Terrible Workout!

newbies
fitness
#1

I’ve been on keto for about 6 weeks and it’s unbelievable how horrible I am at working out now! I haven’t been working out much since starting this woe but when I do I feel “heavy”, get tired/out of breath easily, and my heart rate gets high fast. Is it because of keto? Not enough fat? Too many carbs? Dehydration? :frowning: I really want to work out…
This is what my day looked like today. My breakfast isn’t shown but the total for the day was 1322 calories. (I actually kind of binged today, I usually eat less than this because I get so full fast so I usually do omad. I don’t count /restrict calories btw)

image
3DB8476D-8013-48C6-8318-B2B2B3FEED32.png640×1136 74.8 KB

(Candy Lind) #2

Odds are that you need more SALT. You should be getting 5 grams a day, more if you are working out & sweating a lot. That “drag-ass” feeling is usually salt or some other electrolyte.

(Chris W) #3

Two things,
One i know for me at six weeks I could only ride my bike for about 10 minutes vs 45 when I was a carb burner, and my workout routine I was stressed more than I had been as a carb burner. Around 8 weeks for me I started to fat adapt and it became easier. At a point around 12 weeks I could go longer than when I was a carb burner on the bike with little effort on a highest level. That was me, male 44 obese and I did not exercise for the 8 weeks before keto to any great extent. Yes salt is also important but so is making sure you have enough water, I was on nearly a gallon a day at that point.

Two your peanut butter intake IMHO is too high, that is roughly 4 tablespoons, that is a lot. I put that amount into a weeks worth of fat bombs. Combine that with some of the things that may stimulate an insulin response like the chocolate chips. If you are trying to get fat adaption I would shelve the sweet treats for awhile, every insulin response pushes that back a little more.

One other thing for me that made a noticeable difference was when I was eating only red meat I tended to hit the wall earlier before fat adaption. I alternated meals prep so I would make a pound of hamburger that would last 3-4 days depending upon meals. Then I would make salmon or another fish, but mostly salmon, and on those days it seemed like I had more to give. I assume that is the omega 3 FA’s at work.

What are your macros calling for?

#4

I honestly ate way too much of this pb fat bomb thing today (the pb and chocolate chips) Lol. I was just bored I suppose. I also had dark chocolate truffles so I know I should have cut out all that junk. I don’t usually eat all that much pb and chocolate. Would that have an impact on workouts? “breakfast” was flounder with cream cheese. It is good to throw in another type of meat.
My macros range from 5/20/75 and 5/25/70 but I don’t usually stick with them because I don’t eat a lot when I’m not sitting around at the house (eating out of boredom)

#5

I think it would be useful to mention that weight training was much easier than the cardio, which tempted me to creat this post.

(Chris W) #6

Which was my case as well, I also went to LISS instead of cardio based on Richards statements on several early podcasts. That made life a lot easier as well.

(Chris W) #7

those are percents, macros are hard numbers normally in grams.

The impact of having an insulin spike is that your body shuts down ketone production, and favors fat storage. short term that may not have effect, but long term that hinders adaption esp fat.

During keto adaption it was normal for me to hit the wall pretty quickly others have reported this as well. Give it some time and you will become fat adatped and it gets drastically better.

(Dan Dan) #8

Unless you are fat adapted and have enough body fat 1322kcals is not enough to fuel exercise comfortably :thinking:

#9

Well I feel like I’m fat adapted till I start to work out, and I have 40 lbs of fat that I can use as energy. Lol. I really don’t think I could eat more than I ate today. I’m so stuffed.

(Jay AM) #10

If you’re not fat adapted, you’re probably getting close. Dial in the insulin spikes as someone mentioned above. And, measure in grams instead of percents. 20g net carbs is a good carb start point.

Having less stamina in the beginning of keto is extremely common. You’re depleting or have depleted your glycogen stores and meanwhile your body is still switching over to good utilization of ketones. Don’t try to over do it. You can imagine it like you are going to the gym for the first few times. Lower your work load, take more rest days. Maybe one or two more weeks of lighter work outs and then start adding more. Just like when you started training and added more and more.

Double check that you’re intaking enough electrolytes, especially sodium. You should find soon that you’re back where you were.

(Vincent Hall) #11

Here’s some info on the amount of energy we can utilize from stored body fat…
And yes, I would agree with leaving out so much of the peanut butters, dark chocolate etc. Plan and prep with some nutritious single ingredient foods, lots of info on here.
I refer to the max amount of energy we can draw from body fat…

“We know the maximum rate that body fat can transfer energy thanks to A limit on the energy transfer rate from the human fat store in hypophagia – Alpert (2005) This paper used Ancel Keyes’ Minnesota Starvation experiment data and a little calculus to derive the value of (290±25) kJ/kg day or (31.5053±2.72) kCal/lb day as the maximum rate that energy can be drawn from body fat.”


\v/

(Ken) #12

The adaptive process for people who train is fairly different from those who do not. IMO, protein levels should be higher, as more is needed for cellular replacement, repair, and growth. I recommend a higher protein macro, around 35%, along with the 60% fat macro. I also do not recommend caloric restriction initially, the emphasis being on adaptation at first. I suggest you eliminate the beans (peanut butter) as they can be discordant when consumed chronically, you can always add them back in later. Meat and animal fat should be your primary food sources, if anything, eat extra fat. What color is your urine? If darker than light green you’re dehydrated, if so then more water and salt is needed. You’re too new to need glycogen recompensation, so keep carbs extremely low, focus on adaptation. Real adaptation can take several months. Don’t be afraid to eat more, if you’re hungry.