Keto Strips: Testing For Weight Loss Success

The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat, and moderate-protein diet that has gained popularity for its ability to induce weight loss. One of the key goals of this diet is to achieve ketosis, a natural metabolic state in which the body burns fat for fuel. To determine if they are in ketosis, many people use keto strips, which are small strips of paper that change colour when they react with urine. These strips are an easy and affordable way to monitor ketone levels and can be purchased over the counter at pharmacies and supermarkets, as well as online. While they are not completely accurate, they can help dieters stay on track and make adjustments to their diet as needed.

How to use keto strips

Keto strips are a way to test if your body is in ketosis, a natural state in which your body burns fat for fuel, which can lead to weight loss.

How to Use Urine Keto Strips

Step 1: Wash your hands.

Step 2: Pass the end of the strip through your urine stream or pee into a small, clean container and dip the test end of the strip into the urine sample.

Step 3: Wait for a few seconds (or as indicated on the test package) for the end of the strip to change colour.

Step 4: Compare the colour with the colour chart on the test package.

Step 5: Dispose of the urine testing strip. Then wash your hands.

How to Interpret Ketosis Urine Strip Results

The optimum level for ketosis falls between 0.5 and 2 mmol/L. The deeper the colour, the higher your ketone levels.

• Negative (no ketones): Not in ketosis
• Trace (0.5 mmol/L): Light nutritional ketosis
• Small (1.5 mmol/L): Light nutritional ketosis
• Moderate (4.0 mmol/L): Increased ketone levels as a result of exercise or fasting
• Large (8.0 mmol/L): Usually a result of prolonged fasting; not sustainable in the long term
• Larger (16 mmol/L): Usually a result of prolonged fasting; not sustainable in the long term

Accuracy of Urine Keto Strips

Urine keto strips are a good tool to measure whether you are in ketosis, especially when you are new to the keto diet. However, they are not always accurate. As your body gets used to being in ketosis, it will become more effective at using ketones for fuel, meaning fewer will be excreted in your urine.

How Often to Test

It is not necessary to test ketone levels very often. If you are testing out of curiosity, it is better to track ketone levels once a week or as advised by your doctor.

How keto strips work

Keto strips, also known as ketone test strips, are thin plastic strips with a small reactive pad at the end that detects the presence of ketones in the urine. They are used to measure the level of ketones in your urine, which indicates whether your body is in a state of ketosis.

When following a standard high-carb diet, your cells use glucose as their main energy source. However, when you limit or avoid these high-carb foods, your body doesn't have enough glucose to meet its energy needs and must look for alternative fuel sources. This is where keto strips come in.

The process of using keto strips is straightforward. First, wash your hands, then collect a urine sample in a small container. Next, immerse the absorptive end of the strip into the sample for a few seconds. After removing it from the urine, wait for the amount of time specified on the package for the strip to change colour. Finally, compare the colour of the strip to the colour chart on the packaging to determine your ketone level.

The colour of the keto strip corresponds to the concentration of ketones in your urine, which can range from no ketones to high concentrations. Generally, the darker the colour, the higher your ketone levels and the deeper the state of ketosis. However, it's important to note that keto strips may not always provide an accurate measurement of your ketone levels, especially if you've been following a keto diet for a long time. This is because, over time, your body becomes more efficient at utilising ketones, and fewer ketones will be excreted in your urine.

When to use keto strips

• Starting Keto: If you are new to the keto diet, keto strips can be highly beneficial. They can help you stay accountable and understand the connection between your food choices, ketone levels, and how you feel at different levels of ketosis.
• Returning to Keto: If you've taken a break from the keto diet and want to get back into ketosis, keto strips can help you determine when you're back in that state.
• Cheating on Keto: If you've had a cheat day or taken a diet break for a week or more, keto strips can help you get back on track.
• Tracking Progress: If you want to monitor your progress and adjust your diet accordingly, keto strips can be used to periodically check your ketone levels. This is especially useful if you're new to keto and want to ensure you're on the right path.
• Optimal Ketosis: To achieve optimal ketosis for weight loss, aim for ketone levels between 0.5 and 2 mmol/L. This range is considered optimal for both weight loss and overall health. However, going beyond this range is often unnecessary and may be unsustainable.
• Consistency Check: If you're consistently losing weight, experiencing decreased hunger, improved mood, and increased energy, you may be in ketosis even if it's not showing on your keto strips. In this case, you may want to continue with your current diet and track other indicators of ketosis.

