Anyone follow a ketosis diet plan?

skedaddle

Barefooters
Sep 3, 2011
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I'm just curious if anyone's had any success with a keto diet.
I don't need to loose weight, it's more about burning fat as fuel for LSD runs. I'm also not aiming to run fast it's more about the distance.
Thanks
 
I'm not (what's training? :D) but you might want to check out some reports from this guy. He has posted here in the past but not for several years now.
A lot of his summer training is cycling, with a lot of racing in his mix, and he has experimented with ketosis training with well documented results. One of his more recent cycling posts also details a 2 month experimentation with Maffetone training - the results of which surprised him!
 
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I'm not (what's training? :D) but you might want to check out some reports from this guy. He has posted here in the past but not for several years now.
A lot of his summer training is cycling, with a lot of racing in his mix, and he has experimented with ketosis training with well documented results. One of his more recent cycling posts also details a 2 month experimentation with Maffetone training - the results of which surprised him!

Thanks Chris.
Interesting read, though i'll have to scan it a few times for it to assimilate properly, my Borg brain seems to have detached from the hive of late.;)
I've just done a carbohydrate count on the fixed meals I've eaten on a daily basis for years, and it's actually not far off a keto diet, just need to drop the bananas, up the olive oil and eat a few more avocados. I'm certainly not going to do dairy of any kind as many of the keto recipes advocate
I've never attempted Maff training before, I think that's why I went the nose breathing rout to keep my pace down, looks like the article writer does the same at times. I may look into it but i'm not really a watch, watcher, but i've always been a little curious.
I remember reading that Ranulph Fiennes took packs of butter to eat on his polar expeditions and not a lot else, so he was definitely in ketosis on his polar exploits as the article suggests.
Hope you're settling in your new home.:barefoot:
 
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The keto diet works well for me but i don't do it all the time. It can be a shock for people who are used to a high carb diet and could take at least 6 - 8 weeks to adapt to it full time. Blends in well with Maff run training to help get your low effort running speed improved once your used to it.

You could check out the book "The ART AND SCIENCE OF LOW CARBOHYDRATE PERFORMANCE" to learn more about it...its a small book with good info...you can also get the same info just searching around online too.
 
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The keto diet works well for me but i don't do it all the time. It can be a shock for people who are used to a high carb diet and could take at least 6 - 8 weeks to adapt to it full time. Blends in well with Maff run training to help get your low effort running speed improved once your used to it.

You could check out the book "The ART AND SCIENCE OF LOW CARBOHYDRATE PERFORMANCE" to learn more about it...its a small book with good info...you can also get the same info just searching around online too.

Thanks for the link mokaman.
 
Well i've done a lot of reading now, lots of contradictory information, benefits and risks. I think I'll just stick with what I know. Whole foods, no dairy, plenty of oily fish, leafy greens and no refined sugars.
My doc, from a recent age health check, said I had one of the healthiest liver function results he'd seen in years, so I must be doing something right.
Nice to ponder this stuff though, I will up my protein and fats a little as I start the build up for longer runs, but not at the expense of vitamins and minerals from fruits and veggies.
 
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You could check out the book "The ART AND SCIENCE OF LOW CARBOHYDRATE PERFORMANCE" to learn more about it...

Don't bother. I bought a copy and was really disappointed. Science lite, at best. That was what I thought then, when I was bought in to "fat burning". Now that I know more about how human metabolism really works, I cringe at the memory of buying that book.
 
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Well i've done a lot of reading now, lots of contradictory information, benefits and risks. I think I'll just stick with what I know. Whole foods, no dairy, plenty of oily fish, leafy greens and no refined sugars.

You're on it. Spuds won't hurt a thing, either. I've started loading up and can still run for three hours fasted, no problemo. It ain't the carbs, it's the crap.
 
You're on it. Spuds won't hurt a thing, either. I've started loading up and can still run for three hours fasted, no problemo. It ain't the carbs, it's the crap.

Thanks Gordon, I always run fasted. Something in my mind was thinking that burning fat was more stable than carbs, but after reading up it's doesn't seem to be the case.
I'm always weary of restricted exercise and diet plans, which is why I made this post, probably just to ground myself. I do tend to have a curious nature.
 
