I keep seeing exogenous ketone products advertised — BHB salts, ketone esters — claiming they put you into ketosis instantly. This sounds too good to be true. Is it? Has anyone here used them? Are they worth $80 for a month's supply?
Honest breakdown of what exogenous ketones actually do:
They temporarily raise blood ketone levels. That's it. They do NOT put you into fat-burning ketosis — that requires depleting glycogen and switching metabolic pathways. Exogenous ketones are external ketones your body can use for energy, but they don't trigger the metabolic state of ketosis.
So if you ate 300g of carbs today and take exogenous ketones, your blood will show elevated ketones (from the supplement) but your body is still running on glucose. Your fat cells are NOT releasing fatty acids. You are NOT fat adapted.
Where they might be legitimate: athletes who need a fast energy source during transition to fat adaptation, people doing therapeutic keto for neurological conditions, or helping someone push through the final stages of keto transition.
For a regular person trying to lose weight: no, the $80/month is not justified. Fix your diet instead.
Tried them for two months at the start. They did help me feel better during the keto flu transition — that's where I think they have genuine value. But as an ongoing supplement? The benefit didn't justify the cost once I was fat adapted. My body was producing its own ketones efficiently by then anyway.
The ketone ESTER products (not salts) are more effective but even more expensive and taste genuinely awful — described as "jet fuel" by most people who try them. Mainly used by elite athletes. Not relevant for most keto users.
This answers my question clearly — they're not putting you into "real" ketosis, just elevating blood ketone numbers temporarily. Saving my $80/month. Will stick to actual diet.
The multi-level marketing angle is worth mentioning: most exogenous ketone products are sold through MLM schemes (Pruvit is the biggest one). The aggressively enthusiastic testimonials you see on social media are from people who make money selling them. Take those reviews with appropriate skepticism.