Vacation dilemma

Running_and_Coffee

I've been on keto since February and am now in maintenance. I've maintained by slightly increasing calories but have stayed generally below 20 net carbs a day. I may have had one or two days around 40-50 net carbs when traveling, but aside from that, have been on point.

I travel a lot for work and have taken some short getaways with the family where I had no interest in going off my plan (think of theme parks and places where enjoying fine dining just isn't part of the vacation) but I am about to go on a four night trip where there are one-of-a-kind eating options available.

I am not worried about weight gain, which I know is temporary. But I am worried about the GI impact of suddenly eating carbs after all of this time, and undoing my keto progress in terms of being fat adapted. It took me MONTHS to get my running endurance back and race reason is just around the corner here. Will a few days of eating off-plan make me spend the vacation in the bathroom? And how long does it take to get fat adapted after dropping out of ketosis?

tcunbeliever

I find that I do fine with less processed carbs, even at high levels - things like real rice (not instant) and potatoes.

I find that refined carbs can cause me digestive upset at high levels - things like sugar or flour. At lower levels like a side dish of pasta or a small serving size of dessert, I don't have issues, but a whole high carb meal like a pasta dish as a main course or a place that has giant desserts will always leave me with stomach cramps and feeling icky. If I'm just desperate for something pasta I will try to find gnocchi since it doesn't bother me as much.

Dropping out of ketosis for a few days does not seem to impact my workout performance much, I might have one bad workout or one workout that is a huge struggle, but then it's right back to normal without any problems. I am very careful about keeping my salt up when transitioning back, and I do typically see a lot of water retention for a few days, but that's about it in terms of side effects for me.

kpk54

Eating higher carb whether it was a meal or a couple days or on a vacation where 1 day might be up and one might be down...never had any GI impact on me. 5 years and counting.

I have no input regarding fat adaption.

Running_and_Coffee

Thanks, so maybe having a bite of someone's pasta or dessert will be fine for me--I still would not want a big bowl of carbs or a whole dessert, I just want to be able to try bites of things that are really unique and yummy without paying for it later! Looking forward to vacation!

rsclause

Running_and_Coffee wrote: »

I've been on keto since February and am now in maintenance. I've maintained by slightly increasing calories but have stayed generally below 20 net carbs a day. I may have had one or two days around 40-50 net carbs when traveling, but aside from that, have been on point.

I travel a lot for work and have taken some short getaways with the family where I had no interest in going off my plan (think of theme parks and places where enjoying fine dining just isn't part of the vacation) but I am about to go on a four night trip where there are one-of-a-kind eating options available.

I am not worried about weight gain, which I know is temporary. But I am worried about the GI impact of suddenly eating carbs after all of this time, and undoing my keto progress in terms of being fat adapted. It took me MONTHS to get my running endurance back and race reason is just around the corner here. Will a few days of eating off-plan make me spend the vacation in the bathroom? And how long does it take to get fat adapted after dropping out of ketosis?

I was wondering about running endurance. I just can't seem to get a quality run three weeks into this. I have been running 4.3 miles 3 or 4 times a week but I just can't get a good energy out of it. Does it get better after a few months? Before I hurt my ankle I was able to go out and run a HM any time I wanted but it has been hell trying to get back in form.

Running_and_Coffee

rsclause wrote: »

Running_and_Coffee wrote: »

I've been on keto since February and am now in maintenance. I've maintained by slightly increasing calories but have stayed generally below 20 net carbs a day. I may have had one or two days around 40-50 net carbs when traveling, but aside from that, have been on point.

I travel a lot for work and have taken some short getaways with the family where I had no interest in going off my plan (think of theme parks and places where enjoying fine dining just isn't part of the vacation) but I am about to go on a four night trip where there are one-of-a-kind eating options available.

I am not worried about weight gain, which I know is temporary. But I am worried about the GI impact of suddenly eating carbs after all of this time, and undoing my keto progress in terms of being fat adapted. It took me MONTHS to get my running endurance back and race reason is just around the corner here. Will a few days of eating off-plan make me spend the vacation in the bathroom? And how long does it take to get fat adapted after dropping out of ketosis?

I was wondering about running endurance. I just can't seem to get a quality run three weeks into this. I have been running 4.3 miles 3 or 4 times a week but I just can't get a good energy out of it. Does it get better after a few months? Before I hurt my ankle I was able to go out and run a HM any time I wanted but it has been hell trying to get back in form.

Yes, it does! But it took a really long time for me. Some people say the keto flu lasts a few weeks, and that might be true, but the running/endurance thing took months for me. Then all of the sudden, I became BETTER. I got faster, my VO2 got better, my endurance is better. I am so excited to start race season now, so just hope some carbs over vacation don't set me back!

chinatowninchina

re fat adaption: my understanding is that once you are, that's how you stay unless you work hard for a while at having lots of carbs. Check out the Tuit Nutrition site she has lots of stuff on this and Ketosis and is IMO amazingly sensible and very funny which helps!

nvmomketo

chinatowninchina wrote: »

re fat adaption: my understanding is that once you are, that's how you stay unless you work hard for a while at having lots of carbs. Check out the Tuit Nutrition site she has lots of stuff on this and Ketosis and is IMO amazingly sensible and very funny which helps!

