It didn’t take long for me to notice a new trend emerging in the endurance community. Within one week I had heard from five or six of my friends about how they were “going keto” and suddenly I was intrigued as to why all my friends were flocking to this dietary change.
For the longest time, I subscribed to a low-carb diet, not quite as low as the ketogenic diet demands, but low enough that going keto didn’t seem that out of the realm of possibility for me. The biggest concern I personally had about switching my body from utilizing carbs and sugar for energy to becoming a fat-adapted athlete was the fact I’d have to give up my beloved bananas. For basically my whole life, I’ve always started my day with a banana, but this one fruit would prove to be the catalyst for me to slip into ketosis.
There were 5 distinct things that stood out about the ketogenic diet that convinced me I need to give this diet a whirl.
1. Decrease dependence on sugary gels during endurance training and events
2. Eliminate or at least minimize stomach cramps from eating poorly during ultra-marathons and endurance events
3. Teach and train the body to efficiently and effectively utilize access to abundant body fat stores
4. Enhance daily output by improving overall mental focus and concentration throughout the day and eliminating the inevitable sugar crash
5. Optimize diet to improve athletic performance, health, and longevity.
In early December, at the SISU 24: Adventure Run, I had already been hearing about a bunch of my friends making the switch, I was already contemplating it a bit myself, and then my friend Dave Lokey informed me of his switch to keto and how he not only lost a bunch of weight after being injured, but he also managed to go on 30 mile LSD (long slow distance) runs without having a need for any sort of fuel being ingested during his ultra-marathon distance training runs. I was blown away. I couldn’t believe it was possible to run for that long without needing to eat, knowing my body I’d be bonked over on the side of the road if I tried to run that far without refueling. I was colored with intrigue. Not only was Dave not experiencing the pains of having to digest sugar gels or blocks, but he wasn’t feeling the need to eat at all since his body had become a fat-burning machine.
After the SISU 24, this intrigue grew even further. You see, during the event, around the 12-hour mark, my stomach began feeling the impact of eating all the shit I was putting in my body to keep myself moving. All the quick carbs and sugar that you get from eating Clif Shot Bloks, and Skittles, and Trail Mix, among other things, had my stomach in a small knot. It was debilitating by any means, but if I could change my diet and prevent this from happening entirely. That would be more than worth it to make the switch to keto.
A lot of us ultra-runners and endurance athletes, always joke about how we love doing these events because of all the shit we can eat since we’re burning some 10,000 calories a day during these multi-day events. But the reality is, a lot of us feel like shit when we do this. It’s completely counter-intuitive to what we’re trying to achieve, but your body is burning so many calories, the theory goes… EAT ALL THE FOOD. Sometimes…it works…most times, it doesn’t without some consequence.
With the SISU 24 experience in my bank of ultras and endurance events, I knew it was time to try something different. I needed to find a better way to sustain energy to get through these events without the risk of having stomach issues mid-race/event. I asked Dave about how he went keto and he had two books on his coffee table that he shared with me, The Ketogenic Diet For Athletes: The Ultimate Guide To Improving Athletic Performance
3 Comments