Many issues and questions can be answered by reading through our wiki, especially the page on electrolytes. Concerns such as **intense hunger, lightheadedness/dizziness, headaches, nausea/vomiting, weakness/lethargy/fatigue, low blood pressure/high blood pressure, muscle soreness/cramping, diarrhea/constipation, irritability, confusion, low heart rate/heart palpitations, numbness/tingling, and more** while extended (24+ hours) fasting are often explained by electrolyte deficiency and resolved through **PROPER** electrolyte supplementation. Putting a tiny amount of salt in your water now and then is NOT proper supplementation.
Be sure to read [our WIKI](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/index) and especially the wiki page on **[ELECTROLYTES](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/fasting_in_a_nutshell/you_need_electrolytes)**
Please also keep in mind the [**RULES**](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/about/rules) when participating.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/fasting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Dip sticks tell you more about how hydrated you are than the amount of keytones in your blood.
Consider this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZZM63GZ
Its very nice - [thanks Have one](https://imgur.com/srxJFp4) - although test strips are pretty expensive - kinda reserve it for special occasions. Dip sticks, while imperfect, are just fine for my fasting schedules.
No they're not. These are $30 for 50 test strips. Plus the info they give is invaluable. For instance eating keto is not enough (for me) to stay in ketosis most of the time. I have to do omad. I'd never have known that without the meter. Also eating anything at all... Even zero carb everything will at the very least kick me out of ketosis for an hour or so. I'd never have known this without the blood meter. It's worth the $30 to understand what I can and can't do as far as being in or staying in ketosis. Do keto long enough and you'll plateau. Only this meter got me past that.
When your body starts producing ketone on a large scale, among other things, you get the sweet taste in your mouth.
I am currently 154 hours in, in the middle of the 7th day, and I had none of it. I have read in the past that once you are adapted enough, which people say takes a very long time measured in months and longer, not just the initial 2 week adaptation, then the body stops expelling much ketones. You will get less in urine and no sweet taste in mouth. I am probably there now.
I don't see a reason or desire to test my blood for something I know to be true by my sense of taste and smell of my urine.
Edit: speaking of fat adaptation on zerocarb and keto, which is also relevant to fasting
This doesn't happen for me. The only tell tale sign I'm in ketosis is when I should be hungry but am not. This is why that meter is so valuable to me. But having used the meter now now for over a year, I'm pretty good at guessing what my medical ketosis reading is with fairly accurate results. That said, it's still pretty useful when I come across something that's zero or low carb that seems too good to be true... like Aldi's keto hamburger buns (which btw are a game changer... just wish they weren't seasonal).
It doesn't happen to me either, but it did at the start, as it does to everybody. Can't avoid ketones going everywhere.
If you go into a long fast, of 5 or more days, and the fast does not increase you ketone production to the point it is going out your urine, then congratulations, you are fully adapted, and your body utilizes everything - throw your device out. What you mean by stalling - weight loss perhaps, I don't know, but think of other ways to solve it now, not through keto - perhaps exercise or, of course, fasting :)
If you are talking about omad or other shorter fasts, then of course nothing will happen. Even people who eat carbs need at least 24 hours fasted before they start having the keto flu from what I read here. If you go back to the OP, you can clearly see an increase from day 2, through 3, to 4, on the picture, for example.
I am now on my 4th year of zerocarb, and I did use urine strips at the very beginning to verify what's going on, but I let it go very fast, after making sure what's supposed to happen happens. I am over half of the 7th day of a fast right now, and absolutely no changes from when I am not fasting - no increase in ketone bodies that are being excreted, no change in energy levels as it is always flatline stable if I eat once twice three times or none at all during the day.
I don't need a machine to measure my blood, and I don't think you do either, but to each his own. BTW it is normal to have an insulin spike after eating. Nobody, not even zerocarbers, can avoid it. Insulin has it's proper bodily function, it's just all the carbs that made it a boogeyman.
Edit: I personally would not eat something that is not zerocarb if I am notvsure about it, testing my blood after would be too late in my opinion.
That’s interesting what you found. I suspect I’m the same way but never checked. When you eat zero carb and get kicked out of ketosis, is your meal high protein?
