Keto?

i'm a long distance runner, been playing with ketosis for a week or so now, and have half-heartedly been doing some research about the affects on running - this stuck out to me and i will research the book it references...:

"Read Volek's new book on exercise performance. He offers the case studies of quite a few ultra-marathoners - folks who do 50, 100 mile runs - who live in ketosis just for the advantage of always have steady fuel during these very long endurance events."

ok. here's a link to the book on amazon, if any other endurance athletes out there are reading this thread and curious about operating in ketosis...:

http://amzn.com/0983490716

Bought this on the recommendation of a friend who runs and bikes. My husband and I are switching over to a keto diet as of tomorrow. I had two half-marathons this month and didn't want to switch over until they were done. Of course, now I have two half-marathons scheduled in May but we're switching tomorrow anyway. Everything I have read makes this seem like the right move for us. True, only time will tell for certain but I find it funny that this thread is filled with two camps:

1. those NOT eating keto saying "it cannot work and it's bad"
2. those eating keto saying "it works for me"

I get that it might not work for all. Just like not everyone likes the colour pink. I promise to report back to anyone interested how I'm doing in a month on keto and having run two more half-marathons.

I actually agree with ACG on this one.
High Intensity/duration activity on keto generally requires carb loading (in some form).

Trying to run a half marathon while glycogen depleted is NOT going to be easy or fun in any sense of the word. You're probably going to "hit a wall" so to speak with energy.
Ketones simply aren't a "fast" source of energy like glycogen.

i'm a long distance runner, been playing with ketosis for a week or so now, and have half-heartedly been doing some research about the affects on running - this stuck out to me and i will research the book it references...:

"Read Volek's new book on exercise performance. He offers the case studies of quite a few ultra-marathoners - folks who do 50, 100 mile runs - who live in ketosis just for the advantage of always have steady fuel during these very long endurance events."

ok. here's a link to the book on amazon, if any other endurance athletes out there are reading this thread and curious about operating in ketosis...:

http://amzn.com/0983490716

Lol Volek and Phinney

http://anthonycolpo.com/tim-olson-another-low-carb-athlete-that-never-was/

Great article.

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I will be using carbs to fuel the runs but only during the longer runs. i.e. now I wouldn't have any chews or gels or gatorade until about 1/2 way through the run (I'm slow - I do a half in 2:45-2:55) Instead, from now on for runs over 2 to 2.5 hours and the races I'll be using the chews/gatorade right from the beginning.

I'm not quite through the book referenced above yet so we'll just have to see how it goes.

In that case I'd say you should probably delay attempting any kind of keto diet until you have a month or more between races.
The "adaption" that most people talk about is the body getting used to using ketones instead of glucose for energy, this generally can take up to a month.

When I first started my SKD (Standard Ketogenic Diet-no carb ups) none of the "keto flu" symptoms hit me until about a week and a half/two weeks in (despite me showing positive ketones on ketostix since week 1). Basically if you carb cycle too soon, your body will kind of revert back, and you're basically going to start over.

In short, if you carb up too soon; you're going to be absolutely miserable and hate life. You're going to be stopping adaption, and having to start over. This is why CKD recommendations are 2-3+ weeks before any kind of carb cycles.

However ONCE you're actually keto adapted this stuff goes away. I've done keto for 2+ years now (with breaks, and periods of eating normal carb levels), and I can't tell whether or not in ketosis anymore.

I may be completely off but since i decreased my carbs and upped my fat intake while maintaining lower calorie intake... it seems that my joints dont hurt as much when i riun...i ran 8 miles on sunday and was feeling great on monday. Usually my shins or my hips hurt, but not since i recently started this and i have alot of energy!!!

Keto is a great diet and I researched for sometime before taking it into consideration as my first and only diet I have been on. Growing up as a kid my daily meal would consist of 1 foot long and 1 six inch subway sandwich and that was my breakfest lunch and dinner in one meal. My metabolism rate was through the roof and I weighed 130/140 with 6 or less percent body fat. I would have people come up to me in the gym and ask what my body fat percentage was and I had no clue because back then nutrition was the furthest on my mind. I wanted to play football and in football you have to be big so I was trying but I could not get there.

As time went buy I have gained and maintained my body to a point and now at 36 years old, I find I am not as easy to lose weight as I once was. Doing P90 and working out for a hour or more after a 2 mile hike was helping me lose weight but at a slow process. I needed to rebuild my thoughts on how my body works and learning how you digest was the best way. The clarity of the Keto diet is spot on and simple. Carbohydrates are in almost everything but that does not restrict you from things you can eat but you must limit them in order to counter your livers supply and start ketosis. Keep in mind you do not have to dedicate working out during normal keto diet but a nice 3-4 mile walk will help speed up the process without causing you suffer energy loss.