That sounds right to me too. Fat adaption just means more metabolic flexibility. It takes more than a handful if days to lose that, and it sounds like you aren't going high carb all the time but just going to have some higher carb experiences.

I'm another who gets stomach upset with sugars and baked goods but it is not that extreme. Just mildy uncomfortable and some slower digestion.

Have fun!

Niki_Fitz

I had some pain transitioning from LCHF to eating a SAD diet for a few days including processed carbs in the last month Can you introduce carbs pre-vaca?

canadjineh

Try to eat your carbs in normal healthy portion sizes, not in American restaurant serving sizes, and that will help. I also find that I still need to stay away from more refined/processed carbs and use more whole food carbs if I'm eating a bit more of them.

cstehansen

rsclause wrote: »

Running_and_Coffee wrote: »

I've been on keto since February and am now in maintenance. I've maintained by slightly increasing calories but have stayed generally below 20 net carbs a day. I may have had one or two days around 40-50 net carbs when traveling, but aside from that, have been on point.

I travel a lot for work and have taken some short getaways with the family where I had no interest in going off my plan (think of theme parks and places where enjoying fine dining just isn't part of the vacation) but I am about to go on a four night trip where there are one-of-a-kind eating options available.

I am not worried about weight gain, which I know is temporary. But I am worried about the GI impact of suddenly eating carbs after all of this time, and undoing my keto progress in terms of being fat adapted. It took me MONTHS to get my running endurance back and race reason is just around the corner here. Will a few days of eating off-plan make me spend the vacation in the bathroom? And how long does it take to get fat adapted after dropping out of ketosis?

I was wondering about running endurance. I just can't seem to get a quality run three weeks into this. I have been running 4.3 miles 3 or 4 times a week but I just can't get a good energy out of it. Does it get better after a few months? Before I hurt my ankle I was able to go out and run a HM any time I wanted but it has been hell trying to get back in form.

If you are good at reading scientific papers, here is one for you -

http://www.vespapower.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Volek-Metabolism-FASTER-2015-Final.pdf

Jeff Volek is the premier researcher in regard to keto/low carb and endurance athletics. His findings have been that it can take up to 6 months for endurance athletes to completely switch over, but after that, they are nearly 100% of the time better than they were before.

The findings showed that the athlete with the lowest level of fat oxidation during performance actually burned fat at a rate greater than 2x what had previously been the maximum possible by a human.

Zach Bitter is someone you can google. He is an ultramarathon runner that went keto several years ago and since has broken many records.

rsclause

Thanks, I will just need to be patient and stick to the keto. If it does indeed get better I can definitely stick with this.

Running_and_Coffee

cstehansen wrote: »

rsclause wrote: »

Running_and_Coffee wrote: »

I've been on keto since February and am now in maintenance. I've maintained by slightly increasing calories but have stayed generally below 20 net carbs a day. I may have had one or two days around 40-50 net carbs when traveling, but aside from that, have been on point.

I travel a lot for work and have taken some short getaways with the family where I had no interest in going off my plan (think of theme parks and places where enjoying fine dining just isn't part of the vacation) but I am about to go on a four night trip where there are one-of-a-kind eating options available.

I am not worried about weight gain, which I know is temporary. But I am worried about the GI impact of suddenly eating carbs after all of this time, and undoing my keto progress in terms of being fat adapted. It took me MONTHS to get my running endurance back and race reason is just around the corner here. Will a few days of eating off-plan make me spend the vacation in the bathroom? And how long does it take to get fat adapted after dropping out of ketosis?

I was wondering about running endurance. I just can't seem to get a quality run three weeks into this. I have been running 4.3 miles 3 or 4 times a week but I just can't get a good energy out of it. Does it get better after a few months? Before I hurt my ankle I was able to go out and run a HM any time I wanted but it has been hell trying to get back in form.

If you are good at reading scientific papers, here is one for you -

http://www.vespapower.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Volek-Metabolism-FASTER-2015-Final.pdf

Jeff Volek is the premier researcher in regard to keto/low carb and endurance athletics. His findings have been that it can take up to 6 months for endurance athletes to completely switch over, but after that, they are nearly 100% of the time better than they were before.

The findings showed that the athlete with the lowest level of fat oxidation during performance actually burned fat at a rate greater than 2x what had previously been the maximum possible by a human.

Zach Bitter is someone you can google. He is an ultramarathon runner that went keto several years ago and since has broken many records.

This definitely is true for me--on it almost being 6 months and on the improvements to my performance now. I run 3 miles a few times a week, and pre-keto I ran about a 9:15/9:30 minute mile. My first few months on keto, I ran around a 10:15 minute mile at best, and it felt like I was running at race pace, not my usual casual morning run. After a few months, I returned to my previous 9:15ish pace. And more than 6 months into keto, I am now running an 8:45 minute mile. Again, this is casually...it's not like I'm going all out like it's a race. FWIW, I have been a runner for years, and that 9:15ish base pace felt like it was something as expected from me as my shoe size. Keto has been amazing!