Leena Watts
The ketogenic (keto) diet involves limiting your carbohydrate intake to up to 50 grams per day and replacing those calories with fats, putting your body into a state of ketosis. This means your body burns fat instead of carbohydrates for energy, which can aid weight loss. However, the keto diet is not ideal for high-intensity activities as carbs are necessary for fuelling them. That said, it is possible to exercise on a keto diet, and some people find that exercise helps them reach ketosis sooner. If you're exercising on keto, it's important to eat enough protein and calories to maintain performance and gain muscle mass. Some people on keto eat a small amount of carbs around their workouts, but this takes you temporarily out of ketosis.
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What You'll Learn
Eating carbs before a workout
The ketogenic (keto) diet involves limiting carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fats, putting the body into a state of ketosis. To stay in ketosis, a person can consume up to 50 grams of carbs per day. However, athletes who engage in high-intensity workouts can eat more carbs than the keto limit and still remain in ketosis.
For those following a keto diet and wishing to perform high-intensity exercises, consuming net carbs before a workout is recommended. The best time to consume carbs is 30-60 minutes prior to the workout, with the amount depending on the duration of the exercise. For workouts lasting less than an hour, 25 grams of carbohydrates are recommended, while for longer durations, up to 50 grams may be consumed.
Consuming carbs pre-workout will decrease ketone levels, but this can be mitigated by sticking to the ketogenic diet plan after exercising. Working out helps increase insulin sensitivity, reducing the amount of insulin needed to handle the ingested carbs.
Some recommended sources of carbs to consume before a workout include natural maple syrup, dextrose tablets, and glucose gel packets. Consuming protein along with carbs can boost muscle growth, and medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) can increase ketone levels. It is important to avoid fat consumption immediately before and after exercise, as it can slow down the digestion of protein and carbohydrates.
It is worth noting that some people choose to avoid eating carbs before working out, allowing their bodies to get used to burning fat for energy. Additionally, individuals should be cautious about consuming fruits like bananas before a workout, as they may disrupt ketosis.
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The targeted ketogenic diet
The TKD approach aims to provide just enough carbs to supply the necessary glucose for workouts, allowing for improved performance and increased lean muscle mass while keeping body fat down. However, after becoming keto-adapted, the extra carbs may not provide additional benefits. Additionally, the effectiveness of the TKD may depend on the individual, the type of exercise performed, and the type of carbohydrates consumed.
When following the targeted ketogenic diet, it is important to monitor your carbohydrate intake to ensure you are still adhering to the principles of the keto diet. This involves calculating your net carbs by subtracting the amount of fibre and half of the sugar alcohol content from the total number of carbs in a serving. By doing so, you can maintain the benefits of the keto diet while strategically incorporating carbohydrates to enhance your exercise performance.
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The cyclical ketogenic diet
To implement the cyclical ketogenic diet correctly, it is important to eat a high-carbohydrate diet on the designated days to replenish glycogen stores. However, it is crucial to choose complex carbohydrates that take longer to digest, such as whole, unprocessed foods, instead of simple carbohydrates like candy and sweets, which can cause unhealthy increases in blood sugar and insulin.
It is important to note that the cyclical ketogenic diet may not be suitable for everyone, especially those who are new to exercising or prefer endurance training. Additionally, for those on a ketogenic diet for health reasons, such as hyperinsulinemia or hypertension, the cyclical variation may be unworkable as it can trigger health symptoms that are typically treated by a low-carbohydrate diet.
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The impact of exercise on ketosis
The ketogenic (keto) diet involves limiting carbohydrate intake to up to 50 grams per day and replacing them with fats. This causes the body to burn fat instead of carbohydrates for energy, forcing the body to produce ketones, which is called ketosis.
Exercise impacts ketosis by making it easier for an individual to enter this state. Exercise works by depleting glycogen stores, which is the storage form of glucose from carbohydrates. Once glycogen storage gets depleted, the body starts metabolizing fat. Longer and more prolonged physical activity degrades muscle glycogen more quickly than mild exercise. For instance, repeated sprinting and endurance training, both high-intensity activities, quickly lower glycogen stores. While exercise speeds up ketosis, a lack of carbohydrates may negatively affect exercise performance.
To stay in ketosis, it is recommended that individuals eat the right amount of fat and protein. Carbs help provide a muscle-preserving stimulus, and without them in the diet, fat and protein must be consumed in the right quantities to maintain performance and gain muscle mass. For instance, protein improves satiation, stimulates muscle protein synthesis, and has a more significant thermic effect than any other macronutrient. When we don't eat enough protein, we tend to lose muscle mass and consume more calories, which can lead to a rapid increase in body fat percentage.
For those looking to build muscle, it is recommended to eat a calorie surplus of 250-500 calories a day to increase body weight by 0.5 to 1 pound a week. Most of the excess calories should come from fat, not protein or carbs. It is important to note that while carbs are necessary for fueling certain high-intensity activities, they are not needed to build muscle. As long as individuals are eating enough protein and calories and working out at high intensities, they will be able to build muscle.
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Building muscle on keto
The ketogenic (keto) diet is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet that puts the body into a state of ketosis, where it burns fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. This diet is often used for weight loss but has other potential health benefits, including muscle building.
Building muscle on a keto diet can be challenging because carbohydrates are an essential ingredient for muscle growth. Typically, muscles require a high-carb diet to grow, as the glycogen in carbs helps muscles build mass, while protein helps repair them. However, several studies have shown that it is possible to build muscle on a keto diet, and it may provide similar strength and performance gains as a conventional high-carb diet.
To build muscle on a keto diet, it is important to consistently eat more calories than you burn. It is recommended to gain no more than 0.25-0.5% of your body weight per week to prevent accumulating excess fat. Eating adequate protein is also essential for building muscle, as it is the building block of muscles. Most studies suggest that consuming 0.7-0.9 grams of protein per pound of body weight (1.6-2.0 grams per kg) is ideal for muscle growth. However, consuming too much protein may encourage the body to use gluconeogenesis, a process that converts amino acids from protein into sugar, potentially disrupting ketosis.
Weight training and compound exercises that engage multiple muscle groups, such as deadlifting, squats, and pull-ups, can help build muscle faster. Additionally, getting sufficient sleep is crucial for muscle recovery and growth. It is also recommended to adjust your calorie intake monthly to account for changes in your weight.
For those considering a keto diet, it is advised to get a blood test to check lipid levels before and after starting the diet. While the keto diet can improve muscle function and prevent deterioration, it may also impact bone health, especially in children, leading to lower bone mass and osteopenia (weak bones).
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can eat more carbs if you exercise while on a keto diet, but it is important to note that the number of carbs you can eat depends on the type of exercise and intensity. For high-intensity exercises, you can implement the targeted ketogenic diet or the cyclical ketogenic diet, which allows you to eat carbs before your workout.
You can eat 25 grams of carbs 30-60 minutes before your workout and another 25 grams as part of your post-workout recovery.
The cyclical ketogenic diet includes five to six days of a standard keto diet, followed by one to two days of high-carb intake.
Exercise impacts ketosis by making it easier for you to enter this state. Exercise depletes glycogen stores, which is the storage form of glucose from the carbohydrates you eat. Once glycogen storage gets depleted, your body starts metabolizing fat.
The targeted ketogenic diet is a modified keto diet that allows you to eat more carbs around high-intensity workouts.
