Looking for some feedback and experience from the group. Been on KETO for about 3 months (loving the results) but started weight training about a month ago. Seeing progress which is good however I dove into the BCAA during and post workouts. Not using a whole lot just recommended dosing. But wow the effect it has on me is not so good. Stomach issues, nausea and overall weird feeling. I thought maybe it was an insulin response as it kind of has that effect if I eat something I probably shouldn’t have and notice the felling i get. I contributed it to any sugar that I consume now. - Anyone experience this by taking BCAA 's or anything like this? Suggestions? I looked most of the day yesterday to see if BCAA’s would provoke an insulin spike of some sort but not seeing anything - appreciate the feedback
BCAA Issues and KETO
What’s your reason for taking BCAAs?
Never had a bad effect from them personally, are the type you’re taking flavoured / sweetened? That’s a more likely culprit, I’ve always used unflavoured, but really they’re no going to give you any benefit unless you’re under eating protein. You’d be better off taking sodium pre-workout, and some believe sodium bicarbonate pre-workout helps with lactic acid issues (tried it, never noticed a difference… ). Now I just down a pint of water with a scoop of unflavoured electrolyte powder and creatine dissolved in it, and that has proved to be a game changer for me.
Interesting … I was gong to research a good creatine soon but wanted to start with the Amino for recovery first. I understand that Creatine will pull in water and add additional weight at first … have you had that in your experience
Yes the BCAA is flavored. maybe I will try the unflavored
BCAA’s are handled by the same metabolic pathway in the liver that handles fructose and ethanol. If you overwhelm the pathway, you can get problems. As long as you are getting BCAA’s in your meat, you shouldn’t need to supplement on top of that.
this is a good question for the OP as I believe my hunger (shakey, sick stomach feeling) is because of too much stevia. I honestly didn’t think about it til the last, couple of days. So I cut way back, and yesterday, same day zero sickie/hunger feeling. I was using a lot on my frozen blueberries I put in my 2-Good Yogurt which has 2 sugars per serving.
Feel kinda stupid, but at least it dawned on me. I also use stevia in my morning coffee so waiting to see if I have that feeling after breakfast. Yesterday I didn’t, we’ll see how it goes today.
For the OP, @Sivart1966 I don’t know much about BCAA’s but I dumped my supplements, and only taking Magnesium right now. My nutritional needs are pretty much in my foods, and bloodwork is good, doesn’t show I am lacking. I’m 69 though, so I know things get depleted over the years, but so far, doing good.
I don’t know enough about muscle-building as I haven’t done a lot, but just with some body-weight training my arms look better, after only about a month, maybe 2, I didn’t keep track. My legs are good from just walking, but I am trying to get a regular schedule of resistance-training. Let us know what you find out 
Shouldn’t have that from BCAAs, must just be the specific ones you have. Are they normal BCAAs or some type of “keto” ones?
Either way, don’t waste your money on them in the future. Just eat protein. If anything get EAAs, then at least you’re getting them all in and not just 3 of them. The only real benefit of BCAAs (sometimes) is for vegetarians and vegans that live protein deficient since the extra Leucine can somewhat help slow down muscle loss… but so would EAAs and that’d be even more helpful.
As long as your protein intake is correct for your body / muscle mass and goals, there’s no benefit to BCAAs. The argument is made a lot that the extra Leucine along with real protein helps drive muscle protein synthesis more, which is technically true, but in amounts that don’t matter.
That’s the case for everybody, Creatine is the most researched supplement on the planet and it absolutely works, there’s also cognitive benefits. That’s why it’s important to track body composition, because depending on your muscle mass that’ll determine how much more gets pulled into the muscle. The difference in me with glycogen loaded vs not is 10-12lbs. Creatine by itself won’t make that much of a dent, but ~5lbs is realistic for many. Get Creapure though. Absorbs better and for many less digestive issues.
As Ifod and others have said, if you get more than adequate protein you don’t need BCAAs, and taking them during a workout seems particularly misguided and unhelpful.
Good quality protein is an animal source that comes naturally with fat: - think meat with the fat still on, eggs with their fatty yolks. Bile salts that are secreted into the gut to absorb fats also aid in protein uptake and absorption.
Eat enough animal protein and you won’t have to be gnawing on a lamb chop AT the gym which could lead to other problems 
People might look at you funny.
This is an old thread, and has been answered well. The only reason I think you should use BCAAs is if you are supplementing a plant protein with them. Taking them on an empty stomach is probably not going to be beneficial. As Paul has said, if you are eating meat, you don’t really need them. This is because the three amino acids in BCAAs are already high in meat. Well, it is muscle, and you are trying build muscle right? When I worked out this last winter, the first thing I did after working out was to drink an Orgain protein powder smoothie. This is pea and rice protein based. Later, I started supplementing it with leucine, which did seem to increase my gains. But, actually BCAAs may have done slightly better. A lot depends on the amino acid profile of the particular protein you are supplementing with BCAAs. But again, by themselves they only provide 3 of the 9 essential amino acids, so are subject to being wasted unless other proteins are consumed in the near time frame - how near is subject to debate - to provide the other essential amino acids. After the protein smoothie I ate dinner with a good half pound of some kind of meat - lamb, chicken, salmon, etc.