Ask Our Keto Nutritionist: Net Versus Total Carbs, Exercise, and Collagen
Have questions you wish you could ask a keto nutritionist?
We’ve partnered with a tried and true keto nutritionist who’s dedicated to helping people live their best lives through the ketogenic diet. What’s more, to best support our ketogenic community, each week, we’ll answer your questions! Note that we’re not doctors, so please consult with your trusted medical partner if you have specific questions regarding your health.
Do I have to exercise when I follow keto?
Exercise is a part of a balanced, healthy lifestyle. I strongly encourage taking up some form of physical activity on a daily basis. This could be as simple as yoga, walking, hiking, etc.
However, if you’re new to keto, I recommend avoiding starting any new intense workout routine until AFTER you have become fat-adapted, as this can increase physical stress hindering your ability to get into ketosis. Instead, aim for a relaxing walk around the block, yoga, or even meditation while your body is adapting to a new awesome fuel source, and then increase intensity as you’re ready and feeling amazing.
Do you recommend counting total carbs or net carbs?
I personally count “net” carbs (total carbohydrate minus fiber minus sugar alcohol), which works great for me and keeps me in ketosis. If someone is struggling to get into ketosis, I may then recommend counting “total carbohydrates” for a while to see if this helps.
What’s a good collagen?
Here are four I recommend on Amazon which have good ratings:
- Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides
- Collagen Peptides by Sports Research
- Keto Collagen by Perfect Keto
- Equip Complete Collagen
Ask Our Keto Nutritionist: Macros, Leg Cramps, and Picky Teens
With regards to subtracting “sugar alcohol” for net carbs, is it true that you should only subtract half the number of grams shown on the nutrition label unless the sugar alcohol is specified to be erythritol or an equivalent, in which case you can subtract the full amount? I have heard some people say they subtract full amount, regardless of they type of sugar alcohol. But I have heard others say they only subtract full amount if the sugar alcohol is erythritol due to it’s lack of effect on glycemic index. I need to know the truth!
That’s a great question! It depends on whether or not those sugar alcohols affect your hunger. For those who feel hunger, they probably ought not deduct sweetener carbs. For those who don’t have any issues, they should likely be able to deduct most or all sweetener carbs. Some sweeteners make me hungrier than others; I avoid the hunger-inducing ones and try to limit them to save for the occasional treat.
I am doing Keto and IF……16/8 and I am wondering could I be not eating enough in that eating window? I am NEVER hungry! I know that is one of the perks of Keto….buuuut I am wondering if even if I am not hungry I should eat to get my Macros in? Or just keep doing what I am doing and only eat if I am hungry during that eating window? I don’t want to mess up my metabolism as I know just a low carb diet does…HELP lol
I was curious about whether someone on Keto should take vitamin C along with the collagen as it suggests on the collagen package ?
Hi there! You may want to reach out to the manufacturer for clarification on that. Hope that helps!
Hello, my name is Ayse. I have been doing keto for about 3 months. I know that the recommend amount of net carbs to consume is about 20 grams. I recently started exercising and going to the gym constantly ; in which I downloaded an app called carb manager to make sure I track my Marcos and don’t go over my carbs. This app subtracts from the net carbs eaten if you exercise. For example, today I ate a total of 23.5 g net carbs but because I exercised it subtracted my amount of exercise making my new net carb amount eaten to 12.2 g.
My question is, should I stay in the 20 grams net carb range even though it subtracts or does it not manner how many net carbs I consume as long as I’m exercising and burning off the carbs?
I would definitely like to know the answer to this as well.
Here is a post on that, which you may find helpful! https://hip2keto.com/tips/effective-workout-exercising-keto/
Sorry for the late reply. Be sure to check out the tips on that over here –> https://hip2keto.com/tips/effective-workout-exercising-keto/
I started this brand Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides this morning. So far so good. It made my coffee very creamy and no taste. I am hoping for GREAT benefits. YAY!!!
Oh cool! Thanks for letting us know what you think of it so far!