Hello, I'd like to try using ketone test strips. Does anyone have any brand recommendations or other suggestions on their use?

Thanks.
Christy

I think they all work the same - I use Walgreen's brand

Thanks for the info. I was googling the strips a few days ago and found some folks who complained that certain brands were sometimes incorrect. Not sure how you would know unless you had another brand you were using at the same time??

Walgreen's is right down the street so that makes things easy for me!

I have the cheapie Walmart ones.

My suggestion? You really don't need them.

For some people, they never change. People tend to get hung up on gettng "darker purple", when it's really not relevant. Being in ketosis is like being pregnant, you either are or you aren't. Often times a darker reading is just a sign you are slightly dehydrated. There's really not a reason to stress over being in ketosis, either. It's great to use as a jumpstart of a low carb plan, but most plans don't leave you in ketosis forever. I know you aren't following Atkins, but for those that do...I have seen so many people get hung up on "being in ketosis" that they never actually follow the plan as it's written and add more carbs back in for fear of coming out of ketosis. You don't have to be in ketosis to lose weight, and sometimes people just put too much weight on it. It's not the end all be all by any stretch.

Just my 2 cents

I don't use them either. Just seems like a waste of money since you can be in ketosis without registering and you can lose weight without being in ketosis. For me it would just be another piece of data to confuse me!

Thanks for your input Krystalr and Barnrat. I'm trying to find a guideline of sorts on how many carbs I can eat and still lose weight. I don't count carbs. I just try to avoid all grains. Sometimes I can stray just a bit and gain 0, other times I stray just a little bit more and add 2 lbs. overnight (which disappears after a couple days of not straying at all, luckily). Maybe the ketone strips won't help with this--not sure.

Well....that could be more from the glycemic impact of the carbs you are eating, rather than the number of carbs that item has.

Again, I know you aren't following Atkins, but there is a useful tool that Dr. Atkins put in his book called the carb ladder. It is based on the impact the carbs are *likely* to have on us (everyone, of course, can respond differently, but it's a jumping off point) that's concept can really be applied to almost any low carb plan. You might take a look at it, and then "rank" the carbs you are having to see if it might be WHAT rather than HOW MANY that is causing the random gains

Krys, that's a very helpful list; thanks!

Karen

Thanks for posting this Krys. I can see already I need to pay closer attention to a few things--less fruit, choose something other than cheddar when I eat cheese, fewer nuts.