Ketogenic post workout. Top 10 Keto Post-Workout Foods for Muscle Building: Optimize Your Recovery

20.07.201805.04.2021 by alexxlab

How does a ketogenic diet affect workout performance. Can you build muscle on keto. What are the best keto-friendly post-workout foods. How to fuel your body for exercise without carbs. Why is protein crucial for post-workout recovery on keto.

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The Ketogenic Diet and Exercise: Debunking the Carb-Loading Myth

For years, the fitness world has been dominated by the belief that carbohydrates are essential for fueling workouts and recovery. However, recent research has challenged this notion, particularly for those following a ketogenic diet. Dr. Jeff Volek, a renowned expert in ketogenic nutrition and exercise physiology, has conducted studies suggesting that a high-fat, low-carb diet may actually be more beneficial for pre- and post-workout nutrition.

Is carb-loading necessary for optimal exercise performance? The answer might surprise you. When following a ketogenic diet, your body becomes highly efficient at burning fat for fuel. This metabolic state, known as ketosis, allows athletes and fitness enthusiasts to tap into their body’s fat stores for energy during workouts, eliminating the need for carbohydrate loading.

The Benefits of Fat Adaptation for Exercise

Studies have shown that individuals on a ketogenic diet can burn more than twice as much fat during exercise compared to those relying on carbohydrates for fuel. This increased fat-burning capacity not only supports endurance but also aids in body composition goals for many athletes.

Peri-Workout Nutrition: Fueling Your Keto Workouts

Peri-workout nutrition refers to the foods consumed before, during, and after exercise. While traditional advice often centers around carbohydrate intake, ketogenic athletes have different nutritional needs. So, what should you eat before and after a workout on a keto diet?

Pre-Workout Nutrition on Keto

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t necessarily need to eat before a workout when following a ketogenic diet. Many keto athletes find success training in a fasted state, allowing their bodies to tap into stored fat for energy. However, if you prefer to eat before exercising, focus on these key nutrients:

Protein: Provides amino acids for muscle performance and repair
Fat: Serves as the primary energy source on a ketogenic diet

Some keto-friendly pre-workout options include:

A full meal containing protein, healthy fats, and low-carb vegetables
A protein shake with added MCT oil for quick-digesting fats
A small snack of nuts or seeds

Post-Workout Nutrition: Optimizing Recovery on Keto

After a workout, your body enters a crucial phase of recovery and muscle repair. The right post-workout nutrition can significantly impact your progress and results. On a ketogenic diet, the focus shifts from carbohydrate replenishment to protein intake and healthy fats.

The Importance of Protein for Keto Athletes

Protein plays a vital role in post-workout recovery, regardless of your dietary approach. However, it becomes even more critical on a ketogenic diet. Why is protein so important after a workout on keto?

Muscle repair and growth: Protein provides the building blocks (amino acids) necessary for repairing and building muscle tissue
Preventing muscle breakdown: Adequate protein intake helps protect against muscle loss, which can be a concern on very low-carb diets
Supporting recovery: Protein helps reduce muscle soreness and fatigue, allowing for quicker recovery between workouts

Designing Your Keto Post-Workout Meal Plan

Creating an effective post-workout meal plan on a ketogenic diet involves balancing protein and fat intake while keeping carbohydrates low. How can you structure your post-workout nutrition for optimal results?

Timing Your Post-Workout Meal

While the importance of the “anabolic window” has been somewhat overstated in the past, it’s still beneficial to consume a meal or snack within a few hours of your workout. This helps kickstart the recovery process and provides your body with the nutrients it needs to repair and grow.

Balancing Macronutrients

On a ketogenic diet, your post-workout meal should prioritize protein and include healthy fats while keeping carbohydrates minimal. A general guideline for macronutrient ratios in a post-workout keto meal might look like this:

Protein: 30-40% of calories
Fat: 55-65% of calories
Carbohydrates: 5-10% of calories

Hydration and Electrolytes: Often Overlooked Aspects of Keto Performance

Proper hydration is crucial for all athletes, but it becomes even more important on a ketogenic diet. Why do keto athletes need to pay extra attention to hydration and electrolyte balance?

When following a ketogenic diet, your body excretes more water and electrolytes, particularly during the initial adaptation phase. This can lead to increased risk of dehydration and electrolyte imbalances, potentially impacting exercise performance and recovery.

Strategies for Staying Hydrated on Keto

Drink plenty of water throughout the day, especially around workouts
Consider adding electrolyte supplements or natural sources of electrolytes to your water
Consume foods rich in potassium, magnesium, and sodium
Monitor your urine color as an indicator of hydration status

Supplements to Support Keto Athletic Performance

While whole foods should form the foundation of your nutrition plan, certain supplements can be beneficial for keto athletes looking to optimize their performance and recovery. Which supplements are most effective for those following a ketogenic diet?

Key Supplements for Keto Athletes

Creatine: Supports muscle strength, power, and recovery
Electrolyte supplements: Help maintain proper hydration and mineral balance
MCT oil: Provides quick energy and may enhance ketone production
Caffeine: Can improve focus and performance during workouts
Beta-alanine: May increase exercise capacity and reduce fatigue

It’s important to note that while these supplements can be helpful, they should complement a well-designed ketogenic diet and exercise program, not replace proper nutrition.

Tracking Progress: Measuring Success on a Keto Fitness Journey

As with any fitness and nutrition plan, tracking your progress is essential for staying motivated and making necessary adjustments. How can you effectively monitor your results while following a ketogenic diet and exercise program?

Metrics to Consider

Body composition: Track changes in body fat percentage and lean muscle mass
Performance markers: Monitor improvements in strength, endurance, and power
Energy levels: Note changes in overall energy and workout stamina
Recovery time: Assess how quickly you bounce back between workouts
Ketone levels: Use blood, breath, or urine tests to ensure you’re maintaining ketosis

Remember that progress isn’t always linear, and individual results may vary. Consistency in both diet and exercise is key to achieving long-term success on a ketogenic fitness journey.

Adapting Your Keto Diet for Different Training Goals

The ketogenic diet can be tailored to support various fitness objectives, from endurance sports to strength training and bodybuilding. How can you modify your keto approach based on your specific training goals?

Keto for Endurance Athletes

Endurance athletes may benefit from a slightly higher carbohydrate intake, particularly around intense training sessions or competitions. This approach, often referred to as a cyclical ketogenic diet or “carb cycling,” can help replenish glycogen stores without compromising the overall benefits of ketosis.

Keto for Strength and Power Athletes

Strength and power athletes may need to focus on consuming adequate protein to support muscle growth and recovery. Increasing protein intake slightly while maintaining a high fat intake can help meet the demands of intense resistance training.

Keto for Body Recomposition

Those looking to simultaneously lose fat and gain muscle may find success with a standard ketogenic diet, ensuring sufficient protein intake and maintaining a slight caloric deficit. Incorporating resistance training and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can further support body recomposition goals.

Overcoming Common Challenges for Keto Athletes

While the ketogenic diet can offer numerous benefits for athletes and fitness enthusiasts, it’s not without its challenges. What are some common obstacles faced by keto athletes, and how can they be addressed?

Keto Flu and Performance Dips

During the initial adaptation phase, some individuals experience symptoms known as the “keto flu,” which can include fatigue, headaches, and decreased performance. To minimize these effects:

Gradually reduce carbohydrate intake over a few weeks
Increase electrolyte intake, particularly sodium, potassium, and magnesium
Stay well-hydrated
Consider temporarily reducing training intensity

Social Challenges and Meal Planning

Following a ketogenic diet can be challenging in social situations or when traveling. To navigate these obstacles:

Plan ahead and bring keto-friendly snacks
Research restaurant menus in advance
Communicate your dietary needs with friends and family
Focus on whole, unprocessed foods when possible

Maintaining Muscle Mass

Some athletes worry about losing muscle mass on a ketogenic diet. To preserve and build muscle:

Ensure adequate protein intake (1.6-2.2 grams per kg of body weight)
Incorporate resistance training into your routine
Consider targeted carbohydrate intake around workouts if needed
Monitor progress and adjust your approach as necessary

By addressing these challenges head-on and making appropriate adjustments, keto athletes can optimize their performance and achieve their fitness goals while enjoying the benefits of a ketogenic lifestyle.

Fitness: What to Eat Before & After Workout

Exercising is one of the best ways to enhance a keto lifestyle, not to mention to improve overall health and wellness. But since it’s long been believed that carbs are critical for workout energy, one of the most common questions from people on a keto diet is how to fuel the body for exercise without carb loading. In this article, we clear up the confusion and share information on what you should eat before and after a workout for optimal performance and recovery while on a ketogenic diet.

The Fact and Fiction of Carb Loading for Exercise

It was a long-held belief that carbohydrates are required to fuel and recover from exercise. But recent research by scientists and physicians such as Dr. Jeff Volek (a registered dietitian, professor at Ohio State University, and keto expert), provide a better understanding of the physiology of the body. The consensus? Carbohydrates are not the only fuel source the body can use during and after exercise. In fact, his studies suggest carbs are perhaps not even the optimal source, and that a higher fat, low-carb diet has more promising results for pre- and post-workout meals. These findings are the reason you may be hearing about more athletes and people dedicated to an active lifestyle following a keto or low-carb diet rather than a low-fat diet or other diet.

Still, despite these long held common misconceptions, there is some truth in the need for eating before and after working out. In the nutrition world, this is called peri-workout nutrition.

What is Peri-Workout Nutrition?

Simply put, peri-workout nutrition is the nutrition around your workout, or what you eat before exercise to fuel your performance and what you eat after exercise to facilitate recovery.

Standard recommendations for peri-workout nutrition are based on false pretenses that carbohydrates are essential for performance but also recovery. This leads many people to “carb load” before and after exercise.

On a ketogenic diet, where carbs are essentially off limits, carb loading obviously isn’t an option. But that doesn’t mean your energy or performance has to suffer.

What Should I Eat Before I Workout?

Here’s the truth: your body does not need carbohydrates to perform. In fact, on a keto diet, your body doesn’t need any pre-workout food or even a keto-friendly sports drink in order to maintain stamina; you can workout on an empty stomach. And this is true for every type of body composition! That’s one of the beautiful things about being keto; when you’re in ketosis, your body is in prime fat-burning mode. This means that during exercise, your body can tap into stored body fat for workout fuel. In fact, studies have shown that ketogenic dieters burn over twice as much fat during exercise compared to those fueling themselves with carbs. So, if your primary goal is fat burning, not eating before exercise may be a great way to maximize your efforts.

