Low Carbs High Fat, Ketogenic Diet and Training

*Posted in FB Group: 14th March 2018

This is a long post and it is technical.

It was very interesting when I watched the interview with Dr. Peter in the dietdoctor.com. What he did is exactly what I had done on myself. Both of us were on the self-discovery path on how keto way of eating improve our sports performance, especially in the area of both aerobic and anaerobic fitness.

While I was doing my easy 10km run this morning, I was thinking how should I write this post for you guys. Before I continue to write, I would like to have the basic information right for everyone first.

IF: It means intermittent fasting. It means you don't eat for a certain period of time and eat within a window. I personally practise 18/6 on a daily basis. 18 hours of fasting, 6 hours window of eating. Can eat as much as you want. Must be Keto-complied. Some days higher in protein like yesterday and some days not.

Aerobic training: It means you train at a level not at your maximum heart rate. Or 70% to 80% of your VO2 Max. If you do low aerobic running, you should be able to have a decent chat with your running buddy along the way. Usually Aerobic training must be at least 60 mins and longer to start gaining positive effect on the body. It burns fat as fuel during exercise time but there is no post fat burning after effect. All endurance athletes train in this area. Aerobic training should be at 80% to 90% of the training regime to make the body fat adapted.

Anaerobic training: It means you train at a level you want to die. You cannot breath properly. You train at short burst at maximum HR or max VO2 Max. This is usually your HIIT or Interval training. Such training maximum is 30 mins not more than that. It is usually about 20 mins. They called it fat burner exercise. It does not burn fat during the exercise time but it burns during post exercise. If you are a sprinter, this training will give you what you need. But such training is glycogen highly dependent and athletes training in this area are tend to be glucose dependent. Not recommend for fat adapted body and it should be about 10% to 20% of the training regime.

When a fat adapted body train in this area, the pancreas will response by producing high insulin to counter the glucose/cortisol produced by both liver and adrenaline. HIIT/Interval training can cause addiction, especially to those who are addicted to the Adrenaline rush. Commercial gym use high adrenaline group exercise to attract people to join the gym. Workout like body combat, zumba and etc... they burn calories and can have high adrenaline.

VO2 Max: It is the measurement of the maximum amount of oxygen that an individual can utilize during intense, or maximal exercise. It is measured as milliliters of oxygen used in one minute per kilogram of body weight (ml/kg/min). It is one factor that may help determine an athlete's capacity to perform sustained exercise.

Disclaimer: I'm not a Doc. Just sharing my passion.