13+ Ways to Get into Ketosis Quickly (Even After a Cheat Meal)

Want to have your cake, eat it, AND still perform your best?

Luckily there’s a biohack that can do just that.

Ketones.

Ketones are a  special clean-burning “super fuel” the body uses for physical and mental performance without the extra calories of carbs protein or fats.

Unfortunately, most foods increase hormones that completely blunt the body’s natural ketone levels. Especially meals high in carbohydrates and/or “junk” foods.

These act like an off-switch to ketone production. Resulting in feeling more dull and not performing at the potential.

According to conventional wisdom, we must wait 12-18 hours after consuming a carb-heavy meal to get back into a therapeutic ketone-driven state.

I’ve tracked my blood ketone, blood glucose, and other health biomarkers for years, and I’ve found shortcuts to minimize that post-carb window. Today, we’re exploring the best and fastest ways to get back into therapeutic ketosis. So that you can continue looking, feeling, and performing at your full potential.

Exercise

As proven by athletes, nothing helps maintain a ketotic state like exercise. Researchers and users alike agree that hands-down, movement wins.

It works both before and after falling out of ketosis.

For example, a study of Tour de France athletes discovered that, while training, they maintained their levels of ketosis when bingeing on up to 300 grams of carbohydrates per day! That’s nearly 10X more than keto advocates strive for.

The style, duration, and intensity of exercise all matter. High intensity works best because it depletes muscles of their glycogen (stored carbs). That way, when you consume additional carbohydrates, they refill muscle stores before entering the bloodstream and altering hormones. Sprinting, KAATSU, Katalyst, and HIIT training workouts are great. In this article, I shared biohacks for swift and safe muscle recovery to help you avoid muscle cramps and DOMS.

If you exercise after a carb-rich meal, your muscles still suck up the glucose in your bloodstream. Your insulin will likely drop, and your ketone production will naturally increase.

I find that, with exercise alone, I can eat up to 145 grams of carbs per day and stay in ketosis.

Of course, I can get that number far higher by combining exercise with the other approaches below.

Fasting

A tried and true method to quickly re-enter ketosis is to fast. Intermittently (16-20 hours), for 24 hours, or several days.

A while back, I heavily relied on fasting for the surge of blood ketones and the longevity benefits. In my experience, however, the meal before the fast makes all the difference. If I severely spiked my blood sugar, fasting to get back into ketosis becomes very difficult. However, if I ate a ton of low-glycemic carbs, I have an easier (and faster) re-entry.

In these cases, blood sugar support really helps.

I start to feel a cognitive difference at about 10 hours without food, and it becomes noticeable at around hour 14. Especially when combined with exercise and/or supplements.

When I intermittently fasted daily for 18 hours, I still ate a carb-heavy dinner and awoke with good blood ketone levels.

We have better, faster, and more efficient ways than just taking a “time out” from eating. And your results via fasting will depend on your metabolic flexibility and insulin sensitivity.

Fat-Fasting

Fasting sucks for a number of reasons.

For me, I begin to ruminate over the thought of eating. Usually, I didn’t think about it, but hunger pangs can quickly become distracting.

Unlike traditional fasting, fat fasting allows the consumption of small amounts of high-fat, low-carb foods. Ideally, low-protein too. This helps curb hunger pangs and keeps insulin levels low.

By consuming 80-90% of your calories from fat, your body more readily adapts to relying on dietary fat and stored body fat for energy, pushing you back into ketosis.

I use fat fasts on occasion when I want a gentler alternative to traditional fasting. Foods like avocados, certain nuts, cacao butter, C8 MCT oil, and coconut oil become my staples.

Metabolic Support

Taking supplements that support blood sugar levels helps manage post-prandial glucose spikes effectively. Blood ketones inversely correlate with blood sugar.

Large peaks and valleys keep insulin elevated and block ketosis. Supporting optimal blood sugar causes faster re-entry into ketosis via many mechanisms.

Widely used substances like cinnamon, berberine, dihydroberberine (DHB), rock lotus, and apple cider vinegar are known for their beneficial impacts on blood sugar levels. ALA is an antioxidant that helps lower blood sugar levels and increases insulin sensitivity. Chromium optimizes insulin activity promoting balanced blood sugar dynamics.

While other substances like CoQ10 and L-carnitine help your body burn fats more efficiently.

Thanks to these aids, I’ve noticed faster and easier transitions back into ketosis. These same substances also speed up the process of teaching your body how to burn fat (also called “keto at adaptation”). So that you feel better and perform higher and faster.

