Keto and Exercise: Myths Busted!
If you know me, you know that I like to workout pretty regularly but I'm not a fitness buff or anything. But I have learned a few things in my reading on health and nutrition, as well as by personal experience, and I wanted to bust a few myths.
Myth #1: Exercise is a good weight loss tool.
I used to think this was true, even though I never used exercise as such. However, there is an excellent chapter in Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It by Gary Taubes on this very subject. The whole calories in calories out hypothesis is totally flawed, Taubes explains, because weight maintenance has more to do with the hormone insulin and its fat-storing effects. It may be true that you can tone your muscles and look more fit by working out regularly, but it does not actually allow you to lose much, if any, fat. Along with the physiological facts about working out and weight management, I think it really messes with people psychologically to think this way. If you feel like you have to workout to lose weight, it can lead to overexercising and feeling like you have to get in a workout when you actually need to rest. So let's forget about weight and focus on improving health. My goals of working out are to strengthen my muscles, get those endorphins for mental health, and lower my resting heart rate. That's it.
Myth #2: You need carbs to be able to workout.
Okay, this one has some truth to it. If you are running on glucose and are not fat-adapted, your workouts will suffer without carbs. However, if you cut out processed carbs and sugar for a few weeks and allow your body to shift to fat-burning mode, you will probably notice an improvement in your endurance and strength. Of course, you have to make sure you are eating plenty of healthy fats, because if you are low carb and low fat that is starvation mode and will not help your health nor your workouts. I hope you don't mind if I share a little story.
My personal experience with this started last year. When I finally committed to eating low carb high fat all the time as a healthy lifestyle, instead of thinking of it as a diet with weekly "cheat meals", I was actually able to start running. I had never been a runner before and would only do it when friends forced me to, but about a month or so into my keto journey, I started training using the Couch to 5K app (C25K). I learned to love running and was amazed to learn that I could run for over 30 minutes without stopping by the end of the summer. I ran two 5K races and a 10K last fall, and although I didn't win any prizes, just being able to have fun and finish each race was worth it to me, and I beat my previous time on my second 5K. I got out of the habit of running over the past several months because I didn't have time with all the studying I had to do, but I am back into it now and loving it. The point of this story is that not once did I need to carb load before a race or a regular running day. I used to keep a food journal, and this is what I ate before each race.
First 5K: I just had a spoonful of almond butter mixed with butter, and a cheese stick, since it was an early race, at 7:30 am, and eating a meal right beforehand would have been a bad idea. :P
Second 5K: About 3 hours before the race, I had scrambled eggs with cheese, some low carb zucchini bread, and coffee with heavy whipping cream.
10K: Scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, a spoonful of natural peanut butter, and little bit of dill pickle juice for electrolytes. That reminds me of the other important thing about working out on keto: electrolytes are important. Pickle juice after a workout works wonders for muscle cramps and the lightheaded nausea feeling that can come from depleted electrolytes.
And my dinners the night before were not big bowls of pasta either. Just a bunless cheeseburger with salad or low carb zucchini bread with butter. I had a cheeseburger the night before two out of the three races, so I'd say that's better than a carb-up any day! :)
Myth #3: If you workout, you can eat whatever you want.
Okay, this relates back to myth #1, but it's the one I believed for several years when I was younger. It actually works okay if you are young and healthy and not insulin-resistant, but it's not a good mindset. Just because you are working out and staying slim does not mean you are healthy. I learned this when I had some labs done at a health fair and learned I was pre-diabetic at the ripe old age of 20. Yeah, working out and eating sugar all the time didn't really work for me. Sugar still affects your blood sugar and insulin response even if you exercise before or after eating it. Eating too much sugar can lead to Type 2 diabetes, as well as other health problems (check out The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taubes). I could just be the odd one out, and there is a genetic component to diabetes, but I still think it is good to develop healthy eating habits regardless of your weight and even if you workout daily.
