# ketostixs



## s&amp;ccoach (May 18, 2011)

Mrs nabbed me some keto sticks from work lol.

On CKD diet what colour should I be getting if in keto?

I would say I'm right in the middle if the chart.


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## sef coleman (May 23, 2011)

Purple?


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## s3_abv (Feb 10, 2010)

Dark purple is deep in keto mate. Half way is a good sign of ketons in your urine.

Mine comes up neutral when testing urine, but my bg levels are around 4.0


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## energize17 (Jul 25, 2009)

Keto stix are a waste btter of buying a BG montior

Ketostix measure UNUSED ketones so if you are in deep keto all you are using is ketones so you will have very few unused ones and the accurancey compared to a BG montior is uncomparable


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## s3_abv (Feb 10, 2010)

energize17 said:


> Keto stix are a waste btter of buying a BG montior
> 
> Ketostix measure UNUSED ketones so if you are in deep keto all you are using is ketones so you will have very few unused ones and the accurancey compared to a BG montior is uncomparable


So my reading being under 5.6 is better than the ketostix saying my **** is negitive. I started my keto on sunday after a refeed, washoping to be in keto today but the stix say diffrent.


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## Pictor (Jan 10, 2011)

s3_abv said:


> So my reading being under 5.6 is better than the ketostix saying my **** is negitive. I started my keto on sunday after a refeed, washoping to be in keto today but the stix say diffrent.


I've been reading under 4.0 on my BG monitor while using metformin before now and still had a nagative reading on the Ketostix

There not worth a [email protected] mate! You got your metformin yet mate ?!


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## energize17 (Jul 25, 2009)

Negative on a ketosix means there are no ketones present colour is usually peach

Then you go to trace, small, moderate and large colour getting darker and darker until finally reaching purple

To be in ketosis you BG must be under 5.6 anything over then your not in keto

BG monitor is way more accurate than the stix as i said the stix measure unused ketones

When i did my keto i keasure my BG came around 4.7 if i rember and i was in ketosis bout 5 mins later i did a keto stix test came back negative


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## energize17 (Jul 25, 2009)

Spend a little extra get a BG montior and you can be certain of your levels


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## Pictor (Jan 10, 2011)

The ketostix are only any good for the first p!ss of the day because theres a possibility you'll have some Ketone bodies that you haven't used through the night and they can't convert back so they will show on the stix... But at any other time the useless!


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## s3_abv (Feb 10, 2010)

energize17 said:


> Negative on a ketosix means there are no ketones present colour is usually peach
> 
> Then you go to trace, small, moderate and large colour getting darker and darker until finally reaching purple
> 
> ...


Yeah my readingshave been around 4.2 all week since monday. Just though i would try the stix too


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## s3_abv (Feb 10, 2010)

big ste said:


> I've been reading under 4.0 on my BG monitor while using metformin before now and still had a nagative reading on the Ketostix
> 
> There not worth a [email protected] mate! You got your metformin yet mate ?!


Not yet but they were posted on friday so i should have them tomoz mate. Should i take one if they come tomoz?


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## The Ultimate Warrior (Dec 20, 2010)

Don't bother with Ket0-stix, not worth the paper theyre made of.

Ok, would you like me to be unbelievable awesome? I mean like super awesome?


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## Pictor (Jan 10, 2011)

s3_abv said:


> Not yet but they were posted on friday so i should have them tomoz mate. Should i take one if they come tomoz?


Yeah I would even though you've been under 5.6 for a couple of days now you should be in Keto by now anyway but there's no harm in taking one just to be on the safe side mate :thumbup1:


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## Pictor (Jan 10, 2011)

JPaycheck said:


> Don't bother with Ket0-stix, not worth the paper theyre made of.
> 
> Ok, would you like me to be unbelievable awesome? I mean like super awesome?


I'm waiting


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## The Ultimate Warrior (Dec 20, 2010)

big ste said:


> I'm waiting


Ok, I will create a thread, especially for the occasion.


