I often have people email me to find out how they can tell if they have reached ketosis or not. Because one of the goals of medifast is to consume low enough carbohydrates and calories and high enough protein for your body to burn fat instead of carbohydrates. Most people want to get to this state as soon as possible because that’s when they start to see results. So how can you tell if you have reached these levels? Well, you can observe your physical symptoms, you can test yourself, or you can do both. I will discuss more about this matter in the next article.

Physical symptoms that you might see with ketosis once you’ve been taking Medifast for more than 3-4 days: First of all, if you’re doing pretty well and being careful about your lean and green meals, you should be able to go into ketosis within the first week. Many people see this happening around days 3 to 5. But sometimes it takes a little longer if you exercise a lot.

The first thing you may notice is that you are finding it easier to stick to the diet. Cravings may lessen and you may find that you are not as hungry. You may also find that you have a bit more energy. I also heard people say that they noticed a change in their breathing. They have said that their breath had an almost fruity and sweet smell and / or taste.

Using strips to test if you have ketosis or not: If you doubt these symptoms or just want to be sure that you have finally reached this state, you can use small strips that test for ketones in urine. These are often sold under names like ketostix or ketone strips. Basically, you urinate on the end of the rod and then wait for the amount of time indicated in the instructions. (Usually this is between 15 and 30 seconds. It doesn’t take long to get results.) Usually you want the strips to change color. The strips come with instructions that will show you what color you are looking for. But with many, you want the strip to turn purple to dark pink to indicate you’re in ketosis. You can get the strips at most drug stores and grocery stores. They often belong to the diabetic section. You don’t need a prescription for them, but they are sometimes kept behind the counter, depending on the store.

What if you don’t see the color change? Well, there are a few possibilities. The first would be that you still don’t show ketones in your urine. You can try to check again in a few days. Sometimes if you exercise a lot, your muscles will need the ketones for fuel and therefore will not be in your urine. It is also possible that you have been drinking so much water that your urine is too dilute to change color.

I understand that ketosis is really where you want to be with medifast and I know we all want validation that we are there. But the strips are really a guide. If you are seeing some of the symptoms and the weight is dropping the way it should, there really is no reason to make the test results that much weight or let them stress you out. The really important thing is to get the results on the scale, not on the strips, although they can help give you some peace of mind if you need it.