The ketogenic (“keto”) diet has become a topic of conversation among the general public and athletes, especially endurance and ultra-endurance athletes. Advocates argue that it offers various potential benefits and impacts on performance, making it a relatively new eating trend.
What is the evidence indicating regarding the diet’s advantages and impact on athletic performance?
Comparing Keto to a “Typical” Athletic Diet
The following diagram demonstrates that a keto diet primarily relies on fat as fuel, with restricted consumption of carbohydrates. The diet aims to enhance the use of lipids as an energy source. Within a keto diet, approximately 5 to 10 percent of macronutrient intake consists of carbohydrates, while protein accounts for about 15 percent, and fats make up the remaining 60 to 80 percent of calorie intake.
Contrary to a regular diet where carbohydrates constitute around 60 percent of calories, while fats and protein account for the remaining 40 percent, it is important to examine how the body utilizes fuel for energy depending on the kind of activity being carried out.
- High intensity, short duration exercise primarily utilizes creatine phosphate in the first four seconds followed by muscle glycogen for up to sixty seconds.
- Endurance exercise that lasts for more than two minutes uses muscle/liver glycogen, which begins to transition to fat metabolism, and finally to amino acids.
- Low-intensity exercise primarily burns fat.
- At relatively high intensities, in which most athletes perform during endurance training and competition, carbohydrates are the primary typical energy source.
Is it possible to combine Keto and endurance sports?
Yes, keto and endurance sports can be combined successfully, in brief. If your goal is to improve your endurance, particularly without the need to refuel every 2-3 hours, keto is a great dietary option to contemplate.
According to the widely accepted understanding, when experiencing extreme fatigue, it is necessary to replenish with carbohydrates and maintain a consistent intake of them. Consequently, during lengthy endurance activities, individuals typically ingest quick-digesting carbs like sweet sports drinks, energy bars, gels, and so forth, usually at set time intervals.
Your muscles and liver have the ability to store approximately 1600-2000 calories in the form of glycogen. Once these calories are depleted, it becomes necessary to replenish them, otherwise you run the risk of “bonking” or hitting the wall. Bonking refers to a state of rapid energy loss and fatigue, often to the extent that you may be unable to continue even at a slower pace.
If you choose not to limit carbohydrates, it is necessary to replenish glycogen stores in advance to prevent energy depletion. However, upon transitioning to a ketogenic diet and successfully completing the adaptation phase, your body will primarily utilize fat as fuel. As a result, the need for continuous refueling during training or sports events will no longer exist.
Your body holds a significant amount of energy stored as body fat, which can be easily accessed as required. Even if you have a low body fat percentage, the fat you carry contains numerous calories, making it a readily available and easily accessible resource during physically demanding activities.
The discussion regarding keto and endurance sports is intense. In fact, adopting a keto diet is not necessarily a straightforward process, and for individuals who engage in frequent physical activity, the decline in performance that they may experience could be disheartening.
The benefits of keto may not be as apparent or evident for extremely skilled athletes, as they have already maximized their performance. In order to reach their highest level of performance, they prioritize seeking alternative methods rather than focusing on the marginal improvements that keto may offer.
Despite this, individuals who are interested in challenging their endurance in sports, without participating at a professional level, can still benefit from the keto diet. Further details will be elaborated shortly.
Fat Adaptation and Endurance
If you are currently participating in endurance sports and are considering trying the keto diet, it is a commendable decision that will probably be beneficial to you in the long run. However, it is important to remember that your performance may suffer initially as you adapt to the new dietary changes. This decrease in performance is normal and will only be temporary.
If you have any events scheduled in the near future, you need to consider that it might take you anywhere from 1 to 6 weeks to return to your performance level before starting keto. Therefore, if your next endurance event is less than a month away, we suggest maintaining your usual diet until then and transitioning to a keto diet afterwards.
This article will guide you through what you can anticipate during the adaptation phase.
- Performance will temporarily worsen: most people experience a decrease in performance (both in strength and endurance) as they transition to keto. That’s because your body needs time to adjust to burning fat for fuel instead of carbs, which is a significant metabolic change.
- More time might be needed for recovery: in the first few weeks, you might feel more tired after training and might need more time for recovery. Again, that’s normal – just be patient with yourself.
- Your pace will likely be slower: because of the decrease in performance, you’ll probably not be able to keep the same pace as before for the same amounts of time as before. This will improve within a few training sessions.
- You might experience the keto flu: in the first couple of days, you might feel exceptionally tired, have cramps or headaches, or generally feel weak, irritable and unmotivated. Let it be – it’ll soon be over (don’t worry, this phase only takes a couple of days and not weeks).
To witness improvements in all of these symptoms, it is necessary to have patience and trust the process of becoming fully fat adapted. You should give particular emphasis to electrolytes and hydration to assist your body in adapting.
The Diet Should Match the Need
Every person’s diet is not suitable for every athletic activity, so it is important to consider each athlete’s unique needs and the specific demands of their sport. The type and duration of the activity can greatly impact dietary requirements. For example, consuming carbohydrates during exercise can enhance performance by prolonging endurance and increasing oxygen transportation.
Endurance athletes may find the keto diet to be a disadvantageous option due to certain drawbacks. Firstly, it can take up to four weeks for the body to successfully adapt to using ketones as a fuel source, a process known as ketoadaptation. Additionally, studies indicate that endurance activities lasting up to three hours necessitate the consumption of carbohydrate-based foods, as relying on fat-based foods can result in a decrease in carbohydrate metabolism.
There is a noticeable absence of impact on performance despite alterations in fat utilization. In reality, it may hinder performance during high-intensity physical activity. Additional investigation discovered that although a ketogenic diet resulted in reduced fat mass, it did not contribute to increased muscle mass when combined with resistance training.
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If you allow your body enough time to adjust, keto and endurance sports, such as marathon and ultramarathon running, long-distance cycling, triathlons, hiking, trekking, and similar activities, can form a great combination.
During the transition period, your performance might be affected, but there are still many benefits of utilizing fat as fuel rather than carbohydrates during endurance events.
By shifting to using body fat as fuel instead of relying on glucose, your endurance will improve in the long run as you will no longer need to refuel frequently and will avoid gastric distress.
In the end, it is recommended that you prepare your own meals rather than purchasing premade meals as there may be numerous keto meal delivery services available; however, it is unlikely that these meals will assist you in achieving your individual macro objectives.
By cooking your own meals completely from scratch, you have the ability to have complete control over the content of your food and the amount you consume, which can greatly enhance your athletic performance. In addition, our website offers a list of keto foods that you can refer to.
Is the keto diet suitable for every individual who participates in endurance sports?
It is unlikely that all highly active individuals will benefit from a low-carb diet as everyone’s needs may differ. However, we do acknowledge that following a keto diet can offer several advantages, and with enough time to adapt, it may even enhance both strength and endurance levels.
