8818 Keto part 2
Field Trip//
6x The Hill
1x every 4:00
score is your slowest effort
If you didn’t catch our last post about keto, go back and give it a quick read.
Without going into too much more about what the Ketogenic Diet is, I’ll share my experience so far with the lessons I’ve Learned.
For a time, you do have to clarify your goals and purpose for trying this diet. I’m really competitive, I love winning workouts, I love feeling strong, I love feeling fast. In the first couple of weeks, even a month in my experience, there is none of that. I was pretty excited to do Murph, only to be handed a thick slice of humble pie. My time was 61:17… last year 41:12. Really the only change was starting keto the week before this year. A positive result of that was actually some personal accountability. When I’m tempted, I just remind myself of that experience, “hey you got 20:00 worse on Murph. Is it worth eating that cookie and having that effort be in vein?” Because to reap the benefits of Keto, you have get into ketosis and stay there for quite some time.
Keto is an “in or out” type of endeavor. Personally I get really annoyed to see people post a picture of their food and #keto. Or when someone asks, is this food keto? Ketosis is something your body does in the absence of carbs, it’s not a list of foods. For 6 to 8 weeks, you’re committed, as in no cheats, not even a pinch or snack or handful or “just one”. When you start out, it could take a week or longer to reach ketosis. Or let’s say you decide you want to try it, so you eat steak and eggs for three meals and some pork rinds as a snack and can’t handle the evening cravings and blow it with a cookie or some chips. Well you just ate fat all day and topped it off with some insulin. Talk about a detrimental combo! Don’t think you can dabble in keto. Commit to 8 weeks at a time or eat a whole food balanced diet. The hard part for me wasn’t the cravings or lack of energy, it was (and is) the tank in performance.
Since you know ketosis is a condition your body enters, you need to be testing whether or not you’re there. Whether it’s peeing on test strips or testing your blood, it’s important to know how long it takes for you to reach ketosis, how exercise effects your ketones, and how certain foods effect your ketones.
There is light at the end of the 6 week adjustment tunnel. After you’ve been faithful, your body adapts and can do pretty well running on ketones. At one time, especially early on, I was legitimately afraid that I would shrivel up and die from CrossFit workouts. I’ve learned that even though I don’t eat carbs, it doesn’t mean that my body isn’t making glycogen to store in my muscles or ATP (ready to go fast energy for about 10 seconds at a time). A lot of our CrossFit WODs are under 10:00 and I usually have enough glycogen on hand for those short, high-power output efforts. And the Recorded portions of heavy days have really been unaffected so long as the rest period is long enough.
Ketosis is really interesting. I test my ketones multiple times a day, weigh myself often, and make note of my moods and energy levels. As hard as it is to follow such a restrictive diet, it’s also intriguing to be so intentional, inquisitive, and experimental with my own body. Since I’ve attacked this like a long experiment, it’s become pretty easy to continue.
At first, unrelenting discipline is annoying to your peers, but eventually it can rub off on them. MacLarin has been having great success eating clean (not keto), partially because cheating or treating ourselves just isn’t an option in our house. If you can endure the hate for a while, and people see your dedication, they might want in on your progress!
2. Revisited- If you want to do keto, but can’t give up beers, or cinnamon rolls, or pancakes, or burgers, don’t bother. You’re better off learning moderation and focusing on Whole Foods. To be successful with keto, you gotta draw a line in the dirt and pick a side for 6-8 weeks.