My favorite product—by a landslide—is called Blood Sugar Breakthrough. It contains:

1. Glycostat® Bitter Melon: Shields the bloodstream from damage by excess sugar.
2. GlucoVantage Dihydroberberine (DHB): Improves insulin sensitivity and shuttles carbs into muscles instead of fat.
3. Cinnulin PF: Improves glucose transport and drops blood sugar.
4. Chromium: Protects against dangerous blood sugar spikes and crashes while helping insulin work better.
5. InnoSlim: Encourages sugar absorption in muscle, improves hormones, and boosts cellular health.
6. Benfotiamine: Improves cellular energy utilization, supports brain health, and increases sugar utilization.
7. ALA: Has a synergistic effect that makes other ingredients work better, protects cells from damage, and sensitizes the body to insulin.
8. Gymnema Sylvestre (”Sugar Destroyer” in Latin): Causes muscles and liver to suck up more glucose, helps regenerate damaged pancreatic cells, improves blood sugar control, and improves hormones.
9. Banaba Leaf: Pulls sugar out of the bloodstream and into cells where it is burned for energy, and stops massive blood sugar swings.

This product contains the highest quality patented versions of each ingredient, all at clinical doses. Plus, as I mentioned in my honest BiOptimizers supplements review, they back all their products with an industry-leading 365-day money-back guarantee.

Metabolic support is about helping your body dispose of glucose and more efficiently burn fat for fuel. After evaluating and testing dozens of these kinds of supplements, my wearable data shows that Blood Sugar Breakthrough works best. I use it all the time.

Enzymes

Our food today lacks the nutrient density and bioactivity of food decades ago. The once high-alkaloid content of food literally made it medicine.

With each passing year, levels of all key nutrients continue to decline. In addition, as we age we absorb less nutrients still present in food.

Enzymes help us absorb nutrients better because they help break down food into smaller particles. Specially formulated enzymes promote fat digestion and get us back into ketosis more efficiently and faster.

You’ll want a product that contains ingredients designed to rapidly break down dietary and body fat to start generating ketones:

1. Digestive Enzymes: Enzymes enhance the breakdown of fats, body fat, carbs, and proteins into their constituent building blocks. This provides the body with all the raw fuels it needs to burn glucose and produce ketones.
2. Bile Enhancers: Herbs like dandelion roots stimulate healthy bile production and flow. Bile aids the digestion and absorption of dietary fats. Improving bile function ensures that fats are effectively digested and used to create energy.
3. Mitochondrial Optimization: Ingredients like L-carnitine, 7-keto DHEA, and CoQ10 accelerate fat burning and the efficient conversion of stored fat into ketones for energy.
4. Energy Adaptogens: Astragalus, Innoslim, and Panax notoginseng boost energy and counteract fatigue during the keto transition. These adaptogens support overall brain function, maintain metabolism, and promote performance during biologically stressful situations like keto-adaptation.

Each of these can make the transition and/or re-entry into ketosis easier.

I’ll occasionally use a product called KAPEX that contains all of these ingredients, plus trace minerals, and a few blood sugar stabilizing agents like chromium and berberine. This was one of the original supplements specifically formulated to amplify the benefits of the keto diet, and to ease common side effects like the “keto flu”.

I feel a significant energy lift on days I use it in the morning.

When I’m eating high-fat, adding quality enzymes like KAPEX into my regimen makes the transition into ketosis smoother and faster. Plus, cheat meals have a less detrimental effect.

Ketone Esters

Ketone esters are the best exogenous ketone supplements that you drink to rapidly increase your blood ketone levels.

Despite whatever you’ve consumed previously, they give you an immediate boost of ketones, helping you get back into ketosis quickly.

While ketone supplements do not completely substitute for natural production, they help kickstart natural production and immediately exert many of the same beneficial effects. Shutting down appetite, instantly inducing mental clarity, making fasting easier, generating clean cellular energy, and helping induce a hyperproductive flow state.

Plus, they have the added benefit of lowering blood sugar.

This is the same product the world’s elite athletes use to perform at their full potential. Not long ago, Tour de France cyclists paid thousands for a single dose. Today, a dose costs about as much as a coffee. If you’re eating low-carb and haven’t tried a ketone ester, you’re in for a surprise.

A word of warning: most of these ketone ester shots taste atrocious. You may want to mask the flavor by mixing them into a (sugar-free) drink.