However, not everyone exercises with fat burning in mind or wants to exercise without fueling up first. To those people wondering what to eat before a workout, we have great news: You can eat whatever keto-friendly foods you know nourishes your individual body and allows you to maintain enough energy and achieve your exercise goals.

If you’re not sure what those are, follow these guidelines:

Eat protein: it’s great to include before exercise because it gives your muscles the amino acids it needs to perform and repair themselves during exercise, not to mention build muscle.
Eat fat: it’s your primary energy source on a ketogenic diet, so adding fat before exercise gives your body more energy to call on.
Eat a full meal, if that works for you: Though not everyone can stomach a big meal before exercising, a full meal before a workout ensures you get enough grams of fat and grams of protein to fuel performance. If your personal preference is a meal, even one including keto-friendly veggies, go for it.
Or drink a protein shake or smoothie with MCTs: It’ll ensure you have a fast-digesting protein and fat source your body can access shortly after eating, without having to worry about being too full to perform.

What to Eat After a Workout?

Whether you’re keto or not, post-workout nutrition is an important factor for how well your body handles workout recovery. During this time, post-workout snacks are in order, and protein is your best friend.

Protein is often under-consumed on a ketogenic diet because our classic recommendations are to eat 20 to 25 percent of our calories from protein to maintain ketosis. Although these guidelines were developed for children suffering from epilepsy, they continue to be recommended (along with 5 to 10 percent daily calories from carbs) because they represent a baseline for people wanting to get and stay in ketosis, meaning pretty much anyone who stays within these guidelines should be able to get into and maintain ketosis. But because every body is different, what actually works for you depends on your body and your lifestyle. For example, if you exercise intensely via cardio, weights, or otherwise on a regular basis, you need more protein (more on that below, but also see Dr. Marc Bubbs’ book Peak: The New Science of Athletic Performance That is Revolutionizing Sports).

Many people fear eating excess protein on a ketogenic diet because they think it will be converted to glucose in the body and potentially kick you out of ketosis. While this can occur, this conversion is a demand-driven process, meaning your body only converts protein to glucose when it needs glucose for uses such as cells in the body that can only use glucose for energy (e.g. red blood cells) or to help replenish glycogen (our bodies stored form of carbohydrates) after exercise.

Regardless, you shouldn’t fear protein consumption, especially since many ketogenic dieters don’t eat enough of it even when they’re not exercising.

While getting enough protein is something you should focus on anyway, getting enough is even more important if you exercise. Research shows that consuming just 20 percent of your calories from protein while exercising can lead to muscle loss. This tells us that your body requires more protein if you are exercising, likely closer to 30 percent of your calories or more depending on your individual body. Plus, right after you exercise, your body is ready to soak in nutrients for recovery, especially protein. This is why reaching for a quick, refueling keto-friendly protein shake on your way home from the gym may be your best option.

But it’s just as important to note that choosing the right protein source after a workout is also essential. You need something that is fast-digesting during your post-workout window, which starts right after your workout and extends up to 24 hours. Whey protein, which comes from dairy, is the fastest-digesting protein powder, and when taken after exercise, it can stimulate muscle-protein synthesis, or the building of new muscle. This matters because muscle-protein synthesis is essential for recovery and preventing sore muscles.

People avoiding lactose from dairy can still get the benefits of whey protein by choosing a protein powder containing whey protein isolate (aka whey isolate, a dietary supplement that separates components from milk), which contains the lowest amounts of lactose.

Once you’ve nourished your body with rapidly digesting protein, you’re ready for a full meal. After you get home from the gym, prepare a high-protein and higher fat meal to make sure that you are continuing to focus on protein intake and getting all of the micronutrients from quality fat sources. Both will help facilitate recovery.

The Final Word

The most important thing to take away from this article is to not fear protein consumption. The traditional low-protein recommendations for keto are based on epilepsy treatment and should be modified to fit your own bio-individuality and lifestyle. Bottom line: if you’re exercising, you need more protein, especially after exercise.

Ketogenic Nutrition and Exercise: Protein

In my previous post, I focused on the nutrition aspects of exercise and carbohydrates. This post is all about protein and exercise. I have outlined some basic facts about protein intake in this post, it and I’m going to expand and clarify some points that cause confusion.

Eat More Protein if You Exercise

It’s simple: those who are physically active will need more protein than those who are less active. Finding your ideal protein intake is easy – just use our keto calculator.

By selecting your activity level and body fat percentage, you will get a fairly accurate estimate of your protein needs (based on Dr Volek’s & Phinney’s recommendations). Keep in mind that this number is only an estimate – your protein requirements will vary based on your daily activity.

You shouldn’t significantly overeat protein. Protein is not a particularly efficient fuel source – too much of it won’t be beneficial. How much protein should you be eating? Aim for 0.6 to 1 grams per pound of lean body mass.

According to Volek & Phinney: “Aim for a protein intake between 0.6 to 1 grams per pound of lean body mass…. Significantly over-consuming protein can be problematic because some of of the extra amino acids can be converted to glucose in the body, raising insulin levels, and thus driving down ketones and suppressing fat burning.”

But Won’t More Protein Kick Me Out Of Ketosis…?

Although it’s true that too much protein may disrupt ketosis, you don’t need to worry about a few extra grams of protein. Eating slightly more protein will not kick you out of ketosis because not all excess protein converts into glucose via gluconeogenesis. I personally go over or under up to 15 grams so don’t worry if you don’t match your numbers precisely every day. In fact, your protein requirements are slightly different based on your daily activity: you’ll need more protein on your “training” days compared to your “resting” days.

Some people don’t eat enough protein because they are afraid that it will slow down their progress. As a result, they are hungry and overeat fat. Because calories do count, even on a ketogenic diet, they may end up stalling or even gaining weight. If you are trying to lose weight or build muscles, you have to eat enough protein.

Make sure you eat enough protein. Lack of protein leads to increased hunger and energy intake. Eating enough protein and not overeating fat is one of the rules you should follow if you want to lose weight on a ketogenic diet. Don’t rely on high ketone levels – what matters most is your food intake.

Post-Workout Nutrition and Nutrient Timing

Contrary to common beliefs, nutrient timing is not as important as people think. It shouldn’t be the main focus for those who just want to look and feel better. So unless you aim for significant muscle gain or you are an athlete, you won’t need to worry about nutrient timing.

It’s simple: if you want to lose body fat, you need to stay in calorie deficit (use your body fat for energy). If you want to gain muscles, you need to be in calorie surplus. You should be aiming for macronutrients that fit your individual needs (check our keto calculator for more details). Other factors that play a role in muscle gain are listed in this post: adequate protein intake, calorie surplus, proper training and resting.

Carbs and Ketogenic Nutrition

A common belief is that post-workout meals have to be high in carbs. The reason for this belief is that a meal high in carbohydrates will increase insulin which will increase amino acid uptake and promote muscle protein synthesis. However, loading your body with large amounts of post-workout carbs is not as effective as you may think. In fact, to get the maximal effect of protein synthesis, you only need a small amount of insulin.

This doesn’t mean you should avoid carbs altogether. Depending on the type of exercise, you may benefit from small carb-ups. Just keep in mind that if you include extra carbs, time them wisely round your workouts or later in the day rather than having a high-carb breakfast meal.

Protein and Ketogenic Nutrition

The primary factor in muscle protein synthesis is your amino acid intake, specifically leucine. Leucine is an essential amino acid that triggers muscle protein synthesis. It has been shown that blood levels of leucine increase when in a keto-adapted state (protein-sparing effect of ketogenic diets). You don’t need to over-consume protein to benefit from muscle protein synthesis – just eat adequate amounts to fit your needs. What actually maximises muscle anabolism after resistance exercise is leucine and not the insulin response if you were to eat carbs.

Fat and Ketogenic Nutrition

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat diet. However, it is not recommended to eat high-fat meals immediately after a workout. A high-fat meal would slow digestion of post-workout protein intake – this is not desirable for weight loss or muscle gain. More details are included in this post: How Much Fat on a Ketogenic Diet?

Common Myths about Exercise Nutrition

There are several myths that are circulating over the internet and here are the most common ones…

Myth 1: Our body cannot absorb more than 30 grams of protein per sitting

You may have heard that your body cannot digest more than 30-40 grams of protein in one sitting – the rest would apparently be wasted. Don’t worry, that’s a myth. As you may know, intermittent fasting (IF) pairs perfectly with the ketogenic diet and if you do IF, you will likely be eating just one or two meals a day. Does this mean you are not absorbing enough protein? No. Even if you eat more protein in one sitting, it won’t be wasted – your body (the small intestine) will store the amino acids and use them as needed.

Myth 2: You need to eat 40 grams of protein in every meal

Secondly, some people suggest that you need to eat 40 grams of protein in every meal to trigger muscle protein synthesis. This is wrong – what you need is to consume adequate protein throughout the day.

By following the 40 gram rule, you may easily be over-consuming protein, especially if you eat more than twice a day. I am quite active and my protein intake is between 80 and 100 grams based on whether I exercise on that particular day or not. As an example, if I was to have 3 meals a day, I would be over-eating protein by up to 40 grams. Finally, keep in mind that the ketogenic diet is not a high-protein diet.

Myth 3: Post-workout anabolic window of opportunity

The suggestion is that immediately after a workout (no later than 30-45 minutes), our body needs fast-digesting carbs and protein. That’s why it’s not unusual to see people bringing their protein & carb shakes to gym so they can drink them just after exercise before the window closes.

However, it seems that this window is much bigger and nutrient timing in general isn’t that important for the vast majority of people who are trying to lose weight and get fit. Rather than sipping on protein shakes immediately after a workout, take it easy and have a proper meal at home.

Myth 4: You should never fast after a workout

Mark Sisson has admitted to fast after a workout once in a while – and so do I. The benefit is that just like intermittent fasting, and resistance training, post-workout fasting increases the level of human growth hormone (HGH). So if I don’t feel hungry, I don’t eat. Not feeling hungry is the main benefit of the ketogenic diet and low-carb diets in general. As Mark notes: “Insulin suppresses HGH. Skipping the carb snack and the subsequent insulin upsurge goes a long way post-workout.”

