[agiopwer]

Hi, I'm hoping someone can help. I've been doing atkins for 2.5 weeks. I lost around 9lbs by day 6 and my keto strips show small-mod ketones consistenly from day 4. Can I continue to show ketones, which from what I understand means I'm burning my own stored fat, and still be eating too many carbs which is slowing my weight loss?

[capeAngedlelp]

Try not to think too much about the ketostix. They just mean that you are using fat for fuel but your exercise level hasn't burned up all the ketones created by the metabolism of your fat. The most important measure of how you're doing is how your clothes fit.

Even the scale is misleading. If you're exercising a lot and building muscle, the scale could indicate that you weigh more. That's because muscle is denser and weighs more than fat. Also, if you are retaining water or are constipated, you could have additional water or waste materials in your body that fools the scale.

About ketones--generally when your carb intake gets above about 45 grams per day you will no longer show a color change on the ketostix. So, if you're eating too many carbs per day, it's unlikely that you will see a color change on your sticks, but if you're eating a great deal of fat, it's possible.

Your weight loss will definitely be much slower after the first 2.5 weeks, no matter what. The nine pounds you lost in the first six days was not all stored body fat. A lot of it was water. Losing 1.5 to 2.5 pounds per week is great once you're past the first two weeks.

I hope that helps.

Karen