I often turn to ketone esters when I need a quick and noticeable boost after an indulgent meal. The effects are almost instantaneous. And I minimize the post-meal energy crash caused by the surge of insulin.

C8 MCT Oil

Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) are a type of fat derived from coconut oil that your body can convert into ketones faster than other kinds of fat. They bypass the normal digestive process and the liver converts them into ketones.

When I transitioned to low carb, MCT oil became a lifeline. When the body learns to burn stored body fat (becoming metabolically flexible), the breakdown process initially limits cellular energy generation.

MCT provides a fuel source while bypassing the need for your body to break down stored fats for energy. Which also stabilizes hunger, mood, mental clarity, and much more.

Added to salads, dressings, and other foods, MCT can also reduce the peak of the glucose spike.

Most grocers sell MCT, it has virtually zero taste, and you can buy it for relatively cheap.

A better, stronger, more pure version of MCT is called C8 MCT. It costs slightly more but works far better. I exclusively use C8 MCT in my coffee and recipes.

About 15% of C8 MCT gets converted into blood ketones. Normal MCT converts at a much lower percentage.

Start with smaller doses and gradually increase as tolerated to avoid any potential digestive discomfort that may occur when first introducing MCT oils.

C8 MCT Oil is an effective and affordable way to elevate blood ketone levels, quickly re-enter ketosis, and enjoy the effects.

BHB (Beta-Hydroxybutyrate) Salts

BHB salts, the other main type of exogenous ketones, also raise your ketone levels. Effectively shortening the time it takes to reach ketosis.

Though not as potent as their ester counterparts, these salts still offer a substantial and rapid boost that propels you back into a state of therapeutic ketosis.

In terms of efficacy, BHB salts sit between C8 MCT oil (weakest and cheapest) and ketone esters (strongest and most expensive).

Some experts prefer them because they’re much cheaper and easier on the liver. They also taste milder than esters. Note that BHB salts contain large doses of sodium (or other minerals), which can deter some folks.

Like MCT and esters, these work great in conjunction with other items on this list. Such as metabolic support supplements, fasting, and exercise.

I sometimes use these BHB salts when I do not have ketone esters available, don’t mind the extra sodium, and want a quick pick-me-up.

Berberine

Berberine is a bioactive alkaloid compound derived from various plants, like the Berberis shrub. Traditional medicines use it for its beneficial effects on blood sugar, insulin sensitivity, and weight management.

Dihydroberberine is a metabolite of berberine that shares similar properties but has greater bioavailability, stronger effects, and longer duration.

Berberine and dihydroberberine can both contribute to faster entry into ketosis by supporting blood sugar regulation and insulin sensitivity. Here’s how these compounds can help:

1. Blood Sugar Regulation: Berberine and dihydroberberine regulate blood sugar levels by increasing sugar uptake into cells and reducing production in the liver. By balancing blood sugar levels, these compounds facilitate entering ketosis quickly.
2. Enhanced Insulin Sensitivity: Both berberine and dihydroberberine improve insulin sensitivity—the body’s ability effectively use insulin and glucose efficiently. Improved insulin sensitivity optimizes the body’s metabolic response to carbohydrates.
3. Weight Loss: Berberine and dihydroberberine help reduce body weight, decrease body fat storage, and increase fat burning.
4. Mitochondrial Function Optimization: Berberine enhances mitochondrial function—increasing energy production within cells. Healthier mitochondria lead to better overall metabolic flexibility, making it easier for the body to switch from using carbohydrates to fats as the primary fuel source.

Many keto metabolic supplements include berberine and/or DHB due to their multi-pronged beneficial effects.

Five years ago, I purchased a 2.2-pound bag of bulk berberine powder. I found the intense bitter taste quite unpleasant, so I mostly use it in capsule form these days.

The Blood Sugar Breakthrough product above already contains DHB, which I use multiple times per week for its optimization of the body’s response to carbohydrates and overall metabolic flexibility support. Liposomal berberine is a cheaper alternative that also works better.

Caffeine

Caffeine is a powerful ally when it comes to re-entering ketosis within 24 hours.

