Month: March 2021

Keto Macro Calculator. I recommend setting your total Net Carb intake in between 20 and 80 grams. You can adjust up or down depending on your progress and how you feel.

[keto_calculator]

As many become more familiar with Net Carbs, the question arises “Are all sugar alcohols the same?” The answer is NOPE! Some are great and can help fill the gap of sweets while your body becomes FAT ADAPTED. Others however can create more issues than they solve. Below is a list of the (current) most common sugar alcohols that I find and what my thoughts are on them.

The Good:

1: Erythritol This is by far the best sugar alcohol I have found. Study’s show it doesn’t raise blood glucose and its insulin response is between 0 – 3 on the insulin index. (Glucose being 100). Erythritol is naturally occurring and can be found in grapes, mushrooms, pears, and some fermented foods. It is easy on most people guts. Its only downside is some people find it has a cooling effect on the month after consumption. Erythritol can be combined with Stevia leaf extract that seems to limit this effect for some people.

2: Xylitol I almost put this on the below list for one major reason. It can be deadly to dogs if they get enough of it. We had a personal experience with our pup getting into gum sweetened with Xylitol. We got lucky and caught the issue in time and knew how to raise his blood sugar back up. Other than the dangers to animals, it can be a good solution for people. It has a slight blood glucose response (13 on glycemic index) and a slight insulin response (11 on the insulin index). Used in moderation, this can be a good tool to use.

The Ehh:

Sorbitol and Isomalt. Both are low on the Glycemic index (Both 9) and low on the insulin Index (11 and 6 respectively). They make the Ehh list because both can have GI issues. Sorbitol can have a laxative effect on people and Isomalt can cause GI distress and gas.

The I wouldn’t if I were you…

Maltitol and Mannitol: Maltitol has almost 75% of the blood glucose response as sugar does. Mannitol can cause diarrhea and bloating.

I get a lot of questions about different types of exogenous ketones and which ones will help, which ones don’t, and can you tell by looking at the ingredients? I will try to answer most of the questions I get in this post. Let me know if you find it helpful?

Q: Do you need exogenous ketones to be successful?

A: This question is really hard to answer. Of course you can get all kinds of benefits by following the diet. For a lot of people this is all that’s needed and time. If you know my story, I followed the ketogenic way of eating for almost 7 years. I felt really good. I had lost some weight and I knew it was the best diet for me. At the time I didn’t think Exogenous Ketones would benefit me in anyway shape or form. I honestly tried them to prove that they wouldn’t help. I saw tremendous improvements in sleep quality, energy, focus, and body composition changes. The question I had was why? Although I don’t know all the reasons, I do believe the main difference is I never got into a therapeutic range of ketosis through diet alone. 0.5 – 0.7 mmol was the most I really ever achieved. That all changed with the right drinkable ketones. So do you need them? That depends on how you do with the diet. Or if you’re not able to do the diet and want the benefits of using ketones for energy, then absolutely yes! They can be great for energy, focus, sleep, mood, body composition changes.

Q: I want to try Exogenous ketones, what should I look for?

A: We are starting to see BHB and other ketones all over the place! Marketing sites will tell you to look for this or that and why their products are what you need. Yes, I promote a ketone brand, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t others that may help out there. First thing to look for is if the product is made with exactly what your body can use. Look for R or (D) isomer BHB (Same ketone, just different labels depending on who is naming them. Some will list as R(D)BHB). If it doesn’t specifically say, it is a blend of L BHB and R BHB. THIS IS IMPORTANT. Your body can not uptake the L BHB and will have to process it into something else to excrete it. Look at the sweeteners. A lot will use sweeteners and ingredients that cause blood glucose or insulin responses. Look for the keto approved sweeteners like Stevia, Erythritol, or allulose. Monk fruit may be a good option too, I haven’t found a BHB sweetened with Monk Fruit yet.

Look for excessive amounts of stimulants. The energy you get from BHB should be from the BHB and not stimulants. Your body utilizes bio identical ketones to create cellular energy. If they have a small amount of caffeine (60 to 120mg) it is probably to help with uptake. Some brands have 250 to 500mg of caffeine and most likely will make you feel wired or jittery. Some of the great manufactures offer caffeine free versions.

Amounts needed. Most adults will need 10 to 20 grams of BHB in order to get into a therapeutic level of ketosis. If it is a racemic blend, divide BHB amount in half to get a effective dose or to compare brands.

BHB pills: So far, there isn’t a pill made that will deliver enough of the R or D BHB to be beneficial. Most of the time you would need to take an entire bottle (Don’t do this!!!) to get an effective amount of BHB. Most are a racemic blend and contain 800mg to 2000mg and most contain stimulants to give you “energy”.

Free Cell or esters ketones: These are much harder to find. Again, make sure they are R or D isomer if BHB. These are not attached to minerals or salts. They are rapidly adsorbed and can deliver a punch (in a good way)! These can be pretty expensive to use, but may be worth it depending on your goals or application. Some are over a $100 a serving, but cost are coming down as technology improves.

Hopefully this answers a lot of your question when it comes to exogenous ketones. The right products can help in many ways. If you have any questions, I am always willing to answer specific questions, feel free to email me at curt@ketosisforfatloss.com

Do I promote a specific brand or company? YES. However I do understand some people are not a fan of the business model, and that is cool with me. Although I can show people how they will save money per effective ketone with my product, there are a few other products out there than can be useful. Find what works best for you, with or without adding consumable ketones.

HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) has a ton of benefits and is something I think most people should be incorporating into their weekly exercise plans. HIIT can help increase metabolism, gain lean muscle mass, lean out, and use a lot of energy in a short amount of time.

HIIT training can be adapted for all people and skill levels. It is characterized as short periods of intense exercise followed by longer periods of rest or recovery. Exercises can vary and adapted to the individual as well.

I am personally am training for endurance run later this Spring, which means lots of cardio. Studies show that only doing cardio for weeks at a time can actually lower your metabolic rate. For this reason alone I built at least 2 HIIT training sessions in each week of my training plan.

For those who don’t have much time to exercise a 15 to 30 minute interval sets can make huge improvements in energy throughout the week.

Example of a HIIT at home workout:

Warm up 5 minutes. Walk/Jog/Stairs what ever gets your heart rate closer to exercise levels.

As Many Reps As Possible (AMRAPs)  60 Seconds each exercise with 15 seconds rest in between. Cycle rest for 1 Minute. 2 to 4 rounds. 

5 minute cool down and stretch. Make sure to stretch Quads, Hips, and back!

Day 1

• Air Squats 
• Mountain Climbers
• Reachers
• Side to Side Jumps (steps if low impact)
• Burpee
• Plank

See how it works here!