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## s3_abv (Feb 10, 2010)

Cheers mate i will pop one to be sure ;0)

When taking the metformin on refeed days i take 1 tab with 3 meals on the last night of the carb up then 1 tab the next morning with my first meal?

That right ste.


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## Pictor (Jan 10, 2011)

s3_abv said:


> Cheers mate i will pop one to be sure ;0)
> 
> When taking the metformin on refeed days i take 1 tab with 3 meals on the last night of the carb up then 1 tab the next morning with my first meal?
> 
> That right ste.


I personally take x2 500mg with my last carb meal then x1 500mg before bed then x1 500mg the next morning followed by fasted cardio to make sure I'm back in Ketosis... I don't leave anything to chance mate!


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## The Ultimate Warrior (Dec 20, 2010)

thread created, yes i'm awesome.

I would do 1 500mg tab 3 times a day with carb meals.


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## Pictor (Jan 10, 2011)

s3_abv said:


> Cheers mate i will pop one to be sure ;0)
> 
> When taking the metformin on refeed days i take 1 tab with 3 meals on the last night of the carb up then 1 tab the next morning with my first meal?
> 
> That right ste.


Yeah you can do it this way as well though mate :thumbup1:


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## s3_abv (Feb 10, 2010)

Cheers lads, will use either one of those then.

Hope they come tomoz, had 3 emails now saying your parcel will arrive in 3-5 days. That was like 6 days ago lol


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## ausbuilt (Nov 22, 2010)

s3_abv said:


> So my reading being under 5.6 is better than the ketostix saying my **** is negitive. I started my keto on sunday after a refeed, washoping to be in keto today but the stix say diffrent.


yes and no... a reading of 5.6 or under could mean keto or could mean gluconeogenesis- depending on your fat/protein ratio of your diet... if in keto, you should register at some point on the stix- usually in the morning as its the most concentrated urine.

Ketostix have an error when you drink a lot of water- dilutes your urine, and you get a lower reading.. same with frequent urination... of course if your calorie balance is pretty exact... no excess ketones..

these are all indicators- your diet plays the number 1 part... higher levels of fats are the key, as well as keeping your BG under 5.6


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## ausbuilt (Nov 22, 2010)

s3_abv said:


> Cheers mate i will pop one to be sure ;0)
> 
> When taking the metformin on refeed days i take 1 tab with 3 meals on the last night of the carb up then 1 tab the next morning with my first meal?
> 
> That right ste.


not the best use.. well depends on the length of your carb up.

see the idea of re-feed days, is that after being zero carb all week (or longer) hour body is very insulin sensitive; so you release a more exact amount of insulin for the carbs ingested. All good so far.

the second thing is, the carbs still do cause an insulin spike so, this drives the aminos and carbs you're ingesting (assuming not a junk carb-up!) into your VERY DEPLETED muscle cells... this heighted sensitivity lasts about 24 hours... and I wouldn't recommend metformin in this period, as you're not getting the "glycogen super compensation" to the extent you could without met (which acts to reduce the the amount of 'slin required)

However, once this sensitivity declines (the 2nd 24 hours if doing a 48hour refeed) you need to halve your carb consumption.. and adding met helps here; then continue after your last carb meal, and into the first 24 hours of zero carbs to get into keto faster..

If you're doing a "junk refeed" your insulin sensitivity gets blunted fasted, so perhaps met after 12 hours... of course a junk refeed robs you of max supercompensation anyway.

The best "refeed" i've done ever:

24 hours, eat every 2 hours (yes even try to get up a couple of hours in the night if possible, or at least bed late, get up early, eat, then sleep again).

-creatine 2g with every carb meal

-10mg d-bol withe every carb meal

-50-60g whey with every carb meal

-50% glucose (dextrose) as the carb meal

-50% maltodextrin

-carb meals where mostly a shake and a pack of glucose based soft gel lollies (starburs banana a favourite or natural confectionary company)

-solids where mostly white bread (or bagel) and jam spread

1.5g carbs for every kg of LBM, as the carbs meal size (split as above).

oh yeah, every whey shake had extra BCAA and L-glutamine.


