I am a male college freshman who runs division 1 cross country and track. I typically log about 60 miles a week, so my activity level is super high. I have become interested in the ketogenic way and I am curious if any other high level runners (at least 7 miles a day) have successfully transitioned into ketosis.
I am worried that I will not be able to sustain my running during the adjustment period.
I still kinda associate running with death, so I don’t have much first hand experience to offer. However, you might be interested in watching Cereal Killers 2: Run On Fat.
I was a DI cross country and track runner about 20 years ago. I remember how much dedication is takes.
Since college I’ve gained quite a bit of weight (60-70 lbs) and am a significantly slower runner now than I used to be. I’ve been trying out Keto for the last several weeks with quite a bit of success. I’ve shed about 15 pounds so far. I have actually felt a lot better while running on Keto than before.
If you’re interested in trying out Keto then you may want to consider experimenting with it during the off season. While I feel a lot better running now on Keto, I wouldn’t have wanted to risk the season to a change in diet back when I was a competitive runner.
Good luck!
You will need to adapt to burning fat primarily, but when you do, you’ll have a huge advantage in energy reserves. That said, it might take a few months to get there.
Have you read this book? It’s pretty much the Bible of this sort of thing.
One thing you could do is train on fat and race on just enough carb to get you by until you totally adapt. That will give you a sense of where you are without risking a competition.
I’m not at quite the same level as you but the first time I went properly keto (2 years ago) it took about 6 weeks before my running felt as good/easy as before I went keto, 3 months after going keto I broke my half marathon PB.
I felt it was better to take the hit on running performance and get keto adapted properly, which did pay off in the end.
The furthest I’ve run (slowly) is 50km which was on a handful of parmesan, handful of macadamias and 3 sachets of Keto OS (and water).
I am a 23 year old female and I run/bike for an hour 5 times a week. Clearly not your activity amount, but I also wondered how keto would affect my performance. After two weeks, I wasn’t bonking on 10+ mile runs. After a month and a half, I didn’t need any food during a 3 hour bike ride. Obviously everyone is going to react differently, but for me, getting rid of blood sugar spikes (and the mental tax of monitoring blood sugar during performance) has so far been the best side effect of keto.
Maybe wait until the off season to experiment, but it will be well worth it when you do.
I’m not a college athlete, I’m a 52 y/o male that does about 4 to 12 miles per day (maxed at 16 miles) with an average of 7 to 8 miles most of the time and walk at a very brisk pace with long legs that means people trying to keep up with me usually have to run. I also do A LOT of hills around my house and can get the equivalent of 50 floors with all the hills in some walks.
Although distance is similar and mine might even be longer on some days, I’m sure the difference is power output as a function of distance over time - meaning, I may walk very fast, but you’re running and consuming more energy in the same period of time.
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Maybe wait until the off season to experiment, but it will be well worth it when you do.[/quote]
I would echo what @hannahw415 said and wait until the off season to keto-adapt and avoid the struggle, just noting that Dr. Jeff Volek has reported that it will impair performance until adaptation is complete.
Wow! A lot of great information! Thanks everyone!
So if I were to go for it, I would start right after my season ended. Im just worried it will take longer than 2 weeks to become fat adapted though. I will continue to do research and look at other runners in keto.
Thanks again, to everyone who responded!
It’ll probably take longer than 2 weeks to get completely fat-adapted, but a big factor will be whether or not you have any insulin resistance or any broad type of metabolic derangement. If you were in the top 25% of the population that Drs Volek and Phinney say can eat anything they want, then you don’t have to reverse the damage that plagues the bottom 25%.
If you’re concerned about the process of becoming fat-adapted, you could adopt a strategy of eliminating sugar, replacing processed high-carb foods with natural low-carb alternatives and easy into the process. You’re not just adapting your body, you’re adapting your thinking and lifestyle as well.
I’m probably missing it, but I didn’t see any references to Ben Greenfield.