Keto Energy drop suggestions

[Rockchuck]

Hello all,

This year, I decided it was time to get in better shape with a goal to drop 75 lbs.

I went with a keto diet to jump start the process. I had done keto with some success several years ago. I just call it the man snack diet as there is a lot of meats, cheeses, nuts, oils, butter etc. I have been able to stay pretty true to it without being a real macro counter. I may go over occasionally on carbs in the form of vegetables, but I can't feel guilty when i do while eating veggies and my weight loss has been pretty consistent anyway.

I started in early March and am down 40 lbs so far with 35 more to go. I usually feel really good on my man snack diet other that when I try to find some keto friendly sweets or chip alternative. My guess is that stuff is really processed and my body just doesn't like it vs. staying with more of a whole foods/ simple ingredient approach.

For a while I would whip up fat shakes for breakfast on the go and be fine with that to start the day, but on days I had exercise or physical labor I would start lagging after a couple hours.

I switched breakfasts for those days from shakes to real food and that has helped a lot. Now I am extending my llama/self training hikes in preparation for fall and have really been hitting a wall on energy. I think part of my problem is forcing more food in more often (fats) as I don't really ever feel hungry on Keto.

When I hit the wall and refuel, it takes a good hour before my energy is back up to normal. So, maybe it takes longer for the fat to process to energy vs. a quick hit from simple carbs and I need to eat more along the way, but just don't have it figured out yet.

Has anyone encountered similar situation and come up with a good way to work around that or to time foods a little better or different types of foods that can be easy to bring along on the trail and help keep energy levels more stabile? I find it difficult to eat much while hiking.

Perhaps I need to fold more carbs back in when I am gonna really get heavy exercise in, but I would prefer not to try and jump back and forth in and out of ketosis.

Any and all thoughts are appreciated!

 

[V2Pnutrition]

You likely have a couple of things going on here, but here are some options:

1. You might consider the intensity (pace) of the training you're doing.. Fat is a poor fuel choice if higher intensities are desired. It'll burn fine at lower intensity (call it <60% of maximum output), but not as good higher than that.

2. You might consider upping the fat/protein intake. This is essentially a workaround to provide the body with some glucose at higher intensities without full on eating carbs.

3. Eat some carbs if you want the intensity to stay high and performance/fuel economy at those higher intensities are desired.

The reason it's seeming like it takes a while to get a "hit" from a fat source is it does take longer to process from food consumed to fuel (i.e. from fat shake into fuel your muscles can actually use). Think about sitting on the west coast with a desire to get to the east. You can fly across the US in a few hours or over the pacific and around the globe. Both get you there...one just does it faster and more economical. The variation of fuel is the same. For "max results" (whatever that definition is to the person), it's best to pair the fuel type with the intensity.

Most importantly- regardless of what direction you choose- congratulations on making the decision to change your life and the incredible amount of time and energy you've devoted to doing so. THAT is the spectacular.

 

[Duh]

I had a similar issue when I first tried keto. I ended up going all in on carnivore and really upped my fat intake. It took a bit for my body to full fat adapt but I started noticing better performance within 2 weeks. It only improved from there.

 

[5811]

Are you sure you are getting enough salt/electrolytes?

 

[Rockchuck]

Thanks to all of you for your replies and suggestions. I have been reading up on Carnivore, but need to learn more on that and decide if I can be that restrictive long term. I am running keto on my own while the fam eats unrestricted so it takes a bit of extra planning, but Carnivore is not far off for an additional step. I think I will start with the suggestion to increase the fat/protein mix to try for extra glucose production and also will add more salt and electrolytes as well. I have have been remiss on that front. A few months ago, I picked up some liquid iv and found another called re-lyte hydration with no carbs, so will be trying those. I forgot I had them!

I think I need to make sure I force myself to eat more continuously to try and keep more fuel in the hopper even when I don't want to. Hopefully it will head off the energy crash.

I will try that and share my results.

 

[Poser]

I don't eat strict Keto, but lean into it heavily with limited carb intake much of the week. That being said, as @V2Pnutrition mentioned, once you hit an intensity threshold, its difficult for the body to convert fat quickly enough to meet demand. Muscular endurance zone? I can go all day on a breakfast full of fat and protein.
I keep a couple of options available for when the situation requires higher intensity output. UCAN Edge energy gel shots (similar to a GU shot) and Rip Van Waffles (lower sugar option comparable to Honey Stingers). Some situation are going to require some carbs for optimal performance, IMO and those 2 options seem to work well for me so I always have a couple of each in my pack.

 

[ARK_Ginger]

When doing low carb I always felt best sodium loading any intense physical excursion. LMNT is my electrolyte of choice, but you can easily make your own as well. I’d take a look at the articles that LMNT has though about total sodium intake on low carb diets, it’s quite the eye-opener of how much you might need.

 

[Watrdawg]

A friend of mine who is retired Army and was Crossfit Corporate's liaison for the Army in developing the new PT test helped me out with my diet and goal to lose 30lbs or so. I'm only 5'5 and weighed 194 at the time. I've always been in the gym so I have a very good base fitness level. I had started Keto and he said to get off of it because Keto doesn't provide enough energy for high volume workouts. His advice was to eat clean and don't worry about macros. Since December I've lost 30lbs and am down to 12.4% body fat. My workouts are 4 nights of Crossfit, 3 days of a regular strength workout and I hike 10-12 miles a week with a weighted vest. I'm 60 btw. My diet consists of meats, meaning beef, pork, chicken, fish, vegetables, fruits, beans and a few other complex carbs. I stay away from processed foods and most sugars. One thing I do make sure to keep track of is proteins. I take in at least 1gram of protein per lb of body weight every day. Typically 150 to 200 grams a day. Also very important is to get enough sleep. Very rarely do I feel tired during a workout or during the day. Eat clean, sleep and get enough protein and you should be fine.