You can read even more about protein, carbs and exercise nutrition in these posts: Ketogenic Nutrition and Exercise: Fat and Ketogenic Nutrition and Exercise: Carbs

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Nutrition
Ketogenic Nutrition and Exercise: Protein

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Diet & Nutrition
Ketogenic Nutrition and Exercise: Protein

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Ketogenic Nutrition and Exercise: Protein

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About the Reviewer

This article has been reviewed by Franziska Spritzler, RD, CDE who is a qualified expert. At KetoDiet we work with a team of health professionals to ensure accurate and up-to-date information. You can find out more on the About us page.

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How the Keto Diet Impacts Workout Recovery

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A widely held belief is that we absolutely need carbohydrates for successful workout recovery. The reasoning behind this is that carbohydrates help replenish glycogen. They also spike insulin which supports muscle protein synthesis. If that is the case, does that mean that low carb diets like the keto diet are detrimental to workout success?

Why carbohydrates are recommended?

After a tough workout, your glycogen stores become depleted. In case you are not familiar: glycogen is carbohydrate stored in muscle tissue. It fuels much of your workouts.

Traditional sports nutrition advice says we need to replenish that lost glycogen as soon as possible. Failing to do so is bound to slow down your recovery.

More specifically, taking carbohydrates within a couple of hours after vigorous training is believed to:

Replenish muscle glycogen
Spike insulin which is an important anabolic hormone
Increase water content within muscle tissue
Lower levels of cortisol, a catabolic hormone

However, many of these claims are now being questioned. And some are really not all important for the average person.

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If you’re someone who works out three times a week, for example, there’s no need for you to speed up the rate at which your muscle glycogen gets replenished. As long as you’re eating some carbohydrates, your glycogen stores will get back to normal within two days.

Besides that, studies have found that protein, especially the amino acid leucine, spike insulin just as much as carbohydrates. Studies also found that taking carbs together with protein was no more effective than a placebo when it comes to workout recovery.

The keto diet and workout recovery

The ketogenic (keto) diet is controversial in regard to sports nutrition. Because carbs are considered essential for performance and post-workout recovery, a diet deficient in carbs seems like a recipe for disaster. But the human body is complex and able to adapt to things we think impossible.

So, what does the science say about keto diets
and workout recovery?

Dr. Jeff Volek, a renowned low-carb researcher led a study that was published in a 2016 issue of Metabolism. The study revealed that 10 ultra-endurance athletes who had been following a keto diet for at least 6 months showed a higher fat oxidation rate and a lower carbohydrate oxidation rate during exercise. They also showed similar muscle glycogen levels at rest as the control group.

The study also found that glycogen levels recovered at the same rate in the keto group as well as the control group. This was despite the fact that the keto group consumed a diet containing 5% carbohydrates while the control group diet had 50% carbohydrates.

This study concluded that endurance athletes could maintain normal muscle glycogen content, utilization, and recovery after long-term adaptation to a ketogenic diet.

This study shows that adapting to a low-carb diet like keto makes the body use fat for energy during workouts while sparing muscle glycogen. With less glycogen lost, you need fewer carbs to recover. However, it takes several months to truly adapt to low-carb diets, so performance and recovery may suffer in the meantime. This has been confirmed by short-term studies.

Another thing to keep in mind is that ketosis, which is the primary goal of the ketogenic diet, is not the end goal of this diet. Instead, it is keto-adaptation (after long-term ketosis) that matters, especially for athletic types.

Some limitations of the keto diet

There is a caveat to using keto for workouts. Researchers agree that workouts that heavily rely on anaerobic metabolisms, like strength training, will not work on a fat-fueled diet. That’s because ketones and fat cannot be metabolized anaerobically.

But this may apply only to athletes. Common folk may actually do quite well on a low-carb diet where strength training and other anaerobic-heavy workouts are concerned.

A study published in Nutrition & Metabolism found that the keto diet combined with resistance training reduces body fat without affecting muscle mass in untrained overweight women. So, there was no major impairment.

Central Fatigue

Another problem with the keto diet when it comes to workout recovery is how it affects central fatigue, meaning feelings of tiredness caused by changes in brain chemicals.

There’s evidence that when you’re burning more fat, the brain takes up more tryptophan – a precursor to the production of the feel-good neurotransmitter serotonin, which makes you feel tired.

Eating too much protein on this diet, which isn’t uncommon in people who regularly exercise, can also lead to elevated ammonia production during workouts. Ammonia alters energy metabolism in the brain and also communication between nerve cells, all of which leads to feelings of fatigue.

However, most of this evidence is based on short-term research, and longer studies on keto-adapted subjects are needed to check if keto truly does make you feel tired after workouts.

What else you need to consider

A major benefit of the keto diet is that it enhances fat burning. Most people follow this diet for this very reason. Even athletes may use it to shed pounds before major events.

What’s best about keto is that it is proven to burn fat while sparing muscle – something not found with most other weight-loss programs. The keto diet also does not affect resting metabolic rate (RMR) even after it leads to major weight loss.

And while you can definitely use this diet to burn fat, there are things you need to consider if you’re someone who’s an athlete or very active:

1. Increasing sodium intake

Another pioneering expert in keto sports nutrition, Dr. Stephen Phinney, recommends consuming more sodium on a keto diet. Between 3,000 and 5,000 mg of this important electrolyte is necessary to maintain normal metabolism and hydration levels, especially if you’re athletic. Besides sodium, Dr. Phinney recommends consuming 3,000 to 4,000 mg of potassium and 300-500mg of magnesium.

2. Carb cycling

The cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD) involves cycling between the standard keto diet and a high-carb diet. Usually, dieters will eat low-carb for 5-6 days of the week and do a carb refeed on days 6 and/or 7.

On carb-refeed days, you will be temporarily kicked out of ketosis. This helps restore muscle glycogen to greater levels than you could achieve by maintaining ketosis. This approach seems to work better for athletes than standard keto.

3. Targeting carb intake

Another option is to target your carbohydrate intake around your workouts. This is called the targeted ketogenic (TKD). This nutritional approach was developed to help athletic types fuel their workouts and improve post-exercise recovery.

If you’re someone who takes part in vigorous anaerobic activity, this method may be best for you.

Conclusion

Post-workout recovery is an essential aspect of all types of training. Resting is one part of the process, proper nutrition is another.

Usually, you will hear that carbohydrates are essential for proper workout recovery. And, that low-carb diets like keto cannot help with this process. However, this is simply not true.

The keto diet does not impair post-workout recovery in most cases. But it isn’t perfect, and whether you should consider it for your exercise regime boils down to personal choice. The reason? We don’t know everything about sports nutrition.

So the question of whether carbs are necessary for
workout recovery or if ketones can suffice remains open.

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7 Gym-Friendly Keto Snacks To Keep You Fighting Fit

Working out on any restrictive diet can sometimes seem like an uphill battle. But keeping to a specific nutritional regime can be great for any cardio and flexibility training needed for martial arts. When you’re on the ketogenic diet, it’s especially important to stick to your eating plans. Swaying too far might mean you fall out of ketosis, the fat-burning mode the low-carb, high-fat diet brings you in. The right pre and post workout snacks can help get you through the tough parts of staying keto when you’re training.

What Is Keto?

The ketogenic diet is based on minimal carbs, a moderate amount of protein and a lot of fats. The goal is to get your body in a state of ketosis, where it uses fat as a source of energy instead of carbs. This can be the fats in your food, but also fat stored in your body. How many carbs, proteins, and fats you need to consume, depends on various factors like your goals, your lifestyle and body composition. You can determine the amounts with a keto calculator which takes all these aspects into consideration.

Going keto is an excellent option if you’re looking to develop muscle tone and keep yourself lean and fit. It helps boost your energy levels and increases flexibility. It can even prevent long-term health complications, by lowering the amount of glucose in your blood.

There are however some concerns about using keto if you’re trying to bulk up. For martial arts, however, it is a fantastic diet. It encourages heart health, and the high-fat content allows you to stay flexible and healthy. The lack of carbs in your diet means you have plenty of energy, and your workouts can go on longer, to increase stamina during your training. It’s also the perfect diet to gain the lean muscle that is instrumental in keeping you fighting fit.

Best Portable Keto Snacks For The Gym Bag

Keto doesn’t have to mean you spend all day in the kitchen. For that boost of energy before or after a great workout, all you need are a few gym bag friendly recipes. Prepping yourself some delicious snacks that can be carried with you doesn’t need to be complicated. These healthy, keto-friendly snacks are super portable, filling, and delicious whether they’re at the beginning or end of your workout!

1. 4 Ingredient Protein Bars

Delicious protein bars to give you a boost of energy while you’re training. These are simple to make, and they last a while, so you can always grab a protein bar when you need it.

Ingredients

1 cup of almonds
1 cup of cashews
egg white protein
10 ounces dates
2-4 tbsps water
1 tbsp cinnamon
¼ cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Instructions

Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper.

In your food processor, process the almonds, cashews, coconut, cinnamon and egg white protein until the nuts have been broken down into small pieces. The “chunkiness” is down to taste.

Add in the pitted dates and process. Add in water, a tablespoon at a time, and combine until everything sticks together. The mixture should be sticky when you transfer it to the pan.

Flatten with your fingers. Freeze for 1 hour. Cut into bars.

You can pop the bars into a Ziplock bag and put them in your gym bag.

2. Avocado Egg Salad

Egg salad may not seem like the most portable option, but keeping it in these avocado boats make it suitable for a lunch box or gym bag snack. Rich in proteins and healthy fats, it’s just the thing for the keto diet.

Ingredients

4 large eggs
1 ripe avocado
1 handful of chives
1 handful of parsley
Juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Hard boil your eggs and peel them.

Scoop out avocado into boats

Place the eggs with avocado, and herbs in a medium bowl. Add lemon juice and seasoning. Mash with a fork.

Scoop into avocado boats

Wrap these up in a lunch box or another plastic bag.

3. Salmon Cucumber Rollups

Ingredients

1 long English cucumber

½ cup smoked salmon

½ cup cream cheese

Instructions

Peel the cucumber into 6-inch strips using a vegetable peeler

Spoon about 1-2 teaspoons of cream cheese along the length of the cucumber.

Press a strip of smoked salmon into the top of the cream cheese and roll the cucumber as tightly as possible.

