Transition from keto

[Jreinan01]

I have been pretty strictly keto since April and have done well. I went past my goal weight and have lost about 50 pounds, down to about 198lbs.

So, my question is not about how to eat keto or how to lose weight. It is about how to transition out of keto for a one week elk hunt. I know I could eat keto in the backcountry, but frankly I don’t want to work that hard on a meal plan. Carbs are certainly a much easier way to eat 3500-4000 calories a day. What have some of you done to let your body warm up to carbs. I don’t want to be super lethargic or sick while I’m hunting.

Thoughts?? Advice??

 

[jorgensen.travis]

My advice is to not transition out.


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[Wrench]

I did keto for a year and a half. I'd also suggest staying close as possible to ketosis. I thought after my dedication that I could jump back in after a few weeks off....



It ain't easy.

 

[Pgohil]

I was in the same situation 4 months ago. I had met my goal weight and wanted off keto. I found a nutritionist in Montana that was willing to help me transition. We started increasing the carb macros slowly and now I'm up to 25% carbs with no side effects at all. The only way to have gained has been muscular weight from lifting about 5lbs.

It was slowly and honestly scared the crap out of me, but it has worked well. I still avoid processed grain, ie bread/pasta, and eat as clean as possible.

I would not recommend doing this transition during hunting season. Hunting itself puts enough stress on your body no need to change your diet and stress it further.

Hope this helps


PGohil
WV

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[brettdunn7]

I was in the same situation 4 months ago. I had met my goal weight and wanted off keto. I found a nutritionist in Montana that was willing to help me transition. We started increasing the carb macros slowly and now I'm up to 25% carbs with no side effects at all. The only way to have gained has been muscular weight from lifting about 5lbs.

It was slowly and honestly scared the crap out of me, but it has worked well. I still avoid processed grain, ie bread/pasta, and eat as clean as possible.

I would not recommend doing this transition during hunting season. Hunting itself puts enough stress on your body no need to change your diet and stress it further.

Hope this helps


PGohil
WV

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This right here. I did Keto last year and lost 30lbs I slowly started increasing carbs into my food. However I think exercising contributed greatly as I have managed to maintain weight. The honestly think the key is just to eat clean and healthy food and exercise. I really don’t think the name or type of diet matters all that much


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[Justenfl]

I have been doing low carb or "keto" for about 5 years. Sure I take a week off every once in a while but jumped right back into it. I've stayed between 170-175 the entire time. In my experience If i eat junk during that week I'll feel bad starting as early as the next morning to 3 days after. But I've eaten good carbs during other times and never felt bad. Maybe look at paleo type foods that you can use to up your macros as far as carbs go. I'd prob start transitioning about 2 weeks before if I were to do it. That will give you ample time for your body to adjust and if your feeling bad by the end of the first week you could always just go keto the entire time.

 

[Coach Chris]

There's a lot of good info on reverse dieting for bodybuilders after getting super lean for a contest. That might be a good strategy for adding carbs back into your diet?
Dr. Layne Norton is a big proponent of post contest reverse dieting.

 

[outward]

My 2 cents would be not to stray from the path if you're happy with Keto otherwise. Actually hunting season and backcountry trips are one of my favorite times to be Keto. Fats are highest in calories/ounce so a Keto backcountry meal plan typically shaves some weight. And the fats are filling as well so I feel fuller longer staying Keto on hunts.

If its just the meal plan that's the obstacle, here's an example of what I did last week. This was a pretty casual 5 day trip and I could have shaved some weight or increased calories without adding weight. Things like the low-carb tortillas and salami I would replace with more nut butter or oil for trips with a higher priority on calories/ounce. Even still, this is 1.5 lbs / day and 107 calories / ounce. These weights include everything, even the Kifaru pullout. I'm a creature of habit so this meal plan works great for me. Maybe the spreadsheet will help.

 

[GLB]

I increase carbs slightly a week or so before hunting and during big trips I don’t worry about it too much. I eat the MH meals and protein bar, oat meal while in the field. When I get back I slowly decrease carbs to get back to Keto.