I have to admit I try to eat like your diet +/- a few inconsequential things on a normal basis. But on race day nothing seems to work quite as well as refined sugars? For me at least they simply pack the most punch, weigh the least, and go down the quickest. Carrying around 500grams of potatoes for the same amount of calories a 50gram snickers bar seems a bit counterintuitive for my purposes.
But yes when I do fasted or unfueled runs I crash hard after about 4 hours and I never get over the funk without carbs, the key for me has been finding the right timing and balance between speed, carb intake and occasional protein or fat to minimize these bonks.
 
You might could avoid that bonk by going ketogenic. Some people can markedly improve their fat burning ability by combining a zero carb diet with long slow training. But even if it works, it comes at a cost, you lose much of your ability to handle sugars. You also give up speed, so if marathon length or shorter is your gig, it may not be worth it. You also have to decide whether it's worth the risks. If I were a serious contender on the ultra circuit, I'd consider trying it for say the two weeks in the run up to a race ... but no longer than that. Optimally, you want to be a flex-fuel machine in an ultra. That means retaining the ability to use sugar efficiently.

Edited - typo
 
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I have to admit I try to eat like your diet +/- a few inconsequential things on a normal basis. But on race day nothing seems to work quite as well as refined sugars? For me at least they simply pack the most punch, weigh the least, and go down the quickest. Carrying around 500grams of potatoes for the same amount of calories a 50gram snickers bar seems a bit counterintuitive for my purposes.
But yes when I do fasted or unfueled runs I crash hard after about 4 hours and I never get over the funk without carbs, the key for me has been finding the right timing and balance between speed, carb intake and occasional protein or fat to minimize these bonks.

Thanks Abide. Personally I have to avoid refined sugar like the plague, they're just too damn addictive and I have the will power of a pup in a pantry.
Race nutrition is something I really need to start practicing with though, i've dabbled in the past but never really found my go to fuel.
Weren't snickers bars originally developed for marathons?
 
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You might could avoid that bonk by going ketogenic. Some people can markedly improve their fat burning ability by combining a zero carb diet with long slow training. But even if it works, it comes at a cost, you lose much of your ability to handle sugars. You also give up speed, so if marathon length or shorter is your gig, it may not be worth it. You also have to decide whether it's worth the risks. If I were a serious contender on the ultra circuit, I'd consider trying it for say the two weeks in the run up to a race ... but no longer than that. Optimally, you want to be a flex-fuel machine in an ultra. That means retaining the ability to use sugar efficiently.

Edited - typo

Thanks Gordon.
I'm just not going to go there, i'm going to keep things simple, balanced and easy. I'll leave this stuff for the pro athletes who have all the doctors and equipment on hand to monitor them.
 
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Thanks Abide. Personally I have to avoid refined sugar like the plague, they're just too damn addictive and I have the will power of a pup in a pantry.
Race nutrition is something I really need to start practicing with though, i've dabbled in the past but never really found my go to fuel.
Weren't snickers bars originally developed for marathons?

I wiki'd it and they used to be called marathon bars in the UK until a couple of decades ago.

Yeah race nutrition has been and still is hit or miss with me. When you think you find something that works the next race you don't want to have anything to do with it, so I think it also an ever evolving thing that you need to be flexible with. What I'm experimenting with now is more options, so I mix up my candy instead of separating them and eating a portion of the same thing at once. Beer has been surprisingly useful too on occasion. I am totally off doing potato burritos and stuff. Tomorrow I am testing out some tailwind, PB&J sandwiches and some various gummy candies and licorice? And then halfway through I'll probably be craving a pizza or something stupid.
 
You cant be lil bit pregnant and you cant be almost at ketosis. To be at ketosis means maximum 50grs of carbohydrates per day and no more then 150grs par day protein. You can easy get more then 50 grs carbohydrates even from vegetables. So as my bud Edgars Rencis doing - no carbohydrates plus starving at least 24 hours in row every weak.
 
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You cant be lil bit pregnant and you cant be almost at ketosis.

Good point. To really know whether you're in ketosis requires a blood meter. The sticks quit working once you keto adapt. Some people need go go below 20g of carbs per day. Others can eat 100g depending on when they eat relative to exercise and what type and amount of exercise they do. Hopefully your bud is one who sees a performance increase. Only one of the five guys in Phinney and Volek's study saw a useful increase. His performance increased so much that it skewed the average. People, including Phinney and Volek themselves, have been misrepresenting that study ever since ...
 
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