Secure with a toothpick, and roll in wax paper. It won’t keep for long but should stay fresh in a sealed container.

3. Keto Chocolate Coconut Fat Bomb Squares

Keto fat bombs are a popular snack while you’re on keto. Rich in fats and proteins, they’re also really easy to stuff in a gym bag. They keep for a long time, so they’re great for freezing, and are sure to kick any sweet cravings you have.

Ingredients

4 cups coconut flakes, unsweetened

1 cup of coconut oil

1 cup of chocolate chips

½ cup of butter

2 tbsp sweetener of your choice, powdered

1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

Melt the coconut oil and butter together.

Combine the melted butter and coconut oil to the chocolate flakes.

Add 1 tsp of vanilla and mix well

Add in sugar and mix

Place parchment paper in a square pan and pour the coconut mixture into the bottom. Freeze until set.

Melt chocolate chips by setting a glass bowl in a pot of boiling water, so you get a nice even coat.

Remove coconut mixture from the freezer, and coat the top with the chocolate, spreading to get a beautiful, even coat.

Freeze completely

4. Keto Friendly Banana Bread Muffins

Baking and keto? There are ways! These banana bread muffins are great breakfast on the go, or a delicious snack to take to the gym.

Ingredients

3 large eggs

1 cups mashed bananas

½ cup almond butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup coconut flour

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

sea salt

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a muffin pan

2 combine eggs, bananas almond butter, and vanilla in a large bowl.

Whisk till fully combined.

Combine dry ingredients, and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.

Spoon batter into muffin tins. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

Once they’ve had a few minutes to cool, you can wrap them up for the gym bag, or stick them in the freezer to keep for longer!

5. Keto Carmelitas

Carmelitas are traditionally made with oats and sugar. But these are healthy and keto-friendly. They’re also fantastic. About the size of a protein bar, and packed full of sweetness, they’re the perfect way to curb an after-workout craving.

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened coconut

3/4 cup sliced almonds

1 cup almond flour

½ cup sweetener of your choice

3 tbsp coconut flour

½ tsp baking soda

1/3 tsp salt

½ cup butter, melted

1 cup sugar-free caramel sauce

1/3 sugar-free chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 225F and grease a 9×9 inch square pan

Combine coconut and sliced almond in a food processor. These are to replace the oats, so they’ll need to be about that size when you’re done.

Add this to a large bowl with almond flour, sweetener, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in melted butter.

Press half the mixture into the bottom of the baking pan. Bake 10 minutes.

Cool completely and prepare your caramel sauce and chocolate chips.

Spread caramel sauce, then chocolate chips. Add the other half of the mixture to the top, and bake another 15 minutes.

6. Homemade Chipotle Beef Jerky

Beef jerky is the ultimate in travel-friendly protein. These jerky sticks are delicious and flavorful. They take a while to cook, but they’re simple, and they make a significant impact on your training.

Ingredients

1 ½ lb flank steak

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 tsp liquid smoke

1 tsp chipotle powder

½ tsp chipotle salt

2 tsp chipotle flakes

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp paprika

black pepper

Instructions

Freeze the flank steak for 2 hours to make it easier to cut. Cut in thin strips

Use the rest of the ingredients to make the marinade. Add the sliced steak, stir to coat, cover, and place in the fridge overnight, for at least 24 hours

Preheat the oven to your lowest setting. Lay the steak slices on a baking rap. Bake in the oven with the oven door propped open slightly. It should take between 4-6 hours to dry out completely, and you should turn the meat every two hours.

7. Egg Cups On The Go

Egg muffins are full of proteins, and you can fix them with whatever your favorite mix-ins are. This recipe is totally customizable, portable, and takes only minutes. Whether it’s an on the go breakfast, or a protein-packed snack is up to you.

Ingredients

12 eggs

4 oz cooked bacon

4 oz cheddar cheese

4 oz sun-dried tomatoes

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400F

Place cupcake liners in a muffin tin

Crack an egg in each cup and fill with your favorite mix-ins. We’re using cheese, bacon, and sundried tomatoes, but you can replace with whatever you like best

Season

Bake for 15 minutes

Keto is a great choice if you’re looking to lose weight and gain lean muscles. But your diet is only part of your health. Sticking to an exercise regime that works for your keto diet means having keto-friendly snacks on hand wherever you go. That includes the gym. These recipes keep you healthy and feeling great during training. Plus, they make a great portable pick me up.

Guest post from Michael Herscu, Co Founder, Kiss My Keto

Best Keto Workout Snacks (Pre and Post Workout)

Post-workout nutrition is critical to a healthy you. Without it, your body doesn’t have the tools necessary to repair itself. Effective workout recovery relies on you eating the right foods at the right time, though. If you are rocking the keto plan, what is the strategy for post-workout nutrition? For full list of pre workout snack and meal options, click here.

Keto and Exercise Recovery

It’s a complicated question because there is a misconception that the ketogenic diet can impair proper workout recovery. Carbohydrates are a staple for recovery because they provide the energy that refills glycogen stores, so what about keto?

A 2016 study published in Metabolism shows that the body will adapt to low-carb diets by using fat for energy instead. The keto diet focuses on two primary macronutrients needed for a healthy recovery: protein and fat. Turns out that workout recovery and keto are a natural fit.

What is Workout Recovery?

When you exercise, whether you hit the treadmill or the free weights, you stress your body. That’s actually the purpose of a workout. Exercise creates tiny micro-tears in muscle tissue that promote change.

All life has a built-in drive to survive and adaptability is part of that mechanism. When you stress your muscles and damage them, your body looks to find a way to ensure that won’t happen again. It pulls in new cells to build the muscle tissue bigger and stronger.

It’s that adaptation that requires you to periodically change your workout routines to make them harder. For example, if you do a bicep curl with a 5-lb weight, it stresses the muscle and causes tiny tears. Your body continues to build that muscle up until 5-lbs no longer damages it. At the point, if you want bigger arms, you have to start lifting 10-lbs at a time.

Workout recovery occurs between exercise sessions when your body replenishes it’s glycogen stores and repairs muscle. All that takes rebuilding takes proper nutrition.

What are the Right Foods?

Following a keto diet provides one of the most essential components for muscle recovery — protein. Lean protein if full of amino acids which are the building blocks of life and especially muscle tissue. Fat also helps make the muscles stronger and maintain muscle mass.

Eating the Right Foods at the Right Time

Timing is everything in workout recovery but nutrition starts before you exercise for keto athletes. Increase your protein intake throughout the day. When carbs are low, the body will use excess protein for glucose. You’ll also want fat consumption to be about 70 percent of your calorie intake.

Before your workout, eat up to 40 grams of protein in smoothies or other snacks. After exercise, eat 20 to 40 grams of protein every four to six hours to trigger muscle synthesis. An after-workout meal might look like this:

Three to four ounces of protein like steak or salmon.
Up to 30 grams of fat such as nut butter.
A plateful of nonstarchy veggies like broccoli or greens

This is a winning combination for a post-workout, keto-friendly meal. When combined with high-fat and protein snacks, you give your body what it needs to heal.

Best Keto Pre-Workout Snacks

For keto dieters, what you eat before is just as important as what you eat after you exercise. Consider some tasty pre-workout snacks:

Nuts – Nuts are powerhouse foods full of both protein and healthy fat. A small handful is enough to boost your energy levels and get you moving.
Nut butter – Nut butter provides fat-based energy to fuel a workout. It’s a good choice for cardio exercise when you need a little extra punch. Spread the butter over celery for some crunch.
One or two hard-boiled eggs – One egg contains 6.3 grams of protein and 5.3 grams of fat, depending on the size of the egg.
Ham and Cream Cheese Roll-Up – If you are a sandwich lover, you have to get creative when following a keto diet. Take a couple of thinly sliced pieces of ham, spread cream cheese over them and roll them up for a high protein and fat snack good for strength training.

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Best Post-Workout Keto Snacks

After workout snacks should focus on providing your body with the nutrition it needs for muscle repair.

The Mini Egg Muffin

Bake these up during the day, so you can pop one in the microwave after your cardio workout.

Beat your eggs in a bowl with salt and pepper (as many as you want)
Distribute your beaten egg mixture into muffin cups
Add your choice of ingredients like spinach, good for iron, or cheese
Bake the egg muffins for 15 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

One egg muffin has 90 calories, six grams of protein and five grams of fat.

Veggie Sticks with Nut Butter

Nut butter makes another appearance as a post-workout snack. This time dip raw veggies in it or steam them and drizzle the nut butter over the top for extra nutritional value and flavor.

Avocado-Egg Salad

Mix two keto favorites for heart-healthy fats and anti-inflammatory nutrients. Simply dice up a few hard-boiled eggs and mix them in thoroughly mashed avocado. The avocado should have a mayonnaise-like consistency so use a blender or food processor if necessary.

Use the egg salad as a dip for crunchy vegetables or spread it on kale or lettuce to make a wrap.

Bone Broth

A good choice for immediately after a cardio workout or for extra protein later in the day. If you buy your bone broth, make sure it is keto-friendly with no added sweeteners.

The Classic Keto Smoothie (or protein shakes)

The nice thing about smoothies is variety. Use coconut, avocado or nut butter as a base. Don’t be afraid to add in some low-carb fruits to the smoothie for extra essential vitamins and nutrients. For example:

You can also go with vegetables for a more hearty recipe such as:

Mix and match your smoothies so you have a light snack every few hours after your workout. Adding in a low net carb protein powder can also be an added bonus and another way to augment flavoring of your shake/smoothie. The extra protein will help you build muscle after your workout. Protein bars are also an option, just watch for the net carbs and extra sugars.

Roast Beef Cheese Combo Snack

As with the pre-workout ham rollup, just load the meat up with your favorite cheeses and roll it. You might consider a dipping sauce after a workout, too, or put the meat on keto bread.

Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle but make sure you fuel your recovery with the right pre and post-workout foods.

Interested in keto snack ideas? We’ve listed 120+ options!

Published: Sep. 23, 2019
Author: Darla Ferrara
Darla Ferrara is a guest writer for SuperFat and is a full-time medical writer with a background in nutrition for disease prevention and healthcare.

Keto Workout Recovery: Bounce Back Faster with these 8 Tips

5. Cold Therapy

While ice baths and saunas have been a staple among elite athlete’s training routines since the start, more of the general population has begun utilizing these recovery modalities. You can spot ice baths in every professional training facility and for good reason, too. Ice baths help reduce inflammation and improve recovery.

