How about swimming?

(JF) #1

I have been following daily IF with Keto for a couple years and have lost 45 lbs.
I have not been working out until last week when I signed up for the public pool. I am only swimming 600 m on Mon-Wed-Fri and will be increasing distance as I get better at it.
My feeding window is between 1 pm and 7 pm.
Should I keep eating with a calorie deficit?
If so, should I do it on my swimming day or the day before ?

Fasting and Swimming- can they fit together?
(Duncan Kerridge) #2

How much of a deficit are you running? I started swimming in Feb and didn’t change the amount I ate. My weight loss stalled for about a month or so after I started, I guess I had to beef up some swimming muscles I hadn’t used for a while.

(JF) #3

I usually go for 500 cal deficit, about 25% of my daily caloric intake.
Once in a while, about once a month, I would go for longer fast (varying between 36 and 96 hours) depending on how I feel.

(Duncan Kerridge) #4

I would just keep on eating as you have been. 600m is only going to burn maybe 200 calories extra, three times a week? So less than 100 calories a day.

(ianrobo) #5

Why are you worried about calorie deficits ?

Surely by now the rule is eat until full, CICO is a failed proven philosophy. You did fantastic before without seeming to count calories, why start when exercising

Brian Williamson came up with a great saying I now use all the time

Eating is for losing weight
Exercise is for fitness

(Mel Soule) #6

Aqua aerobics, a close cousin of swimming, has been my new regular exercise program since 2/18 since I started keto. After hip replacement surgery in April, 2016 one of my doctors suggested pool walking as a great start back post op. I did it from July, 2016 walking 35 lengths (0.5 miles) three times per week. Brought the hip back to full strength very quickly.

After starting keto I added to the walking some in pool exercises plancks and running in place in 5 foot deep water using tabata intervals. Total in the water time is now 50 minutes 3 to 4 times per week. I also wanted enough duration to enjoy some hormetic benefit from the mild hypothermia. Have measured body temp a few times pre and post pool and seem to achieve a 1-2 degree drop. My theory as a homeotherm, is that my body has to work a little harder to return body temp to normal.

Have lost 55 pounds since start of keto 2/18/2017. 8am FBS routinely 80-85 and last HgAic was 5.5 down from 6.8 one year earlier.

(Ross) #7

I just ate as much as I wanted following the green and orange lists & continued swimming. Dropped ~ 25 pounds.

On LCHF won’t the metabolism ramp up to whatever calorie level you’re taking in anyway (from fat) for the most part?

(Mel Soule) #8

I wanted to update my comment from earlier. Around August 1, I switched from water walking in pool shoes to regular sketchers walking shoes (brand new pair approved by my pool manger to only use in the pool). The soles of these shoes are much thicker than my old pool shoes and provide great arch support. This reduced by lap time by 10 seconds. I also went to Dick’s Sporting goods and purchased a pair of neopreme swimming gloves. They are webbed between the fingers and allow my arm stokes to generate much more force in the water. They have reduced my lap time by another 10 seconds. Also increased the resistance on my arms and shoulders improving the quality of the workout.

With the speed increase from the shoes and gloves I have upped my lap count to 60 on Monday and Friday and to 50 on my lighter days Tuesday and Thursday. On wednesday I go upstairs to the weight room for measuring my strength changes and doing isometrics.

Since I changed these two variables up aside from faster lap times, my bench press is now up to 165lbs from 140lbs in July, rowing machine at 170 lbs from 130lbs in July and leg press machine from 165lbs in July to 210 lbs now.

How far can it go? Who knows, but its fun to see the progress these subtle changes have created. I would be interested in how others use pool walking and aerobics while fasting and benefits you’ve experienced.

(Mel Soule) #9

We are doing a similar routine. For me the key is to get in the pool while still fasting. My average daily IF is 16-18 hours and has been since I started Keto in 2/2017. Taking to heart what I think I’ve learned from Phinney and Volek about fat burning and performance. It appears that any exercise done while in ketosis and fat adapted is fueled by our fat stores. Brenda Zorn in her podcast with Carl and Richard talks about her resistance training while fat adapted during IF and the marvelous gains she has seen in the gym while never experiencing fatigue. She is impressive and I’ve taken her experience to heart as well.

In seven months I’ve been fortunate to shed 70lbs and 15 inches off my waist on Keto and exercising while fasting. At 69 I’ve have never felt this good in years. IMHO calories are not part of the equation. Macro mix carbs less than 20 gms, protein at 0.5gms/kg lean body mass and the rest fat is the winning formula.

I subscribe to Ron Rosedale’s advice to keep the protein on the bottom end of the recommended daily range of 0.5 to 1.5 gms/kg lean body mass per day. In my experience my fasting blood sugars (8:00am) were around 90mg/dl at 1gm/kg. Since I’ve dropped it to 0.5mg/kg lean body mass they are consistently 75-85. On low carb this is gluconeogensis driven by protein. Since I want my basal insulin to be as low as possible, I’m focused on keeping that FBS under 85.