If you’re fairly new to the Ketogenic diet and the lifestyle changes that go with it, then you might not have been exercising recently.
While Keto is a great way to encourage fat burning and reduced anxiety levels, it can have some consequences with exercising that Keto dieters should be aware of.
In this article, we provide some useful tips on working out when on a Keto meal plan.
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Avoid a Heavy Workout Routine When New to Keto
It is important to pace yourself for the first few weeks when on Keto. The process of switching the body over from relying on glucose to ketones as a fuel source takes time. In the meantime, your body will be adjusting. During this time, energy levels won’t always be fantastic, nor will there be a deep well of spare energy when working out heavily.
It takes time for the liver to adapt to breaking consumed fats down and producing ketones that the body can use as an alternative energy source. It likely will make you feel a bit lethargic and reduce your response time. This is relevant for workouts because it changes how you’ll deal with exercising.
For instance, riding a bicycle on an open road is probably a bad idea because your response times to a potential collision ahead are not going to be quick enough.
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Keep Your Calories Up
Consuming too few calories to support a workout is not smart. Keto dieters often aren’t consuming as many calories as before. This could see them energy starved where subsequent exercise could leave them feeling dizzy, disoriented or weak when walking between equipment in the gym.
Avoid getting into trouble due to flagging energy levels. Eat enough food to support your workouts by taking in an extra meal a few hours before hitting the gym.
Don’t exercise first thing in the morning on an empty stomach to burn more fat. It’s generally good weight loss advice, but not when on Keto when your caloric intake might already be lower.
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Exercising More Efficiently and Staying in Ketosis
Aerobic exercises like riding a spinning bike or jogging on a treadmill are good exercises for a Keto dieter. They use up any glycogen, don’t require as much oxygen, and help with fat oxidation too. Other types of exercises can often be harder on the body and wear you out sooner, especially when calorie restricted.
If you’re worried about staying in the right state once it’s achieved, then a supplement will help you stay in ketosis. Supplementation is especially important when on Keto diets because certain vitamins and minerals are missing because of how different the diet is to a regular eating plan.
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Flexibility and Stability
Yoga is excellent for stretching the limbs out, extending the possible motion of the body and burning calories while not overtaxing yourself.
Combine yoga with bodyweight exercises to include moves that engage your core. Traditional sit-ups and pushups work well as simple exercises to complete regularly. More advanced bodyweight positions and movement can be introduced as the core strength becomes robust enough. Both yoga and bodyweight exercises are low intensity. This is more suitable for Keto than high intensity exercises that tend to rely on glucose to be performed well.
The main issue with combining Keto with fitness is expecting to be on this meal plan and pushing yourself extremely hard at the gym. There’s usually insufficient calorie intake to manage that kind of workout routine unless you deliberately eat more prior to exercising. Otherwise, slower motion exercises that don’t have the same intensity such as walking, yoga or bodyweight movements are better suited to people on a Keto eating plan.