You see, when you sit in very cold water, your blood vessels constrict. When you get out, they open back up. As far as the research goes, there are studies that prove icebaths to be very beneficial, while other studies claim ice baths offer no additional value. ^[5]

6. Heat Therapy

Another key component in optimal recovery includes the use of a sauna after a workout session. Using the sauna has been though to help improve cardiovascular performance, flush toxins, clean the skin, possibly lower risk of neurological diseases and more. ^[6]

7. Stretch

Most exercise routines you see today involve some sort of stretching. Whether its pre or post-workout, even the average gym-goer knows it’s important to stretch. But why? Well, stretching helps with a number of factors including recovery. Stretching helps increase blood flow to your muscles, improve your posture, increase your range of motion, increase your flexibility and increase your physical performance in general. ^[7] ^[8]^[9]

8. Avoid Overtraining

One of the most overlooked tips when it comes to adequate recovery is simple: don’t overtrain! This means training intensely for days without a day or two to recover, not eating enough, not sleeping enough or not drinking enough water. If you’re training is rigorous and intense, your recovery should be matching that same effort.

For example, I train the Olympic lifts (snatch and clean and jerk) six days a week. If I don’t get enough sleep or if I don’t feel like I’ve eaten enough to adequately recover, I will reduce my training to five days a week.

I’ve learned how to listen to my body and know enough is enough. If I decide to push through, I begin to feel overly fatigued, I might start gaining weight and I could have a greater chance of injury.

Whatever way you’re getting your fitness in, make sure you’re recovering just as well so you can do more of what you love.

References

Olivier Dupuy, Wafa Douzi, Dimitri Theurot, Laurent Bosquet, and Benoit Dugué. An Evidence-Based Approach for Choosing Post-exercise Recovery Techniques to Reduce Markers of Muscle Damage, Soreness, Fatigue, and Inflammation: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis. Front Physiol. 2018; 9: 403.
Stark M1, Lukaszuk J, Prawitz A, Salacinski A.Protein timing and its effects on muscular hypertrophy and strength in individuals engaged in weight-training. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2012 Dec 14;9(1).
Maughan RJ1, Meyer NL. Hydration during intense exercise training. Nestle Nutr Inst Workshop Ser. 2013;76:25-37.

Gregory E. P. Pearcey, David J. Bradbury-Squires, Jon-Erik Kawamoto, Eric J. Drinkwater, David G. Behm, and Duane C. Button. Foam Rolling for Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness and Recovery of Dynamic Performance Measures. J Athl Train. 2015 Jan; 50(1).

Allan and C. Mawhinney. Is the ice bath finally melting? Cold water immersion is no greater than active recovery upon local and systemic inflammatory cellular stress in humans. J Physiol. 2017; 595(6).

Tanjaniina Laukkanen, Setor Kunutsor, Jussi Kauhanen, Jari Antero Laukkanen. Sauna bathing is inversely associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in middle-aged Finnish men. Age and Ageing. 2017; 46(2).

Phil Page. Current concepts in muscle stretching for exercise and rehabilitation. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2012 Feb; 7(1).

DeokJu Kim, MiLim Cho, YunHee Park,and YeongAe Yang. Effect of an exercise program for posture correction on musculoskeletal pain. J Phys Ther Sci. 2015 Jun; 27(6).

Hotta K1, Kamiya K, Shimizu R, Yokoyama M, Nakamura-Ogura M, Tabata M, Kamekawa D, Akiyama A, Kato M, Noda C, Matsunaga A, Masuda T. Stretching exercises enhance vascular endothelial function and improve peripheral circulation in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Int Heart J. 2013;54(2).

Nutrition & Supplement Guide
– Left Coast Performance

The ketogenic diet is known for helping people drop the pounds when they need to lose weight. But plenty of non-overweight people also use the keto diet to get fit and build muscle. If you’re looking for a way to get your best body yet, the keto diet is the perfect solution. Here’s how a combination of workouts and keto can keep you fit.

How Keto Can Help You Get Fit

On a physiological level, the ketogenic diet is unlike any other diet out there. It forces the body to switch metabolic processes in order to use stored fat as a source of energy. Because of this, the keto diet is one of the best diets for overweight people who have a hard time with other regimens.

While the keto diet is known to help people lose weight, many people are embracing the keto lifestyle because it helps people get into the best shape of their lives.

Two factors are responsible for keto’s benefits to body composition. The first is how the keto diet targets fat: instead of using glycogen, an energy source derived from carbs, the keto diet transitions the body to use ketone bodies and stored fats as energy.

Because of this, those on the keto diet have an easier time losing fat while maintaining muscle mass. Cardio exercise especially is shown to have more fat-burning power while a person is on the keto diet.

Body composition can drastically change with different levels of body fat. With keto, you may find yourself looking at a six pack where before there was none. Keto works to carve body fat from muscle groups like abs and pectorals, leaving them more defined than ever before.

The second factor that makes keto a good choice for getting fit is that it does not affect how your body builds muscle. Because keto spares the muscles, you don’t have to worry about losing bulk while following keto.

Challenges of Working Out on the Keto Diet

Because the keto diet starts with a major physiological transition — ketosis — there are a few specific side effects that you should take note of before you jump into your next hardcore workout.

The Keto Flu

For the first week or so of the keto diet, many people experience symptoms that are known colloquially as the keto flu. While there is no fever associated with this type of flu, it does come with several other annoying symptoms like headaches, fatigue, nausea, irritability, and poor sleep.

The keto flu makes you feel under the weather, which can drain your motivation to work out. If you do decide to workout while you’re feeling the effects of the keto flu, take it slow. Don’t push your limits during this critical point in the diet.

Make sure to drink plenty of water so you don’t get dehydrated, and make sure you refuel post-workout to make sure you’re getting enough calories and macros.

Undereating

The keto diet is known to have appetite-suppressing effects, which can make it hard to eat enough calories. However, it’s critical that your body has enough energy in order to run smoothly. It’s a good idea to keep a few keto-friendly snacks around, so you can munch your way to the calories you need without having to sit down to a full blown meal.

It’s also a good idea to gauge how you feel while you work out. If you’re feeling groggy, depleted, dehydrated, or weak, it may be time to add a few extra snacks to your meal plan.

Nutrition Timing for Post Workout Meals

Exercise does a body good, and you can take those exercise benefits even further by refueling properly post-workout. The best way to do this is to eat the right things at the right time.

After you exercise, there is a two-hour window where your body is in recovery mode. During this time, protein is your best friend. By eating protein within this two-hour window, you can help your muscles recover from your workout and gain more mass.

Tips for Building the Perfect Keto Post-Workout Meal

Grab a Smoothie

A protein shake or smoothie is a great option when you’re looking to optimize your post-workout meals. Try a few different combinations of your favorite keto ingredients like whey protein, MCT oil, cocoa powder, leafy greens, and coconut milk. Throw it all in a blender for an easy post-workout boost with your perfect combination of macros.

Build Your Plate

When it comes to your post-workout meal, the best strategy is to build a plate around a healthy protein. Wild fish, grass-fed beef, and free-range poultry offer the perfect blend of fats and proteins that the body needs to replenish itself post-workout.

Bulk up your plate with your favorite low-carb veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, kale, zucchini, and bell peppers. These veggies not only pack a punch when it comes to micronutrients and vitamins, but they can also help you feel fuller thanks to their high levels of dietary fiber.

Try a Meal Plan

For those on keto, impulse eating is enemy number 1. If you don’t have any keto-friendly food options on-hand when hunger strikes, it’s incredibly easy to stray from your diet plan.

By laying out a food plan for the week and meal prepping, you can have multiple meals in the fridge and freezer that are ready to go when you get back from the gym and are feeling ravenous.

Additionally, a keto meal plan makes it much easier to measure and track your macros — ensuring that you hit your target levels of fats, proteins, and carbs.

5 Great Keto Post Workout Snacks and Meals

Looking for some inspiration for your next gym session? Here are a few meals and snack combos that will keep you satisfied without the carbs.

Oven-Baked Pesto Salmon with Broccoli + Avocado Salad

Wild fish is one of the healthiest things you can eat. Fish is chock full of protein, vitamin D, and critical Omega-3s that promote a healthy cardiovascular system. For an easy fish-centric dish, grab your favorite jar of supermarket basil pesto and spread generously over a filet of wild-caught salmon.

Pair with a healthy serving of broccoli for a solid post-workout meal. For a snack, try a quick avocado salad with chunks of avocado, red onion, tomatoes, and cilantro, drizzled with lime juice and olive oil.

Ground Chicken Lettuce Wraps + Keto Deviled Eggs

Eating Chinese food while on keto can be a little touch (see our article on Keto Chinese Food here). However, it’s easy to whip up a few lettuce wraps without adding an obscene amount of sugar. Grab a pound of ground chicken and saute with green onion, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, toasted sesame oil, and soy sauce. Serve on a few leaves of Bibb lettuce.

For a snack, there’s nothing better than keto deviled eggs. Just slice a few hard boiled eggs, mix the yolks with a little mayonnaise, mustard, and Tabasco, and you’re in business.

Keto Tacos + Guacamole

Keto tacos are extremely satisfying, especially after a hard workout. There are lots of keto-friendly tortilla alternatives out there, but if you have time, why not make your own out of cheddar cheese?

Simple grab a handful of shredded cheddar and sprinkle evenly in a circle shape in a pan over medium heat. It will start to melt, and eventually crisp up, making the perfect keto taco shell. Fill with grass-fed ground beef, more cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, and your favorite hot sauce for a meal you’ll be looking forward to making again and again.

For a snack, or to serve on top of your keto tacos, make keto-friendly guacamole by blending avocados, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, salt, and lime juice.

Caesar Salad with Roast Chicken + Buffalo Cauliflower

A Caesar salad is a very versatile keto meal — you can customize it however you want in order to fill you up. To romaine lettuce, add parmesan, roasted chicken, grape tomatoes, and bacon. Top with your favorite keto-friendly salad dressing.

For a snack, make your own buffalo cauliflower. Mix together some cayenne pepper sauce and grass-fed butter, add the cauliflower and stir to coat. Bake in the oven until tender.