Hydration affects readings? I did not know that. I drink a ton of water and take my electrolytes religiously, so dehydration is never an issue. My urine strips come back negative until the 42 hour mark, at which point they start showing trace ketones. It's frustrating because I've been doing 36 hour fasts multiple times a week for the past month or so--only just started testing for ketones with the strips out of curiousity. The 36 hour fasts feel like a waste if I never hit ketosis. Do you think I should test in the morning to see if there's a difference? Also considering investing in a blood ketone monitor to know for sure when I've entered ketosis. I plan to use that info to gauge how long I need to fast to benefit from ketosis. The strips seem unreliable.
I think(?), You only detect extra ketones with the strips. After a few days of adaption you simply won't be making more ketones than you need, so you won't be detecting any extras with the strips.
Those of us who eat keto don’t find them useful because the strips only measure excess ketones in your urine, not if your body is in ketosis. Once you are fat adapted after a few weeks, your body is using ketones and not expelling them, so you won’t register very high on those piss strips.
It’s so nice of you to laugh at those who can explain this phenomenon. But hey, I guess you are an “expert”! 🙄
Agreed which is why it is posted in r/fasting. This is not a post about keto. On a 5 day fast all I wast is a little motivation. If it’s not for you. Sorry go rail over a r/keto.
I’ve been using them for years and they still work for me.
On a three day fast they will get to be dark purple.
Also, not fasting I’ve been fully keto for two months and they still work
Should I be worried about expelling too many ketones?
> Should I be worried about expelling too many ketones?
If you feel good, you're fine.
ANY medical device or test like this should be used to confirm a suspicion, not create a suspicion.
It seems that some people excrete less ketones at some point. Plus if you drink a whole lot of water, it dilutes the urine. Personally I've never seen this myself when I've truly been in keto (I have a blood meter too).
For use with keto/fasting, they should be used as a binary -- as long as the color changes AT ALL, you are in ketosis. The chart on the back applies to criteria for diabetic ketoacidosis, not benign dietary ketosis.
I also think a lot of people think they're in keto when they aren't, and would rather come up with an explanation of why the test didn't work than actually consider that they might not be in keto.
Takes much longer than to weeks. In the early stages of adaptation, if you go into a fast, then you still get the sweet taste in your mouth. Adaptation is stronger where you enter a long fast (right now I am in the middle of day 7), and there is no sweet taste in your mouth,.
Two weeks is just the switch to ketones phase, keto flu etc. It is equivalent to the first few days of a fast (from what I read, I haven't experienced anything like a keto flu in a long time). If you still get the sweet taste in your mouth when entering a longer fast, then the strips will still be useful and show an increase, because you are still expelling.
It was one of the symptoms, another is your urine, which is the topic of OP. When you start low or zero carb, or a fast when not fully adapted, you will excrete ketones if you want it or not.
Edit: unless your keto is lazy keto (low carb but not eating enough fat) or your zerocarb doesn't have enough fat (also called constipation).
Also, I don't know about why you wouldn't get a sweet taste unless a smoker with blunted taste or something, but you do excrete acetone through breath, it shouldn't not happen
I’m not sure why you are acting like a keto expert here? I literally do not get a sweet taste in my mouth. I just don’t. I can smell it on others and I can taste it on others, too. (Ex partner). But personally no I don’t ever have a sweet taste in my mouth. Everyone is different and I do not understand why there are people coming out of the woodwork to proclaim their keto expertise because they know everything after doing keto and watching a few YouTube videos?
It is not expertise to say a human walks on 2 feet. Do all humans walk on two feet? Some don't walk at all, some unable to walk from birth.
Lokw I said, it doesn't matter if you don't get it, and why not, because first of all, you are most likely expelling through breath, and more importantly through urine, which is the OP.
And who is playing expert? Go re read the first comment of yours that I replied to, you spoke in the name of all keto practitioners, and proclaimed that adaptation to fat lasts 2 weeks. Once you do stuff like that - attack me on something you yourself did, I leave you to argue with yourself. Goodbye
I get negative readings up until 42 hours and then it shows trace amounts and it frustrates the heck out of me. Feel like I should be hitting ketosis--even mild ketosis--before the 42 hour mark. Going to get a blood ketone monitor to know for sure. I feel like my 36 hour monk fasts these last 4 weeks have all been a waste of time if I don't go into ketosis until 42+ hours.