It's important to note that keto strips are not mandatory for the keto diet. They can be a helpful tool, but they are not always accurate, and other factors such as hydration levels can affect the results. Additionally, as your body adapts to using ketones for fuel, fewer ketones will be excreted, making it harder to measure ketosis with urine or blood strips. Therefore, it's recommended to use keto strips as a guide rather than the sole indicator of your progress.

Interpreting keto strip results

Keto strips are used to measure the level of ketones in your urine. They are a quick, easy, and accurate method of measuring ketones in your body. The strips have colour codes that indicate the level of ketones in your urine. The deeper the colour, the higher the level of ketones.

• White or beige: Generally indicates that you are out of ketosis.
• Negative (no ketones): You are not in ketosis.
• Trace (0.5 mmol/L): Light nutritional ketosis.
• Small (1.5 mmol/L): Light nutritional ketosis.
• Moderate (4.0 mmol/L): Increased ketone levels as a result of exercise or fasting.
• Large (8.0 mmol/L): Usually a result of prolonged fasting, not sustainable in the long term.
• Larger (16 mmol/L): Usually a result of prolonged fasting, not sustainable in the long term.

It is important to note that urine keto strips may not always be accurate. As your body gets better at using ketones for fuel, fewer ketones will be excreted in your urine. Therefore, you might be at a deeper level of ketosis than what is shown in your test results. Additionally, your hydration levels can affect the concentration of ketones in your urine, giving you an inaccurate reading.

Accuracy of keto strips

Keto strips are a popular tool for people following a keto diet to measure whether they are in ketosis. However, they are not always as accurate as most people believe. Here are some reasons why you might get an inaccurate reading:

Ketones in Urine Don't Give a True Indication of What's Happening in the Body

Any ketones that go unused by the body are excreted via urine. Therefore, urine strips only show the number of excess ketones that the body couldn't use. This means that just because the level of ketones in the urine is small, it doesn't mean that the levels in the blood are also small, or that you are not in ketosis. For this reason, blood ketone levels are a more accurate way of measuring ketosis than ketone test strips.

Hydration

If someone is drinking large amounts of water, it may dilute the urine to the extent that it affects the reading. On the other hand, if someone is dehydrated, then higher concentrations of ketones may be present. However, this only applies to people who are seriously dehydrated or drinking extreme amounts of water. For the average person, hydration should not significantly affect these readings.

Adaptation

It takes time for the body to adapt to burning fat for fuel. When someone first starts a ketogenic diet, the body won't be using ketones efficiently, so it's likely that there will be a higher concentration of waste ketones in the urine in the initial stages. Over time, as the body adapts to burning fat for fuel, it should become more adept at burning ketones for energy, and the volume of ketones excreted will fall. Consequently, ketone readings may go down at this time. This disparity may be confusing since your body will be more in ketosis, yet with a lower level of ketones showing on the ketone strip.

Other Factors That Affect Urine Ketone Test Results

• Adaptation: As you maintain a ketogenic lifestyle, your body adapts, and it becomes more effective at utilizing ketones as its fuel source. This means that ketones are less likely to spill over into your urine. You might actually be at a deeper level of ketosis, but it doesn't show in your test results.
• Dehydration: One randomized controlled trial found a direct proportion between serum ketone concentration and the level of dehydration. The more dehydrated a subject was, the higher their ketone levels. Ensuring good hydration when testing for ketones helps produce more accurate and consistent results.
• Expired test strips: Check the expiration date of your urine test strips. Strips usually expire within 3-6 months after you open the sealed bottle container. Store the bottle in a cool, dark place, away from direct sunlight to preserve their quality.

Other Ways to Measure Ketones

There are three main ways of measuring ketones in the body:

• Blood meters (beta-hydroxybutyrate): Blood ketone meters are more accurate than testing by urine strips. However, this extra accuracy comes at a higher price.
• Breath analyzers (acetone): While breath ketone analyzers don't offer the same accuracy as blood meters, they are straightforward to use and don't require urine or blood. The initial purchase of the equipment is more expensive than ketone strips, but it's a one-time deal.

Ketone strips are a reasonably accurate and cheap way to detect someone's (approximate) state of ketosis. However, they are probably not necessary for the average person who just wants to lose a bit of weight or finds a keto diet beneficial. That said, they can be a useful way to check that those new to ketogenic diets are on the right track.

Frequently asked questions