chris

About chris

Chris Bair is a computer geek and SalesForce.com system administrator for his "day job". He became involved in the powdered foods (aka "soylent") movement in January 2014, originally with a conventional recipe and later switching to a high fat, low carb "ketogenic" variant on October 2014. In January 2015 he created the recipe for Keto Chow and released it without restriction for anyone to use, at the same time he began mixing the recipe up for people that wanted a finished product and has seen steady growth in the business every month since. Conversely since starting Keto, he has added 6 new holes to his belt and recently bought a far smaller belt. He has also eaten far more bacon and cheese than in all his previous years combined trying to avoid fat but still slowly gaining weight. Chris has lived in Utah for most of his life, except for a few years living in Chile where he learned Castillian. Chris and his wife have two sets of twins with a couple singltons thrown in for good measure.
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My own custom vitamin Pre-mix

This entry is part 120 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

For those that didn’t know: I’m working towards significantly scaling up my operation. Like full-on industrial manufacturing using a co-packer. Today I finally got pricing for a vitamin/mineral pre-mix. There are a bunch of reasons for this but to name a few:

  • Everything in every room in my house has Keto Chow powder on it. Like literally everything. Rooms on every floor have it on every surface, it’s kinda nuts. Ever done drywall work and had the dust all over? yeah, that’s easier to clean up (I know this because I just did that in the living room).
  • My production capacity is currently limited by how much time I can devote to it, I can’t handle much more order volume than I’m currently experiencing. This limits the business in general. I have refrained from doing any marketing at all to prevent crushes in orders I can’t handle.
  • Haven’t had an issue with quality control other than 2 batches that didn’t get the right amount of mineral pre-mix. One was several months ago and the other was last week, this last one we caught before any were shipped out; anyway – I’d like to improve the quality control so it’s even better than what I currently have going on.
  • I’d like to be able to take a vacation this summer =)

Anyhow several months ago I contacted a few vitamin pre-mix people to see if it was possible for them to make a replacement for the Kirkland Signature Multi-vitamins I’m currently using in my mix. The few places that responded told me they had a minimum order of 100 kg. Back then I balked and let the inquiry die because 100 kg in 10g/week increments would make 9,293 “week” (21 meal) bags of Keto Chow! Now that I’m looking into co-packing I need to be able to get all my stuff in massive bulk quantities so I’m not grinding several hundred pounds of vitamin capsules, it would be a full time job. In my inquiries about co-packing I was put in touch with a place that does nutrient pre-mixes. While hashing out the mix we eventually ended up incorporating several of the ingredients into the pre-mix. Turns out several of the ingredients are particularly hygroscopic and needs to be paired with something to keep it dry. So if you want Choline Bitatrate you have to add Calcium Phosphate or it won’t last 6 months.  We have the formulation formalized on paper and I’ll be getting a sample in 2 weeks or so to test out. In the end we’re replacing

  • Calcium Citrate/Magnesium Citrate/D3 powder
  • Calcium Phosphate
  • Choline L-Bitatrate
  • Kirkland Signature Vitamins
  • Vitamin MK-7

The best part is it actually costs slightly less than what I’m currently using ( $0.20859/day compared to  $0.27655/day) even if I get it in the smallest quantity I can order. If I scale up to 2500kg I can save even more =).

Friday I finally got a sample of psyllium husk that I can get in 55lb and 2000lb bags, it was more finely ground than the NOW psyllum powder, I’m super excited about it! Still don’t have pricing yet though =(

The next step that I’m working on is getting a replacement for the Dymatize protein powder I’m using. It’s gotten harder and harder to find the various flavors and some (Pina Colada, Banana, Cinnamon Bun) I haven’t found in several weeks and don’t think I ever will be able to get again – 2 of my suppliers have indicated the Pina Colada has been discontinued by the manufacturer. I’m working with a lady locally that formulates flavors to come up with suitable replacements. Hopefully I’ll have this ready in the next month and before the Dymatize goes completely unavailable (which I doubt Rich Chocolate and the other really popular flavors will disappear but I haven’t been able to get them in 10lb boxes for months).

So what does this mean for the future of Keto Chow, the recipe? Well, I’ll have Keto Chow 1.0.4 open for anyone to use still, that’s not changing. I’m also going to open the new recipe (tentatively called Keto Chow 2.0) but it likely won’t be something a regular person can make themselves since it’ll require a custom vitamin pre-mix along with using a custom protein powder and custom flavorings. For the most part you’ll still be able to make 1.0.4 yourself but whatever flavors I come up with (along with the expected ones I’m planning on trying for plain and savory flavors!) will only be available from me, but one of the goals in all this is also to reduce the cost and therefore the price of the stuff I’m selling. Better quality, easier to get, less expensive – that’s the plan.

