KETO for Athletes - A Rant

[Coach is Back!]

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[Montague]

Very good input, Coach!

Keto can produce phenomenal results for some people with certain goals, and when observing other variables.
It is NOT the optimal diet for everyone. No diet is.

[Tbomzisback!]

Especially for guys with very slow metabolisms, overfeeding on protein can be an effective way to provide some level of glycogen, since excess amino acids are converted to glucose and can be stored as glycogen.

[Necrosis]

Metabolic characteristics of keto-adapted ultra-endurance runners.

Volek JS1, Freidenreich DJ2, Saenz C2, Kunces LJ3, Creighton BC3, Bartley JM3, Davitt PM3, Munoz CX3, Anderson JM3, Maresh CM2, Lee EC3, Schuenke MD4, Aerni G3, Kraemer WJ2, Phinney SD5.

BACKGROUND:
Many successful ultra-endurance athletes have switched from a high-carbohydrate to a low-carbohydrate diet, but they have not previously been studied to determine the extent of metabolic adaptations.

METHODS:
Twenty elite ultra-marathoners and ironman distance triathletes performed a maximal graded exercise test and a 180 min submaximal run at 64% VO2max on a treadmill to determine metabolic responses. One group habitually consumed a traditional high-carbohydrate (HC: n=10, %carbohydrate:protein:fat=59:14:25) diet, and the other a low-carbohydrate (LC; n=10, 10:19:70) diet for an average of 20 months (range 9 to 36 months).

RESULTS:
Peak fat oxidation was 2.3-fold higher in the LC group (1.54±0.18 vs 0.67±0.14 g/min; P=0.000) and it occurred at a higher percentage of VO2max (70.3±6.3 vs 54.9±7.8%; P=0.000). Mean fat oxidation during submaximal exercise was 59% higher in the LC group (1.21±0.02 vs 0.76±0.11 g/min; P=0.000) corresponding to a greater relative contribution of fat (88±2 vs 56±8%; P=0.000). Despite these marked differences in fuel use between LC and HC athletes, there were no significant differences in resting muscle glycogen and the level of depletion after 180 min of running (-64% from pre-exercise) and 120 min of recovery (-36% from pre-exercise).

CONCLUSION:
Compared to highly trained ultra-endurance athletes consuming an HC diet, long-term keto-adaptation results in extraordinarily high rates of fat oxidation, whereas muscle glycogen utilization and repletion patterns during and after a 3 hour run are similar.

Good post!

[loco]

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Coach,

Respectfully, yours seems to be the old, conventional thinking.  New research is beginning to show the exact opposite, that fat is a far better fuel source for any athlete, it seems.  Some elite athletes have actually known this for a while, but kept it a secret because it gives them a competitive edge over the multitudes who still go by the old, conventional thinking regarding this. While very high consumption of carbs has given elite athletes the energy they need for training and competition, it also leads to insulin resistance, diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver, and other issues in elite athletes over time.

[Baras]

That is great. I love reading posts in which people are continuing to learn and tweak thier diets to individualize it for the lifestyle they lead and the goals they have.
I listened to an interesting episode of the 2keto dudes https://whatroseknows.com/kelly-clarkson-weight-loss/. They interviewed the author of the book “The Salt Fix” and he had some incredible information about salt that might help you make the right changes for your running efforts

[bhank]

Jesus fuck am I the only one who just eats what he wants when he wants if you are working out go ahead and enjoy a fucking cookie