As the diets of Americans shift more and more toward a high-carb diet that relies on fast food, health-conscious individuals are looking for smart ways to stay fit and even lose weight through dieting. Given its recent explosion in popularity, many people are exploring the benefits of the ketogenic diet plan. Thanks to its simple requirements and structure, everyone from doctors to celebrities have hailed the keto diet as a fast and effective way to lose weight. While we here at Axis Labs are big fans of the keto diet, we’re also willing to admit that it’s not without its challenges. Let’s take a look at some of these challenges as well as ways you can overcome them.

Lower Levels of Energy

Given that more and more pre-packaged food is being spiked with sugar, it’s easier to understand why our bodies are so ready to burn carbohydrates before it burns fat. As you start the ketogenic diet, your body has to make the switch from burning carbs to burning fat. During this transitory period, you might feel like you’re more tired than you usually are. Periods of fatigue and weakness are common, as is a sense of brain fog. This is because your body is trying to reconfigure its metabolic processes and is looking for new stores of energy (fat). But you don’t have to suffer from fatigue while on the ketogenic diet. To ensure that you maintain your energy levels, prioritize hydration. You’ll also want to make sure that your diet is rich in the essential nutrients it needs, like ielectrolytes, magnesium, and potassium. An easy way to do this is to add a little salt to your meal, or having a cup of bone broth every now and then. While your diet plan will play a big part in maintaining your energy levels, good sleep hygiene is a vital part of being successful on the keto diet. In fact, we can’t stress enough how important it is to get eight hours of sleep every night, no matter what diet or exercise routine you’re following. Getting adequate sleep lowers your stress levels and keeps you from feeling more fatigued.

You Might Be Constipated

While no one likes to think about this challenge, it’s one worth discussing. The ketogenic diet means that you’re avoiding carbs, and that means you’re probably not getting the same amount of fiber as you used to. This dearth of fiber changes your digestion and can lead to constipation. You want to avoid constipation on the keto diet as much as possible. If you’re not having regular, healthy bowel movements, your body can’t stay in ketosis and your levels of stress hormones and blood sugar will rise, leading to weight gain. To overcome this challenge of the keto diet, you can take some pretty simple steps. First, make sure you’re getting enough water. As above, hydration keeps everything in your body functioning smoothly. You can also get your source of fiber through high-fiber, low-carb vegetables like leafy greens, avocado, and other cruciferous vegetables like broccoli. If push comes to shove and still nothing is moving, consider adding a digestive enzyme to your diet routine. Lipase, in particular, is a great way to break down the fats you’re eating.

Stress Can Impact Your Ability to Stay in Ketosis

Stress has a greater impact on our health than many people realize. Left unchecked, it can do more than cloud our mental clarity. Eventually, it can affect our physical health too. Unfortunately, your keto diet plan can also be affected by your stress levels. That’s because when our bodies are stressed, they release hormones that raise our blood sugar levels. These heightened levels are meant to help us in fight or flight situations. In short bursts, these increased stress hormones are helpful, but over the long-term, it only leads to lowered levels of ketones. If you’re in a stressful period of your life, you may find it difficult to maintain ketosis. The key then is to find ways to lower your stress levels and find a sense of calm in your life while on the keto diet. This can be a struggle for some, but is absolutely achievable. Remember to practice good self-care habits, like basic hygiene, connecting with the ones you love, addressing issues as soon as they arise, and of course, offering your body the healthy foods it needs. Living a less stressful life will not only allow you to find success on the keto diet, but will help ensure your long-term health and wellness.

Decreased Muscle Strength

This challenge is of particular concern for those who are regular gym-goers who take part in bodybuilding endeavors. Not only could you generally feel more tired on the keto diet, you may not feel as strong as you do normally. The change in diet means that your body has a harder time recovering from intense workouts as quickly. There is some research that also suggests that an increase in the level of ketones can also affect performance during high intensity workouts. But this potential weakness deters you from trying the keto diet. Instead, you can avoid this challenge by being careful about your diet. You’ll want to provide your body with enough protein it needs to repair your muscles, but not so much it kicks you out of ketosis. A good rule to follow to strike that balance is to consume 1.3 grams of protein per kilogram of your ideal body weight. If you’re worried about your sodium levels as well, try adding a quarter teaspoon of natural sea salt to a glass of water each day. These two steps should offer your body the nutrients and minerals it needs to repair itself normally, keeping your muscles healthy and strong. This period of temporary muscle weakness may necessitate that you take some time off from hard or particularly intense workouts. Low-intensity training is a great way to continue to exercise even when you aren’t feeling your strongest.

