Dumb question, please don't shoot me

[land0220]

I'm thinking about starting a CKD and I bought the Keto strips. I'm just wondering, when you are in Ketosis does that mean you'll have a lower reading (e.g. "Trace" with lighter color on the chart) or do you want to have a high rating ("large" with dark red color)? I'm sorry if this has been covered somewhere else, I spent 20 minutes searching threads looking for the answer and couldn't find it. Thanks for your help!!

 

[overhead]

I do not worry about it as long as it is showing some level of ketosis. The lower reading means you have less ketones in your urine, the darker reading means you have more. Like I said, as long as it shows some ketones do not sweat it. It is not the most accurate measure of the amount of fat you are burning, drink a ton of water and the level will drop, stop drinking so much and it will go up again.

 

[land0220]

So the darker it is, the "more" in ketosis you are? Basically dark = good if you're trying to stay in ketosis? Thanks!!

 

[overhead]

Yep, darker is a higher concentration of ketones in the urine. But, just becuase it is not on the darker side does not mean you are not burning a good amount of fat. Lets say you exercise and use up a large portion of the active ketones in your system, then you try the urine test, it will show a low level of ketones, but in reality you are burning a great deal of fat. But yes, dark = good, but lighter does not =bad if that makes sense....

 

[land0220]

Thanks a ton for your help!! Day 1 of my attempt at a CKD starts today...this is gonna suck.

 

[ohashi]

CKD is the best thing I ever did. Not only did it help me lower my bf by 2% and add 6 lbs of muscle when I was in a rut, but it also taught me an incredible amount about how my own body functions and reacts, much more than I could have learned without doing CKD.

 

[land0220]

I'm being a bit of a guinea pig doing it because I've got some friends who've thought about trying it but they aren't sure if it works or not. Since I'm already the most "in shape" of the group, they figure if I see results then they surely will see results themselves. So far I've discovered that almonds, while small and seemingly unfulfilling, are actually very tasty and didn't leave me hungry for quite awhile after I ate some.

 

[overhead]

The first week or so maybe tough, but do not quit. Make sure you keep track of how many calories you are eating. Changing to a high fat, mod protein diet can make you feel like you are eating a lot more than you actually are. Good luck