 

[GLB]

^^^ also I want to add that I follow the Keto diet but average between 50 to 100 grams of carbs a day. Everybody is different and through trial and error you should find what works for you. I try to find the best compromise for energy, maintaining weight and keeping sugars out of my body.

 

[Jreinan01]

Thanks for the help folks, this Is good information.

 

[backcountryshaffer]

Gosh I feel late to this one but I agree, don't transition out. It's not hard to eat keto. AND you don't need to eat as many calories as you think you do. It's not an even equation of calories in to calories out. If you're keto dieting correctly IMO you should be used to intermittent fasting. Check out the High Intensity Health podcasts. Tons of amazing thought provoking info there. https://highintensityhealth.com. My journey has been a several year transition to Paleo[ish] to low carb (still paleo), to keto, to carnivore, back to keto.

I did a solo 10 day pack trip for the CO archery opener and packed almost 100% keto food and felt amazing. I ate as few as 10g of carbs per day. In fact the day after I ate a freeze dried [Paleo Meals To Go] with 40g of carbs I felt like poo! If you really want some high quality keto[ish] friendly freeze dried check out https://getyourelements.com/shop. This stuff tastes pretty good, especially with ghee added.
My goto items are: bulletproof brain octane packets, tin-star ghee packets, paleo pro protein powder packets, instant coffee, high-salt meat snacks, trader joes manzanilla olive packets, Mary Janes Farm eggs with tuna cooked in (tuna packets in oil), my own recipe keto cookies (vacuum packed), my own dehydrated meat (vacuum packed).

 

[outward]

One more option for Keto freeze-dried meals:

Next Mile Meals

Next Mile Meals - Ketogenic Backpacking Meals and Low Carb Camping

Your resource for ketogenic backpacking meals and other healthier, better tasting backpacking food. There's a better way to fuel your next adventure!

www.nextmilemeals.com

These are in my meal plan spreadsheet above. They're specifically for Keto in the backcountry and have the right macros. Best option I've found. The meals taste fantastic, weigh half what mountain house does for the same calories, take less than half the amount of water to cook, and the owner is incredibly nice. They also explicitly support hunting and have been on a variety of hunting podcasts.

 

[backcountryshaffer]

and the owner is incredibly nice

This made me laugh. But yes she seems really nice from what I've heard on podcast listens. I haven't bit the bullet and bought any of her meals yet but I'm sure I'll do that soon.

 

[outward]

This made me laugh. But yes she seems really nice from what I've heard on podcast listens. I haven't bit the bullet and bought any of her meals yet but I'm sure I'll do that soon.

Haha I don't know another way to put it. But I had a last minute trip come up and needed a bunch of meals with 36 hour notice. She got back to me immediately and I bet we exchanged 10 emails in the next 4 hours getting overnight shipping lined up and she made it all super easy and cost-effective. Super nice

 

[Jreinan01]

Ok, what is the recipe??

my own recipe keto cookies (vacuum packed)

 

[swampthing]

I also do a low carb/keto type diet. I just finished a weeks elk hunt as well, hiking out from a base camp each day. I used some carbs but not too many. Granola bar for breakfast and 2 for the day. A small bun sandwich and that pretty much summed up my carbs. Meat and veggie suppers were easy. Oh yeah, I think my most carbs came from the rum n cokes around the fire!

 

[backcountryshaffer]

Ok, what is the recipe??

½ cup Cocoa butter


1 cup almond flour


1 cup Choco protein powder


2 large eggs


1 t vanilla


1t baking powder


1t xanthan gum


1tbsp salt


Walnuts


Combine dry ingredients

Blend in melted oil and vanilla

Stir in eggs and mix well

Blend in walnuts


Roll into balls and smash to shape


Bake at 350 for 10 minutes

InReach for size comparison.

 

[Frito]

I know the season is at an end, but my advise would have been to stay keto. I was a little nervous on my first outing and brought some rescue carbs just in case I was far out and hit a wall. I ended up feeling great the whole time (5 days and about 55 miles) and I'm pretty thin with what I thought was very little fat reserves. I brought my nut butter, some nuts, and jerky, and at night I cooked meat on the fire and packed left overs from that. I never ate my carbs, and from a performance standpoint, or for a being hardy standpoint, keto is where it's at for me.