Stuffed Avocados + Mini Keto Frittata

Avocados are the king of the keto diet. For a tasty dish, cut an avocado in half and fill each side with egg, bacon, and cheese. Bake until the egg has set, and dig in.

For a quick breakfast or grab-and-go snack, make some mini frittata ahead of time and store in the freezer. In a muffin tin, drop some deli meat, bell pepper, broccoli, and cheese. Cover with beaten egg and bake.

Post Workout Supplements in Keto

While getting your nutrition from the food you eat is obviously ideal, supplementation can also give you a much-needed boost of nutrients after a workout. On the keto diet, these kinds of supplements can be doubly important, since you’re tactically restricting certain types of foods that might otherwise provide that nourishment.

Protein Powder

The keto diet is relatively low-protein, which can make building muscle difficult when you’re on it. Luckily, protein powders offer a low-carb method for taking in the protein you need to benefit most from arm or leg day. Our Chocolate Keto Protein Powder, for instance, provides 10g of protein from collagen for just 1g of net carbs.

Beta Hydroxybutyrate (BHB) Salt Ketones

BHB salts are exogenous ketones (ketones not produced by the body) that can help boost your athletic performance. Taking them raises your blood ketone levels, giving you energy and greater endurance. Plus, you can more easily stay in ketosis, mining more value out of your cardio.

Our Keto Burst BHB Salt Ketone supplement is chocolate-flavored and can be thrown into any smoothie, shake or drink you want.

Electrolytes

Potassium, magnesium, and sodium are important electrolytes that help you recover more quickly from even the most intense workouts. Our Keto Electrolytes supplement provides all of these, plus calcium to aid in bone strength.

Fitness: What to Eat Before & After Workout

Exercise is one of the best ways to improve your keto lifestyle, not to mention improve your overall health and wellness. But since carbohydrates have long been thought to be critical to the energy of a workout, one of the most common questions from people on the keto diet is how to fuel the body for exercise without a load of carbohydrates. In this article, we’ll clear up the confusion and share information about what you should eat before and after training for optimal performance and recovery during the ketogenic diet.

Fact and fiction of loading carbohydrates for exercise

It has long been thought that carbohydrates are essential for nutrition and recovery from exercise. But recent research by scientists and physicians such as Dr. Jeff Volek (Registered Nutritionist, Ohio State University professor and keto expert) provides a better understanding of body physiology. Consensus? Carbohydrates aren’t the only fuel your body can use during and after exercise.In fact, his research suggests that carbohydrates may not even be the optimal source, and that a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet gives more promising results with pre- and post-workout meals. These results are the reason you may be hearing about more athletes and active people following a keto or low-carb diet rather than a low-fat diet or other diet.

Yet despite these common misconceptions, there is some truth in the need to eat before and after exercise.In the world of nutrition, this is called diet food.

What is nutrition during exercise?

Simply put, during exercise nutrition is around your workout or what you eat before exercise to improve performance, and what you eat after exercise to facilitate recovery.

Standard training dietary guidelines are based on the false belief that carbohydrates are important for both performance and recovery.This leads many people to “carbohydrate load” before and after exercise.

On a ketogenic diet where carbohydrates are essentially prohibited, carbohydrate loading is obviously not an option. But that doesn’t mean your energy or performance should suffer.

What should I eat before exercise?

Here’s the truth: your body doesn’t need carbohydrates to perform. In fact, on a keto diet, your body doesn’t need any pre-workout meal or even a keto-friendly sports drink to maintain endurance; you can do it on an empty stomach.And this is true for any body type! This is one of the great things about the keto diet; when you are in ketosis, your body is in its primary fat burning mode. This means that while exercising, your body can use stored fat as training fuel. In fact, studies have shown that people on a ketogenic diet burn twice as much fat during exercise as those on a carbohydrate diet. So, if your main goal is to burn fat, avoiding food before exercise can be a great way to maximize your efforts.

However, not everyone trains for the purpose of burning fat or wants to train without recharging. For those wondering what to eat before a workout, we have great news: you can eat any keto-friendly food that you know will nourish your individual body and keep you energized and achieve your goals.

If you’re not sure what it is, follow these guidelines:

Eat Protein: It’s great to include it before exercise because it gives your muscles the amino acids they need to function and recover during exercise, not to mention about muscle building.
Eat Fat: is your main source of energy in the ketogenic diet, so adding pre-workout fat gives your body more energy to challenge.
Eat a complete meal if it suits you: While not everyone can have a pre-workout snack, a full pre-workout meal will ensure you get enough fat. and grams of protein for increased performance. If your personal preference is food, even one that includes keto-friendly vegetables, go for it.
Or drink a protein shake or smoothie with MCT: This ensures you have a fast-digesting protein and a source of fat that your body can access shortly after a meal without worrying about being too full to work …

What to eat after training?

Whether you’re keto or not, post-workout nutrition is an important factor in how well your body is handling post-workout recovery.This is the time for a post-workout snack, and protein is your best friend.

In a ketogenic diet, protein is often not inadequate because our classic recommendation is to consume 20 to 25 percent of your calories from protein to maintain ketosis. Although these guidelines were developed for children with epilepsy, they are still recommended (along with 5 to 10 percent of daily calories from carbohydrates) as they represent a baseline of for people wanting to get and stay in ketosis and this means that virtually anyone who adheres to these guidelines should be able to enter and maintain ketosis.But since all bodies are individual, what really works for you depends on your body and your lifestyle. For example, if you exercise intensely through cardio, resistance, or otherwise on a regular basis, you need more protein (more on this below, but also see Dr. Mark Babbs’s book. Peak: The New Science of Athletic Performance That Will Revolutionize Sport ).

Many people are afraid to eat excess protein on a ketogenic diet because they think it will convert to glucose in the body and potentially kick you out of ketosis.While it can occur, this conversion is a demand driven process, meaning your body converts protein to glucose only when it needs glucose for purposes such as body cells that can use glucose only for energy (such as red blood cells) or for Relief Replenish glycogen (our body is stored in the form of carbohydrates) after exercise.

Either way, you shouldn’t be afraid of protein intake, especially since many ketogenic dieters don’t eat enough of it, even if they aren’t exercising.

While getting enough protein is something you should focus on anyway, getting it is even more important if you exercise. Research shows that consuming as little as 20 percent of your calories from protein during exercise can lead to muscle loss. This tells us that your body needs more protein if you exercise, probably about 30 percent of your calories, or more depending on your individual body.Plus, right after your workout, your body is ready to absorb nutrients for recovery, especially protein. That’s why a quick, healthy keto protein shake on your way home from the gym may be your best option.

But it’s also important to note that choosing the right protein source after exercise is also important. You need something that is quickly absorbed during your post-workout window, which starts right after your workout and lasts up to 24 hours.Whey protein, which comes from dairy products, is the fastest-absorbing protein powder, and when taken after exercise can stimulate muscle protein synthesis or new muscle building. This is important because muscle protein synthesis is essential to repair and prevent muscle inflammation.

People who avoid lactose in dairy products can still reap the benefits of whey protein by choosing a protein powder that contains whey protein isolate (aka whey isolate, a dietary supplement that separates components from milk) that contains the least amount of lactose.

Once you saturate your body with fast-digesting protein, you are ready for a wholesome meal. After you get home from the gym, prepare high-protein, high-fat meals to make sure you continue to focus on protein intake and getting all of your micronutrients from quality fat sources. Both will help facilitate recovery.

The Last Word

The most important thing to take away from this article is not to be afraid of protein intake.Traditional low protein keto recommendations are based on epilepsy treatment and should be modified to suit your individual bio-personality and lifestyle. Bottom line: If you exercise, you need more protein, especially after exercise.

Workout & Keto Diet – Blog

By: Katie Kissain, M.Sc. in Education, Registered Dietitian, Certified Sports Nutritionist

It is likely that someone you know or you yourself follow the keto diet or at least have tried it.Many have noticed that this low-carb, high-fat diet is producing positive results, including weight loss and increased energy. The benefits of this diet are so touted by many that few people seem to be talking about the disadvantages, in particular how this diet affects exercise.

The keto diet works well with low-intensity sports activities such as long walks, zumba or light strength training. Difficulties arise when it comes to higher intensity training.These workouts include high intensity interval training (HIIT), crossfit workouts, weightlifting, or speed running. Such workouts are popular and effective. So why is it so much more difficult to exercise at high intensity while following a keto diet? Much depends on physiology.

When a person adapts to the keto diet, the metabolic mechanism switches to burning mainly fat for fuel and becomes less flexible, losing its former ease of switching from burning fat to burning carbohydrates.In addition, with very low carbohydrate food intake, there are fewer carbohydrates available for use as fuel. During low-intensity workouts, the body can use fat for fuel without any problems, since the energy requirement is lower and the body can more easily use fat as fuel for muscle cells. As the intensity increases, so does the need for energy. Carbohydrates are broken down more quickly into fuel and are therefore the preferred energy source at higher training intensity.In general, research shows that as intensity increases, the ability to use fat for fuel deteriorates.

So, what solution can you offer to those who want to follow the keto diet and not change their training regime? Here are some suggestions:

Don’t be undernourished

Many keto dieters do not eat enough because fat makes them feel full. In addition, when a significant proportion of foods are outlawed (any foods high in carbohydrates), food choices are reduced, which can also affect food intake restrictions.It is for this reason that the keto diet is so effective for weight loss. The keto diet is a moderate diet, but it is important to get enough nutrients to stimulate the body to maintain muscle mass.

Consider switching to reduced intensity training

Fat will be the predominant fuel source for low-intensity exercise and keto, so take advantage of it! If you do high intensity workouts every day, you will feel fatigued on the keto diet, so try switching and incorporating lower intensity activities into your workout routine.

Don’t Forget Strength Training

Strength training is very important if you are on a keto diet and want to maintain muscle mass. Strength training essentially stimulates the body to maintain muscle mass. This is especially important for ketogenic proponents, as studies show that this approach can stimulate muscle loss. Consider using light to moderately heavy weights and do 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps with plenty of rest in between, which will keep the intensity relatively low.Keep in mind: Lifting very heavy weights and powerlifting requires more energy, and the intensity of these exercises is higher, so it will not be easy for you on the keto diet. Studies have shown that gaining muscle mass while following this diet can also be difficult because carbohydrates play an important role in stimulating muscle growth.

