Exogenous Ketones – The Jumpstart End-Product

Transitioning your body into a state of ketosis is not always easy, especially when you’ve been eating a high-carb diet your entire life! But if you know your keto, then you also know that just eating high-fat isn’t enough for the body to actually use fat as its primary fuel – you need to produce enough ketones to get there! Ketones are a bi-product of fat metabolism. In other words, when your body reaches ketosis, it means that your body is burning fat at a rate where it produces 0.5-3.0 mmol/L of ketones, which is shown in your blood. Some people are resistant to ketosis because of the way they have eaten before going keto. But thankfully, we now have a way to help it listen!

Exogenous ketones are fascinating. We take the end-products that the body makes from burning fatty foods and put them into a powder form! Now you may be thinking, “Why would you do that?” And I’m really glad you’re thinking that! These ketones are not waste once the body gets the energy it needs, they are actually extremely useful! Once the rest of the body gets its energy from fat, those ketones can be used by the brain as fuel. The brain may be small compared to the rest of your body, but it knows a thing or two about metabolism 😉 When the brain uses ketones for energy, it is no longer using its preferred source of energy – carbs. One of the reasons that the brain prefers carbs for energy and not ketones is because carbs are such a quick source of energy. Through food, ketones can take the body hours to naturally produce because they come from fat, which is a very slow form of energy. By feeding your body ketones directly, you skip all of the steps in between!

As fuel, ketones can do amazing things for the brain. One of the most significant effects ketones produce is held in a reaction with glutamate. Glutamate is an amino acid in our bodies that we need for many different things. The problem is, glutamate can build up in our brains and cause brain fog when we don’t process it efficiently. Ketones help convert glutamate into other things so that it can be removed from the brain in an effective way! Many people report once they reach a state of ketosis that their mind is much clearer and that they are more productive during their day!

So now that you know all about ketones, let’s talk about this stellar product – It Works! Ketones! These exogenous ketones pack more than just the everyday market ketones. They contain magnesium, potassium, sodium and calcium; all of which are vital electrolytes which maintain the body’s hydration! In addition to hydration, magnesium is an important mineral for the body because it is involved in over 300 reactions in the body, many of which include energy production! Around 60% of the people in this country do not consume enough magnesium every day; and if you are one of them, this may be impacting your progress into ketosis!

If ketosis is something that does not come naturally to you, don’t fret. There are steps you can take to get through that hurdle and reach a whole new level of health! Give these exogenous ketones a try, and use them in the morning in your water, coffee or tea. Once you reach ketosis, you can even use this as a pre-workout supplement! You can do this. Trust me. Lets go!!!

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Sources
Wallace TM et al. The hospital and home use of a 30-second hand-held blood ketone meter: guidelines for clinical practice. Diabetic Medicine. 2001. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11553201
Volpe S. Magnesium and the Athlete. Nutrition and Ergogenic Aids. 2015. 279-283. www.acsm-csmr.org

Eating Keto out on the Town

Okay, maybe “on the town” really means Arby’s or Taco Bell most times. But one way or another, there is going to be a day where the kids have soccer games, there is no more food in the fridge, and the hubby is begging for the drive-through…It happens. But just because everyone and everything around you is screaming for carbs doesn’t mean you have to be a hostage to them. You have options! Here are some easy ways to stay #ketostrong while eating out.

Meat and cheese – Some of the most common reasons that people run into trouble with carbs at fast food are buns and fries…they’re nearly all carbs! So if you’re at a place that is just burgers and fries, just enjoy the best parts! (And trust me, those fries that are cooked in rancid oils are not the best part!)

Salads with HEAVY dressing – There are plenty of fast food places that are offering salads these days. The biggest things to watch out for on these menu items are croutons/crunchy toppings and fruit. Toppings like hard boiled eggs, cheese and meats are great though! You just want to make sure you get that fat in; lettuce and meats are most definitely not enough fat. Loading up on high-fat dressings like ranch, bleu cheese and balsamic (while still keeping your calories in check) is the best way to approach this!

Meat and veggie bowls – If you’re not a salad fan, you can still enjoy all of the “toppings” without the lettuce! Again, the challenge is getting that fat in. Ranch and bleu cheese can only go on so many things, right? So when you’re at a place where you are lucky enough to find high-quality fats like avocado, guacamole and olive oil then take advantage! You can also add cheese and sour cream to your dish to make it high fat as well!

After-morning breakfast – Let’s be real – breakfast ALL of the time. Who is with me!? Eggs and bacon are always good to eat. Heck, if you’re starving at 3:30 in the afternoon and don’t want to eat too much before dinner this is a great thing to snack on to stay full until then!

Eating keto out really is this simple! And while you can almost always find something high fat to eat at any restaurant, the most difficult thing most times can be navigating through a menu to avoid the high carbs where they are sneakiest. Keep these things in mind when avoiding carbs at restaurants.

Avoid:

• Fried foods – they may be high fat, but they are also typically breaded in carbs. Also, most of these oils are toxic and can actually impair you from losing the weight optimally.
• Sweet condiments – ketchup, honey mustard and BBQ sauce are basically sugar with different seasonings added to it in liquid form…yuck. Stick to ranch, bleu cheese, and especially olive oil-based vinaigrettes when you can!
• Ice cream, smoothies, and desserts – yes ice cream typically is high fat, but unfortunately, it is also high sugar. This is true for almost any dessert you can find when eating out. The only exception would be if you were to find a dessert made with stevia or sugar alcohols…which is close to none. If you reeeally miss the sugar, I highly recommend making your own at home with these previously mentioned sweeteners!
• Driving up without a plan – if you don’t have a game plan, it is faaaaaar too easy to drive up hungry, look at a menu and give in…You and I both know you can do better than that! Know what you’re ordering before you even look at a menu! This will eliminate much of the temptation that effortlessly comes. You got this!!!

