Understanding Evolve180’s Recipe Levels

Our Evolve180 clients who are in the weight loss maintenance phase have an individually designed Custom Maintenance Protocol that guides their daily targets for servings of Vegetables/Produce, Protein and Fat. 

The Custom Maintenance Protocols also suggest maximum levels for Total Net Carbs, and Total Fat Grams. 

A common mistake that plagues Keto Dieters is weight re-gain due to a lack of understanding about what and how much they should eat to maintain their lost weight.  

The top three mistakes people make in maintenance are:  

• Overestimating how many carbs they can add back
• Overestimating how much fat they can eat
• Not understanding how to **truly and accurately** calculate Net Carbs.  

Evolve180 educates Maintainers on all these topics, as well as the fact that their targets will be individual, based on their Metabolic Type, level of carb sensitivity, and level of exercise.  

Whatever their Custom Maintenance Protocol looks like, we have recipes that fit!  

Our team has carefully curated the BEST, most delicious low-carb / keto recipes from the BEST keto recipe bloggers and keto recipe sites, as well as from our own test kitchen, and then broken them down for easy reference.  

• A somewhat sedentary Maintainer who is Carb-Sensitive (Level 1-2 Protocol) should stick primarily with Level 1 Recipes, with an occasional Level 2 Recipe thrown in.  
• An active exerciser with high muscle mass (Level 3-4 Protocol) can use primarily Level 3 Recipes with an occasional Level 4 thrown in.  

The internet is FULL of so-called “Keto” recipes.  The truth is only some of them are safe for any given person based on their individual thresholds.  Our Maintainers know exactly what theirs are, and how to stay within them to maintain lost weight for good!

E180 Recipe Levels

Net Carbohydrates

Total Carbohydrate – total grams fiber (except IMO’s) – ½ total grams sugar alcohol (except Erithritol which can be fully subtracted) = Net Carbohydrates.

What Fiber To Count And Which To Avoid

Soluble vs. Insoluble Fiber – Why You Need Both:
Soluble fiber is the type of fiber that can be diluted in water, creating a gel-like substance that will make you feel fuller for a longer period of time (helping to promote weight loss). It does contain some calories, but doesn’t raise blood sugar very fast, so it is considered “low impact.” It can also feed healthy gut bacteria, creating a healthy “microbiome.”

Insoluble fiber doesn’t dissolve in water, has no calories, and is mainly beneficial for helping keep your bowels moving.

All fiber grams may be subtracted from Total Carbohydrate EXCEPT IMO’s (see below).

False Fibers: IMOs

Beware isomalto-oligosaccharides (IMOs). IMOs are a highly-processed form of insoluble fiber (a.k.a. prebiotic fiber), only *some of which* are keto-safe. If you’re carefully watching net-carbs or are on a ketogenic diet, the wrong IMOs will derail ketosis. Unless a ‘prebiotic fiber,’ or ‘fiber-based sweetener’ or anything else claiming to be ‘fiber’ specifically says “resistant,” or “soluble,” don’t net it out.

There is substantial evidence that shows some IMOs currently labeled as Insoluble Fiber actually do contain calories and raise blood sugar. In Europe, they forbid food makers from calling IMOs insoluble fiber, but here in the US, our own FDA is petitioning to call them “fiber.” Hmmm, I wonder which agricultural super-pac is funding that lobbying? The truth is, your body doesn’t care if a label says it should be a fiber. It only cares if it raises your blood sugar after you eat it. So either completely avoid IMOs, “fiber-based sweeteners,” “prebiotic fibers,” and the like, or carefully ensure you are choosing SAFE ones.

Safe Fiber-Based Sweeteners (IMOs)

Resistant Dextrin
Resistant Dextrin (RD)
FiberSMART®
Soluble Corn Fiber
Soluble Tapioca Fiber
Allulose
Beta-glucan soluble fiber
Psyllium husk
Cellulose
Guar gum
Pectin
Locust bean gum
Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose
Arabinoxylan
Alginate
Inulin and inulin-type fructans
High amylose starch (resistant starch 2)
Galactooligosaccharide
Resistant maltodextrin/dextrin
Cross linked phosphorylated RS4

Unsafe Fiber-Based Sweeteners

IMOs (Isomalto-oligosaccharides, isomalto-fructo-oligosaccharides)
CornFiber
Potato Starch
Vegetable Fiber (Corn/Tapioca)
Prebiotic Fiber (Corn/Tapioca)

How To Count Sugar Alcohols

Glycemic Index of Common Sugar Alcohols:
Sucrose (table sugar) 65
Erythritol 0
Xylitol 13
Mannitol 0
Sorbitol 9
Maltitol 35
Isomalt 2

To properly account for Sugar Alcohols (except Erithritol which is safe to fully net out), divide sugar alcohol in half and subtract from total carbohydrates. i.e.

Total Carbs 20g
Sugar Alcohols 10g
½ Sugar Alcohols -5g

Activity Level

MHR = Maximum Heart Rate: To calculate your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. For example, a 50-year-old will have a maximum heart rate of 170. This means that on average, the maximum number of heartbeats per minute is 170 for this person.

Next, calculate your desired target heart rate zone. This is the level at which your heart is being exercised and conditioned but not overworked.

The following target heart rates are generally recommended:

• Moderate: 50 – 70% of your maximum heart rate
• Active: 70 – 85% of your maximum heart rate