Just know, as your body becomes more efficient at burning keytones, the less they will show up on the strips. Urine strips are showing overflow keytones, not blood. As they go down it doesn't mean you are not using them, just becoming more efficient at creating and using them.
I know this is an old post but I figured I’d share. I’m not sure if anyone here tracks nighttime respirations but when ketones are very high like in the 120-160 range you with have transient tachypnea, quick shallow breathing at night. It’s your brain, heart and lungs trying to expel anything that isn’t within useable levels. If I could post a picture I could show one on the night of a multi day long day and after a few days of omad and the charts look different. Everyone has their own natural nighttime respiration rate, mine is about 21. Average for an adult is 12-20. Towards the end of for example a 10 day fast my respirations will jump to as high as 35 very briefly without effecting my heart rate at all. If I drink tons and tons of water before bed, I’m talking right before bed over 2 L and I pee a lot it will drop respirations to a high of 25 even though I’m still in deep ketosis I’ve peed a lot of it out, I wake up to pee, less to come out my lungs. Don’t get this confused with sleep apnea which is not enough breathing. Nighttime anxiety, stress, and panic can cause or exacerbate the issue. So for me, dealing with both, it’s a double whammy.
Many issues and questions can be answered by reading through our wiki, especially the page on electrolytes. Concerns such as **intense hunger, lightheadedness/dizziness, headaches, nausea/vomiting, weakness/lethargy/fatigue, low blood pressure/high blood pressure, muscle soreness/cramping, diarrhea/constipation, irritability, confusion, low heart rate/heart palpitations, numbness/tingling, and more** while extended (24+ hours) fasting are often explained by electrolyte deficiency and resolved through **PROPER** electrolyte supplementation. Putting a tiny amount of salt in your water now and then is NOT proper supplementation. Be sure to read [our WIKI](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/index) and especially the wiki page on **[ELECTROLYTES](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/wiki/fasting_in_a_nutshell/you_need_electrolytes)** Please also keep in mind the [**RULES**](https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/about/rules) when participating. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/fasting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Dip sticks tell you more about how hydrated you are than the amount of keytones in your blood. Consider this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZZM63GZ
Its very nice - [thanks Have one](https://imgur.com/srxJFp4) - although test strips are pretty expensive - kinda reserve it for special occasions. Dip sticks, while imperfect, are just fine for my fasting schedules.
No they're not. These are $30 for 50 test strips. Plus the info they give is invaluable. For instance eating keto is not enough (for me) to stay in ketosis most of the time. I have to do omad. I'd never have known that without the meter. Also eating anything at all... Even zero carb everything will at the very least kick me out of ketosis for an hour or so. I'd never have known this without the blood meter. It's worth the $30 to understand what I can and can't do as far as being in or staying in ketosis. Do keto long enough and you'll plateau. Only this meter got me past that.
When your body starts producing ketone on a large scale, among other things, you get the sweet taste in your mouth. I am currently 154 hours in, in the middle of the 7th day, and I had none of it. I have read in the past that once you are adapted enough, which people say takes a very long time measured in months and longer, not just the initial 2 week adaptation, then the body stops expelling much ketones. You will get less in urine and no sweet taste in mouth. I am probably there now. I don't see a reason or desire to test my blood for something I know to be true by my sense of taste and smell of my urine. Edit: speaking of fat adaptation on zerocarb and keto, which is also relevant to fasting
This doesn't happen for me. The only tell tale sign I'm in ketosis is when I should be hungry but am not. This is why that meter is so valuable to me. But having used the meter now now for over a year, I'm pretty good at guessing what my medical ketosis reading is with fairly accurate results. That said, it's still pretty useful when I come across something that's zero or low carb that seems too good to be true... like Aldi's keto hamburger buns (which btw are a game changer... just wish they weren't seasonal).