Having trouble with the Keto Diet? Not sure where you should start? Read this article to find out how to set yourself up for success on your fat-burning journey and get there as quickly as possible!

1. You’re Not Food Tracking!
If there is one thing you should be doing when going keto, it is food tracking! MyFitnessPal, Lose It…there are a ton of food tracker apps you can download onto your phone to log the foods you eat each day. The reason why this is so important is because you need to keep your carbs under a certain amount each day in order for your body to prefer burning fat for energy. Also, there are a ton of recipes on the web to eat while doing this, but do you trust every blogger that says something is “keto-friendly”? Know exactly what is in your food before you eat it! This will minimize the amount of time it takes to transition into ketosis.

2.You Don’t Know What to Expect When Starting Off
Can I be honest with you? Since no one else probably has yet? Going keto will influence your energy levels at first! You have most likely gone your whole life eating carby foods like potatoes, bread, sugar and fruit…and this is what your body has thus far preferred because it is so available! So now picture your entire body putting on the fat-building breaks and switching gears to fat-burning mode – this is a real change for the body! It will take time to adjust, but the benefits BY FAR outweigh the challenge (no pun intended.) 😉

3.You Don’t Know How Many (or really, how few) Carbs You Need To Eat.
Here’s the rundown guys – Research says that for people to reach a ketogenic state, a MAXIMUM of 10% of your calories should be from carbs. Now let’s talk strategy because research also shows that the lower the amount of carbs you eat, the easier (faster) it is to reach Keto and high fat experts like Mark Scisson from Primal Kitchen® recommends eating closer to 5% carbs per day which will allow you to get your energy back quicker once it starts feeding off of your fat!

4.You’re Not Eating Enough Fat.
I know bacon and butter and avocado 3 times a day is great, but believe it or not, it’s not enough! The truth is there are carbs in just about everything: vegetables, dairy and nuts and seeds ALL have carbs in them (even though they are high fat). This is exactly why food tracking is so important! (see #1) Another important consideration is that you’re eating much protein just because it is not a carb…yet.

5.You’re Eating Too Often
Finally, as we talked a little about this in the last article about intermittent fasting, eating too often can prevent ketones can be produced!

Amongst all of the ways to intermittent fasting can be so effective (and also healthy!)

1. Fasting Lowers Insulin Levels in the Body
Insulin is a hormone that is released to lower blood sugar levels in the body – especially after we have eaten. It allows our cells to take in the carbs and convert them into either energy or fat. The thing about insulin is that it is an “anabolic” hormone, meaning it helps to add to the body. This can be great if you’re a gym rat and are trying to get those gainz, but if you want to be cut, then you will want to minimize your body building hormones by eating less often.

2. Ketosis Much More Rapidly
If you are familiar with the keto diet, you probably know that the possible health benefits go far beyond weight loss. But in order to be ketogenic, you need to eat a lot of fat. People commonly misinterpret this as “eat fatty foods often and all day long” and end up eating foods like bacon and beef. What they don’t realize is that even protein can elevate insulin levels in the body. So in order to reach intermittent fasting will help to produce the best results.

3. Fat and Ketosis Uninterrupted
If you’ve read my post about keto coffee, you know that caffeine stimulates the body to use fat instead of carbs for energy. In the last few paragraphs, we’ve talked about how carbs and protein stimulate insulin. But conveniently, fat does not! This is why keto diets are so high fat, because you are minimally stimulating insulin release when you do. Therefore, instead of fat-free milk with your coffee, which actually has quite a bit of carbs, aim for the Keto Coffee to decrease your insulin and fat build up!

4. Intermittent Fasting Can Allow for Better Calorie Control
Alright guys, let’s be real here. There’s an illustration out there on the internet somewhere that talks about all of the different diets out there, and the ONE reason why they are all effective when they are effective. Do you know what that one reason is? It is because they all have the potential to create a caloric deficit; meaning if you eat fewer calories than you consume, you will intermittent fasting’s success.

5. Fasting Allows Time for the Gut to Rest
Last but not least, fasting is not only good for weight loss, but also for overall health. You have millions and millions of little gut bacterias living inside of you, and every time you feed them, they have the opportunity to grow and replicate. While it is important to have enough of the good bacteria, it is equally as important to control the numbers of the bad ones too. Eating a high carb diet when those carbs aren’t being spent on energy (i.e. exercise) leaves an excess of quick energy available for bacteria to feed off of, and sometimes in places where they shouldn’t necessarily be in your digestive tract. This is why it is important to take care of your bugs and feed the good ones in ways that they thrive where they’re supposed to!

Ok so you’ve got the scoop on why intermittent fasting can mean waiting 4-6 hours in between meals and keeping those meals that you do eat within a known and controlled calorie range. It is when snacking comes into play that insulin levels are not able to drop and fat burning becomes much more difficult, so do yourself a favor and keep snacking to a minimum, if at all. It is time to burn away those previous perceptions of low fat diets and constant snacking. It’s time to take cutting edge nutrition information and make it work for you!!