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Question: I'm in great shape, blood work is great, all is good and I'm training for a competition, so would Keto have any value for me? (lemmy.today)
submitted 3 months ago by to c/ketogenic@discuss.online
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So I'm training for a swim competition that is coming up next year, and maybe some half-marathons before then. But keto science is slightly confusing to me.

Would trying keto be any benefit to me? Seems like primitive man was basically keto from what I know, so our body is kinda made to be ok with it, right?

I'm not overweight, I'm tall and lean already. I'm pretty much just gonna jump and try it to see how I feel, but was wondering what thoughts you all had on it for athletes.

Thanks guys!!

(Oh and a shoutout to my serial downvote stalker, if ya follow me here. Hi. :) )

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[–] 5 points 3 months ago* (5 children)

Athletes have found that low carb with high fat helps their endurance, though it takes 6 weeks to 2 months to adapt from high carb to high fat

I'm no athlete, but my commute bike ride of about an hour became a lot faster after going zero carb than it was on the common diet, mostly due to not needing breaks at the top of each hill on the way

I do zero carb as low carb is too hard for me. Going just to fatty meat killed the cravings completely

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 3 months ago (4 children)

    Ok, thanks! Good to know, because I've always been told that carbbing up is what gives me the endurance. I'll keep looking into it, but I do think I am gonna jump in on the Keto thing.

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  • [–] 4 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    Expect a ~20% drop in performance during adaptation, any problems try adding salt. Search "Reddit ketoaid" for the common salt supplement recommended during adaptation

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  • [–] 3 points 3 months ago* (1 child)

    to build on what psud said - being fat adapted allows athletes to use their stored fat giving them big long term endurance improvements (i.e. running), bonking isn't really a thing anymore.

    Volek and Phinney have lots of published papers characterizing athletic performance on fat adapted athletes, but basically they have better access to their fat, and don't under perform vs carb adapted athletes (the default)

    The big indirect benefit is exercise recovery, less pain, less time being inflamed.

    If your going to jump into keto, i recommend following a well formulated ketogenic guide, the adaptation phase can put some people off. Keep electrolytes up (lots of salt), adjust your diet composition slowly (or you might get diarrhea), and increase fat intake (your trying to become fat adapted, you need fat or you will feel low energy)

    Get a CGM ($20) and watch your blood glucose, its the single best way to get started, it turns all your food into a interactive game of keep the glucose low, and there are lots of surprising foods you would think are clean... but aren't.

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    • [–] 3 points 3 months ago* (1 child)

    My last post: https://discuss.online/post/42623247

    Is an interview with a ketogenic doctor who also is a long term endurance runner. She discusses the topic with Dr. Scher, her interviewer.

    Also Dr Paul Mason is a Exercise and Sports Medicine Doctor. He has a presentation on the topic you may find interesting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF3buYQWJ3E

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