Burning Carbs On Keto: What You Need To Know

The keto diet is a popular, low-carb, high-fat diet that was originally designed to treat epilepsy. It involves limiting your daily carb intake to 20-50 grams to achieve a natural state of ketosis, where your body uses ketones as its primary source of fuel. To burn carbs on keto, you must use available glucose and deplete glycogen stores. This can be achieved through high-intensity exercises such as interval training or resistance training. However, it's important to note that carbs are necessary, especially for the brain, and a low-carb diet may lead to dehydration and blood-related issues.

Burn carbs with high-intensity cardio

High-intensity cardio is a great way to burn carbs while on a keto diet. When you engage in high-intensity exercises like sprinting, cycling, or swimming at full speed, your body taps into its glycogen stores, which are derived from carbohydrates, to fuel the short bursts of intense activity. This means that high-intensity cardio can temporarily deplete your carb reserves, leading to increased fat burning and improved metabolic flexibility.

However, it's important to note that combining high-intensity workouts with a keto diet may initially lead to decreased performance. This is because your body is adapting to using fat as its primary fuel source instead of carbohydrates. During this adjustment period, it's normal to experience reduced performance and increased fatigue. To counter this, you can try a modified keto diet, such as the Targeted Ketogenic Diet (TKD) or the Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD). TKD involves consuming a meal with 20-50 grams of net carbs 30-60 minutes before exercising, providing a boost of energy for your workout. On the other hand, CKD involves following a low-carb keto diet for most days of the week and having a higher-carb, low-fat diet for 1-2 days, allowing you to top up your muscle glycogen stores.

Additionally, when incorporating high-intensity cardio into your keto routine, it's crucial to listen to your body and adjust your workouts accordingly. Start with low-intensity exercises like slow jogs, yoga, or stretching until your body fully adjusts to the keto diet. Gradually increase the intensity and duration of your workouts as your energy levels improve. It's also beneficial to focus on proper form and technique during your exercises to maximize their impact and avoid injuries.

The timing of your cardio workouts can also enhance their effectiveness. Ideally, perform cardio in the morning before breakfast, as your glycogen stores are likely to be depleted from the overnight fast, forcing your body to utilize fat for energy. Another optimal time for cardio is right after strength training. Since strength training depletes glycogen stores, performing cardio afterward will prompt your body to break down fat for energy, accelerating the ketogenic process and improving your fat-burning efficiency.

In conclusion, while high-intensity cardio can be a powerful tool for burning carbs and enhancing your keto journey, it's important to listen to your body, adjust your diet and workouts as needed, and seek professional guidance if necessary to ensure a safe and effective fitness routine.

Avoid eating carbs before or during a workout

When following a keto diet, it is important to restrict your carb intake to less than 50 grams per day. However, this does not mean that you cannot work out or build muscle. In fact, exercise can be a useful tool to get into ketosis, as it burns up all the stored sugar and carbs in your body.

If you are planning to exercise, it is recommended to eat a small meal with protein, carbs, and healthy fats 30 minutes to three hours beforehand. However, if you are following a keto diet, you should not start bingeing on snack bars or other sources of carbs before your workouts. Instead, introduce potential pre-workout snacks slowly and experiment with different options to find what works best for you.

Some recommended pre-workout meals include:

• An egg white omelette with spinach and feta cheese
• A cup of cottage cheese with some low-sugar berries
• A fruit smoothie with plain Greek yoghurt, blueberries, and chocolate keto whey protein
• Keto cloud bread with half of a mashed avocado

If you are an athlete or engage in prolonged and intense workouts, you may be able to consume more than 50 grams of carbs per day without getting kicked out of ketosis. In this case, it is recommended to consume carbs around your workout times.

Remember, the key to a successful keto diet is to listen to your body and find what works best for you.

Try circuit training

Circuit training is a form of resistance training that can be an effective way to burn carbs on a keto diet. It is a type of anaerobic exercise that targets multiple muscle groups and is designed to deplete glycogen stores. During anaerobic exercise, the body uses a process called glycolysis to convert glucose into energy.

To try circuit training, you will need to perform a series of exercises that target different muscle groups with little to no rest in between. Here is a suggested routine:

• Choose 6 exercises that target different muscle groups: chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, and legs.
• Perform 20 repetitions of each exercise, one after the other with no rest in between.
• Once you have completed all 6 exercises, this is considered one circuit. Rest for two minutes.
• Repeat the entire circuit once or twice more.

This type of training can be an effective way to burn carbs and improve your overall fitness. However, it is important to note that circuit training can be intense and may not be suitable for everyone. If you are new to circuit training, it is important to start slowly and gradually increase the intensity of your workouts. Additionally, proper form and technique are crucial to preventing injuries.

Furthermore, when combining circuit training with a keto diet, it is essential to ensure adequate hydration and electrolyte intake. The keto diet can lead to dehydration and electrolyte imbalances, and adding intense exercise may exacerbate these issues.

Finally, while circuit training can be an effective tool for burning carbs and improving fitness, it should be noted that a well-rounded fitness routine incorporates various types of exercises, including cardio, weight training, and low-intensity steady-state workouts.

Monitor your blood sugar

Monitoring your blood sugar levels is an important part of the keto diet, especially if you are diabetic. It can also help you understand how your body is responding to the diet and how stress is affecting you.

If you have diabetes, it is important to consult your doctor or dietician before starting the keto diet, as they may recommend adjusting your medication dosage and testing your blood sugar levels more often. They can also help you come up with a personalised plan.

For those who are not diabetic, monitoring blood sugar levels can still be a useful way to check how your body is responding to the keto diet. This is because the keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet, which means your body will be using ketones from dietary fat or stored body fat as its primary source of fuel, instead of glucose. This can affect your blood sugar levels, and monitoring them can help you understand how your body is responding to this change in fuel source.

Additionally, high cortisol levels due to constant stress can lead to increased blood sugar. Monitoring your blood sugar can help you understand how stress is affecting your body and may prompt you to implement stress reduction strategies.

Incorporate carb cycling

Carb cycling is a dietary approach that alternates between high-carb and low-carb days instead of maintaining a constant carbohydrate intake. On high-carb days, eating more carbs increases insulin levels and promotes energy storage and muscle growth. On low-carb days, eating fewer carbs enhances fat burning by lowering insulin and increasing fat utilization for energy.

On high-carb days, you should eat more carbohydrate-rich foods such as:

• Whole grains (e.g. oats, quinoa, and brown rice)
• Fruits and vegetables
• Starchy vegetables (e.g. potatoes and corn)
• Legumes (e.g. beans, lentils, and peas)

On low-carb days, focus on the following foods:

• Non-starchy vegetables, such as leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, and zucchini
• Healthy fats, such as olive oil, avocado oil, and nuts

When incorporating carb cycling into a keto diet, it is important to note that keto cycling differs from carb cycling in that it still involves entering ketosis on low-carb days. On a keto cycling plan, you will limit carbs to no more than 50 grams on your low-carb days, and on your high-carb days, 60 to 70% of your calories will come from carbohydrates.

It is also important to remember that carb cycling and keto cycling are not for everyone. If you are new to the keto diet, it is recommended to avoid carb cycling as you are still overcoming carb cravings. Additionally, if you are struggling with diabetes, it is advised to refrain from carb cycling.

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