Great conversation, I’ve been working on a kitchen remodel and haven’t had much free time to check in…
To answer your question, no, I did not carb up. I’ve been 90% keto for 2017 (a cheat meal about once a month but never before an endurance event, those are all keto!).
Absolutely - I can’t really carry fuel with me and there’s 2 feeding stations 5k apart. I’m absolutely subscribed to using fat as a fuel source, but if I can eake out some gains in my performance with savvy feeding then all the better…
Hi Mimi,
I did a couple 5 mile (8 KM) open water butterfly swims two years back in while keto adapted and in my experience, you won’t need any food during the swim itself. I found a couple slices of bacon on the race morning and a breve latte (espresso and half-n-half or heavy cream) was more than enough to complete the entire race with no problems. I might switch over to decaf on the espresso in the future however. Not sure I really need the caffeine. I’m really drinking it for the nice warm delicious fat.
I wasn’t even at all hungry afterwards. I went home, took a little nap and then made a nice fatty ribeye steak on the grill around 8 PM…mostly because I thought I SHOULD eat (still wasn’t hungry).
I’m honestly not even sure I need to eat at all on race day…but I do mainly for comfort. I swam long-course workouts in a fully fasted state (24 to 36 hours) and was fast and felt great, but distance was 3 KM and under.
Most of the competitors will be stopping for gels and sports drinks every 1 to 2 KM from their support boats. Those stoppages can add up to 5 to 10 minuets of time or more over the full swim. Swimming in keto adaptation and not needing food will give you a massive advantage!
Also, I doubt you will need the sugar for the sprints if you allow yourself to fully adapt. I suspect that keto adaptation for athletic performance may take a little longer than the standard 3 or 4 weeks just for feeling human again.
The ppl in this study were keto adapted for a year or more and their ability to burn fat was off the freaking hook! (red). Those in blue were sugar burners.
Awesome! Thanks for the info! I guess I have some trust issues to work on after a lifetime worshipping the gods of glucose!
@Mimi_Munro, have you ever heard of a food called “Pemmican”?
It is a traditional food source used by northern Native American tribes. Have you ever heard of the Voyageurs? They moved pelts from the shores of Lake Superior to Montreal via massive canoes back in the 18th & 19th century. They primarily used this pemmican as their fuel source for the long paddles,
I was fooling with it (Tanka products made a version, but I think it’s too low fat…) when I had concerns about fueling for my long swims. Once I figured out I really didn’t need any food during the race, I gave up the experiment. You may want to give it a shot if you have any concerns. Can’t hurt to try making a batch and see how you tolerate it. Easy enough to wrap it up in small balls and have it ready in a support boat.
Could use rendered bacon fat as your fat source too…boost salt intake can’t be a bad thing on a race I wouldn’t think…
p.s. I’m guessing the berries are in the recipe mainly as an antioxidant to prevent the fat from gong rancid.
That is absolutely fascinating! I also love the look of the crispy bits you get as a by product of the fat rendering…
Thank you everso for taking the time to post this. If I give it a go I’ll feel like Shackleton (my hero)!
I’m more concerned about you trying to drown yourself to end the boredom 
I’ve done 5K swims and swore off all long distance swimming after that. Maybe if I wasn’t the slowest swimmer alive…
When is your swim?
Not a problem! Happy to share with a fellow keto / LCHF / Banting swimmer! 
I browsed through some other recipes and see that some recommend adding salt to the mean prior to drying. I would imagine this would make it all taste much better.
Others take a short cut and start with smoked beef jerky.
The Lakota seemed to use more choke cherries or Saskatoon berries.
The Ojibwe used blueberries or cranberries I think…
I wouldn’t use strawberries like the guy in the video recommended…
Oh, and I think Shackleton did use pemmican on his expedition!
November 24th not long!!
I get sooooooo bored doing long pool swims but I seem ok in open water - unless it’s laps around a tiny loop.
It was pricey, but I love my AudioFlood waterproof iPod Shuffle. I swim for an hour and a half every day, couldn’t keep to it without my tunes. A certain amount of meditative swimming is nice, but at some point I’ll have to start humming. That just gets in the way of breathing.
