Keto and triathlons

(Jen K) #1

Hi I’m 4 weeks into keto and am impatiently waiting to feel good with my workouts. Went for a 30 mi ride today and felt terrible even though I pre hydrated w/ electrolyte drink + salt. Is it just too early still? I’m doing an Olympic distance tri in 3 weeks and really hoping I won’t be dragging! Appreciate any advice. I saw some of the tri threads from aug 2017… would love to hear from any triathletes out there about how long it took to get your mojo back!

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #2

When you switch to a ketogenic diet, it takes a while to get your performance back. It depends on how long it takes your muscles to become fat-adapted. We tell people that it normally takes 6-8 weeks, but it could take even longer.

So what is more important to you, the metabolic benefits of a ketogenic diet, or good performance in your next event?

If the latter is your priority, there may not be time between now and the event, quite honestly, for you to become fully fat-adapted and to get the performance enhancement of full fat-adaptation. You might become fat-adapted in time, but you very well might not. If doing well in this event matters to you, you may have to decide whether you would consider it worthwhile to return to a carbohydrate-based diet in order to be able to perform well.

On the other hand, if the metabolic benefits of ketosis and fat-adaptation are your priority, then perhaps you might be willing to take the performance hit—if any—for this one event and then experience improved performance at subsequent events. Remember that Zach Bitter, the first time he ran the Western States endurance run as a fat-adapted athlete, not only won the race but also cut twenty minutes off the record. Sami and Meredith Inkanen, when they rowed from California to Hawai’i, also cut an amazing amount of time off the previous record. So you might consider it worthwhile to take an immediate hit in performance for the sake of better performance over the long run.

In my experience, however, most competitive people choose winning right now over any long-term benefits they might experience later, no matter how great those benefits might be.

(Jen K) #3

thank you! i think i’m going to slog it out and see. i’m assuming if i slightly increase some carbs for a day or two around the tri i won’t lose all of the benefits of the prior 7 weeks? or i hope i wouldn’t. or maybe that wouldn’t even give me a temporary boost just for the race. do you have thoughts?

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #4

It will probably delay full fat-adaptation, but if it gets you through the race, what does that matter? Just get back on the way of eating the next day. However, the more fat-adapted you are, apparently the easier it is to process some carbohydrate and then get back to metabolizing ketones and fatty acids.

Though I suspect I actually have a fairly high carb limit, I’m a sugar addict, and my concern, if I were in your situation, would be not so much about my metabolism as it would be about triggering addictive thinking and behavior. Luckily for you, that’s a whole different kettle of fish from what you are dealing with. Enjoy the race and keto on! :bacon:

(Jen K) #5

right. great. as long as i don’t open a bag of potato chips, i can control any short-term-carb-intake-triggering effect. :slight_smile: thanks for the advice!