For the record I am not asking if using exogenous ketones is a good idea…my question is this, if I am consuming MCT oil (lets say something like a brain octane in a huge salad), it can “quickly” convert into ketones for energy, how is it different than taking an exogenous ketone salt? Will the MCT oil creating ketones communicate to my fat cells that there is no need to add more ketone energy to the system (as I believe it would with exogenous ketones?)? I am not chasing ketones, I’m chasing fat loss. Early on I fell for the idea that exogenous ketone salts would help me lose 2 pounds a day…all I lost was about $100 and no weight. In fact I gained weight. But then I started thinking if MCT oil is making ketones from the oil itself, how is it different from what exogenous ketones provide when consumed? (I use the oil every day in my salads…and Im struggling with a 4 month stall. I have lost over 70 pounds since going full keto in April 2017. I read/listen to as much as I can and it has helped me get to this point (only 15 pounds from my ultimate goal!!). So I am trying to understand what some foods might be doing and looking into other “possibilities” to my stall. thanks for your time on this! Any info is appreciated…
MCT Oil vs. Exogenous Ketones
Will the MCT oil creating ketones communicate to my fat cells that there is no need to add more ketone energy to the system (as I believe it would with exogenous ketones
Most ingested fat should be converted into ketones on a ketogenic diet. It’s just faster and more directly with MCT oil.
Thank you, yes I understand that. What I am trying to wrap my head around is whether MCT oil is actually acting as an exogenous ketone also?
My understanding is that the ‘magic’ of MCT is that they are obligatorily converted to ketones, even if you are a sugar burner. In the fat adapted they’re probably not much use for fat burning, you’d rather the body went to the fat cells for it’s ketones. It is useful for boosting ketone levels higher for therapeutic reasons, or just to feel energized, but that means the body won’t go to fat cells because there’s enough in the blood already.
I am also at a stall point after 7 months took me from 35.5 to 25.1 BMI. After a couple of months I decided I was at my Phinney weight and decided to pivot to muscle building, 3 months later I’m much stronger and the same weight, so that’s good. I get the frustration though, I want that belly gone 
Wow good for you on your loss!!! I never dreamed I’d get here and I am convinced I can “easily” let another 10-15 pounds go! So I am reading as much as I can. I thought I fully understood MCT oil but a coworker (keto marathoner male) indicated he would supplement his runs with mct oil packets and a honey stick OR ketone salts with a gatorade. So it made me wonder, is MCT no more than an exogenous ketone like the one I tried that made me GAIN weight?! I get that the last 10-15 pounds would be slower but COME’on! HAHAHA. Its ok, Ill work it through and be grateful/thankful for the better health and 70+ loss already! 
Don’t see how it can be as it just helps your body make it’s own Endogenous ketones, it doesn’t artificially add them.
If you read the scientific data, MCT oil is highly effective within the short window that it is consumed. It has no longterm or lasting influence on your body’s fat converting system. This doesn’t make it a bad oil to use, it just isn’t the long-term fat burning elixir that it is touted to be.
In my own experience, butter seems to be the miracle ingredient for well-being. I imagine it also depends on body type.
It certainly does have a longterm effect on “fat burning” in that it adds calories and energy to your body. If you consume it, it gets burned. It may get burned in place of body fat. That is, if your body fat needs to burn some fat to get energy and it has MCT oil ingested, then it will burn that first before drawing down your body fat–you obviously lose less fat, as with anything you eat.
Ah thanks for responding:slightly_smiling_face:…but my understanding is they do “technically” add ketones…they are just more easily converted into energy by the mitochondria which then produces the ketones. Yes your body created them but it created them from the oil not from your own fat. So knowing that it would seem to add sort of an alternate exogeous ketone to the system. Again I do appreciate your response!!!
Hey thanks,yes, this is what I’m trying to wrap my head around…so much is said about the benefits of mct. And there are, I dont dispute it at all. I am trying to figure out a current weight loss stall of a few months and one thing I consume almost daily is 2T of brain octane in my salad. But you are right if consuming too much then the body wont consume its own fat. So if mct is converted to ketones from the mitochondria then technically it can also be considered an exogenous ketone? I had issues with exogenous ketone salts (gained weight) and I wonder if my body could be responding to the mct in the same way. Always learning about this WOE! Thanks for your input!!!
Interesting point of view, thank you! And you are correct in that we are all individual for sure!!
The weight gain may have largely been from just eating too much–whether thats exogenous ketones, fats, etc. Who knows how exogenous ketones affect satiety. Perhaps it made you eat more than you thought.
Yeh thats a good question and entirely possible. Had I logged my intake back then I might have that answer:confused:…20/20 hindsight. 
Give them up for two weeks and see what happens. Otherwise you will wonder. I do not use either, have considered it. Unless you need the ketones for health reasons, if you are stalled stop using MCT and see what happens
Ive considered that…but do you think it should matter if the quantity fits with the amount of fats Im aiming for each day? But I suppose people eat cheese and that fits macros but they eliminate to see if it corrects their issues but they give up dairy. If I give up MCT then Ill just replace with a different keto acceptable oil. …I may give it a try and see what happens. What could it hurt?!
THANKS!!!
Definitely as a consumed fat MCT oil works like other consumed fats… in many cases that is unfortunately not the only way it is marketed. I often have clients think that the only “good” fat is the very expensive MCT oil because it will get them there more quickly than other fats. There is no scientific evidence that supports that claim. That being said, as you pointed out Ethan, as a fat, it does what other quality fats do. As an MCT, it also does have benefits that other fats don’t offer in such abundance…but then so does straight coconut oil and butter.
I don’t have an issue with isolated MCT oil. I have an issue with misinformation and mismarketing to sell a product that isn’t really necessary for success on this diet.
I am so glad you are asking about this- I have been playing around with exogenous ketones and brain octane mct oil. I have been wondering if it would cause me to stall.
I appreciate this post and all of the replies since I am just starting to look at MCT and/or exogenous ketones for increased mental clarity. My takeaway from this discussion is using them might slow down or stall weight loss since these will be burned before my body fat. Looks like I’d better happy with my own “homemade” ketones for now. Losing body fat is still my priority. I am starting to believe that the final stubborn pounds will need to be fasted off.