Change your expectations

If you regularly do high-intensity exercise, you may need to adjust your expectations.This diet has its advantages, but don’t be disappointed when you see no progress after doing high-intensity exercise. If you follow the keto diet correctly, it can effectively reduce body fat while maintaining muscle mass. This is a huge plus of this diet. However, don’t expect significant or even moderate increases in strength or muscle growth.

Support the body: supplement training with supplements

An electrolyte imbalance in keto can make training even more difficult.Consider an electrolyte supplement for a pre-workout supplement. Make sure it’s low in sugar.
Exogenous Ketones May Conserve Carbohydrate Expenditure During Workout. This may improve the performance of aerobic and low-intensity exercise, but ketones may be beneficial for higher-intensity exercise and may accelerate recovery.
Medium Chain Triglyceride (MCT) Oil May Increase Endurance And Good Choice For Longer Endurance Exercise
Low carb protein powders for pre or post workout can also be helpful.These powders will stimulate the growth and maintenance of muscle mass.

Hydroxymethyl butyrate (HMB) may have a muscle preserving effect, which will be beneficial when following a keto diet.
Creatine Monohydrate may have a positive effect on muscle strength, which is important when following a keto diet.

This article was written by Katy Kissan (MS, RD, CSSD), a board-certified dietitian and sports nutritionist with extensive experience in nutrition, including diets for diabetes, allergies / food intolerances, and eating disorders.Katie earned her BA in Kinesiology from the University of Colorado and her MA in Nutritional Science from Colorado State University. Katie is the owner of NoCo Sports Nutrition and works with many athletes including youth athletes, collegiate athletes and professional athletes. It is currently listed on the Joint State Olympic Committee’s Registry of Dietitians. As an athlete, she has a unique understanding of the many challenges athletes face.

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90,000 How to Become a Keto Athlete – EtoKeto

What is there? How to train? Can you build muscle on a keto diet?

It is important for the keto dieter to make sure they are in line with other important aspects of their life, such as exercise.

The ketogenic athlete relies more on fat, less on glucose.
The more you adapt to fat, the more you will rely on fat for energy rather than glucose. This is true for all types of intense exercise, even for high intensity exercise.

How does exercise affect ketone levels?

Exercising in low intensity mode will increase ketone levels.
If you follow a ketogenic diet and start exercising at a low to moderate intensity, your blood ketone levels will rise and your glucose levels will decrease.This is because you are consuming even more fat from your fat stores to stay active, some of that fat is converted to ketones.

High intensity temporarily reduces ketone levels.
Let’s say you have increased the intensity to 75% or more, what then? Your ketone levels will drop and your blood sugar will rise.

You are consuming more energy at a faster rate, and because glucose is “burned” faster than fat, you start using more of the fuel from glucose.While you rely proportionally less on fat at high intensity, you will still burn more fat overall because your overall energy needs have increased.

What are the benefits of the KETO diet for athletes?

Here are four important ones:

1. Stable Energy
The keto diet allows you to rely more on fat for fuel rather than fast-acting glucose, especially during low to moderate intensity efforts.Since fat is our most abundant and efficient fuel source, it allows keto athletes to train for longer while maintaining a stable energy level.

2. Conservation of glycogen
Another advantage of keto is the ability to save glycogen. By sparing glycogen, a form of glucose stored in muscles and liver, it can be used for high-intensity exercise where it really is needed.

3.Reduces Chronic Inflammation
A well-formulated ketogenic diet significantly reduces chronic inflammation, a major factor impeding recovery from exercise.

4. Normalizes appetite
The ketogenic diet is known for its ability to normalize appetite.

Why is it important for athletes? The keto diet will allow athletes to eat the right amount of food at the right time and, more importantly, eliminate the temptation of junk food, which will only interfere with exercise.

Can you build muscle on a keto diet?

Yes! The ketogenic diet improves body contour, usually by losing fat without losing (and possibly even increasing) muscle mass.

To build muscle mass on a ketogenic diet you need to:

Exercise
You need to expose your muscles to increasing loads daily or at least three to five times a week; follow a progressive weight training program.

Eat right
Eat enough, especially a lot of quality (animal) food. Why?
Building muscle is an expensive process and requires providing your body with the right conditions (anabolic signals). Therefore, if for some reason you don’t eat enough, your body will not waste its limited resources building a lean, muscular physique. More vital processes will be prioritized for the body.

Your muscles need the right combination of building blocks.It all comes down to consuming the full spectrum of amino acids in the right proportions and amounts. This is actually pretty straightforward if you eat a lot of animal products such as fish, meat, eggs, seafood, and dairy products.

Plant foods alone are not enough to build muscle. It is either completely lacking or lacking in essential amino acids such as leucine or tryptophan to maintain a healthy physiology.

A generous intake of animal fat is also important.These fats are precursors to steroid hormones used to create new cells. They also help absorb many of the micronutrients needed for muscle building. These fats help to avoid chronic inflammation that leads to muscle wasting.

Healthy Sleep
Sleep regenerates the body, but often sleep is the first thing people cut back when prioritizing their busy schedules.

Not surprisingly, professional basketball players are known for sleeping 10 to 12 hours after a game or hard training session.

The science of sleep is still quite mysterious, but there are things to do:

1. Aim for a good 8 hour sleep beginning before midnight.
2. Maintain a regular sleep schedule.
3. Avoid things that interfere with the quality of sleep (and possibly its duration), such as alcohol or drinking a lot of fluids before bed.
4. Avoid bright screens and artificial lighting (blue light spectrum) after sunset, and get sunlight as soon as possible upon waking up.

Proper sleep is the main regulator of circadian rhythms, the internal clock of our body, governing all our vital, building and repair functions.

Lack of sleep or poor sleep signals your body that something is wrong. This is not the right time to divert resources into activities such as muscle building.

Share on social media: 90,035 90,000 Pros and Cons of ketogenic diets for athletes

Authors: Matthew Kavalek, Ryan Gannon, Mike T.Nelson.

Translated by Sergey Strukov.

Pros

Matthew Kavalek, Ryan Gannon.

The ketogenic diet has traditionally been high in fat, moderate / low in protein, and very low in carbohydrates in order to induce nutritional ketosis (2).

Under normal physiological conditions, cells receive energy from glucose in a process called glycolysis.Severe restriction of carbohydrate intake decreases the stores of glycogen (a form of glucose stored by the body) in the liver (8) and skeletal muscle (12). The body often reacts by partially redistributing the burden of energy supply to fats from food and adipose tissue, a by-product of fat metabolism and are ketone bodies. Thus, “ketosis” is a metabolic state in which the body produces energy from ketone bodies (and not from glucose) at a rate sufficient to nourish the brain and body (blood concentration is usually ~ ≥0.5 – 3.0 mg / dl) (5).

Unfortunately, ketosis is often confused with “ketoacidosis”, a pathological condition characterized by severe and uncontrolled ketosis due to the accumulation of ketonic acids and a subsequent drop in blood pH. Deamination (splitting) of amino acids also leads to the production of ketone bodies. Thus, ketoacidosis is most likely in people: a) with type I diabetes mellitus or b) for a long time (> months) on a diet high in fat, protein and very low carbohydrate intake.Scientific evidence is difficult to interpret due to lack / lack of data or control (for example, in the traditional keto diet versus high fat and low carbohydrate intake, along with high protein intake). This section summarizes the claimed benefits of a very low carb diet (≤50 grams of carbs per day) and a high fat diet, but not a hypocaloric diet, commonly referred to as the “keto diet.”

Research from the 1980s showed that aerobic performance was improved when following a keto diet (12, 13).Zajac et al (20) observed a significant increase in the maximum oxygen consumption (VO _2max) and lactate threshold during bicycle ergometry. Rhyu and Cho (15) found a significant reduction in the time it takes to complete a 2000 m bike sprint.Numerous studies have shown significant reductions in respiratory quotient (RR) (12, 13, 20), glucose utilization (12, 13), lactate levels resting blood (13, 20) and / or aerobic fatigue (13, 15). More recently, similar results were obtained in a study by Volek et al (17) when comparing a keto diet and a diet with normal carbohydrates in highly skilled Ironman marathon runners and triathletes.Compared to athletes with normal carbohydrate intake, highly skilled athletes who consumed 10% carbohydrates had approximately twice the peak fat oxidation rate and 59% higher than average fat oxidation with submaximal exercise. Increased fat oxidation is accompanied by lower DC. There is a close relationship between DC and physical fitness indicators (VO _2max, lactate threshold and maximum heart rate), with a lower DC in trained people compared to untrained people (14).

Despite the well-known positive effects of the keto diet on aerobic performance, recent research points to possible benefits in weight-class sports. In such situations, significant benefits are provided by the ability to effectively reduce body weight. The weight-loss methods that these athletes typically employ (calorie restriction, excessive exercise, dehydration, self-induced vomiting, diuretics, etc.) can be dangerous and negatively affect performance (15).Mental fatigue, confusion, and decreased strength are symptoms that typically occur in athletes who practice rapid weight loss (4). However, with a gradual decrease in body weight, some side effects decrease, for example, muscle strength is retained better (4). If you need to lose weight, research suggests combining gradual weight loss with a keto diet may be more beneficial than gradual weight loss alone. A significant decrease in carbohydrate intake reduces glycogen stores in the liver (8) and skeletal muscle (13, 19).One gram of glycogen binds ~ 3 g of water, so the loss of glycogen leads to a noticeable decrease in the total body water content (10). In addition, without carbohydrates, insulin levels in the blood are reduced (13, 20), which leads to a natriuretic effect (sodium excretion), an additional decrease in total body water content (1, 16). Thus, in sports with weight categories that depend predominantly on the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) -creatine phosphate system (baseball, weightlifting, powerlifting, gymnastics, etc.)is likely to benefit from a keto diet as part of a gradual weight loss strategy.