Caffeine accelerates fat burning and elevates metabolic rate:

1. Fat Burning: Caffeine stimulates the release of stored fatty acids from fat tissue (lipolysis), encouraging the breakdown of fats for energy. By promoting fat oxidation, caffeine enhances the body’s ability to utilize fat as its primary energy source.
2. Metabolic Boost: Caffeine acts as a metabolic stimulant by increasing thermogenesis—the production of heat in the body—which elevates metabolic rate and energy expenditure. This also increases calorie burning.
3. Appetite Suppression: Caffeine suppresses appetite and reduces cravings for high-carbohydrate meals. It beneficially influences satiety hormones like leptin and reduces hunger sensations making it easier to resist temptations.

A small dose of polyphenol-rich coffee also improves cognition, focus, and performance.

You can add just a cup or two of Genius Super Coffee to your daily routine, or you can try caffeine’s superior sibling called paraxanthine. Either way, you make getting back into ketosis easier.

Just don’t use them too close to the bed.

Tea, coffee, or paraxanthine all give you that extra edge making entering ketosis faster and less painful.

Nootropics

Nootropic supplements offer more than just brainpower support; certain ingredients also enhance fat-burning and deepen your ketogenic state.

Here’s how these special supplements help you rapidly get back into ketosis quickly after “cheating”:

1. Enhanced Fat Burning: Nootropics (like L-carnitine) improve metabolism. Carnitine transports fatty acids into the mitochondria, where they convert into energy. By facilitating this process, L-carnitine aids in the breakdown and utilization of stored body fat.
2. Increased Ketone Production: Nootropics, like exogenous ketones, provide the body with an external boost of ketones that directly elevate blood ketone levels and kickstart your natural production.
3. Insulin Sensitivity: Herbs like berberine or ALCAR enhance insulin sensitivity. By improving the body’s response to insulin, berberine regulates blood sugar levels and supports a ketogenic state. Improved insulin sensitivity enhances fat burning and prevents blood sugar fluctuations from hindering ketosis.
4. Optimized Mitochondrial Function: CoQ10, methylene blue, ALCAR, peptides, and other nootropics support mitochondrial function. Mitochondria produce cellular energy and play a crucial role in fat metabolism. By optimizing their function, these supplements help mitochondria use fuel faster, emptying glucose stores.

Nootropics work via many mechanisms to support ketosis, the beneficial downstream effects, and whole-body health. They can also alleviate the symptoms of “keto flu”. These made a huge difference during my transition period. In this article, I rated and reviewed the nootropics ingredients I tried.

Other ingredients like L-theanine induce the highly coveted (alpha) brainwaves associated with flow state and enjoyable work.

A highly active brain acts like a glucose sponge, sucking it up out of the bloodstream for use as brain fuel. Although the brain only weighs ~2% of your body weight, it consumes about 20% of your total energy. Like many other forms of supplements, these brain supplements boost mitochondrial function, and help the brain work faster and more efficiently. Thus, nootropics help you enter ketosis faster.

I use some form of nootropics like these ones about five days per week because they are massively subjective and objectively improve my brain function and, as measured by blood ketone levels, can even deepen my ketogenic state.

Cold Thermogenesis

Cold thermogenesis has become another popular strategy employed to improve metabolic health and expedite the transition into ketosis.

Cold exposure, such as taking cold showers or immersion in ice baths, has profound and immediate effects on the body. Here’s how cold thermogenesis exerts these benefits:

1. Metabolic Rate: Cold exposure increases the body’s metabolic rate to generate heat and maintain core body temperature which leads to higher energy expenditure. Cold thermogenesis essentially revs up the body’s calorie-burning engine, boosting the utilization of stored body fat for fuel.
2. Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT): Cold activates brown adipose tissue, a type of fat that burns stored energy to produce heat. BAT contains a high density of mitochondria. Stimulating BAT increases the breakdown of fats and the production of ketones.
3. Insulin Sensitivity: Thermogenesis enhances insulin sensitivity, similar to certain supplements like berberine this helps regulate blood sugar and prevents insulin resistance, a condition that can hinder the body’s ability to efficiently utilize substrates for energy.

Similar to exercise, longer periods of cold immersion deplete glucose from the muscles and liver. When you eat carbs, transporters preferentially shuttle these fuels into the liver and muscles before saturating the blood.

Additionally, you increase metabolic rate, improve insulin sensitivity, and produce more brown fat. All of which deepen the ketogenic state.

Not only does cold immersion improve keto re-entry, but it also acts as a natural nootropic, muscular recovery accelerator, and fat loss booster.

Rest & Recovery

Rest and recovery play a crucial role in every facet of human health and performance. R & R maximizes the benefits of keto and helps you quickly bounce back from cheating.