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## energize17 (Jul 25, 2009)

understand everything about your carp up ausbuilt apart from taking dbol with evey carb meal what are the benefits of this?


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## ausbuilt (Nov 22, 2010)

energize17 said:


> understand everything about your carp up ausbuilt apart from taking dbol with evey carb meal what are the benefits of this?


trial and error.. i found when i added d-bol to my carb up, i added about 40% to my post carb-up weight (not permanent of course!) it basically adds so much water retention, which in this case you want (same reason as creatine, but different pathway). Also, d-bol has a short half life, so you keep a peak level built up over your entire carb-up. Having a short acting oral increases the use of the aminos and carbs you take in, and... d-bol increases IGF-1 production in the liver...

i was shooting for max super-compensation in 24 hours! I went from 102 to 106 kg in 24 hours following this protocol- never did that before!


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## s3_abv (Feb 10, 2010)

ausbuilt said:


> yes and no... a reading of 5.6 or under could mean keto or could mean gluconeogenesis- depending on your fat/protein ratio of your diet... if in keto, you should register at some point on the stix- usually in the morning as its the most concentrated urine.
> 
> Ketostix have an error when you drink a lot of water- dilutes your urine, and you get a lower reading.. same with frequent urination... of course if your calorie balance is pretty exact... no excess ketones..
> 
> these are all indicators- your diet plays the number 1 part... higher levels of fats are the key, as well as keeping your BG under 5.6


Well i just had some colour on my ketostix with the first pee of the day lol. I drink over 5lts of water daily, all my meals have25g fat and 25g protein so the ratio is perfect with only trace carb sources.

Should be good then as my readings are always around 4.2ish.

Would you recommend a 48h refeed after a week of keto or leave it longer for the refeed bud?


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## ausbuilt (Nov 22, 2010)

s3_abv said:


> Well i just had some colour on my ketostix with the first pee of the day lol. I drink over 5lts of water daily, all my meals have25g fat and 25g protein so the ratio is perfect with only trace carb sources.
> 
> Should be good then as my readings are always around 4.2ish.
> 
> Would you recommend a 48h refeed after a week of keto or leave it longer for the refeed bud?


with 5lt of water.. no wonder you only have colour first one in the morning! LOL

ok, the days between refeed, and 24h versus 48hour....i can't answer that, only you can; i found if I do a 48hour, I need 10days of keto in between to lose the rebound weight, and keep same fat loss. Consequently, I've found if I want to keep a 7day cycle i can only do a 24 hour re-feed. This was based on experimentation- the 7 day cycle is a bit artificial, but on the other hand, most people i think want to be able to plan the refeed on a certain day.

You need to try yourself- do a 48 hour, and see how long before you take to drop the rebound water weight, and start dropping extra weight. For me it was 9-10days, so I found the 24 hour was better. Also buy doing the creatine+d-bol method i outlined above (with the food mix i used) i found I put on more weight in 24 hours than the normal approach for 48, but I lost the water faster when back on keto. SO for me this worked better (i'm sure the simple sugars/creatine/d-bol plan i outlined above would work for anyone, but the days between refeeds is individual).

I hope that made sense..


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## s3_abv (Feb 10, 2010)

ausbuilt said:


> with 5lt of water.. no wonder you only have colour first one in the morning! LOL
> 
> ok, the days between refeed, and 24h versus 48hour....i can't answer that, only you can; i found if I do a 48hour, I need 10days of keto in between to lose the rebound weight, and keep same fat loss. Consequently, I've found if I want to keep a 7day cycle i can only do a 24 hour re-feed. This was based on experimentation- the 7 day cycle is a bit artificial, but on the other hand, most people i think want to be able to plan the refeed on a certain day.
> 
> ...


Yeah made sense that buddy thanks for your time and effort.

I did 13 days straight keto and my refeed over 48h and i feel i still havn't lost all the bloat now 6 days in. Although i did eat too much, so i guess i may have held some fat over the refeed too lol.

