(Looking for some encouragement /education.) 4-5 weeks on keto now. Things are great! (clothes fit better, sleeping better, GI issues COMPLETELY gone, hunger between meals gone, lost 5 cm from waist, down 9 lbs, and love what I eat).
My one issue is loss of “endurance”. I run 3 miles about 4-5 times per week and I do some light exercise every morning (push ups, crunches, jumping Jack’s, squats, planks ect). Over the last 2 weeks or so it has gotten more and more difficult. On my runs, I start out feeling like Usain Bolt but after a mile or so I feel like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. And in my “work outs” I could do 2 sets of 25 push ups with not too much struggle before but now I am straining about 13 push ups in and really have to dig deep to hit 25. So, after all this rambling, my question is, from people’s experience here, does this loss of endurance/strenght get “better” when fat adapted? Or maybe after a certain amount of time? Or am I not getting enough protein? Thanks everyone.
4 weeks Keto. Low endurance
Muscle Fatigue. Stubborn? Or Dedicated?
I would lighten up on the workout routine until you’re fully fat adapted. That should help with your endurance issues. Try long walks instead of running for a while, or walk and jog mix. You’re stressing yourself with exercise while you’re body is attempting to adapt to a new energy source. I think in a month or so you’ll feel better equipped to resume your running.
Like David said, it’s going to take some time for your body to fully fat adapt. On the bright side, fully fat adapted people do marathons and ultra-marathons burning their own body fat, so the potential is certainly there. You’re body just needs to learn how to burn the new fuel after a lifetime of running on sugar.
Check out the running section here on the forum. There’s heaps of info on this topic. Hang in there!
Thanks guys. I will definitely check out that link. Good stuff. I did believe that this is just a matter of being patient. But just wanted to check in with it on the Forum. Thanks for the encouragement
Stay with your running but just don’t expect much bounce in your step. I had to start walking during my runs and legs felt heavy. At about three months on keto it was like a switch was turned on. I run fasted now and have no energy shortages whatsoever now. Can’t wait to try half marathon in the future.
I was doing crossfit when I started keto and bonked every day for the first month. By two months in though my workouts were better than before I started. I also started making much, much FASTER gains because my muscles started healing at a greatly increased rate.
Prior to keto I had a huge problem with DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). I’d been doing crossfit for months and yet they wouldn’t quit. I’d attributed it to age (51), and had accepted 4-5 days of pain and an inability to work-out in that time as just a consequence I’d have to accept of really intense workouts.
They ended almost overnight when I went keto. I couldn’t believe it, neither could my coach.
I think this might be the huge win of keto. At least for me. I have a genetic neuromuscular wasting disease and prior to keto for the previous 30 years I could not sustain enough exercise to gain muscle. Could sometimes break even and not lose but pushing harder consistently resulted in longer down time and faster muscle loss. With keto I’m finally able to recover sufficiently that I am gaining muscle again. It probably helps that my nerves work better on keto too, used to be very prone to unpredictable abrupt failure of control, now it is a gradual loss of control and onset of spasms as fatigue sets in.
Yep. It takes about 6-8 weeks, sometimes longer, to get it back. Don’t sweat it. There are changes going on at the cellular level that just take time. Many people report that when their performance came back, it was even better than pre-keto.
Thank you guys. This is what I was hoping for. Some positive encouragement that it will come back. Just to be patient. The benefits of Keto that I’ve experienced so far are through the roof. And it isn’t like I can’t run or can’t still do my workout. As someone stated above it’s more like my legs feel heavy and my muscles feel weak. I’ll report back in a month or so and let you guys know