Can't find the actual post, so I will post it here

[daquix]

A couple days ago or so, someone posted a thread talking about if your ketosis sticks are turning darker and darker, you are probably dehydrated ... not burning more fat. I thought it kinda made sense, but then I remember something Dr. Atkins said in the book that seems to contradict this. I'm not sure about the sticks that everyone else is using but mine show the deeper the color, the more amount of ketones in my urine. Dr. Atkins says in the book

"The more ketones you release, the more fat you have dissolved."

This leads me to believe that the darker the sticks, the more fat I have dissolved. I would have posted this in the thread I saw a couple of days ago, but I can't find it.

[sadie147]

But if you are drinking a lot of water, that would dilute the keytones no?

I don't have anything to back that up, just what i would think would happen. the more water, the more diluted, the less water, the more concentrated.

i know I can be in ketosis and register nothing, then 2 hour later regiser pink.

If you've had alcohol that day, or the day before and it's still in your system they will register dark as well. which is a false reading. i know this from personal experience.

[daquix]

Originally Posted by sadie147

But if you are drinking a lot of water, that would dilute the keytones no?

I don't have anything to back that up, just what i would think would happen. the more water, the more diluted, the less water, the more concentrated.

i know I can be in ketosis and register nothing, then 2 hour later regiser pink.

If you've had alcohol that day, or the day before and it's still in your system they will register dark as well. which is a false reading. i know this from personal experience.

What you said makes sense to me. I was just confused with "if it registers dark, then you are dehydrated" arguement, when the book states that if it registers dark, you are burning more fat.

[not2late]

Our bodies produce 3 ketones during fat breakdown. The ketostix only tests for 1 of those ketones. Moreover that particular ketone isn't in the highest concentration: it's only about 18%. So if you want a really accurate picture of how much ketones you are producing, you need a blood test.

[daquix]

Originally Posted by not2late

Our bodies produce 3 ketones during fat breakdown. The ketostix only tests for 1 of those ketones. Moreover that particular ketone isn't in the highest concentration: it's only about 18%. So if you want a really accurate picture of how much ketones you are producing, you need a blood test.

I don't use ketostix. I use the sticks that are used in the hospital - the one that I have was given to me from my mothers office in the hosptial. It tests for about 10 different things, and the ketone tests up to 1,000/l or 4-5+ ... I can't remember how far the ketostix measured to? 500/l and 2-3+ ???

Anyway. This doesn't really matter as it doesn't have much to do with the original thread.

EDIT: Just for everyone's INFO, I am not trying to be a jerk. I just re-looked over my posts and they do sound jerky when reading them but that wasn't my intent. I guess its hard to express emotion over text. Sorry.

[LCer09]

Originally Posted by daquix

A couple days ago or so, someone posted a thread talking about if your ketosis sticks are turning darker and darker, you are probably dehydrated ... not burning more fat. I thought it kinda made sense, but then I remember something Dr. Atkins said in the book that seems to contradict this. I'm not sure about the sticks that everyone else is using but mine show the deeper the color, the more amount of ketones in my urine. Dr. Atkins says in the book

"The more ketones you release, the more fat you have dissolved."

This leads me to believe that the darker the sticks, the more fat I have dissolved. I would have posted this in the thread I saw a couple of days ago, but I can't find it.

If you're drinking enough water, don't worry about it. You are indeed washing out larger amounts of ketones, yay you! Darker doesn't automatically mean more, but it does tend to be the case that people testing darker can be skimping on the water.

The problem is when a theory like that is around these boards for a long time, it becomes gospel. "Dark purple? Oh, you're dehydrated!" Like I said, if you know you're getting in your daily minimum of water, enjoy flushing the fat out and do a happy dance!

[not2late]

Originally Posted by daquix

I don't use ketostix. I use the sticks that are used in the hospital - the one that I have was given to me from my mothers office in the hosptial. It tests for about 10 different things, and the ketone tests up to 1,000/l or 4-5+ ... I can't remember how far the ketostix measured to? 500/l and 2-3+ ???

Anyway. This doesn't really matter as it doesn't have much to do with the original thread.

