John Hnanicek is a good guide to have if you want to try exogenous ketones or explore the keto lifestyle. He keeps himself educated on the options, the science, and he has over a decade of personal experience. We caught up with John on two occasions earlier this year via Zoom. Here are the highlights of those conversations.
Q: OKAY, FIRST QUESTION, WHAT TIME DOES THE ROOSTER CROW FOR YOU?
J: My morning routine is I get up at 5:15, take my supplements, get dressed to go to the gym. I take almost a whole bottle of Metabolic Switch®. I leave a little bit for my night time, because I use it before I go to sleep. But I take 90% of it. Then I go to Starbucks and sip some green tea and read the paper while I wake up my body for the workout.
I don’t crave food. I have great energy, great mental clarity.
Q: TELL ME ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY TO THE KETO LIFESTYLE.
J: My journey started with discovering the paleo lifestyle about 12 years ago. I saw the benefits and really began to see how my body just doesn't do well on carbs. If I have refined carbs, I just crave more. So when I heard about keto, I dug into it a little bit, read more about it, and I said, I'm going to give this a try. And I quickly saw that a low carb lifestyle is, I'm just better. I don't think about food. I don't crave food. I have great energy, great mental clarity. I view the esters as kind of the way to just top that off.
I’m 57 years old and about to hit my goal of 8% body fat.
Q: HOW DOES METABOLIC SWITCH® FIT INTO YOUR FITNESS REGIMEN?
J: I'm 57 years old and I'm about to hit my goal of 8% body fat. I'm super active and never tired. I live in the mountains and I'll do 25-mile hikes with 4,000 feet of elevation gain. I suck down a few grams of Metabolic Switch® every two to three hours to keep going. And my lifestyle enables me to have very steady energy even during an eight hour hike, I don't have that wiped out feeling at the end.
It's still a challenging taste, but I prefer this over others I’ve tried.
Q: DID YOU COMPARE METABOLIC SWITCH® TO OTHER KETONE ESTERS?
J: When I heard about Metabolic Switch®, I was very interested because, I may not get the science right completely, but the way that the drink works is complimentary to how the body produces ketones naturally. And that seemed like that was going to be an ideal version of a ketone ester. Then obviously the price was very attractive because the current products on the market are pretty expensive. Lastly, when I tried it, I just love the taste. It's still a challenging taste, but I prefer this over others I’ve tried.
Q: DO YOU HAVE A LONG-TERM STRATEGY FOR WELLNESS?
J: When I was younger, I just exercised to control the negative impacts of bad eating and not enough sleep. And so now my wellness regimen includes clean eating and proper sleep habits as well as supplements. I do believe science can play a role in increasing longevity and not just longevity, but the quality of that longevity.