You Might Feel a Little Moody

Our diet affects many things about us, and that includes our mood. For those new to the keto diet plan, they might notice changes in their sleep patterns, feelings, and even behaviors. That’s because the hormones your body produces are being created in different levels and your neurotransmitters are reacting differently, all thanks to your new low-carb, high-fat diet. During the first few weeks of your keto diet, you might feel kinda blue and unmotivated. But don’t despair. This isn’t a sign that the diet isn’t working. It just means that your brain is adapting to the change in the source of energy you’re providing it. You can help bolster your mood by adding more magnesium to your diet through foods like avocados, salmon, and rich leafy greens. Beyond just food and vitamins, you can also improve your mood with exercise, quiet reflection, and talking through your feelings with your friends.

Keto Supplements For Your Healthy Lifestyle

The keto diet isn’t without its challenges, but they only serve to make the reward all the more satisfying. If you want to get the most out of your new diet plan, make sure to include Axis Labs’ line of keto products into your health and wellness routine. Made from proven ingredients, like exogenous ketones, our fat loss and keto products are second to none and are uniquely formulated to help you enter into ketosis more quickly, and stay there longer. Browse our products and order yours today!

Here at Axis Labs, we’re fans of the ketosis diet. It’s obvious why. By cutting carbs and sugars, and eating more meats, natural fats, and vegetables, it’s helped some people lose weight and reach their fitness goals. By putting your body into a state of ketosis, your body becomes a fat burning machine, efficiently using the energy you provide it. However, the ketosis diet may not always be everything it’s cracked up to be. For some, after a few days on the ketosis diet, they start to experience what is colloquially called “keto flu.” But what is it? More importantly, how do you avoid it? As a leading provider of ketogenic products, like FAT BOMB, Axis Labs has spent a lot of time researching the ketogenic process and its effects. Let’s explore this phenomenon.

So, What is the Keto Flu?

For those new to the ketosis diet, or who are restarting the diet after a break, they may experience a suite of symptoms that leave them feeling sluggish and drained. Many have described these symptoms as akin to what many experience when they have the flu. The ketosis diet relies on you to cut your carbohydrate intake dramatically. By reducing the number of ready-to-burn carbs in your body, you are forcing your body to burn fat to give you energy. But your body undergoes changes when making the switch from burning glucose to burning fat. In some cases, your body may react by going into a sort of withdrawal from no longer having the readily available energy carbs provide.

What are the Symptoms of Keto Flu?

The symptoms of keto flu begin to appear anywhere from two to seven days after you begin a ketogenic diet plan. Those experiencing keto flu describe the following symptoms:

• Headache and nausea
• Chills and shivering
• Dizziness, disorientation, confusion, and irritability
• Insomnia
• Sore muscles and fatigue
• Difficulty focusing
• Stomach pains
• Intense sugar cravings

These symptoms make it very difficult for some people on a ketogenic diet to stay with the plan, as the symptoms can range in intensity from mild to severe. Typically, these symptoms last for about a week, but others have reported having these symptoms for longer than that. While the symptoms of keto flu may sound distressing, there are ways to reduce them, and even avoid them entirely.

Curing the Keto Flu

If you experience keto flu, it can keep you from your other healthcare and exercise routines. It’s best to follow these steps if you start to feel the keto flu taking hold

Stay Hydrated

Hydration is an important part of any diet, but especially so when you’re starting the ketosis diet. When you’re dehydrated, your keto flu symptoms could worsen. That’s because your body is shedding its water stores while in ketosis and you aren’t offering your body the micronutrients it needs to run properly. Without adequate hydration, you might experience intense cramping during the keto flu.