EDIT: Just for everyone's INFO, I am not trying to be a jerk. I just re-looked over my posts and they do sound jerky when reading them but that wasn't my intent. I guess its hard to express emotion over text. Sorry.

Actually what I wrote does have alot to do with your initial post, since you specifically asked about the ketostix and the colors it turns. And as I pointed out, since the ketostix only measure 1 of the 3 ketones we produce and since that particular ketone comprises about 18% of the total ketone amounts, it really doesn't give much information in the big picture.

As for the ketostix and the Chem 10 strips, they use the same reagent to test for ketones. In other words, they test for the same kind of ketone in the same way. However there is an advantage to the Chem 10 strips. The Chem 10 strip tests for "specific gravity". Specific gravity indicates the concentration of the urine. Urine concentration is directly related to hydration. The higher the specific gravity, the more concentrated the urine. The more concentrated the urine, the less hydrated the person.

I've tested myself using the Chem 10 strips at work. And I've found that I have moderate ketones if my specific gravity is 1.025 or greater. IF I drink water and re-test, I find that my ketones drop to trace when my specific gravity is 1.010, a more hydrated state.

That's why testing the urine isn't a definitive tool. As you read in the book, Dr. Atkins even acknowledged that some people never turn the stix color, yet are in ketosis and lose weight. In an older book, he wrote that at the Atkins Center they used breath analysis to determine ketosis, not the urine test, but even that had accuracy problems.

As I wrote in my previous post, the most accurate ketone test is the serum test. The serum ketone comprises the majority of the ketones our bodies produce, about 80%. But that would require giving up blood every time you want to test your ketone level.

[daquix]

Originally Posted by not2late

Actually what I wrote does have alot to do with your initial post, since you specifically asked about the ketostix and the colors it turns. And as I pointed out, since the ketostix only measure 1 of the 3 ketones we produce and since that particular ketone comprises about 18% of the total ketone amounts, it really doesn't give much information in the big picture.

As for the ketostix and the Chem 10 strips, they use the same reagent to test for ketones. In other words, they test for the same kind of ketone in the same way. However there is an advantage to the Chem 10 strips. The Chem 10 strip tests for "specific gravity". Specific gravity indicates the concentration of the urine. Urine concentration is directly related to hydration. The higher the specific gravity, the more concentrated the urine. The more concentrated the urine, the less hydrated the person.

I've tested myself using the Chem 10 strips at work. And I've found that I have moderate ketones if my specific gravity is 1.025 or greater. IF I drink water and re-test, I find that my ketones drop to trace when my specific gravity is 1.010, a more hydrated state.

That's why testing the urine isn't a definitive tool. As you read in the book, Dr. Atkins even acknowledged that some people never turn the stix color, yet are in ketosis and lose weight. In an older book, he wrote that at the Atkins Center they used breath analysis to determine ketosis, not the urine test, but even that had accuracy problems.

As I wrote in my previous post, the most accurate ketone test is the serum test. The serum ketone comprises the majority of the ketones our bodies produce, about 80%. But that would require giving up blood every time you want to test your ketone level.

Gotchya. I'm not sure what the Chem 10 sticks are, but thats not what I use. I do see what you are saying though. Should we discount what he says in the book then? I mean if he is saying that the darker the sticks, the more fat you are burning, then by your aknowledgement, he is wrong? I'm confused.

[LCer09]

Originally Posted by daquix

Should we discount what he says in the book then? I mean if he is saying that the darker the sticks, the more fat you are burning, then by your aknowledgement, he is wrong? I'm confused.

If your water intake is constant, and no other variables are in place, then he is right. People are simply trying to point out that it's not that simple.

Dr. A was a geinus, and I love him to death, but writing for the masses was not his strong point. I think he never realized how literally everybody would take every single word.

[daquix]

Originally Posted by LCer09

If your water intake is constant, and no other variables are in place, then he is right. People are simply trying to point out that it's not that simple.

Dr. A was a geinus, and I love him to death, but writing for the masses was not his strong point. I think he never realized how literally everybody would take every single word.

Thats a very good point.

I have been lurking on this board for over a year now and Not2Late is a very knowleadge poster, so I don't like to argue with what he/she says but I just don't understand exactly what a poster is meaning sometimes.