Not a cheat but close to my carb limit

Yesterday I had a small piece of my sons birthday cake which brought me to 45 net carbs for the day. The horror! First time I went over 20 since Jan 1st and it was worth it.  I checked my stick that night and I was at trace. I'm usually pretty dark pink so I panicked that I'd get booted out of ketosis but the next morning I was right back to darkish pink.  I think there's more flexibility than we realize as long as we generally try to behave 😁

tothestage81b1e0 Hi, it depends on how long you have been following Keto. As we get over the fat adaption process, we will possibly see less ketones, and urine isn’t really a great tool after fat adaption. It’s only a general guide. I’ve been keto for a year in May, so my sticks are lighter. I did some research, and yup, less ketones via urine as time goes by. 

tothestage81b1e0 Your prob fat adapted? Feeling back to normal? That’s the turning point of starting  to actullay use the ketones. They won’t show up much. I wouldn’t worry to much. Weigh in 3-4 weeks. Have a pair of jeans that are too small or something and try them on every 10 days or so. The urine sticks are not a good reliable source at this point, but if your sticking to net carbs, avoid to high of a carb item wth “fiber”. Atkins products and such can demolish successes. I was eating them all the time few years back, no wonder I didn’t loose much. Try to avoid sugar alcohols is possible and low carb wraps”. I only have these as a treat, but not often. I had more fat loss after the 2-3 month. Then I really saw the magic happen. Hang in there. Keep Keto and calm. 

tothestage81b1e0 What kinds of snacks are you taking in? And Atkins products, or “low carb” items? A bit of almond flours? The low carb products can be decieving unfortunately.  Try to focus strictly on net carbs but from Whole Foods, no gimmic low carb products. I use them as a treat every two weeks or so, or I made an Keto friendly almond flour sweet baked good. I think I gained some after that. The most important thing for you now ,is the net carb from Whole Foods. If your feeling super stressed about going over in the wheel in fat and protein, this is the point where I stopped tracking those, stressed me out and made me have cravings. I only track net carbs now. Some days I don’t fill the wheel, some days I’m sure I do. Depends how awful cold it is here, my expenditure of energy, etc. I hope this helps. Blood meter is truly more accurate for you now, but not super necessary. 

thebinadays2734 that’s good because I fudged uo thanksgiving and had a mid sized choc layer cake and thought I was going to die of pancreatitis.  I was terribly sick, didn’t even try to track ketones, thought I needed to go to the hospital. 

tothestage81b1e0 If you can’t get a blood meter, I would give it Time. Weeks, few months. Your body may still be adjusting. Time is your friend here. I eat the same sort of snacks but I found Carne Keto jerky online, no sugars, but expensive. Im going to make my own thin slices jerky when I have the time. Try waiting 1 month, then start anylizing calorie intakes. I think your on the right track though. It takes time especially when super insulin resistant. If you stick to your net carbs you should really see a difference by late spring. Your friends and family you don’t see often will also notice and maybe your scale may not reflect much. Hang in there and don’t give this up.  I’m going to stay Keto for life now. I feel better also, and taking off 20 pounds probably helped. I have to say I’m a bit chillier feeling with our cold weather now. My friend said that happened to her, less insulation.