Exogenous Ketones — What Happened When I Took the 10-Day Challenge
I know that there’s no quick fix when it comes to your health and fitness. Be aware of what you eat and exercise regularly is the only way to maintain a healthy body. How much of either of the above is as personal as you are. However, I am always interested in ways to help me get an edge to achieve those two goals faster. And with 2020 being a year where I have spent more time on zoom calls than walking, I was looking for a way to help me get into better shape than I was. That’s when a Facebook ad caught my eye — the exogenous ketone challenge — a way to get into ketosis faster and without having to sacrifice eating carbs.
I did some research on the web and found that there were mixed reactions to whether ketones would work or not. However, it’s coming into summer in Australia, and I was keen to get beach body ready (or as prepared as it can ever be). So, I ordered my box of supplements to see what the fuss was about.
Why do I want to go into ketosis anyway?
Suppose you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t heard of the keto diet. In that case, the theory is that eating a diet that is high in fat and very low in carbohydrates will encourage your body to go into a metabolic state of ketosis, where you are burning fats for energy instead of carbohydrates. When that happens, the body produces a by-product called ketones.
Because the diet to get to a state of ketosis is so restrictive, it is difficult to stick to. This is where exogenous ketones come in — possibly providing a way to get around the diet by tricking the body into ketosis.
What are Exogenous Ketones (EKs)?
If you are wondering what the difference is between ketones and exogenous ketones, the word exogenous literally means ‘originating from outside,’ so it’s a fancy way of saying the body didn’t make them itself.
It’s essential to be clear that the jury is still out on if exogenous ketones actually work. Researchers are still unclear what taking exogenous ketones does to the body and if it has the same effect as when ketones are naturally produced in the body.
Just like any supplement, there are different types, and the price can be quite varied. I purchased ketone salts, which are made by adding artificial ketones to electrolytes, such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium.
What was the challenge?
I purchased a 10 day, mixed flavored box of Ketones marketed as part of a ‘drink ketones for 10 days’ challenge. The site itself doesn’t specifically promise weight loss due to the challenge but rather better focus, better mood, and results — of course, the assumption is that the results you will experience are more rapid weight loss than you are currently achieving. The challenge is to drink ketones twice a day for ten days — a charged (caffeinated) ketone sachet in the morning and a caffeine-free ketone sachet in the afternoon to stave off the 3 pm slump. The sachets are mixed with about 8 ounces of water, making it relatively easy to prepare if you are in a rush to get out the door.
In terms of what my diet is like, I eat pretty well most of the time. Mornings I would have yogurt and fruit for breakfast; lunch is a salad of some type, and dinner is usually chicken or fish and salad. Snacks are usually trail mix type foods, with a couple of coffees thrown in. So, while not restricting carbs, I’m not a big bread eater anyway. However, I do like to have a beer or wine on the weekend and find it pretty hard to say no to chocolate, especially Lindt and Toblerone. That said, they rarely make it into the shopping basket.
The challenge recommends drinking the charged drink in the morning, having a low-carb meal at lunch, a non-caffeinated keto drink in the afternoon, and another low-carb meal for dinner. However, as this is supposed to be about getting your body into ketosis without restricting your diet, I didn’t follow this recommendation to the letter.
What was it like?
I found it very easy to stick to, and I did end up cutting out my usual breakfast. After drinking the ketones in the morning, I found that I was full until lunch, and the afternoon drink was a good substitute for my usual pick-me-up snack.
However, after day 3, I needed to go off the challenge for a day. I was getting quite severe stomach cramps, and ‘explosive’ is a good description of the diarrhea I experienced. However, after having a rest for a day, my body seemed to reset, and I could continue with the challenge for the rest of the week.
Along with stomach issues, I also had disrupted sleep. I found it hard to get to sleep at night and stay asleep until morning. Having said that, I maintained my energy during the day, and only once or twice felt the need for an afternoon nap. I continued my regular exercise and found that I could keep motivated during the time that I was on the challenge.
On about day 3, I realized that I had no way of knowing whether I was experiencing ketosis or not (duh!). So, I did buy some keto strips to check. Sure enough, about an hour after taking the ketone drink, the measures showed that I was in ketosis, but it dropped off pretty rapidly and wasn’t maintained throughout the day. It did spike after exercise (which is good!). However, even though the tests indicated I was in ketosis, with the research still not clear, it could be a reasonable argument that what I was measuring was just wastage of the drink.
Did it work?
- Did I lose weight? Yes, I did. But I also replaced a meal with a very low-calorie drink (sachets are about 50 calories per glass). So, no surprise there at all. But I did find that the drink curbed my appetite, which is essential if you are looking at ways to cut down your food intake.
- Did I have more focus and energy? Not really. The disrupted sleep did play with my daily energy levels. When I went into the office one day, I found I was significantly depleted by about 4 pm and couldn’t wait to get home. I didn’t have extra energy to burn, though I could still maintain the level of activity that I currently do.
- Did my mood improve? Nope. Not even a little.
The Verdict
If you are looking for a way to curb your appetite or replace your breakfast with a very low-calorie drink to limit your food intake, this may be considered. However, it is pretty expensive (about $10 a serving). If you are looking to lose weight, well, I am not convinced that this put me into ketosis, and I am burning fats instead of carbs. I didn’t experience rapid fat loss (which you would expect if you were burning fats for your body fuels).
Overall, I’d say, go in with your eyes open. It may be something that works for you, but be aware of the potential side effects. Weigh up the costs of this option versus the benefit of changing your diet and exercise program to achieve long-term health benefits.
Note
I am not a doctor. This is my own personal view based on my experience of doing a 10-day drink ketone challenge. People should make their own decisions about whether ketone supplements are right for them.
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