I will try a 24h refeed this weekend and do as you did your refeed carbs at 1.5g per 1kg lbm. That will give me 110g of carbs to eat every 2-3 hours using bagels/bread/pancakes/soreen with a whey shake with each meal.

I may even do just fri afternoon, or do you think thats too short of time? would be like 10-12 hours so i could eat around 800-900g of carbs easy.


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## ausbuilt (Nov 22, 2010)

s3_abv said:


> Yeah made sense that buddy thanks for your time and effort.
> 
> I did 13 days straight keto and my refeed over 48h and i feel i still havn't lost all the bloat now 6 days in. Although i did eat too much, so i guess i may have held some fat over the refeed too lol.
> 
> ...


I think an afternoon is to short.. 24 hours probs is about right- less likely to over feed. Add creatine in as well (I know not everyone wants to do d-bol) and it will be damn good!


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## s3_abv (Feb 10, 2010)

ausbuilt said:


> I think an afternoon is to short.. 24 hours probs is about right- less likely to over feed. Add creatine in as well (I know not everyone wants to do d-bol) and it will be damn good!


I have some creatine lying about so will add that and will use d-bol after my hols mate when i need to cut again lol.

So i should aim for 1.5g carbs per 1kg of lbm for the whole 24 hours eating every 2-3 hours? or should i stick to 6 meals giving me around 700g of carbs?

Looking forward to giving that ago tomoz untill sat night, and will let you know how i get on.


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## jim. (Jun 8, 2009)

I feel the same s3 did 13 days keto then 36 hour refeed which finished sat night. Still don't feel as lean as I was on the 13th day and stil a pound heavier. Making me think about a shorter refeed and maybe a longer time in keto 8/10 days at a time as have hated the bloated look all week.

Under 4.7 on the meter and showing ketones on stix


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## s3_abv (Feb 10, 2010)

Think i'm going to do sunday-friday keto with refeeds on fri after work till sat night. If this carb-up leaves me feeling bloated i will just try a shorter refeed next week


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## s3_abv (Feb 10, 2010)

Started my refeed at 3ish and feel really good, no cravings like i did last week when all i did was stuff my face untill i threw up (seriously)

Had two meals and will be doing 1 more before bed. First was

Ended keto with a bananna and apple and had 60g dextrose and whey after my weights with 40min cardio

First meal

1 raisin cinnemon bagel

50g fruity 5 soreen

1 crumpet

all toasted with jam and honey

1 choc mint whey

Then

1 bagel

100g soreen loaf

toasted with jam and syrup

1 0% fat muller yog

1 strawberry whey

Will be haviing this for my last meal

bowel of cereal low fat milk

3 toast with marmite

muller rice

whey shake

Tomorrow i will have soreen/bagel for breakfast then will be eating pasta/rice/potato with meats then will start keto on sunday with an ECA stack.

How does that look. I don't feel bloated yet like it did last week as i had alot of fat with my meals, being really strict with the refeeds now.


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## ausbuilt (Nov 22, 2010)

s3_abv said:


> Started my refeed at 3ish and feel really good, no cravings like i did last week when all i did was stuff my face untill i threw up (seriously)
> 
> Had two meals and will be doing 1 more before bed. so 3pm, 5pm, 7pm, and you're in bed? wow that early... i guess if you need to get up real ungodly early for work! keep the same foods going when you wake..
> 
> ...


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## s3_abv (Feb 10, 2010)

Oops sorry bud, well i started at 3.30 then went shopping with the missis untill 7ish lol. Will be eating again at 10pm. I'm hungry now tbh should i eat a little more now or wait?

Ok will keep the high gi carbs going tomoz, i just thought low gi was better. Thats awesome for me then, bagels/soreen/yogs/muller rice and white bread tomoz with shakes yum yum. I'm working tomoz so won't be resting till the evening but that shouldn't matter to much? (brickie)

Glad your on here dude, expecting really good results from this thanks alot!

What do you think of the ECA stack on keto?


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