Keto-Adapted versus Ketosis
Recently listened to an episode of "Ask the Low Carb Experts w/ Jimmy Moore." Mark Sisson of Mark's Daily Apple was on and talked about keto-adapted (or fat adapted) versus ketosis.
Given the amount of confusion regarding when to carb up... Mark recommends, and I agree, that anyone should absolutely not carb up for 2-3 weeks and if you're severely overweight and have been eating a standard American diet for a sustained period of time, then you might need as many as 6 weeks. Mark's position is that you need to reprogram your genes to use ketones for fuel.
Similarly, ketostix should reflect ketosis when you're starting the diet and when you've you got a decent amount of excess fat. As you sustain the diet and approach your ideal body composition, ketostixs become lighter and eventually stop working, this is a GOOD THING. It means that your brain cells, nerve cells, and other bodily tissues are using ketones for fuel, which may in fact be preferable to glucose in that less free-radicals are produced and it will make returning to ketosis after a carb up or even after a month off, much easier.
Way to many people complain about this diet not working when they carbed up their first week, their body tissues never became adapted to using ketones for fuel, and they never lost their carb craving.
Further, to many people freak out after ketostix loose effectiveness after the first couple of weeks on a ketodiet.