If you do keep a workout going 3 on 2 off or what ever schedule you go on then you will want to do a cyclical keto diet. This is where you "carb up" on one day preferably after a workout in order to regain stamina and energy.

A lot of people are not sure how the keto diet works so here is a excerpt from a post I made in the introduction forms to a young lady who was not losing weight but doing everything else right.


Carbohydrates in the diet cause an insulin (a "storage" hormone) output in the pancreas. It is used to store glycogen, amino acids into muscles, while causing excess calories to be stored as fat. So common sense asks me, "How can one try to break down fat, when your body is in a storage-type mode?" Difficult to do, indeed. That is why it makes perfect sense for step one to be cutting carbs.

The next thing that happens in your body is the rise in catecholamines (a "fat mobilizing" hormone), cortisol (a "breakdown" hormone), and growth hormone. Now your body realizes there’s no more carbs to burn for energy, so it must find another energy source: fat.

This usually happens during a metabolic condition called "ketosis." This is when your liver is out of glycogen and starts to produce ketones (by-products of fatty acids). You can check your status of whether or not you are in ketosis with urinalysis strips you can pick up at any local drug store called "Ketostix." Just urinate and see if it turns color. If so, you have ketones in the urine.

When the body is fed fat and protein, it will use dietary fat along with bodyfat for energy with protein going towards repair.

Carbohydrates in the diet cause an insulin (a "storage" hormone) output in the pancreas. It is used to store glycogen, amino acids into muscles, while causing excess calories to be stored as fat. So common sense asks me, "How can one try to break down fat, when your body is in a storage-type mode?" Difficult to do, indeed. That is why it makes perfect sense for step one to be cutting carbs.

The next thing that happens in your body is the rise in catecholamines (a "fat mobilizing" hormone), cortisol (a "breakdown" hormone), and growth hormone. Now your body realizes there’s no more carbs to burn for energy, so it must find another energy source: fat.

This usually happens during a metabolic condition called "ketosis." This is when your liver is out of glycogen and starts to produce ketones (by-products of fatty acids). You can check your status of whether or not you are in ketosis with urinalysis strips you can pick up at any local drug store called "Ketostix." Just urinate and see if it turns color. If so, you have ketones in the urine.

When the body is fed fat and protein, it will use dietary fat along with bodyfat for energy with protein going towards repair.

Does it make perfect sense to also severely limit protein, since protein is highly insulinogenic as well?

no, since our body requires protein and technically doesn't require any carbs to function normally.

however, obviously I think carbs are important for their micronutrient properties.

I'm not keto. (And I haven't been paleo since 2012.) However, I like this guy's podcasts and he seems to be a decent resource for this topic:

Abel James - fatburningman.com

first question - why do you want to try a keto diet?

Good question...I don't, necessarily. I would have to learn more about it - this thread is the first I've read and I tend to read a lot about nutrition so I was surprised there was something "out there" that I hadn't at least heard of. But at first blush it seems like something that would line up with my current approach to diet; I don't eat wheat and try to limit sugar (even though I love it), eat a ton of veggies, am not afraid of (good) fats, etc. I've seen low-carb diets as a fad as well, but I guess I'm wondering if going the 'whole hog' of keto would help me lose some fat that my current diet has me stalled out on. Also, I'm super lethargic a lot of the time so the whole promise of "tons of energy" is definitely appealing.

as for your questions:
- there are athletes who subscribe to ketogenic diets... however there's a significant adjustment period, so I'd suggest waiting.
- the sweets cravings would go away with any "clean" diet after a long enough period of time
- ketogenic diets are not low calorie, but they're the same as anything else - you have to eat at a slight deficit compared to your total daily energy expenditure. this is the part people find difficult, because you will be eating less food (because of the fat calories) to fill the same number of calories. again, takes adjustment.

- Bummer.
- Awesome, but...even without cravings I just LIKE sweets. What do people on a keto diet do for fun?!
- I guess I would have to adjust with a lot of fibre?

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I'm not a fan of keto diets because for the majority of people they're very, very difficult to sustain long-term, and i think a ton of fruits and veggies are important for their micronutrients, but hey - give it a shot and see how it goes.

I can definitely see how it would be difficult, especially in the long term. Though it seems like most people phase carbs back in, in moderation?

What the heck do people on a keto diet eat, when they eat out?

What the heck do people on a keto diet eat, when they eat out?

Hot wings and salad/ chicken or salmon on a caesar/fajitas with lettuce wraps and all the fixins/steak and veggies

I never have an issue eating out. like, EVER.