Keto-ish question

Lizzard_77

This is an exercise based question in regards to carb intake for keto or low carb. I did do some searching but could not find the answer even though another person did ask it, so I thought I would give it a try.

I am trying to stay below 50 gms of carbs a day but as you all know, when you exercise MFP changes your daily values therefore, my carb level goes up. If I were to want to get myself into ketosis, would I continue to stick to the below 50 gms, or should I eat
more carbs due to my workout? It seems to me that I would want to stay below 50 but I don't want to harm my body in anyway so....

Thoughts?

fruttibiscotti

Good question! I haven't figured out how to stop MFP from recalculating the macronutrient grams when you add exercise - very annoying when it does that. I would not eat more carbs. Wouldn't that risk kicking you out of ketosis? My two cents...

Akimajuktuq

Low carb will not hurt your body imo. If you are getting lots of exercise you can also eat more carbs. There might be an exception for a few people whose body is resistant to ketosis. The exercise burns off carbs. Personally, I try not to go over 50 grams of carbs, ever, but I'm also nowhere near athletic. I am moderately active and lift heavy things. However, I am also from the camp that even athletic people can keep their carbs low. Others disagree. Pay attention to how you feel. If you think you need more carbs, then eat more. Just watch that you aren't always choosing high sugar foods when getting those extra carbs. :flowerforyou:

Lizzard_77

Thanks guys, I am slowly trying to figure this thing out. I read this yesterday:


From: The Ketogenic Diet by Lyle McDonald

The major goal with pre-workout carbs is not necessarily to improve performance, although that is a nice benefit. Primarily, the goal is to provide enough carbohydrate to promote post-workout glycogen synthesis without interrupting ketosis for very long. That is the carbohydrate taken prior to one workout is really an attempt to "set up" the body for better performance at the next workout by maintaining glycogen levels.

Research suggests that carbohydrates consumed before or after exercise should not negatively affect ketosis. However, some individuals find that they drop out of ketosis transiently due to the ingestion of pre-workout carbohydrates. After workout, there will be a short period where insulin is elevated and free fatty acid availability for ketone production is decreased. However as blood glucose is pushed into the muscles, insulin should drop again allowing ketogenesis to resume within several hours. Performing some low intensity cardio to lower insulin and increase blood levels of free fatty acids should help to more quickly reestablish ketosis. Post-workout carbohydrates might be expected to have a greater effect on ketosis, in that insulin levels will most likely be higher than are seen with pre-workout carbohydrates. For this reason, individuals may want to experiment with pre-workout carbohydrates first, only adding post-workout carbohydrate if necessary.

This seems like good info and what I take from it is that if I plan to do a heavy workout then I may eat a few carbs before hand and allow myself to go a little higher on those days. For the most part I want to stay below 50 gms (unlike yesterday, oops, not again). I do plan on doing more reading on this and any further info I find I will gladly pass along

Howbouto

Please keep in mind 50 grams is an arbitrary number. Some people enter ketosis at 95grams others not until 30 grams. Everyone is different. I honestly think mine is somewhere near 75grams but I don't know for certain. I guess I could buy the strips to find out for certain, but as long as I feel good, I don't really care.

I do tend to eat slightly more carbs on days I exercise hard, but mainly that is because I'm more hungry. I try not to get caught up in counting carbs. I eat plenty of fat, meats and veggies, I try to limit my fruit to once a day (sometimes I'll allow twice on workout days.)

Lizzard_77

Please keep in mind 50 grams is an arbitrary number. Some people enter ketosis at 95grams others not until 30 grams. Everyone is different. I honestly think mine is somewhere near 75grams but I don't know for certain. I guess I could buy the strips to find out for certain, but as long as I feel good, I don't really care.

Thank you for that, I have no idea where my body would enter ketosis and I am not that serious about getting there. I do know that I feel better, less heavy and sluggish, when I stay around 50 gms. On heavy workout days though I do feel the need for more. I was interested in people's thoughts on how the whole thing works and I try to get as much info and education as possible when making lifestyle/dietary decisions. Kinda dancing around a bit with different ways my body reacts to food.

I rarely eat fruit, especially in winter, I focus mostly on meats, fats, and veggies