Replenish Your Electrolytes

When you switch from a carb-rich diet to one that lacks them entirely, your body’s balance of electrolytes may shift, and you may lose many of your electrolytes. As you start the keto diet, it’s important to offer your body the electrolytes it needs. You can do that easily by increasing your sodium intake. Alongside increasing your hydration, more sodium will help to prevent further water loss. The addition of magnesium keeps your body from cramping and experiencing headaches. Potassium ensures that your body’s vital functions, like heartbeat regulation, energy production, bladder control, and even body temperature control, all run smoothly. Calcium is necessary to help your heart keep beating and keep your bones strong.

Change Up Your Exercises

When you first start the ketosis diet, you may be tempted to continue with your vigorous gym sessions. While you might get away with this at first, you won’t be able to sustain that program while experiencing keto flu. While you start the ketosis diet, it’s important to recognize that your performance may change temporarily. To reduce the symptoms of keto flu, change your routines include more low-intensity aerobic exercises, like walking, swimming, or yoga. Your body naturally relies on fat stores during these kinds of exercises, so you’re compounding on the effects of your diet when you perform them. Also, taking it easy during your transition away from carbs helps your body decrease the symptoms of keto flu more quickly.

Increase Your Fats and Calories

It’s not uncommon for those new to the ketosis diet to not get enough fats or calories. Your body needs these resources in order to transition away from carbs successfully. Look for fats like grass-fed butter, coconut oil, eggs, extra virgin olive oil, avocados, fatty fish, and even lard and bacon fat. Your body will need these extra fats when it starts burning more fat. Additionally, you may need to simply eat more of these fats than you would ordinarily. Going no-carb, low-fat, and low-calorie may help you lose weight fast, but the resulting keto flu isn’t worth it.

Consider Using Exogenous Ketones

Keto flu is the result of your body becoming reliant on fats to create energy. Part of that process means using ketones to help create energy. You can add exogenous ketones to your morning routines to offer your body what it needs. Ketones can help your body adapt to the ketogenic process more quickly.

Preventing the Keto Flu

Of course, addressing keto flu is one thing, but avoiding it altogether is the preferred path for many. Fortunately, avoiding keto flu is easier than it sounds. Start by carefully examining your new ketogenic diet plan and making sure that all of your nutritional needs are being met. It’s not uncommon for new ketogenic diet followers to miss out on vital nutrients and micronutrients. Next, get enough rest and sleep. Your body will need some extra time to recover initially, so make sure you’re getting at least seven to eight hours of sleep a night. Finally, take supplements as needed. Taking the right supplements of exogenous ketones, electrolytes, and other micronutrients ensure your body has everything it needs to smoothly transition off carbs. You can make ketosis diet easy by including the ketogenic products from Axis Labs into your healthy routines. Made with organic ingredients, no sugar, and effective at promoting satiety, our FAT BOMB is the ideal product for your new ketogenic lifestyle. Order yours today!

If you ever tried a preworkout formulated with "1,3", you are probably missing it. This stimulant was choice for smooth -yet- intense energy. 

In September of 2018, Axis Labs® released the preworkout Hailstorm™- an improved formula of Rainmaker™ released January of 2016. Rainmaker™ was different, containing 25mg per serving of TeaCrine®, a new stimulant on the market making big waves.

But with the release of Hailstorm™, Axis Labs® DOUBLED the amount of TeaCrine to 50mg per serving and added 100mg of a new stimulant, Dyanamine™- for very good reason that we will get to below. Axis Labs® also increase the caffeine from 200mg per serving to 300mg- making it an incredibly intense preworkout reminiscent of the days of "1,3". 

If you're anxious to order Hailstorm™, here is where you can find it and use Coupon Code FBHS15 at checkout for a 15% discount. 

If you'd like to understand why the combination of TeaCrine® and Dynamine™ make an unreal stimulant duo, it's important to first understand each of them.  

WHAT IS TEACRINE?

TeaCrine® is a patent-pending compound containing pure theacrine, which can be
found in natural sources such as the Camellia assamica var.kucha tealeaf, coffee and certain exotic fruits. A nature-identical compound, TeaCrine® delivers energy, mental clarity, and improved motivation and mood. It does not increase heart rate or blood pressure and is not a stimulant.

WHAT IS DYNAMINE? 

Dynamine™ is methylliberine, a purine alkaloid found in the kucha tea leaf. Its molecular structure is similar to theacrine (aka TeaCrine®) and is believed to behave in similar ways in the body. Like theacrine, methylliberine may amplify feelings of energy, mood and focus by activating dopamine receptors and other key neurotransmitters, inhibiting adenosine receptors, all without elevating heart rate or blood pressure.

