Exercise and Carbs?

(Pam) #1

Hi all! So I am just starting Keto with my daughter, and this post is really more a question for her than for me. She is in Army JROTC, and on a special team called Raiders - they are the physically active - run, do obstacle courses, physical training kids. This is my daughters first year and she is very much not in shape, which is why she decided to lose some weight and get into shape with me doing Keto (Yay! I have a partner!!). The question is this - Her Captain is telling her that she HAS to eat carbs in order to keep up with their very strict workout regiment. They run 3k 3 days a week in the morning. I have no idea what they do the other three afternoon days - general PT I guess.

Anyway, her Captain is telling her that she has to eat carbs or she will pass out on the field and he has her all worried. Does anyone else do this kind of exercise routine? Has anyone had problems with lightheadedness, energy levels, etc.?

(David Jackson) #2

The human body does not require carbohydrate consumption. The human body will generate glucose from protein if necessary. Humans are extraordinary beings. Especially in Ketosis. It has been proven beyond a doubt that humans GAIN endurance while in Ketosis even if there is a small measure of raw power loss, the endurance more than makes up for this. You can google Ketosis and marathon or iron man and see how even carnivorous ketondieters are recording personal records in endurance training.

Your daughter sounds old enough to make up her own mind, but the coach is not entirely correct in his apparent need for athletes to carb fuel. She can safely ignore him on this. Just be sure to encourage electrolytes and water uptake.

Good luck and welcome to KETO!!!

(Bob M) #3

Zach Bitter just ran 100 miles (not biked, RAN) in some amazing time, less than 7 minutes a mile, while on low carb. He does take in some carbs while running that far, but his diet is primarily low carb.

I workout three days per week and take in very few carbs. If she does find herself lagging, try some tiny amounts of carbs, like a package of smarties.

#4

There are three versions of keto, one of them allows for a small amount of carbs before a workout. It’s called TKD, targeted keto diet. I don’t follow this one but I’ve read that athletes do. The guidebook is from examine.com is called evidence based keto. If you want to PM me I can send you the pdf. I didn’t realize you have to pay for it, my brother sent it to me. If not, you can google TKD and find out more. Hope this helps!

#5

And yes on staying hydrated!! She’s going to need more hydration than everyone else. There are a lot of low carb hydration products she can get like nuum which is one of my favs. One gram of carbs per tablet. And she can take magnesium at night too. And drink boullin for sodium intake. Herbox brand is 1g carbs per teaspoon.

(John) #6

This web site may have some useful insights about being on a ketogenic diet while needing to continue exercising:

He does mention that during the transition from carb-burning to fat-burning metabolism, that there is generally a reduction in capability, which eventually resolves itself over time.

(Ellenor Bjornsdottir) #7

Relay this to the Capt.

“Let her have a go without carbs first. She’s presently obese as a result of having eaten carbs. Let her take salt, though, because electrolytes, not blood glucose, is what you should be worrying about for passing out on the field.”

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #8

Once your daughter is fat-adapted, she will not pass out in the field. During the adaptation phase, however, she really will have a problem keeping up, however, because during the transition from glucose-burning to fat-burning, the muscles are not at their best. She might consider waiting till she’s through the training phase before going ketogenic. A ketogenic diet is great for endurance athletes, but explosive power is a problem for quite some time, although glycogen levels do return to pre-keto levels over time. Your daughter may have some pondering to do. On the other hand, it is possible that her carb intake will be used up by all the exercise, if she’s careful about it. I’m not sure it would work that way, but she might be forced to try it, if she wants to start keto now. The problem would be to keep her carb intake at a level that would not exceed her tolerance, because any time spent with an elevated insulin level is going to interfere with weight loss and fat-adaptation, I believe.

(David Cooke) #9

Tell him about the US army seals that are experimenting, and having great results with, Keto. https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/keto-navy
One thing I did find out was that I need to get electrolytes sorted out, I do that every morning before I run, + bullet proof coffee.
If I understand correctly, the fat contained in BP coffee would interfere with the absorption of any glucose contained in going TKD as suggested above. One suggestion for TKD is gummy bears, which would give you about 30gm of carbs during any run and sounds attractive to this old sweet tooth. This would only work if she is definitely in ketosis, burning fat, which can take months.
She can do it but under an army type food regime it won’t be easy.

(Pam) #10

Thanks everyone - I told her not to worry about it for now and see how this works. My biggest worry is that she is not eating enough. Even though she is over weight she is not a big eater (what she eats v/s the amount she eats). So I am trying to stuff her with the non-carby stuff. She is doing pretty well and has not complained too much about the exercise part. More than anything right now I think we have to get over the cravings hump. Then it will get easier.

Again thank to all - your great!

#11

I just ran 20 miles on a cup of black coffee on Monday. Water only whilst out. You don’t need carbs but the transitional period is the difficult part. The more you do the quicker you’ll get through that. I don’t do targeted or cyclical keto but we all have to find what suits us best.

#12

There is a transitional period in the first few weeks of keto and I do think she may find it difficult during that period, given her activity level.

Her starting during a break of 1-2 months (or off-season, if they have this) could be more manageable.

Once she is fat adapted like all the athletes other posters have mentioned above, it will be sustainable.

(PJ) #13

There’s a couple links in the thread above that are great, definitely look into TKD.

One issue is she is new to this and it takes some time to truly fat adapt. So she might need carbs before she does the run, or whenever is convenient for her as close to the exercise point as possible. If the rest of her diet is filled with plenty of protein and fats it will probably work out. I mean a lot of things are ‘possible’ and even ‘probable’ – but some things also take time.

Note the comment above about hydration and minerals – that’s a huge thing, very important.

(Bob M) #14

I think it takes several months potentially to transition to being able to exercise on keto. I have no problems now, for what I’m doing (about 1 hour of exercise at a time), but it took a while.