Don’t hold your breath unless you can do so for a long while but that’s the plan for the future. At some point I’m going to check out some of the manufacturers I found that specialize in aseptic packaging of mixed liquids. Pre-mixed Keto Chow in a bottle with the cream and oil already mixed in and doesn’t require refrigeration? Yeah that would be awesome!

By |2016-10-13T07:27:52-06:00February 15th, 2016|Site or Store Stuff, Keto Chow|9 Comments
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Days 041, 042 & 043 – 100 days of Keto (Chow)

This entry is part 35 of 81 in the series 100 days of keto
  • Weight: 206.2
  • Blood ketones: 0.2 mmol/L
  • Weight: 208.2
  • Blood ketones: 0.0 mmol/L
  • Weight: 209.9
  • Blood ketones: 0.3 mmol/L

Dag Nabbit. I’m sure it’s just water weight but seriously? I’m up 3.7 lbs in 2 days? I’m going to double down on just Keto Chow. I don’t see any weird special occasions with food coming up that would derail me.

By |2016-02-15T09:00:14-07:00February 15th, 2016|100 days of keto, Keto Chow|Comments Off on Days 041, 042 & 043 – 100 days of Keto (Chow)
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User experience: 100lbs lost doing keto in 5 months, 3 months of Keto Chow

This entry is part 119 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

Over on Reddit there’s a post by /u/ANewAccountYetAgain detailing his experiences with nutritional ketosis. He did keto before, went from 330 to 253 lbs over 6 months but stopped when depression came back and over the next 3 years gained it all back and more.

5 months ago he started keto thanks to /r/100DaysofKeto and also tried DietBet (money as a motivator can be strong =) and lost a lot. In November, 3 months ago, he started using Keto Chow.

This ended up eliminating my last two big sources of stress: money and cooking.

It’s great to read success stories, there are tons on /r/keto and some Keto Chow specific ones on /r/ketochow. I encourage you to check them out! He said I could use his pictures, even though I dislike doing things when I have permission I’ll do it anyway =)

Before

His very first DietBet weigh in photo ~353
After

Yesterday’s photo – 253lbs

The first thing that stands out to me is he seems to be taller in the new one… oh wait, it’s just a larger photo. Still, his complexion is really clear.

By |2016-10-13T07:27:52-06:00February 12th, 2016|Soylent, Weight Loss, 100 days of keto, Keto Chow|Comments Off on User experience: 100lbs lost doing keto in 5 months, 3 months of Keto Chow
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Day 040 – 100 days of Keto (Chow)

This entry is part 34 of 81 in the series 100 days of keto
  • Weight: 205.0
  • Blood ketones: 0.2 mmol/L

5 days straight with the scale going down, yay! Going to keep this going. I made eggs and sausage for the family for breakfast, and I did eat 2 patties of sausage but now I’m drinking my Keto Chow. I am planning on having a rib-eye for lunch (see above) during the keto chow mixing party that will be today.

One of my daughters is celebrating a birthday and there’s a ton of super carby desserts. They don’t even phase me anymore, I’m actually starting to get conflicted about the amount of sugar my (non-insulin resistant so they don’t need to do Keto like I do) kids eat. Hence the sausage and egg breakfast… which was almost 0 carb until they broke out the maple syrup! Regardless, our family does eat far less sugar and refined carbohydrates than before and that can only be a good thing.

By |2016-10-13T07:27:54-06:00February 12th, 2016|100 days of keto, Keto Chow, Ketogenic, Weight Loss|Comments Off on Day 040 – 100 days of Keto (Chow)
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So far, no correlation between breath acetone and blood ketones

This entry is part 118 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

For the last 40 days I’ve been checking my blood ketone levels (using a Nova Max and horribly expensive test strips) and at the same time checking my breath acetone levels using a Ketonix. Based on my blood levels I haven’t been deep in ketosis but I expected there to be some sort of correlation between the two. The Ketonix is marketed as a way to check to see how far into ketosis you are, an easy way to check your levels without needing to buy expensive test strips. I don’t know if I just got a defective one that always shows high levels of acetone or what but thus far I haven’t seen any reliable data coming from the ketonix. I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt and I actually just ordered a second one so I can see if it’s a defective one or not. I’d love to see clear, defined results like this guy. Honestly I’d really like to have it work but my guess is I’ll be returning the new one and eating the shipping charge.

By |2016-05-05T06:37:35-06:00February 11th, 2016|Ketogenic|Comments Off on So far, no correlation between breath acetone and blood ketones
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Day 039 – 100 days of Keto (Chow)

This entry is part 1 of 81 in the series 100 days of keto
  • Weight: 205.4
  • Blood ketones: 0.2 mmol/L

I was down again for the city weigh in yesterday, not much but still in the right direction. I did a great job of mostly eating just keto chow yesterday. I had 3 keto chows, a mini gouda cheese wheel, an egg with a slice a bacon at dinner with some avocado. I didn’t even eat any of the pizza toppings at our routine Wednesday lunch meeting.