WHAT MAKES DYNAMINE™ DIFFERENT FROM TEACRINE?

Similar mechanisms of action, but a different experience:

But the combination of the compounds creates a knock-out-punch due to Dynamine's early onset and intense effects and TeaCrine's more prolonged effects on energy, mood and focus. Along with the 300mg of caffeine per serving, this combo of Dynamine and TeaCrine make Hailstorm a truly power packed preworkout longed by anyone missing the stim fueled preworkouts of the past.

But Hailstorm is much better than the "pre's" of yesteryear because of its more rounded formula, including 3.2g of Beta Alanine per serving, 1 gram of MagnaPower creatine chelate, DOUBLE the HydroMax found in Rainmaker plus the addition of Agmatine Sulfate. 

If you're anxious to order Hailstorm™, here is where you can find it and use Coupon Code FBHS15 at checkout for a 15% discount. 

Even More Reasons To Use A Pre-Workout

For serious athletes and elite body builders, it’s common knowledge that a pre-workout can make the difference during an intense training sessions. But if you’re new to these fields or lifestyle, you might feel a little confused as to why you need to include a pre-workout supplement into your exercise regimen.

As a leading producer of pre-workout products, as well as post-workout amino recovery products, Axis Labs has carefully studied the science behind the purpose of a pre-workout. In this blog, we’ll discuss some of the reasons behind using a pre-workout product.

You’ll Feel More Energetic And Alert

One of the first things you’ll notice when you take a pre-workout is that you feel more awake and aware as you workout. Most pre-workout supplements include a measure of caffeine in their specialized formulas. This caffeine stimulates your nervous system, leaving you feeling brighter and more engaged. You’ll be provided with a boost of energy that can help you get started in your workout, and in many cases, can keep you going through the entirety of your workout. Some pre-workout products, like our HAILSTORM pre-workout supplement utilizes creatine, which increases the amount of stored energy in your muscles. This means that your muscles can expend more energy for longer.

You Can Workout Harder And Longer

One of the greatest issues any athlete or bodybuilder experiences is burn out. It’s that feeling when you hit the gym strong for the first 20 minutes of your workout, and then you have a hard time sustaining that pace, or simply lack of entirely. This occurs for a lot of reasons, but in many cases, it’s simply because your body lacks the nutrients it needs to continue working out. Leading pre-workout energy supplements, like the ones available at Axis Labs, include ingredients like Nitrates and Beta-Alanine.

Both of these ingredients help you push through that barrier you may feel at the beginning of the workout. Nitrates are broken down by the body and converted into nitric oxide. Nitric oxide runs in short supply when your body is diverting oxygen to other parts of your body. By improving the amount of nitric oxide in your body, you’re expanding your blood vessels, which increases your blood flow. This means that more oxygen is being moved to the muscle groups that need it most.

Similarly, Beta-Alanine helps provide your body long-lasting energy. This ingredient has been proven to improve your performance when you workout doing moderately intense activities, like lifting and squats. This is because Beta-Alanine turns into Carnosine, which buffers the amount of lactic acid that coats your muscles. The Carnosine allows your body to keep working through “the burn” you feel as a result of the lactic acid.

They Reduce Muscle Breakdown

We’ve all experienced the frustration of hitting the gym hard, seeing obvious, visible gains in our muscles, only to have those gains fade away the next morning, or even a few hours later. This is because your body is lacking the amino acids it needs to sustain these gains. A pre-workout drink is balanced with the right amount of BCAAs, or Branched-Chain Amino Acids, that your body needs. These amino acids allow you to recover more quickly, and allow your muscles to start repairing themselves even as you move on to working out another part of your body. Amino acids will also help you feel less sore after a long workout.  

Looking for a complete pre-workout product that will improve your performance, and reduce your post-workout recovery time? Then it’s time to start including pre-workout supplements from Axis Labs into your supplement routine. We offer start-of-the-art and proven supplements that can help you reach the next level of your fitness goals.

HAILSTORM is a brand new highly formulated pre-workout that offers clean energy and guaranteed results. See for yourself!