Workouts and Keto
Hi everyone, I’m new to the Keto community having just completed my first week and dropping 5.5 pounds! My energy levels were awful this week but I’ve learned this is normal. I’m counting on my energy eventually picking up and I want to keep moving with my workouts. I work out regularly (3-4x per week) at orangetheory. Wondering what suggestions you might have for pre-workout meals or drinks?
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For me personally I have found that pre-work out meals do very little for my energy levels. The main thing that has helped me to get my energy levels backup was simply time. Keeping my ketone levels up above .5 (preferable .8 - 1.5) and just giving my body time to adapt. It can take a few weeks for your cells to adjust, while transitioning try focusing on endurance rather than power.
I tend not to eat until noon now and even then I am not overly hungry. It has been about a month now and my energy levels have pretty much returned. I still have just two main meals a day, lunch and dinner and maybe a snack somewhere through the day and maybe one again after dinner. Generally not more than a spoonful of peanut butter or a slice of cheese.
Still if you want to fuel up a bit before a workout, try a high fat smoothie recipe, use high fat yogurt and/or coconut cream mixed with a small amount of berries or peanut butter. It gives you a few carbs (which will probably be burned up pretty quickly) and also some fat that can get metabolized into ketones once the carbs are used up.
I sometimes do peanut butter and cocoa powder, or a few blueberries and/or a couple of strawberries, only about 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of fruit.