By |2016-02-11T08:47:50-07:00February 11th, 2016|100 days of keto, Keto Chow|Comments Off on Day 039 – 100 days of Keto (Chow)
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Day 038 – 100 days of Keto (Chow)

This entry is part 33 of 81 in the series 100 days of keto
  • Weight: 206.1
  • Blood ketones: 0.1 mmol/L

I’m going to make a concerted effort to only consume Keto Chow again – when I did that at the beginning of the 100 days I was consistently losing weight. So let’s try that again. Aside from a probable valentine dinner with my wife, I don’t have any other scheduled events in the near future that would derail my plans. I still have 62 days of the 100 left, I can rack up some significant weight loss with that. Today’s a weigh in for the city’s weight loss contest, I should be down from last week again but by this time next week I’m planning on being one of the top 3 losers.

By |2016-02-10T07:44:21-07:00February 10th, 2016|100 days of keto, Keto Chow|Comments Off on Day 038 – 100 days of Keto (Chow)
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Day 037 – 100 days of Keto (Chow)

This entry is part 32 of 81 in the series 100 days of keto
  • Weight: 207.0
  • Blood ketones: 0.2 mmol/L

Back at work, back to normal. I have 3 bottles of chocolate Keto Chow lined up for today. I considered doing intermittent fasting but decided against it. I’m just going to be really good about not eating anything weird today.

By |2016-02-09T07:26:59-07:00February 9th, 2016|Keto Chow, 100 days of keto|Comments Off on Day 037 – 100 days of Keto (Chow)
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Days 035 & 036 – 100 days of Keto (Chow)

This entry is part 31 of 81 in the series 100 days of keto
  • Weight: 208.1
  • Blood ketones: 0.3 mmol/L
  • Weight: 207.8
  • Blood ketones: 0.2 mmol/L

Recovering from the conference – got to sleep in a bit Sunday morning – all the way until 8:00. My parents and my younger brother were coming over to watch the superbowl with us. With all the adults doing keto, it was an interesting spread. Cheese curds, jalapeno poppers wrapped in bacon, shrimp, chicken wings, and some sugar free jello and pudding (the pudding was made with cream cheese, cream and almond milk). There were a few carby things but not many. One of the jalapeno poppers was the first thing I had eaten all day, same for my brother. He asked if I had any magnesium supplements because he had a cramp in his abdominal muscles the night before and forgot to take extra. I didn’t know you could get a charlie horse in your abs. Guess I should have taken a couple myself: since I hadn’t eaten anything and I didn’t take my magnesium that morning I got a cramp early Monday morning in my Sartorius – that was fun.

I wasn’t really rooting for either team though I had a broncos football in elementary school so I guess deep down I wanted them to win. My mom, on the other hand, was vociferously rooting for Denver. It was a lot of fun.

Today I had the day off, happens when I only need 20 more hours this week to hit 80 for the pay period. Spent the morning mixing, packaging and generally having a keto chow party. After that finished I finally got around to doing some of the “honey-do” list: did the final sanding pass on the drywall in the wash room, put down baseboards in the bathroom and now my lovely wife is priming the new drywall so we can paint it. Fun stuff.

Incidentally, I tried some keto chow waffles, they didn’t work very well. Later I realized it might have been due to my using the wrong amount of keto chow powder in my mix. I was making 3 meals worth of batter so I should have been using 150g – instead I used the 300g I typically use when I’m making a 6 meal batch in the water pitcher. Guess I should have noticed when I had to add several cups of water in order to mix it.

By |2016-02-08T17:36:44-07:00February 8th, 2016|100 days of keto, Keto Chow|Comments Off on Days 035 & 036 – 100 days of Keto (Chow)
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User Experience: 3 months and going strong!

This entry is part 117 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

My dad is on keto and drinking Keto Chow for it, He passed me another update on his progress to publish on the blog:

Keto Chow has been part of my daily diet for 3 months now.  It tastes great, is easily carried (even on airplanes,) and is very convenient.  My recent trip to Hawaii worked very well with Chow as my main food everyday (2 out of 3 meals a day) for 12 days straight.
Some people think a low-carb diet means low strength and fatigue.  I’ve had no problems keeping up my energy with Chow. I recently wanted to capture the beauty of the rugged Na Pali coast on the island of Kauai and found the only route was a treacherous hike into the jungle and over volcanic boulders.  I have never seen so many muddy adults on the trail —most were 20 and 30-something!  Many were falling down left and right, but I managed the 800 ft elevation gain (in 1/2 mile) and captured this incredible sunset image. The salt spray from the ocean waves, crashing on the shores below, was so heavy even at this elevation that I had to wipe my glasses twice to see my way!
By |2016-10-13T07:27:54-06:00February 8th, 2016|Keto Chow, Ketogenic, On Tour|Comments Off on User Experience: 3 months and going strong!
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