Gearing up to start Keto and trying to be as prepared as possible. I am sugar fanatic and a carboholic, so i fully expect my body to rebel on me and go into withdrawal. What should I have on hand to counter-balance this?
I’ve been reading about MCT oil, MCT powder and Brain Octane Oil. Do I need all three? How do I take them? Is there anything else I should get?
Thank you!
Walidah
I haven’t heard of those things "counter-balance"ing how bad you might feel due to carb withdrawal.
If you are can - a way to avoid carb withdrawal is to simply reduce carb consumption slowly. 5% to 10% over 10 or 20 days.
To maximize your carb withdrawal pain (“keto flu”) try to go from your regular “sugar fanatic” carb consumption level to under 20 grams of incidental vegetable based carbs per day. (I think this is what most people do.)
MCT oil is expensive and is good but not something that is really necessary.
Mostly people suggest ensuring your salt intake is good enough.
I think a better prep is to throw out everything in your kitchen (or anywhere) that contains carbs (everything!).
Throwing out a bunch of expensive food will send a good message to yourself (as well as simply removing tempting foods).
It will also make it more difficult to go buy more carbs (you’ll feel pretty dumb replacing something you just threw away).
I have a daughter that has autism and epilepsy. We are all Keto in our house and I have been attempting to control my daughter’s seizures with diet. There is some info about MCT oils helping to offset even the limited carbs in a Keto diet which for her would be very important. I add the oil to her drinks as it is tasteless. The only reason I can see for having different types of MCT oil is for convenience when out. We have not found that to be something that has been a problem so we just have the oil. If you are going to invest in MCT powder make sure you research how it is made and with what fillers.
https://www.perfectketo.com/mct-oil-vs-powder/
I use MCT oil in my morning coffee (have to put it in a blender). I find it makes a big difference in my hunger and in my morning. I was using it on my fasting days (Fast 2 days a week for approx 36 hours 8pm to 8am a day later) and it was super awesome, but I wasn’t losing weight, so I am trying a month without it on fasting days. But I take it every other day. I bought the powder (Perfect Keto plain) for traveling, but be warned you need to spend a fair amount of time mixing it in to your coffee. Brain Octane is the bullet proof brand - I use Garden of Life Dr. Formulated - it’s what they sell at my local co-op. The best use of MCT for me is if my ratios are off, I can have a decaf coffee with a tablespoon with my meal to get back on track.
I can not get MCT oil so stick with coconut oil. but not needed for keto,
You will need to up your salt to avoid feeling crappy. maybe a magnesium/potassium supplement is a good idea
@Walidah, I have heard that some people who are gastrically disturbed by liquid MCT tolerate the powder better. Another factor to consider. I personally think you should keep it simple & don’t mess with anything besides real food. If you want BPC, you can do it with coconut oil, butter, & cream.
You don’t need MCT. PERIOD!!
Is great? Yes, necessary, no.
Would I but powdered fat…HELL NO!!!
Salt and electrolytes are the cure for the sugar cravings and the carb flu.
Totally agree - coconut oil is already ~63% MCTs, and is like 18 crillion times cheaper. Additionally, most marketed MCT oils are produced by solvent or chemical refining. Even when a given MCT is not produced that way, I have a hard time seeing any real demonstrable need for it, despite the often fairly-grandiose claims of marketers.
I’ve gotten MCT oil at Walmart for $10 a bottle! It is very harsh aka it hurts the stomach so don’t eat too much at a time. Same with coconut oil. The powder is the same as the oil just easier to mix into drinks. I have never tried the brain oil. The first few days take it easy and focus on cutting out carbs, try downloading an app (I use Carb Manager) but there are more that count everything and put it into perspective!
The powder and oil are not the same. Powder requires a binder. Sometimes this is maltodextrin. Sometimes it’s tapioca fiber. Check the label.
I bought a big bottle of MCT oil a month ago when at the apex of my “buy the solution” phase. Not super impressed. It’s tasteless, clear and will work in mayo or any sort of cooking, [Correction, from @Stabla, thank you - it has a low smoke point and should not be used for any sort of high heat cooking] but it seems totally fake to me. I have doubts about the way it was processed and wondering what possessed me to buy this when I’m normally pretty gung ho about natural eating. Currently I use it more often on the dry skin on my legs than in my frying pan.
Also in the grip of stupidity I bought a very expensive jar of exogenous ketones - Perfect Keto Vanilla. Too sweet / bitter, and totally useless for actually getting my body in ketosis, I was simply peeing out the ketones I just ingested. Complete waste of money.
Let’s see.
I bought a scale that would measure fat percentage. it’s so ridiculously inaccurate about body fat that I just laugh when I get on. It wasn’t expensive and more accurate than my old scale, so not quite a waste of money, but if my old scale worked it would have been more stupid spending.
I bought some ketostix. They were fun but I learned quickly that they’re simply a yes or no answer, and if I’m eating my 20 grams of carb or less, I know I’m in ketosis because otherwise i’d be dead.
I did buy a cheap breathalyzer. That’s also more or less a yes or no tool but it actually measures acetone byproduct rather than spilled ketones, and it does react to carbs in my diet. Not necessary but a fun tool for $7.
I use a tape measure and if you don’t have one of those I’d recommend it.
Maybe this should be a separate thread entirely, but that’s the extent of my purchasing mistakes.
If you do decide to buy MCT oil, go easy on it and work your way up. It can be hard on the digestive system until you build up a tolerance.
Have you visited the Charlie foundation? How old is your daughter? Does she do Keto? I really want to get my daughter off of seizure meds.
You should not cook with MCT oil. It has a low temperature smoke point.
I don’t drink coffee. My daughter is epileptic and I would rather use MCT oil and not have to use her anti seizure medication. MCT is flavorless and mixes with cold drinks. In order to have the benefits of MCT in an epilepsy it should be spread out over the day. I use both MCT oil and coconut oil (for cooking). I think it is important to recognize everyone has a different purpose for doing things and a different tolerance. What one person finds useless another finds valuable.
Charlie foundation?
I do not live in the US
But she refuse to take any medicine.
She said medicine make the condition worse.
She started keto 8 weeks ago she seems much better.