Can You Take Pre-Workout On Keto? You Are In Luck

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Can You Take Pre Workout on Keto? 

Pre-workout powders can be used for people who are following a keto diet. However, they should not contain ingredients that have the potential to alter your ketogenic state. Such as high amounts of carbohydrates and added sugars. Always read the nutritional labels to ensure that the ingredients are keto-friendly.

Finding a pre-workout supplement that works well with your keto diet can be a little more challenging than most people realize.

In fact, a lot of supplements that are marketed as being keto-friendly are often anything but that. Some can have hidden sugars, carbs, and a whole pile of other ingredients that can throw your diet out of whack.

But that’s why we put together this guide.

Key Takeaways:

Pre-workout supplements can be used on a keto diet. While they aren’t usually high in sugar or carbohydrates, it’s a good idea to make sure whatever amount they have doesn’t push you over your daily allowance.

Some keto-friendly ingredients in pre-workouts include Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA), caffeine, and plant extracts.

Can You Take a Pre-Workout on Keto?

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet designed to induce ketosis, a metabolic state in which the body burns fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates.

The amount of daily carbohydrates consumed varies by individual and ranges from 20 to 50 grams. 

Consider the number of carbs added to your daily allowance when using pre-workout. So that you don’t kick yourself out of ketosis.

Fortunately, most pre-workout powders are low-carb or zero-carb. And as a general rule, okay to use while following a ketogenic diet.

On the flip side, Pre-workout supplements often contain various ingredients that help boost energy, endurance, and focus. Such as caffeine, amino acids, and plant extracts.

These ingredients are generally compatible with the keto diet and should not send your ketosis plan into a tailspin.

How to Know Your Keto Supplements are Good to Go

With so many different supplements out there on the market today, and so many different options to research, you need to know what to look for when hunting down keto-friendly pre-workout options.

Above all else, you should keep your consumption of carbohydrates to 50g a day or less. 

Any more than that may pop you out of ketosis and force you to restart and reset.

Be sure to read the label of the supplements you are considering very closely. 

Make sure that the number of carbs in the pre-workout fits in with your eating plan, and stay underneath that 50 g carbohydrate ceiling (or whatever yours might be).

Do that, and you’ll have little to worry about.

Secondly, you want to be sure that you are staying away from pre-workout supplements swimming in sugar and artificial sweeteners.

You don’t want to fool with your insulin levels when you are in ketosis.

The best pre-workout supplements for those following a keto diet will be supplements with 0 g of sugar. 

Artificial sweeteners are okay in moderation. They make pre-workout flavors more tolerable, and there is no scientific evidence that they spike insulin. So they are unlikely to send your Keto diet into a tailspin.

They might not necessarily bump you out of ketosis. Still, they can have many other negative impacts on your long-term health and wellness. So make sure you do your research.

DIY Keto-friendly Pre-Workout

This video on how to make your own pre-workout offers some solid advice on what works well when either fasting or on keto. Its worth a listen.

Home Made Pre-workout

What Supplements Should I Use?

There are a whole bunch of supplements that may be beneficial for athletes, bodybuilders, and weekend fitness warriors following a ketogenic diet.

Let’s run through some of the most popular supplement options you’ll want to consider trying out while you are on the keto diet:

MCT Oil (medium chain triglycerides oil): This coconut oil by-product has several health benefits. And it is mainly known for aiding in weight loss and increasing energy. After consumed, it is quickly absorbed by the body and transformed into ketones. The body uses these ketones as an additional source of energy.

Exogenous ketones: These can potentially increase ketone levels in the blood. They are taken as a supplement by individuals who want to kick-start their bodies into ketosis.

Electrolytes: Electrolyte supplements, such as potassium, sodium, and magnesium, are often needed when starting a ketogenic diet. They help replace the stores lost during the initial stages of ketosis while the body is learning to burn fat for fuel.

Protein powders: Protein powers such as whey or vegetable are an excellent source of protein. Be sure to look for Keto approved brands that are low in carbohydrates and have no added sugars or artificial sweeteners.

What Supplements Should I Stay Away From?

Some supplements may not be compatible or necessary with a ketogenic diet. As usual, avoid supplements that are high in carbohydrates and sugars.

Don’t just take reviews online about the keto-friendliness of supplements you’re interested in at face value, either.

Be careful, especially with supplement brands you only have a little experience with or supplement brands new to the market that are trying to drum up new business.

A quick look at nutritional labels and excessive carbohydrates and sugars is easily found.

You’ll find a fair share in sports drinks, pre-workouts, protein powders, and mass gainers. So even though it’s generally okay to use pre-workout while on Keto, make sure the ingredients fit your plan.

Using Pre-workout While On A Keto Diet – Closing Thoughts

The majority of popular pre-workout supplements on the market today will be Keto friendly.

Many of these supplements are made with between 0 g and 6 g of carbohydrates per serving. Putting them right in that “Goldilocks spot” for maintaining ketosis.

If you really want to be sure that you aren’t going to mess up your keto diet by adding carbs, try sticking to the “tried-and-true” like coffee, MCT Oil, and protein powders that haven’t been doctored with a whole bunch of weird ingredients.

Coffee and green tea are natural pre-workouts that won’t add carbs to your diet. Coffee packs roughly 96 g of caffeine per cup, and green tea has between 30-50 g. Both amounts are enough to give an energy boost.

FAQ

Citations and Sources

Diet Review: Ketogenic Diet for weight loss. The Nutrition Source. (2019, May 22). Retrieved January 5, 2023, from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-weight/diet-reviews/ketogenic-diet/#:~:text=The%20ketogenic%20diet%20typically%20reduces,and%2010%2D20%25%20protein.

MediLexicon International. (n.d.). Exogenous ketones: Do they work, and are they safe? Medical News Today. Retrieved January 5, 2023, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326607#effectiveness

Jeff Carpenter

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