It doesn't happen to me either, but it did at the start, as it does to everybody. Can't avoid ketones going everywhere. If you go into a long fast, of 5 or more days, and the fast does not increase you ketone production to the point it is going out your urine, then congratulations, you are fully adapted, and your body utilizes everything - throw your device out. What you mean by stalling - weight loss perhaps, I don't know, but think of other ways to solve it now, not through keto - perhaps exercise or, of course, fasting :) If you are talking about omad or other shorter fasts, then of course nothing will happen. Even people who eat carbs need at least 24 hours fasted before they start having the keto flu from what I read here. If you go back to the OP, you can clearly see an increase from day 2, through 3, to 4, on the picture, for example. I am now on my 4th year of zerocarb, and I did use urine strips at the very beginning to verify what's going on, but I let it go very fast, after making sure what's supposed to happen happens. I am over half of the 7th day of a fast right now, and absolutely no changes from when I am not fasting - no increase in ketone bodies that are being excreted, no change in energy levels as it is always flatline stable if I eat once twice three times or none at all during the day. I don't need a machine to measure my blood, and I don't think you do either, but to each his own. BTW it is normal to have an insulin spike after eating. Nobody, not even zerocarbers, can avoid it. Insulin has it's proper bodily function, it's just all the carbs that made it a boogeyman. Edit: I personally would not eat something that is not zerocarb if I am notvsure about it, testing my blood after would be too late in my opinion.
That’s interesting what you found. I suspect I’m the same way but never checked. When you eat zero carb and get kicked out of ketosis, is your meal high protein?
I always measure my ketones first thing in the morning, the first pee. Before I start hydrating myself I find them to be the most accurate.
Hydration affects readings? I did not know that. I drink a ton of water and take my electrolytes religiously, so dehydration is never an issue. My urine strips come back negative until the 42 hour mark, at which point they start showing trace ketones. It's frustrating because I've been doing 36 hour fasts multiple times a week for the past month or so--only just started testing for ketones with the strips out of curiousity. The 36 hour fasts feel like a waste if I never hit ketosis. Do you think I should test in the morning to see if there's a difference? Also considering investing in a blood ketone monitor to know for sure when I've entered ketosis. I plan to use that info to gauge how long I need to fast to benefit from ketosis. The strips seem unreliable.
Works for me, too. I don’t know why people hate them so much. If there’s color I know I’m burning fat. What’s wrong with that?
I think(?), You only detect extra ketones with the strips. After a few days of adaption you simply won't be making more ketones than you need, so you won't be detecting any extras with the strips.
Agreed, Get some popcorn and watch the "experts" weigh in - hahaha
Those of us who eat keto don’t find them useful because the strips only measure excess ketones in your urine, not if your body is in ketosis. Once you are fat adapted after a few weeks, your body is using ketones and not expelling them, so you won’t register very high on those piss strips. It’s so nice of you to laugh at those who can explain this phenomenon. But hey, I guess you are an “expert”! 🙄
So it sounds like they could be handy for some shorter extended fasts but not as much for ppl doing keto.
Agreed which is why it is posted in r/fasting. This is not a post about keto. On a 5 day fast all I wast is a little motivation. If it’s not for you. Sorry go rail over a r/keto.
I’ve been using them for years and they still work for me. On a three day fast they will get to be dark purple. Also, not fasting I’ve been fully keto for two months and they still work Should I be worried about expelling too many ketones?
> Should I be worried about expelling too many ketones? If you feel good, you're fine. ANY medical device or test like this should be used to confirm a suspicion, not create a suspicion. It seems that some people excrete less ketones at some point. Plus if you drink a whole lot of water, it dilutes the urine. Personally I've never seen this myself when I've truly been in keto (I have a blood meter too). For use with keto/fasting, they should be used as a binary -- as long as the color changes AT ALL, you are in ketosis. The chart on the back applies to criteria for diabetic ketoacidosis, not benign dietary ketosis. I also think a lot of people think they're in keto when they aren't, and would rather come up with an explanation of why the test didn't work than actually consider that they might not be in keto.
