Since the keto diet is so popular, there are a ton of keto supplements on the market. Ketones that you eat in powder form (typically from pills or shakes) are called exogenous ketones. By eating these exogenous ketones, you will elevate the level of ketone bodies in your blood, and that puts you into ketosis. So if your goal is to get into ketosis, keto pills and shakes work. But ketosis is probably not your goal — losing weight is probably your goal. Being in ketosis is not the same as losing weight, as you’ll see…
Do keto pills work? It depends on what you mean by “work”. Yes, keto shakes and keto pills will put you into ketosis.
But being in ketosis is not the same as losing weight:
Confusing Ketosis and Weight Loss
The keto diet works for weight loss because in order to put yourself into ketosis through diet, you have to severely restrict your carbohydrate intake. The typical keto diet keeps carb intake to around 5% or 10% of total calories. That’s a VERY low carb diet!
When you restrict your carbs to extremely low levels, you’ll start to produce ketone bodies. When the number of ketone bodies in your body rises to a particular threshold, you are now in ketosis.
But being in ketosis is not what makes you lose weight.
When you restrict carbs that low, your insulin levels remain low and your calories are probably far below normal. That’s why you lose weight – fewer calories and less insulin.
The simple state of being in ketosis does not cause weight loss.
Do keto shakes help you lose weight?
If you’re using keto supplements (like keto salts that come in pill or shake form) to add ketones into your body, but you’re not restricting the carb intake in your diet, then No, keto pills and shakes will not make you lose weight.
Weight loss from the keto diet comes from carbohydrate and calorie restriction, not from being in ketosis.
Ketosis is a byproduct of a very low-carb diet. Weight loss comes from the low-carb diet, not from the ketosis.
Pros and cons of keto shakes
My official take on the keto diet is that, while it’s not inherently bad for you, it’s still a diet and that means it’s a temporary fix instead of a permanent solution for weight loss. So don’t do it. Diets don’t work for long-term weight loss. There, I said it.
However, I realize many people are still going to get on the keto bus, so here are some pros and cons of using keto supplements:
Keto drink pros:
- Keto drinks can reduce appetite, making it easier to eat less.
- Ketones may be good for your brain.
Downsides of keto supplements:
- Ketones have calories, about 4 calories per gram (the same calories as carbohydrates and protein).
- Ketone salts (the majority of keto supplements) contain, as you might guess from the name, a lot of sodium. This can be very bad for your blood pressure.
- Ketosis can be very dangerous for diabetics.
- Taking ketone supplements may prevent body fat from being used as fuel.
So do keto pills and keto shakes work for weight loss?
The bottom line is that using keto pills or keto shakes by themselves will indeed put you into ketosis. But who cares? You won’t lose weight because you haven’t changed your diet! In fact, taking keto supplements without the low-carb diet can actually cause you to burn LESS fat!
If the way you’ve been eating has caused you to gain weight, it sure is nice to wish for a pill or powder that can allow you to continue to eat that way while it melts the fat away. Keep wishing.
If you’re interested to learn more about weight loss, pick up The 4 Worst Weight Loss Mistakes for free.