Our Experience with Ketosis and Distance Running, No “Fueling” Required.
My wife and I do ALL of our running prep without carb loading, And we do ALL of our running without consuming nutrition. We consume only water and electrolytes on our runs. And that is only if it is hot enough to need it. (We live at the coast in the Pacific Northwest, so often, we don’t even need water until after the run.) The longest run that I’ve done in this way is a Marathon. We Do Not Hit ‘The Wall’
Ketosis is; a Metabolic State that Occurs When the Body Burns Fat for Energy instead of Glucose. If the body is Not Accustomed to being in a state of Ketosis, it generally takes a couple weeks of a low carb, low sugar, high Protein, high Fat diet for the body to get Adjusted to being in a Consistent State of Ketosis. Heads up; This can be a physical and mental struggle, but after the first couple of weeks, it’s all good improvements from there. Also, Caution: there are other dietary needs to consider, such as proper amounts of Salt, Magnesium etc. which I cannot fully cover within this blog post.
Carbohydrates and Sugars are Processed Quickly by the body. This is the equivalent of Adding Kindling to a Fire. This Fire Won’t Burn for Long. And will Require More Fuel Soon.
Fats and Fibers are Processed Slowly by the body. This is the equivalent of Adding Large Logs to a Fire. This is a Fire that will burn for a Long Time. It will Not need Outside Fuel for Many Hours, because our body has fat on, and within the muscles.
People who have trained their body to constantly process carbs and sugars instead of fat, will crash if they do not get a constant supply of this kindling. If the body is accustomed to burning kindling all of the time, that is what it will do best. This is the Gluttony of Carbloading and Pockets Full of Gels.
We’ve noticed that in running videos, the athletes always have a sort of forlorn, sickly look on their faces as they’re teaching us about carbloading by shoveling down bagels and specialized packets. The body knows what it really needs to stay in Balance, and the Eyes Don’t Lie.
It is very important to understand how our body Actually uses energy. Shot out to the YouTube channel 55Mile for bringing up this topic. He’se doing a lot of great work over there.
In fact, it’s Important for all of Our Society to understand Metabolic Processes, Not just runners. Millions of people live with the insatiable hunger that comes along with high carb, high sugar diets. At the same time, they are not able to burn the fats they consume, causing it to accumulate on them.
My Wife and I Rarely Ever Actually Felt Full, Until We Switched to the Keto Diet.
There are times when the Keto diet feels a bit limited (in terms of selection), but overall we’re happy with it. We particularly enjoy the bacon, cheese, and other oily treats. Most of all we enjoy feeling full after we eat, instead of craving more.
My wife has been thrilled about the results of the Keto Diet. Within the first year, she transformed into a healthy version of herself. Healthier than she had ever been in her life. It was the first time in her life that she lost weight, and actually felt good. The first time she didn’t feel starved. It was the first time she ever lost weight, without also losing muscle weight. Her previous attempts to eat less, caused her fat to mostly stay, and her muscle to go away. It was the first time that her Body Fat Percentage came down to the healthy levels recommended by her doctor. She has now maintained that stable health for 3 years.
For Me, I have always had a low body fat percentage (around 11%). My body knew how to burn fat well too, but was used to having plenty of kindling, and therefor still depended on it.
As an alcoholic, the constant food cravings were particularly hard for me. Needing a constant source of Carbs and Sugar didn’t feel much different than needing the next drink. My drinking days are in the past, and I’m thrilled to have my Food Craving days in the past too. I get hungry when I need nutrition, and I can wait until it’s convenient, without distraction, without agitation, and without affecting my health negatively.
In Fact, It’s this Ebb and Flow of Eating and Breaks between eating, that Create Balanced Health, that can be Reliable in the face of a variety of conditions. I can Trust My Body to Feel what it Needs. And my body doesn’t need it immediately. Then, It can efficiently use either fat or glucose, as it becomes available.
This Balanced Health gives us our Required Nourishment, and The Peace of Mind that comes with Feeling Full and Being able to leave the house Without Stuffing ourselves. It gives us Freedom from the Constant Need to Adjust our Schedule to Fulfill our Nourishment Needs And Instead allows us to fit Nourishment into our Schedules when it’s Convenient.
“The Wall” Requires Immediate Eating to Get Over It
Ketosis allows us to Fuel ourselves for much longer, and allows us to run the Marathon Without Barriers.
Millions suffer with Constant Food Cravings, and Bending themselves to fit Urgent Nutrition ‘Needs.’ But Our Food Desires Are Created by what we Get the Body Accustomed To. WE can Train Our Body to Operate Differently. To have a Healthy Desire for What the body Actually Needs, instead of Insatiably Wanting to Feel Better for a Moment.
We Hope that our experiences can help our Society Reframe Our Collective Understanding of Nutritional Health, as Primarily a Matter of Metabolic Health. And thereby Improve all of our Health and Happiness.