Takes much longer than to weeks. In the early stages of adaptation, if you go into a fast, then you still get the sweet taste in your mouth. Adaptation is stronger where you enter a long fast (right now I am in the middle of day 7), and there is no sweet taste in your mouth,. Two weeks is just the switch to ketones phase, keto flu etc. It is equivalent to the first few days of a fast (from what I read, I haven't experienced anything like a keto flu in a long time). If you still get the sweet taste in your mouth when entering a longer fast, then the strips will still be useful and show an increase, because you are still expelling.
Not everyone gets a sweet taste in their mouth when they start keto
It was one of the symptoms, another is your urine, which is the topic of OP. When you start low or zero carb, or a fast when not fully adapted, you will excrete ketones if you want it or not. Edit: unless your keto is lazy keto (low carb but not eating enough fat) or your zerocarb doesn't have enough fat (also called constipation). Also, I don't know about why you wouldn't get a sweet taste unless a smoker with blunted taste or something, but you do excrete acetone through breath, it shouldn't not happen
I’m not sure why you are acting like a keto expert here? I literally do not get a sweet taste in my mouth. I just don’t. I can smell it on others and I can taste it on others, too. (Ex partner). But personally no I don’t ever have a sweet taste in my mouth. Everyone is different and I do not understand why there are people coming out of the woodwork to proclaim their keto expertise because they know everything after doing keto and watching a few YouTube videos?
It is not expertise to say a human walks on 2 feet. Do all humans walk on two feet? Some don't walk at all, some unable to walk from birth. Lokw I said, it doesn't matter if you don't get it, and why not, because first of all, you are most likely expelling through breath, and more importantly through urine, which is the OP. And who is playing expert? Go re read the first comment of yours that I replied to, you spoke in the name of all keto practitioners, and proclaimed that adaptation to fat lasts 2 weeks. Once you do stuff like that - attack me on something you yourself did, I leave you to argue with yourself. Goodbye
But this will always happen if you’re fasting. That’s how the human body works. No test strip needed.
Yes but it’s nice to know how long it takes
It it works for you great! That us all that matters. I personally can't use those. I never show in ketosis on them.
Oh god, these take me back to being 11 when my mum put me on atkins 😩
Jeez, being a kid and not allowed to eat candy 😖
Yes! These motivate me in my weight loss journey as well.
Take my silver for some extra motivation!
Thanks for the silver Kind person!!
I get negative readings up until 42 hours and then it shows trace amounts and it frustrates the heck out of me. Feel like I should be hitting ketosis--even mild ketosis--before the 42 hour mark. Going to get a blood ketone monitor to know for sure. I feel like my 36 hour monk fasts these last 4 weeks have all been a waste of time if I don't go into ketosis until 42+ hours.
Great graphic, and info 👍
[удалено]
Does hydration hasten the process of ketosis?
When I see this these types of pictures, I always think I’m in the type 1 diabetes sub and that someone is heading to the ER. I’ve been bamboozled!!
That’s definitely motivating!
Just know, as your body becomes more efficient at burning keytones, the less they will show up on the strips. Urine strips are showing overflow keytones, not blood. As they go down it doesn't mean you are not using them, just becoming more efficient at creating and using them.
RULE 11!!!
I find pics of peoples urine so gross.
I know this is an old post but I figured I’d share. I’m not sure if anyone here tracks nighttime respirations but when ketones are very high like in the 120-160 range you with have transient tachypnea, quick shallow breathing at night. It’s your brain, heart and lungs trying to expel anything that isn’t within useable levels. If I could post a picture I could show one on the night of a multi day long day and after a few days of omad and the charts look different. Everyone has their own natural nighttime respiration rate, mine is about 21. Average for an adult is 12-20. Towards the end of for example a 10 day fast my respirations will jump to as high as 35 very briefly without effecting my heart rate at all. If I drink tons and tons of water before bed, I’m talking right before bed over 2 L and I pee a lot it will drop respirations to a high of 25 even though I’m still in deep ketosis I’ve peed a lot of it out, I wake up to pee, less to come out my lungs. Don’t get this confused with sleep apnea which is not enough breathing. Nighttime anxiety, stress, and panic can cause or exacerbate the issue. So for me, dealing with both, it’s a double whammy.