Is there a Ketogenic Athlete thread going anywhere?

endurance
(Theresa Kavouras) #1

I need help…big time, regarding ketosis and endurance exercise. I’m on the verge of 51, female 5’4", 120ish, I believe. I haven’t weighed myself in so long because I’m just disgusted with myself. I’m gaining weight for reasons I cannot fathom since October of last year. That was when I ran my last marathon.

I typically run 30-50 miles per week, depending on where I am in my training. And I strength train 3 days a week with P90X. My running has gotten progressively worse and I think it is because I’m gaining weight! I run my best around 113lbs, but I just can’t seem to get back to that magical number. I know it sounds crude, but I think the reason I’m running so poorly and getting reoccuring injuries is because of the weight gain. I haven’t changed anything the past few months EXCEPT taking exogenous ketones. Is there any reason that might cause me to GAIN weight? I might add I’m in menopause, too…as of July of 2016. Could it just be hormonal? My sleep does suck right now. I wake up at 3am most nights like clockwork and lay in bed for 2-3 hours before I fall back asleep. My mind is just a buzz in the middle of the night. I’m never sure if I should just get up and get moving or try to go back to sleep.

I’m trying to figure out if I’m eating too little? Too much? I eat at least a stick of grass fed butter a day, and typically just eat dinner which is miracle noodles, 4-6 oz protein, and more fat…sometimes some cauliflower or brocoll or a salad. And I always end my night with some 90% dark chocolate or exogenous ketones and stevia whipped cream. Sometimes I add in a cup or two of bone broth earlier in the day, or some bacon or chicken skins, depending on how long I ran that day.

I’m stumped. And I don’t know what to do at this point except to completely reset myself with a fast, perhaps. I have a marathon on May 20 I’m beginning to question if I’ll even be able to run it at this point.

Does anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks so much.

(What The Fast?!) #2

Questions:
1.) Is that the only protein you’re getting? If so, and considering your strength training, you may not be hitting your protein minimums.
2.) Are you supplementing magnesium, potassium, and getting enough salt?
3.) I’ve heard (and I’m sure someone can share the science) that exogenous ketones are basically snake oil. Adding ketones by ingesting them is not the same as your body creating ketones. What’s the reason you started taking them?
4.) Have you tested your ketones or blood glucose with an at-home meter?
5.) Have you tried tracking calories/macros at all? i know many people don’t, but that may give you an idea if you’re getting enough calories or not.
6.) Have you tried eliminating artificial sweeteners? I was pretty stuck and I just cut out sweeteners to see if that changes anything (nothing to report just yet though).

(Dustin Cade) #3

there is a podcast called “The Ketogenic Athlete” I’ve listened to a few, they tend to get off topic pretty easy, they are interesting none the less…

(Jo Lo) #4

I think you might be pushing too much extra fat in your diet. Just eat the natural proportions in keto foods like steak and eggs, which works out to about 50/50. This is the advice Dr Ted Naiman gave me (as a client) when I said I wanted to reduce my body fat %. He said not to consume extra energy until you reach your goal weight. Just concentrate on nutritionally dense foods.

What is your body fat %? Is it where you want it?

Exogenous ketones, butter, olive oil, fat bombs are all extra energy BTW. Sounds like you don’t need that now.

I also think maybe your protein is too low. Track your macros.

(Bacon for the Win) #5

I wonder if maybe you’re just at a weight that’s where you’re suposed to be. Maybe the 113# was too low but you managed to stay there by running a shit ton of miles.

I only wonder this because I am a 50 something female standing 5’4" and my ideal weight is 145-150ish. Given that no two people are built the same or metabolise foods the same, I just wonder if 120 is a healthier weight for you.

“Food for thought” if you will. Not trying to minimize your concerns.

(ianrobo) #6

I think your body has gone into starvation mode. From what you say you eat, on top of the exercise you are in massive energy deficit (and even calorie) at this point.

Are you feeling hungry for example and remember if the body thinks there is an issue with food supply it will store fat.

Remember the number one of rule of Keto - eat until full

(Jo Lo) #7

Ha Ha ianrobo, I doubt that anyone who eats a stick of butter/day is very hungry, and certainly is not starving.:smirk:

(James storie) #8

Hahaha, I listen to this one too. I believe Brian does this on purpose most of the time. Great podcast though!

#9

Here’s links to the Ketogenic Athlete podcast. It’s two guys, Brian and Danny.
Some shows start with random chatter between the two but then they settle in to the content. The content is quite good, they did into things deeply and well worth adding to your podcast list.

This is another podcast that Brian does and is also worth listening to. He interviews a lot of interesting Keto people.

An aside, on my iPhone, I use Overcast to listen and set it to 1.5 speed. It doesn’t actually speed up the voice but instead removed the silence between words. The end result is that 1.5 is sounds very good with the bonus of going faster. If there happens to be music you’ll hear the speedup because there’s no silence to remove : )

(What The Fast?!) #10

I do this too! I listened to The Obesity Code on Audible at 2.0x speed!

(Andrew Anderson) #11

If you skip the first 10mins you find the actual content of the show. Unless you are interested in art history or photography. :joy:

(Alex Dipego) #12

Adaptation is a thing. You do something for so long you get more efficient at it this running actually slows your metabolism. I would concentrate on limiting the output until you build up that metabolism then returning to the training.

(Theresa Kavouras) #13

Thanks to you ALL. You have given me food for thought. I’m still struggling, but I’ve decided to try something different. I’ll stay Keto, but I’m going to attempt an egg fast this week. My marathon is in 10 days, and I think I can still run it. Wish me luck!

(Messi Albert) #14

Hello, Theresa Kavouras

I personally think weight matters but not more if you are properly trained.
See learn proper body formation for running ,try to make proper angels elbow-bicep and knee-thigh. If your angels falls apart it will affect your speed too. And if you cant maintain the body formation use Running products like Arm swing trainer and Stride trainer.

Thanks