1)When using the ketone testing strips, when is the best time to test? In the morning, before bed, before or after exercise?
2)I my goal is to lose 50 lbs and I was reading some of the input that others had wrote. Example someone said that using a percentages would help in decipering what I should be losing, 50lbs~10%=5lbs a month or 1.25 a week. Because the closer you are to your goal weight the harder and less you lose (T/F)?
3)is there a calorie count that I should be going by, or how many calories should I be intaking a day.
And last but not least
4)can I use PP with Aktins. I like the fact the I can subtracte fiber for the carb count and get a lower carb count.

any help would be great, I tring hard to make this work and a wol.
CheesePuff

1) Best time to use the strips is first thing in the morning. Use them as a guide, not the gossple truth. Several things effect the strips, such as moisture, age, water intake, fat intake. So do NOT get discouraged by using them.

2) The closer you are to goal, the slower the weight comes off. It is because you have less to lose and the body tends to want to hang on what it has left. 1.25 pounds a week is a good goal on loss. However again, do not get discouraged if you don't lose anything and go into a stall. It happens to the best of us. The weight went on slowly and sometimes it comes off that way.

3) 8 to 10 times your body weight in calorie intake seems to be the normal. You MUST eat on the diet in order to burn the body fat. Also drink 64 oz of water a day plus 8 oz per 25 pounds you want to lose.

4) Pick one or the other. They are two seperate diets with different results. The new Atkin's book that has come out is allowing fiber to be minused out, so you may pick up a new copy and check that. However do not mix and match the diets as they go on different routines.

Hope this helps!

Cheesy, the general rule of thumb caloriewise is 10 - 12 times your body weight in order to fulfill metabolic funtions - this is only 60-70% of your caloric need every day. If you workout or have a very active lifestyle eat more; you'll burn it and you'll keep your body happy. Eating less stresses the body and it will in turn hold on to fat and water making any loss difficult and more likely to be muscle not fat.

For obvious reasons I say pick PP But simply reading it is sufficient; It explains LC very well and will answer many of your questions. Atkins now uses the subtracted fiber for the carb count and the two plans are quite similar. Many members use Atkins for the first two weeks then switch to PP as it affords more variety.

As Agony said, those stix should be a guide only. They are not the greatest guage of fat loss. When you test will greatly effect the outcome. Drinking more water, eating a heavy fatty meal, exercising will all have a result on the colour you can pee ! After the first few weeks you'll probably end up doing what the rest of us have; throwing them out.

Cheers,
Nat

People respond differently on the low-carb diet in the ability to go into ketosis. This is the reason for the ketone test strips. Personally, I had a difficult time getting into ketosis and staying there. Therefore, follow Dr. Atkins' induction very closely. The 20 grams of carbohydrates is very small. Do not eat anything with carbohydrates except a small amount of non-starchy vegetables. The starcy ones to avoid are potatoes, yams, beets, turnips and carrots.

Good luck,

1. evening is best, per atkins info that I have read
2. no comment
3. the atkins wisdom is not to worry about calories, because the metabolic advantage in lc is enough; just count carbs.
4. I plan to subtract fiber count from total carb count when I know the fiber is naturally in the food, not added i.e. in a protein bar. That way I know the fiber is truly part of the total carb/sugar count.

Good luck, cheesepuff!

Thanks for the input. I when I was on the Atkins before I could not get to the deep purple that you were suppose to be in the first couple of days. My best color would be a light pink if I got there and stayed at all. I would try morning and night but the results where still wouldn't change. Now I know. and Thanks again.

CheesePuff

Correct me if I am wrong, somebody, but the way I understand it, if your stick turns a dark purple, then you are not drinking enough water. And, that is not good!

I personally, didn't even purchase any of the ketostix this time around. I get as discouraged with them as I do weighing every day!

Jo Ann in TEXAS