We get proper R & R through sleep quality and duration, napping, and stress management practices. Things like a dedicated breathwork practice, meditation, and stress-relieving biohacks are powerful tools to get the best R & R!

At their core, these relaxing practices improve hormonal balance and regulation. They also help rid the body of cellular waste products and sensitize it to nutrients.

We start with getting adequate and restorative sleep. During sleep, the body rebalances all kinds of metabolic hormones, such as cortisol, insulin, ghrelin, and leptin. Inadequate sleep also increases cravings for high-carb foods and slows fat burning. The body also depletes glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, shifting towards greater reliance on fat for energy which eases the transition back into ketosis.

Sleep improves cellular repair and regeneration and optimizes mitochondrial function.

Next, we have deliberate breathing practices. Breathing exercises activate the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the “rest and digest” mode. This state promotes relaxation and reduces stress. Controlled breathing controls cortisol levels, preventing excessive elevation of this stress hormone.

High cortisol levels impede ketosis by promoting insulin resistance and hindering fat burning. Chronic stress also leads to dysregulation of blood sugar levels and hinders the body’s ability to enter or maintain ketosis. Deep breathing balances blood sugar by reducing stress, preventing spikes in glucose, and supporting stable energy levels.

When I used quantified CGM technology to track my biomarkers, my current stress levels impacted my blood sugar more than the actual foods I ate, so make sure always get proper rest and recovery.

Regular mindfulness practices (like meditation or neurofeedback) contribute to a state of mental calmness and relaxation. This supports hormonal balance, including insulin regulation. This practice also reduces emotional and stress eating. Plus, mindfulness practices improve sleep duration and quality.

I often use a cutting-edge neurofeedback tool called Sens.ai that gets me calm, focused, and recharged without hours of sleep or meditation.

By prioritizing restful sleep, practicing deliberate breathwork, and engaging in mindfulness, you can prime your metabolic environment to bounce back quickly. Just like the others on this list, R&R biosynergizes all the other strategies.

Hydration

According to clinicians who actually measure it, most modern humans live chronically dehydrated. Most of us don’t drink nearly enough water.

Proper hydration helps nutrient transport and waste removal. When you’re well-hydrated, your body can efficiently utilize fats, carbs, and proteins to produce energy.

But true cellular hydration requires more than water.

Due to reduced mineral content in foods, and increased stress burden—we also lack minerals. Certain minerals (called electrolytes) directly influence hydration status, and these include:

• Sodium
• Potassium
• Chloride
• Calcium
• Magnesium
• Bicarbonate
• Phosphate

Electrolytes regulate muscle contractions and nerve signaling, ensuring everything works properly. Hydration prevents muscle cramps and weakness and supports all-day energy levels.

Proper electrolyte balance and fluid intake also improve blood sugar regulation. Electrolytes like magnesium contribute to glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity. Plus, the thicker your blood (dehydration), the more harmful the effects of each glucose molecule.

Hydrating with ample electrolytes also increases the feeling of hunger, making it easier to control your appetite. Plus, getting enough water helps your metabolism work better.

Dehydration can lead to serious health complications [R]. Even minor 1% dehydration can dramatically impede your results.

So, keep your water bottle around and consider adding electrolyte-rich foods or supplements into your routine. Since it’s 105 degrees here in the Austin, Texas summer, I often use this whole-food-based electrolyte supplement powder and notice a big difference.

Biohacker’s Guide to Rapid Ketosis

Achieving and maintaining a state of ketosis is a powerful tool for improved athletic performance, mental clarity, health, and overall well-being.

In this post, we explored a range of effective strategies to jumpstart your way back into therapeutic ketosis after enjoying high-carb meals or indulging in a treat. Fundamentally, these tips:

• Deplete glycogen stores
• Stabilize blood sugar
• Shuttle carbs into muscle and organ tissue
• Minimize stress

Whether it’s engaging in exercise routines that optimize glycogen depletion, incorporating specific supplements, optimizing key habits like adequate sleep and hydration, or exploring fasting techniques tailored to your lifestyle, these approaches all speed up your transition back into ketosis.

Experimentation will help you fine-tune your personalized approach to fully optimized ketosis. Navigating the intricate balance of your unique metabolic flexibility, insulin sensitivity, and neuroendocrine profile. Allowing you to look, feel, and perform at your full potential while enjoying the benefits of this clean-burning fuel source.

Am I missing anything? Thoughts on the above tips? Drop a comment below and let me know!