One of the biggest myths you’ll hear on the keto diet is that your workout/ endurance/ stamina etc, get negatively affected, and thus a low carb high fat diet isn’t meant for active people.
That is literally the opposite from the truth.
This is the short (tldr) version:
New Studies have shown that working out while being in the state of healthy nutritional ketosis (which is different from a diabetic’s ketoacidosis) actually leads to better fat loss, better muscle development, better recovery, better hormone balance and less fatigue.
retweet this now!
And Here is the detailed version:
A new study was done on endurance runners to show that they performed better on a low carb high fat diet , than on a high carb and low fat diet.
One Half of the runners in the study had a diet low in carbs for 6 months, and the other half had for 6 months, a normal diet we’re used to as a society, i.e, one which is high in carbs.
The low carb group received less than 20% of their daily energy needs from carbs, while the high carb group received more than 55% of their daily energy needs from carbs.
On the day of the running test, extensive blood, urine, saliva, heart-rate, and other measurements were taken.
Both groups of the runners ran for 3 hours non stop, after which, all the samples of blood, saliva and other measurements were recorded.
When the results came in, the scientists and researchers were surprised to see that the low carb group showed much higher rates of fat oxidation and at the same time, showed the same measurements in fatigue later on as the high carb group.
Other studies have also shown quicker recovery times, better testosterone level in men, and a very important protein sparing effects of the keto diet.
That’s right! if you’re a gym buff, a fitness enthusiast, or even a normal guy or girl with a little bit of muscle definition and strength, you understand as well as I do that maintaining muscle size, shape and strength can be a hectic procedure if you have a busy lifestyle.
Simply being in the easy to maintain state of ketosis makes sure that you don’t loose muscle mass and strength if you take a long break from workouts.
There are certain people who do manage to maintain their muscle shape and size, regardless of the days of exercise skipped, or improper diet calorie control. Most of them achieve this through having a glucose based protein supplement, which in the long term can hurt their metabolism.
If you’re a heavy weight lifter reading this, then the next part is for you.
Contrary to popular belief, Yes you can easily build lean muscle in the keto diet .
It’s actually easier and yes you can lift heavy weights and still recover from fatigue easily while on the keto diet.
On a side note, If you’re a beginner to workouts on the whole, that is fine.
Now is as good a time as any to start. You can consider reading or sharing this article on keto workouts for beginners.
or read this article on the ultimate workout for lazy people.
In conclusion, by exercising on the keto diet:
- You workout less, and get good results
- Can build muscle mass easily
- your body preserves the muscle mass you’ve built even if you take a long break
- Maintain a healthy balance of testosterone is easy.
- You receive a stable energy output throughout your day (unlike the lows and highs in energy while on carbs)
- Stay in ketosis easier and for longer.
Go get some fat in you! Read this if you’re curious how to start the keto diet, and check out these easy to use dumbbells which make the home gym fun and easy to use.
sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2885974/
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0026049515003340
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22804876
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4113752/
Submit your review | |
