Start with your daily nutrition plan
The four to six weeks when making the shift to Keto are the nutritional transition point and may or may not come with some challenges as your body is not truly starting to adapt.
As energy requirements are different for active people and will change day to day based on duration and intensity of training, rather than focus on hitting a specific number of grams each day, track your keto diet by macro percentages. Your caloric needs change based on your energy output and “the amount of energy expended (during exercise) means carbohydrates will constantly be depleted, leaving the body in a state of ketosis so long as the appropriate amount of fats and proteins are consumed.
While the ideal macro percentages vary per person and situation, a good starting point range for the keto diet is
- 70 to 80 percent of your calories from fat,
- 15 to 20 percent from protein
- 5 to 10 percent from carbs.
This will also help to avoid a common mistake of underconsumption of calories, which can lead to problems like constipation, energy decreases, and missed periods in women.
Training for adaption
- Keep training in zone 1 and 2 for the first four weeks or so.
This allows your body the time to adjust to the new way of eating and align your nutrition and your fat metabolism for fuel.
- When you are feeling good add in 1 day of HIIT but less than 40 mins. Keep intervals very brief with good recovery in between.
- Start all training sessions fasted where possible.
When going longer than 90 mins start adding zero carb drink at 60 mins
Add some carbs at the 90min point onwards.
Experiment with how long you can go without the carb drink each session.
Using supplement
- Ensure you take on 10g salt daily (5-6g sodium) electrolyte balance is crucial to performance.
- Adding in 1 x bottle of HydroPlus daily will help to ensure you are getting in a good range of electrolytes but with no added sugar.
Supplements When training
- HydroPlus for activity under 1.5 hours.
- EnduroPlus for activity over 2 hours and racing. This contains 15g carbs per serve which is good to top up on glucose use. Even the most fat-adapted athletes use some glucose when it gets hard or long, keeping a small constant supply means you can keep using fat (ketones) as a primary but have good glucose stores for when it’s needed. Taking on 15g per hour while active, will not negatively affect your fat burning or keto state.
- Keto Exo before long rides and during races
- Keto Gels and bars as you need them. Gels are a great bang for calorie buck as they are 66% fat.
As your adaption improves you will need to eat less during activity. You will not need to eat as frequently either, as you will be using body fat to support your efforts along with the nutrition, something carb athletes cant do, as they will hit the wall.
The 8 Fast track tips to kickstart Keto
- Reduce Carb Intake to 5 -10% calories per day range
- Include Coconut, MCT and Olive oil to boost ketone levels
- Increase physical activity, done in a fasted state when possible
- Increase healthy fat Intake to be the majority of daily calories each day
- Try a short fast or a fat fast once or twice per week
- Maintain adequate protein Intake. 15 -20% of calories per day
- Test Ketone levels, and adjust your diet as needed using a meal tracker
- Include exogenous ketones to fast track your adaption.