ketosis and the science behind it on my facebook page (www.facebook.com/KetoLiving); that said, here is the most relevant excerpt for what you're looking for in your situation:

3) Hydrate! Especially when you withdraw from carbs, you will expel a LARGE amount of water weight initially (your body is expelling the excess glucose in your system in the absence of insulin). This is the reason why you lose so much weight initially. YOU WILL GAIN THIS WEIGHT BACK!!! People think that this lifestyle doesn't work because they regain the water weight under ketogenic conditions, and they completely plateau for a week, maybe 2. This is completely normal.

4) Supplementation. This is a bit of a gray area, but a lot of evidence shows that people benefit on a muscular level (especially through the transition phase within the first month of cutting carbs) to supplement with extra sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Failure to do so WILL very likely result in lethargy, brain-fog, and mood disorders. You need these electrolytes in your system to keep your muscles and brain functioning normally (especially potassium).

Hope this helps. If you have any further questions, the website that I'm making is to consolidate a lot of the scientific studies I've come across (most of which are posted across my facebook page) with commentary as well. If you have questions not answered, feel free to reach out to me on facebook and I'll answer them directly!

 

[BioHaZarD]

Well done Fraddycat, hopefully I will go back into keto soon.

 

[Fraddycat]

Thanks everyone for your support !

 

[KetoLiving]

My pee sticks never show purple and Im ultra low carbing. I can never get it any darker than a very pale pink. Still seem to lose about 2lbs a weeks though, so all good!

To get deep purple, you need to restrict carbs and protein. Less than 0.8g per lb of lean body weight. You can calculate your lean body weight here:
http://www.medindia.net/doctors/Clinical_cal/lean-body-weight.asp

I feel I do need to address this. Being on "Deep Purple" side of Ketogenic is not necessary or even beneficial in weight loss. The amount of ketones expelled in your urine is reflective not of how much fat is being burned (as this is assumed to be at a regular rate depending on your own physiology as long as you're not spiking your insulin levels) but how much energy your body ISN'T using, and thereby is expelled (instead of stored). People can still be in ketosis even if the ketostix show negative.

 

[Indy51]

According to the comparisons Jimmy Moore did of Ketostix vs. Ketone blood measurements, the blood measurements appear to be a much more reliable measure of ketosis than the urine tests.

http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/jimm ... 1-30/14409

 

[borofergie]

According to the comparisons Jimmy Moore did of Ketostix vs. Ketone blood measurements, the blood measurements appear to be a much more reliable measure of ketosis than the urine tests.

http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/jimm ... 1-30/14409

Yes. Me too. Trouble is, the test strips are very expensive.

 

[Indy51]

Wasn't sure if that was the case in the UK as well as the US. In my part of OZ they cost $8.95 for 10 strips, no subsidy/discount for being Type 2 diabetic. Not sure if the same is true for Type 1.

 

[modesty007]

The only way to know for sure if you're in ketosis is measure your blood ketone's in the morning.