For many people, adopting a new diet often comes with a chain of additional lifestyle changes. This is especially the case when it comes to making the switch to the Keto diet (if you’re not exactly sure what the Keto diet is, or what it involves, we explain here.
As many who have tried the restrictive diet—including Kourtney Kardashian, Gwyneth Paltrow and Adriana Lima—would know, your energy levels can take a major hit.
Given the total absence of carbs in Keto diet, your body naturally takes a little while to negotiate new sources of energy, and as a result, can leave you feeling sluggish, and even a little under the weather—so switching up the way you work out is essential.
Here, we give you the lowdown on exercising while on the Keto diet.
CAN I EXERCISE ON THE KETO DIET?
The short answer? Yes. But you may want to steer clear of any exercises that are classed as ‘high intensity’—especially if you’ve just switched to Keto. According to keto athlete and personal trainer, Ramsey Bergeron, you mightn’t feel your best immediately after starting the diet. This stage is commonly referred to as the ‘keto flu’, which mimics flu symptoms, and may even cause an uneasy stomach.
“You may feel like you are in a fog for the first few days,” Bergeron told Shape. “Your brain’s primary fuel source is glucose (from carbs), so as it switches over to ketone bodies created by breaking down fats in the liver, it will take some adjusting.”
Although these ‘flu’ symptoms should go away within the first few days, or even a few weeks, of starting your diet, but he does recommended that you stay away from workouts that require quick reaction. You should also shy away from trying new forms of exercise out in this period.
WHAT ARE THE BEST EXERCISES TO DO ON THE KETO DIET?
As mentioned before, you may not feel your best immediately after making the transition into the Keto diet. Your energy levels may also take a hit as your body negotiates new ways to power itself with the absence of carbs in your diet. For this reason, you’re going to want to stick to fairly low-intensity work outs in this time period. Yoga, low-intensity Pilates, and walking would all be great forms of exercise at this stage.
Once your body adjusts itself to your new diet, you can start kicking your workouts up a notch. According to dietitian and health coach, Lisa Booth, you could potentially burn more fat on keto by doing cardio. “When in ketosis, you aren’t using glycogen as your energy source,” Booth told Shape.
“Glycogen is a substance deposited in muscles and tissues as a reserve of carbohydrates. Instead, you’re using fat and ketone bodies. If you are following aerobic exercises such as running or biking, a keto diet can help increase fat oxidation, spare glycogen, produce less lactate and use less oxygen.” In other words, doing cardio when on a Keto diet may result in more fat burned.
WHAT EXERCISES SHOULD YOU AVOID ON THE KETO DIET?
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again—steer clear of high intensity exercises when making the move to keto. And although your body will soon learn to cope with slightly sweater exercises, you may still want to avoid any ultra-intense workouts if your energy levels aren’t as high as they were pre-diet.
According to this study by Saint Louis University, the Keto diet may decrease performance when it comes to completing anaerobic (AKA high-intensity) workouts.
“The energy metabolism system that’s affected is anaerobic,” said associate professor of nutrition and dietetics, Edward Weiss, Ph.D. In other words, the Keto diet mainly effects the energy system you use to complete a high-intensity activity.
“Short-term low carbohydrate, ketogenic diets reduce exercise performance in activities that are heavily dependent on anaerobic energy systems. These findings have clear performance implications for athletes, especially for high-intensity, short duration activities and sports.”
Until your energy levels increase again, you’ll want to stay away from High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) including Tabata workouts, CrossFit, sprinting, rowing, high-intensity cycling, jumping rope, excessive repetition of jumping jacks, burpees and high-knees, and lifting heavy weights.
Of course, if your energy levels have bounced back to pre-diet levels, feel free to slowly up the intensity of your workouts.
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