Exercising on Keto Diet

JessyJane31
JessyJane31 Posts: 1
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all! So i am a 20 yr old female with about 40 lbs to lose. I have entered ketosis and have very little problem staying there. I am ready to start exercising but Im not sure if I should do aerobics, anaerobics, both, or neither. Thank you!

Replies

  • ali59oc
    ali59oc Posts: 130 Member
    You might want to join one of the Keto groups on MFP. You will definitely get good advice there. Just search for "keto" and they will pop up.
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    I would exercise as normal. If you feel like you are getting worn down or tired fasted add some good carbs (sweet potato, etc)

    I find I don't really need to eat any different when I'm eating strict. My workouts aren't usually more than an hour and most of the time my body has enough stored energy to get through OK.
  • GetSoda
    GetSoda Posts: 1,267 Member
    Strength to minimize catabolism.
  • parkscs
    parkscs Posts: 1,639 Member
    I'll skip the whole "you don't need keto to lose weight" and I'll assume your decision to do keto is an educated decision.

    Standard keto diets tend to be fine for aerobic activity, although particularly long sessions (e.g., a marathon or a cycling tour) may require some carbs to help replenish your muscle glycogen. Anaerobic performances tends to suffer on a standard keto diet but many people find they do okay at first. To elaborate a bit, the issue you can run into with exercise on a keto diet is muscle glycogen depletion and anaerobic activities tend to be fueled more through muscle glycogen than fat sources (unlike aerobic activities which can largely be fueled from fat sources). You may find that your activity level isn't sufficient to deplete your muscle glycogen stores (which is the case for many beginning lifters and I'd say most aerobic activity) in which case you'll likely be fine to stick with a standard keto diet. If that's not the case, you want to look into targeted or cyclical keto diets (usually I'd say targeted, as it's less rigorous), which will help replenish muscle glycogen stores while still following a keto diet.

    As for what exercise to do, I'd vote both strength and cardio but it really comes down to your goals.

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