Intermittent Fasting

Running on Keto or Intermittent Fasting

Running on low carbohydrates or on empty seems to be the new craze currently. But is it safe to run while eating a Keto or intermittent fasting diet? Does it make you run faster, improve your health, or prevent injuries?

Keto Diet is Back

A keto diet is a high-fat, moderate-protein while reducing carbohydrate consumption. This type of eating triggers ketones which are released into the body and used for fuel known as ketosis. A typical eating day would consist of 75% from fat, 20% from protein, and 5% from carbs.
This diet minimizes carbohydrates and increase consumption of fat, fat, and more fat. Eating a high-fat diet over longer period of time will force the body into ketosis.
Ketosis is a state where the liver takes the proteins and fats and then uses them to create molecules called ketone bodies.
When the liver produces ketone bodies, it gains significant amounts of sustainable energy that athletes use for training.
Because the body takes that fat and reproduces it into energy, the keto diet can also help you lose more excess fat while eating healthy foods containing fats and oils.

A ketogenic diet is based on nutrition that tends to increase energy levels and reduce body fat. Whether or not it helps build a lean muscle mass is still controversial. There are also many side effects to eating a high fat, low carbohydrate diet such as muscle cramps, constipation, and weight gain. Some long-term side effects of staying on a very low carb diet include stomach cancer, kidney stones, and scurvy.

What is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting is time restricted eating while taking periodic breaks from eating. Some individuals do it by restricting calories on one or more days per week while eating normally on the other days. And others prefer going without food for a bit longer than usual during the day.
Some runners may already be practicing intermittent fasting by running on an empty stomach after a good night sleep. Increasing the length of fasting will increase the body’s ability to burn fat as fuel leading into weight loss.

Intermittent fasting may also help reduce insulin sensitivity, reduce cholesterol, reduce your risk of heart disease. However, there are some risk involved with this type of eating behavior. Encouraging over or binge eating on/during non-fasting days, usually leads to eating unhealthy food intake. This type of eating also tends to promote a magic bullet mentality. Most importantly, intermittent fasting has not been intensively studied on the increased ability of muscle to burn fat as fuel.

Many athletes are on the lookout for a revolutionary quick fix to take their running too the next level. Permanent lifestyle changes, such as following a nutritious, wholesome diet will take you where you need to be. But it will also take a mind shift and some dedication. Most importantly we are all different. What works for you may not even come close to what works for your friends. It is so important to experiment and keep track of your training to develop a recipe that is optimal for you.

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