Any Keto endurance athletes out there? I'm new and have questions.

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Bluebrew
Bluebrew Posts: 24 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been doing tri's for 3 years now, but just started a Keto diet. Looking for anyone who has any experience with doing endurance sports while on Keto.

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  • ISLA671NDER
    ISLA671NDER Posts: 10 Member
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    Wow personally I think that's gonna be though especially at first. I've been on keto for about a month now and have noticed a decrease in strength and stamina. I know doing tri's, carbs play a big role. Getting FULLY adapted would be your best bet. (Maybe look in to carb cycling)
  • ladipoet
    ladipoet Posts: 4,180 Member
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    @Gallowmere1984 @lodro @samanthaluangphixay ...perhaps you guys can chime in or tag other members that you know might fit the bill...?!
  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
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    ladipoet wrote: »
    @Gallowmere1984 @lodro @samanthaluangphixay ...perhaps you guys can chime in or tag other members that you know might fit the bill...?!

    I'm no longer eating Keto and I don't do triathlons BUT I do remember my endurance/strength diminished at the beginning as my body adjusted to using a different fuel source. I definitely recommend scaling back until your endurance comes back and take care of yourself by keeping up with your electrolytes.

    I got back to normal about three weeks later.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
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    I'm currently off keto while bulking, and much like sam, I'm more strength focused than endurance. I was also fat adapted well before I started training again this past summer.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
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    As an endurance athlete, I would never do keto. I guess my advice would be don't expect to be competitive, just have fun at the event.
  • sarabushby
    sarabushby Posts: 784 Member
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    I also do Tri's and have just started back on carb cycling to try and shift just 2-4lbs that I have gained. I'm really struggling with headaches, lack of power in workouts, lack of endurance, and what feels like quicker lactate build up - or at least lower tolerance of it. I'm starting to remember that although I lost weight doing this last time, these are the reasons I didn't continue beyond about 3wks - the headaches and impact on my training was just too much.
  • ajwcyclist2016
    ajwcyclist2016 Posts: 161 Member
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    It's not something I've done or fancy to me it's a craze not to say it won't work , but to me I think of it as running your body on the worst fuel , instead of premium fuel. There is meant to be people who perform better on it but is rare. If doing probably a good idea to keep a diary on training and compare to previous training and see if it works for you
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    I don't do keto, but I do know some endurance guys at my gym who do...they're like truly endurance...multi day cycling, ultra marathons, etc. They don't have to worry about going fast, just long. They've always told me that they wouldn't do it if they had to go fast...they don't have to go fast running 50-100 miles, they just have to outlast the field.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Endurance cycling - yes, keto - sorry, no thanks.

    I'm curious though, does the normal event fuelling for keto athletes involve carbing up or fuelling on carbs before or during the event?

    On my long cycle rides I eat the maximum rate of carb intake I can digest (90g / hour) but am still burning more than I can take on.
  • kpk54
    kpk54 Posts: 4,474 Member
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    Bluebrew wrote: »
    I have been doing tri's for 3 years now, but just started a Keto diet. Looking for anyone who has any experience with doing endurance sports while on Keto.

    Have you tried googling Chris Froome (Tour de France winner 2015 and 2016)? I've seen a good bit on the web regarding his very low carb diet and fueling his races with fat but have not read the specifics. Seems he's been pretty effective.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    kpk54 wrote: »
    Bluebrew wrote: »
    I have been doing tri's for 3 years now, but just started a Keto diet. Looking for anyone who has any experience with doing endurance sports while on Keto.

    Have you tried googling Chris Froome (Tour de France winner 2015 and 2016)? I've seen a good bit on the web regarding his very low carb diet and fueling his races with fat but have not read the specifics. Seems he's been pretty effective.

    I think it's kind of difficult to compare to a world class athlete...but even if you could, statistically, most endurance athletes aren't doing keto diets. If it was optimal for most from a performance perspective, endurance athletes would be all over it...
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited February 2017
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    kpk54 wrote: »
    Bluebrew wrote: »
    I have been doing tri's for 3 years now, but just started a Keto diet. Looking for anyone who has any experience with doing endurance sports while on Keto.

    Have you tried googling Chris Froome (Tour de France winner 2015 and 2016)? I've seen a good bit on the web regarding his very low carb diet and fueling his races with fat but have not read the specifics. Seems he's been pretty effective.

    I would be interested to see his actual diet rather than people's interpretation of his diet.
    If you have a link please share.
    The impression I get is that he uses low carb training days to boost fat adaptation but is not fuelling races on fat.

    This quote seems to indicate he is far from low carbing all the time....
    ‘If I didn’t fuel properly after today’s training I would go into tomorrow’s interval sessions and probably get halfway through the first interval and I would be just dead - I would be empty,’ says Froome. ‘So post-training meals especially on low-carb days, feel like your main meal of the day. You need a good healthy portion of carbs to get your glycogen stores back up for the next day’s training.’
    https://www.redbulletin.com/uk/en/sports/chris-froomes-cycling-nutrition-tips

    Most cycling experts conclude his performance gains have come from maintaining his power output and stamina while losing a whole load of weight. Improved power to weight ratio in other words.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    On my long cycle rides I eat the maximum rate of carb intake I can digest (90g / hour) but am still burning more than I can take on.

    I eat peanut M&Ms on the bike on my long rides. They store easily, you can get a few them out of the bag and into your mouth with your other hand on the bars, and the carbs get me over the next hill.

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