lizzieliz29 wrote:OK Ketosis question, I swear this is the last one JoH,
It's never the last question, Lizzie, there's always something new to learn!! I spend hours digging through research journals to answer my own questions, it's honestly become part of the fun for me to expand my knowledge as well as improve my physique.

lizzieliz29 wrote:So these Ketostix I am peeing on say that my Ketones are virtually non existant. I am at 28-30g carbs everyday since Monday. I want to be in ketosis to ensure I am burning fat correct? In the past it has only taken me 3 days to get there so I am being a little impatient. But ketosis is where I want to be for fat burn, correct? Should I drop to 25 or 26g? So far The carbs I have been eating are from egg whites, flaxseeds, spinach, avocado & low carb tortilla's.
Ketostix check for the presence of acetone - one of a pantheon of ketone bodies - in your urine. That's it. They cannot tell you if you are burning fat from food or fat from the body. My own personal experience is eating at maintenance or above maintenance on MANS, for me those things turn Barney-purple within a week, if I get more than sufficient water (like over a gallon a day) they go paler, but on TSPA they stay white - nevermind that the measurements and what I see in the mirror tell me yes the fat is in fact coming off.
You are absolutely 1000000% correct that ketosis
is where you want to be for fat burn. You just might drive yourself a little bonkers relying on the Ketostix to confirm it. There's a million reasons for this - individual differences in metabolism, how well or how poorly your body burns ketones, what you've had to eat, hydration levels, and on an on. Ultimately, your results (or lack thereof) are going to be a better guide, anyway. You'll get bright purple ketostix eating a diet of 4,000 calories a day of butter, too - but you sure as hell won't get the results you want! If you
want to drop to 25 or 26g a day, you certainly can do so, but I suggest giving it a good 2 weeks before you make adjustments, since your carb intake really needs to be dictated by performance at the gym more than anything else. Also, if you really want to make good and sure you're in ketosis, Ketostix be damned, the most sure-fire way to induce ketosis is to exercise after fasting - as in first thing in the morning, before breakfast. Just have your creatine (and maybe a no doz or mix your creatine in coffee instead of water) and off to the gym you go.