Numerous short-term studies (<10 weeks) support these assumptions and report significant weight loss (3, 10, 20), along with the maintenance of lean body weight (10, 15) with a keto diet compared to a high-carb diet. In one study, highly skilled gymnasts showed similar changes in body composition, without negatively affecting muscle strength and power (11).In a recent short-term (10 weeks) study, there was no difference in the increase in strength or muscle thickness (hypertrophy) between the keto diet and the standard diet, assuming equal calories (6). The keto diet can also appeal to athletes in sports where it is difficult to adhere to the calorie intake required to maintain a certain body weight. Subjects on the keto diet by Wesman et al (19) showed a spontaneous decrease in food intake as well as perceived hunger. Similarly, the high protein intake that sometimes accompanies the keto diet has an advantage over the low protein intake in satiety and thermogenesis (7, 18).At the same time, normal blood composition (10, 13), liver (13) and kidney function (10, 13) are observed. It is important to emphasize that the potential need for high protein intake in the keto diet in athletes is associated with increased requirements for gluconeogenesis (9). For example, the aforementioned highly trained gymnasts consumed 2.8 g / kg of protein per day. In a similar study on a carbohydrate-free diet, subjects consumed 1.2 g / kg of protein per day (13).

Research is needed into the differences between a keto diet with low protein intake (traditional) or high intake (as suggested above).The few studies available also did not measure or report the concentration of ketone bodies, which made it difficult to interpret the results because a “ketogenic state” was only speculated. There are countless unanswered questions in this area, such as the effects on high intensity interval training, recovery, hypertrophy, gender, age, and motor control. However, according to the available data, in some specific situations, there is a reason for using the keto diet.Good prospects for the use of the keto diet for long-term endurance, short-term use in sports with weight classes and predominantly anaerobic (in combination with high protein intake). However, we strongly recommend consulting a trainer, registered dietitian and physician before switching to a keto diet.

Cons

Mike T. Nelson.

The keto diet is usually high in fat (~ ≥80% of total energy intake), moderate to low protein (by the standards of athletes) 10-15%, and ≤5-10% carbohydrates (7, 9, 13, 16).In general, athletes should reduce their carbohydrate intake to ~ <50 g / day (equal to about two bananas) for sufficient ketone excretion to be considered nutritional ketosis (ketone levels> 0.5 mmol / L) (16). The keto diet has the ability to increase the amount of fat that the body uses to provide energy to cells (15). In addition, there is an increased variety of “ketone bodies” that can be oxidized by various tissues as fuel. The main ketone bodies are acetoacetate (AA), beta-hydroxybutyrate (BGB), and acetone (14).When BGB is burned (cleaved), heat is released 487.2 kcal / mol, while palmitate (fat) gives 2384 kcal / mol, and glucose 669.9 kcal / mol (13). Moreover, from 100 g of glucose, BGB and acetoacetate, 8.7 kg, 10.5 kg, 9.4 kg of ATP is obtained (which all cells use as energy), respectively (5). However, cellular kinetics (the rate at which energy can be used by the body for exercise) is not taken into account. It is well known that glucose is a faster energy source than free fatty acids.A 2013 rodent study showed a moderate uncoupling state and lower oxidation efficiency in ketosis compared to glucose oxidation (10). This means that, along with improved fat metabolism and sustained steady state endurance exercise (17), ketosis can negatively impact activities such as strength and power sports that rely on carbohydrate metabolism, glycolysis, and the ATP-creatine phosphate cycle (8 , nine). Unfortunately, there is little research in this area.

In the classic study of the keto diet by Phinney et al (5), highly skilled cyclists on a keto diet (no calorie restriction) were tested with a load of ~ 60 – 65% of VO _2max. Despite changes in respiratory quotient, indicating greater use of fat / ketones, there was no change in endurance results. Post-exercise muscle biopsy indicated glycogen depletion in slow twitch fibers (but not fast twitch), indicating that fast twitch fibers were not recruited or used to generate power during exercise.The authors acknowledged that “regulation of function around VO _2max appears to be related to restricting carbohydrate use,” suggesting an inability to perform anaerobic work. In fact, the findings suggest that performance is highly individualized after carbohydrate depletion: two cyclists improved, one showed no change (3 minutes apart), and two worsened. Well-trained athletes should effectively use any energy substrates for the reasons listed below (4).As the duration of exercise increases from very short (high jumps, weightlifting, powerlifting, etc.) to very long (hyper-endurance competitions), energy sources change from ATP – creatine, then mainly carbohydrates and finally fats. However, even strength athletes are returning to using fat during rest periods between sets or training sessions. The transition from one energy substrate to another and vice versa is called “metabolic flexibility” (4) and is possibly impaired when switching to a keto diet.

One way to maintain metabolic flexibility involves “periodizing” macronutrients for a specific current training phase. For example, an athlete might follow a keto diet for several weeks in the off-season and then move on to a normal carbohydrate intake before competition. The literature does describe a similar approach: “train low, compete high” (1). However, the use of carbohydrates on the keto diet decreases, most likely due to changes in the concentration of the enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase (11, 12).Phinney et al (8) also reported a 50% reduction in resting glycogen stores in highly skilled cyclists on the keto diet, resulting in a fourfold reduction in the rate of glycogen utilization during exercise. However, in a recent study (2016) Volek et al (15) found no abnormalities in glycogen utilization on the keto diet. These researchers offered 20 highly skilled ultra-runners and triathletes competing in the Ironman a 180-minute submaximum run at 64% VO _2max.Half of the runners ate high carbs (% carbs / protein / fat – 59/14/25), while the others ate a keto diet (% carbs / protein / fat – 10/19/70) in the 20 months prior to the study. Peak fat oxidation on the keto diet was 2 times higher (which means that carbohydrates were oxidized significantly less), and the rate of fat oxidation was noted higher than that mentioned in the scientific literature. Despite the ability of ketone bodies to replace carbohydrates as a substrate, they can also paradoxically reduce the availability of carbohydrates, by suppressing the production of glucose by the liver, and thereby reduce the ability to maintain high intensity of effort (6, 9).

The research results underscore the fact that regardless of the effects on muscle and liver glycogen levels from a long-term keto diet, athletes do not seem to have the metabolic machinery needed to fully utilize it as an energy source. It has also been suggested that, unlike a long-term keto diet, which provides time to adapt, short-term (eg, 4 weeks) restriction of carbohydrates can lead to a decrease in muscle glycogen stores.

In one of several studies with strength sports athletes, Paoli et al. (7) assessed changes in body composition and exercise performance (hanging leg raises, floor and parallel bar raises, pull-ups, squat jump, squat jump, and jumps during 30 sec) in 8 artistic gymnasts after 30 days of a modified keto diet (22 g carbohydrates / day: 54.8% fat, 40.7% protein and 4.5% carbohydrate). For comparison, we chose a group with a Western diet containing 38.5% fat, 14.7% protein and 46.8% carbohydrates.Although the study results supported the keto diet (no difference in strength gains noted), there remained a common frequent limitation across all keto diet work – blood ketone levels were not measured. Such an omission precludes the possibility of determining whether there was nutritional ketosis, ketoacidosis or not. This is especially important as the subjects in the keto group consumed 200.8 grams / day of protein, while the Western group consumed only 83.5 grams / day. Due to the rare mention of ketone concentrations in studies, it is difficult to determine if a diet can actually be called a “keto diet.”Moreover, there is no consensus among scientists regarding the macronutrient composition of the keto diet. Therefore, the validity, effectiveness and effects of the keto diet are extremely difficult to determine at this time.

There are a few more restrictions. First, there are no long-term studies evaluating the performance and health of athletes, especially when combining a keto diet with a high protein intake. Second, the keto diet can have a neutral or even negative effect on people with moderate physical activity (> ~ 15 seconds, but

In summary, while the potential benefits of ketogenic diets for hyper-endurance sports, more research is needed to make recommendations.This should not be an obstacle to experimentation with the keto diet by physicians and researchers as it contributes greatly to our understanding of metabolism, nutrition, health, and performance. For example, future research needs to explore the use of exogenous ketone salts and esters with and without carbohydrates, as this can increase blood ketone levels while maintaining adequate carbohydrate stores and enzyme function that can improve high-intensity exercise performance. (2).The time required for adaptation (reaching a state of nutritional ketosis) remains questionable, although most unconfirmed reports indicate ~ 2 to 3 weeks. There are also issues with acceptability, logistics, practicality, and adherence to the keto diet. Therefore, based on the available data and our current understanding of bioenergetics, the use of the keto diet is not recommended for athletes who require strength and power or other sports that rely on anaerobic or glycolytic mechanisms for energy supply.However, there may be some exceptions. Due to the many risks involved, people who want to try the keto diet need to consult a doctor (3).

Original:
https://examine.com/https://journals.lww.com/

90,000 Important points of the ketogenic diet for those involved in sports or fitness

The ketogenic diet can be great for weight loss, but when combined with some types of exercise, unwanted body reactions or performance can be reduced.Therefore, it is important to know certain critical points of such a combination as a keto diet and exercise. For example, low-intensity, steady-pace aerobic workouts (such as light jogging or cycling) are least affected by diet.

If you decide to try the ketogenic diet on yourself, you should know that it is based on such a special physiological state of the body as ketosis. When the body is in ketosis, fat becomes the main source of fuel, not carbohydrates.The main benefits of the keto diet are weight loss, increased energy, and lower blood sugar levels. But the big question about diet is whether it will benefit your exercise or exercise routine. At this point, there is very little evidence that the ketogenic diet is the most effective of all exercise diets in sports. Although for some sports it can affect performance more than others.

What you need to know?

1.On a keto diet, it is sometimes more difficult to improve performance during high-intensity training

Most high-intensity workouts involve short, very intense bursts of energy that require carbohydrates. The human body stores carbohydrates in muscle cells in the form of glycogen. This type of glycogen becomes a direct source of fuel when performing any kind of exercise that periodically requires intense movement, including strength training, sprinting, and other sports.

With a ketogenic diet, your body burns fats, not carbohydrates (assuming you’ve actually entered a state of ketosis). As a fuel source, fats, unlike carbohydrates, are not easily utilized, so the process of generating energy is generally considered less efficient. Therefore, the keto diet tends to limit the body’s performance and performance during high-intensity training, as opposed to low-to-moderate intensity training.

A study in 42 healthy adult participants showed that participants’ stamina and explosive performance decreased after six weeks of a ketogenic diet.The data was published in February 2017 in Nutrition & Metabolism. Some experts (doctors, nutritionists) do not recommend the keto diet as a means of improving performance and performance.

2. A ketogenic diet can increase fat burning

While the ketogenic diet may not be the best type of diet for workouts that require short, powerful explosives like weightlifting or cycling, it is great for burning more fat in people who prefer aerobic exercise at a regular pace, like an amateur jogging or cycling long distances.