Workout more and you will have better health. Follow the keto diet and you will lose the excess weight rapidly and take your fitness to the next level. But, have you ever wondered what might happen if you combine the two? It is quite reasonable to assume that when you combine your exercise regime with a keto diet, you will take both your weight loss and body health to the next level.
However, this isn’t a simple process, and there is so much that you need to understand. According to Konscious Keto, when we restrict our carbohydrates intake, we limit the ability of our body cells to access sugar which is usually the primary source of fuel.
When your body muscles don’t have enough glucose, its ability to function at high intensities is impaired. But, this will only happen for a few days or weeks before the body starts to break down fat through a metabolic process known as ketosis.
Understanding how the keto diet works can help you know how to get into ketosis faster while on a keto diet. This guide provides crucial information that you need to know if you are exercising while on a keto diet.
How Does Exercise Fit In with Keto?
Most of us are used to the idea that carbohydrates provide energy for exercise. Therefore, it is understandable that a lot of people out there are concerned about how to incorporate regular exercise with a low-carb diet such as the keto diet. To understand how you can combine exercise with your keto diet, you need to know how the body gets its energy while on a ketogenic diet.
Typically, the human body was designed as a fat burner. However, as times changed and people started to consume a lot of carbohydrates, the body was forced to learn how to process the carbs and use them for fuel.
When you consume plenty of carbohydrates, your body converts them into glucose that is used to provide fuel. This is a quick process. But, when you are on a ketogenic diet, your body is forced to revert to burning fat since your carbs intake is restricted. The fat is usually converted into simple chemical compounds known as ketones that are broken down by body cells to produce energy.
What Happens When You’re In Ketosis?
If you have been on a ketogenic diet for a few weeks, your body enters into an extended state of ketosis. This means that you have reached a point where your body is burning fat instead of glucose. If you want to know how to get into ketosis faster, take your time to read lots of resources on keto diet available online.
When you are exercising, your body is going to burn the sugar it has before it burns anything else. When you are in ketosis, your body is going to deplete the sugar reserves quite fast. Once the glucose is depleted, your body has to turn to its fat stores for fuel.
The ketones that your body will be producing while in ketosis will provide you with the energy you need to make it through your workout sessions. However, the Daily Nutrition reports that if you are beginning a keto diet, working out maybe a little bit difficult since your body is still in the transition phase.
You may feel weak, but once you know how to get into ketosis, you will notice that your energy levels are changing. With time, you will start to feel a bit normal while exercising.
Different Types of Exercises
Typically, nutrition needs tend to vary depending on the type of exercise that you perform. Workout styles can be divided into four major categories.
Aerobic exercise is anything that lasts longer than three minutes. It is low-intensity and ideal for keto dieters since it puts your body in the fat burning state. Aerobic exercise is also known as the cardio exercise. As long as you have mastered the art of how to get into ketosis, you can perform aerobic exercises without any problems.
Short bursts of energy usually characterize the anaerobic exercise. Both weightlifting and sprinting are considered anaerobic exercises. High amounts of glucose are needed for this type of workouts. Fat alone can’t provide sufficient energy for this type of physical activity.
The flexibility exercises are helpful for supporting your joints, stretching out your muscles and improving your muscle’s range of motion. Simple after-workout stretches and yoga are good examples of flexibility exercises.
We also have stability exercises that include core training and balance exercises. The primary goal of stability exercises is to help improve your alignment, control of movement, and strengthen your muscles.
Shape Magazine reports that when your body is in ketosis, the workout intensity matters. During the low-intensity aerobic workouts, your body uses fat as the primary source of fuel. During the high-intensity aerobic exercises, carbohydrates become the primary source of energy.
Using the Targeted Ketogenic Diet for Exercise
If you are working out while on a keto diet, you need to get the right portion of nutrients to sustain your exercise regime. You need to start with the right amount of protein since it promotes calorie burning and stimulates muscle building as well. Consuming the right amount of proteins will also ensure that you don’t lose your muscle mass.
The Targeted Ketogenic Diet has one important addition that is good for you if you love working out. It allows you to eat between 20 and 50grams of net carbs at least 30 minutes before you hit the gym. The addition of 20 to 50 grams of carbs per day ensures that your body gets the energy it requires to sustain your exercise regime.
The additional carbs can be consumed on their own or with a protein but not with fat. You can also choose to follow the Cyclical Ketogenic Diet that allows you to eat low-carb keto for several days then switch to a high-carb diet for several days. During the other days when you are on a high-carb diet, you don’t have to worry so much about how to get into ketosis.
Conclusion
Although the ketogenic diet might get a bad rap regarding exercise due to the popular carb-heavy myths, the truth is that the diet is healthy and can fit well within a regular exercise routine. It only takes a little tweaking to discover what works best for you.
