The Hardcore Low Carb Christmas List

Are you hard core into the low carb/high fat ketogenic diet? Or do you have a loved one that is starting to get a little bit obsessed?
Are they so obsessed that they read everything they can get their hands on about this way of eating, pee on a stick to see if they are producing ketones, or are all the way to testing their blood every day to see their ketone levels?

Maybe they haven’t gotten that far, but here are a few stocking stuffers to help push them over the edge. I consider this to be the “hardcore low carb christmas list”! Hah!

THE BOOKS

The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living – This book is AWESOME. It is written by two scientists that stumbled into the world of ketogenic eating and have been studying it since. This book clearly explains the science of how your body works when eating a low carb diet. It’s easy to read, incredibly educational and has really interesting stories. I read it every few months!

The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance – Pholek and Vinnye’s version of the book dedicated to people who are athletic and on a low carbohydrate diet. I used this book to help guide me during training for an endurance cycling event on a low carbohydrate diet and it worked out great!

Wheat Belly – written by William Davis is a very easy to read and extremely informative book about the history of wheat, modern wheat and how it affects our bodies (and brains!). There is also a Wheat Belly 30 Minutes or Less Cookbook if you are looking for more recipe ideas.

Cholesterol Clarity: What The HDL Is Wrong With My Numbers? – written by the beloved Jimmy Moore. Low carb isn’t just about weight loss and mental clarity, but can help with cholesterol issues as well. Arm yourself with more knowledge with Jimmy’s book.

THE PEE

Peeing is fun. Peeing on a stick to see if you have been sticking to your low carb diet and getting insta-results is super fun. Getting pee on your hand isn’t fun.
Ketostix are an easy way to see if your body is producing ketones, which is what your body releases when it breaks down fat for energy (versus hoarding your fat and using carbohydrates for energy).

This is an on or off type indicator. Darker purple doesn’t mean ‘more ketones’. It means it is more concentrated, so you should drink more water. But if you want to know actual levels, read on…

THE BLOOD

Done with the on or off of peeing on a stick? Get hardcore and test your BLOOD. There are two situations in which one would test their blood ketones – diabetics trying to ensure they are not going into ketoacidosis (very bad) or people on a low carb/high fat ketogenic diet wanting to see the levels of ketones being produced while in a ketogenic dietary state (good). This is why you generally find these products in the Diabetics section of your pharmacy.

This is also why the ketone monitor also has a glucose monitor. This is also very helpful to see if any foods you are eating result in a blood sugar spike (to confirm that the product you ate is truly ‘low carb’!). Also, trust me – it doesn’t hurt. It’s a very small prick and easy to do. Just replace the needles since they will get dull (and hence, more painful) to use over time.

From Phinney and Volek’s book – a good way to keep track of where your blood ketone levels should be