Myth #4: If you don't workout 6 days a week, you are lazy.
I used to feel guilt over not working out as often or as hard as some of my friends and even complete strangers who I followed on social media. But being a college student, I learned that sometimes all I could do was get in a little exercise here and there. Walking to and from campus, as well as taking a couple of dance classes, was my main form of exercise for a couple of months. Although I got out of shape for running, it was not the end of the world. While I have been working out almost every day lately, it's because I have more time and it helps my to keep me busy and improves my mood. There's no rule saying you or I have to and I may not always be as consistent with it as my schedule and level of business changes.
On a related note, the important thing about working out is to do what is fun for you. I love dancing, going for walks, and hiking, as well as running and going to the gym. I recently started a strength training program for a change of pace, but I don't think I will do it long-term, because it's just not that fun. Not to mention that I think I pulled a muscle in my arm this morning. Also, I just love cardio so much. Running makes me feel alive and seriously improves my mental health and mood. But maybe lifting weights does that for you. Or maybe it's swimming, biking, or playing sports. I think it is important to get moving and have fun with it, and it is equally important to make sure it doesn't take over your life.
And that's enough for Kaylyn's ramblings about health for today. I'll leave you with a Bible verse to remind myself as much as you that ultimately all this stuff is not the big deal:
"For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come." 1 Timothy 4:8
(NKJV)
Myth #1: Exercise is a good weight loss tool.
I used to think this was true, even though I never used exercise as such. However, there is an excellent chapter in Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It by Gary Taubes on this very subject. The whole calories in calories out hypothesis is totally flawed, Taubes explains, because weight maintenance has more to do with the hormone insulin and its fat-storing effects. It may be true that you can tone your muscles and look more fit by working out regularly, but it does not actually allow you to lose much, if any, fat. Along with the physiological facts about working out and weight management, I think it really messes with people psychologically to think this way. If you feel like you have to workout to lose weight, it can lead to overexercising and feeling like you have to get in a workout when you actually need to rest. So let's forget about weight and focus on improving health. My goals of working out are to strengthen my muscles, get those endorphins for mental health, and lower my resting heart rate. That's it.
Myth #2: You need carbs to be able to workout.
Okay, this one has some truth to it. If you are running on glucose and are not fat-adapted, your workouts will suffer without carbs. However, if you cut out processed carbs and sugar for a few weeks and allow your body to shift to fat-burning mode, you will probably notice an improvement in your endurance and strength. Of course, you have to make sure you are eating plenty of healthy fats, because if you are low carb and low fat that is starvation mode and will not help your health nor your workouts. I hope you don't mind if I share a little story.
My personal experience with this started last year. When I finally committed to eating low carb high fat all the time as a healthy lifestyle, instead of thinking of it as a diet with weekly "cheat meals", I was actually able to start running. I had never been a runner before and would only do it when friends forced me to, but about a month or so into my keto journey, I started training using the Couch to 5K app (C25K). I learned to love running and was amazed to learn that I could run for over 30 minutes without stopping by the end of the summer. I ran two 5K races and a 10K last fall, and although I didn't win any prizes, just being able to have fun and finish each race was worth it to me, and I beat my previous time on my second 5K. I got out of the habit of running over the past several months because I didn't have time with all the studying I had to do, but I am back into it now and loving it. The point of this story is that not once did I need to carb load before a race or a regular running day. I used to keep a food journal, and this is what I ate before each race.
First 5K: I just had a spoonful of almond butter mixed with butter, and a cheese stick, since it was an early race, at 7:30 am, and eating a meal right beforehand would have been a bad idea. :P
Second 5K: About 3 hours before the race, I had scrambled eggs with cheese, some low carb zucchini bread, and coffee with heavy whipping cream.
10K: Scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, a spoonful of natural peanut butter, and little bit of dill pickle juice for electrolytes. That reminds me of the other important thing about working out on keto: electrolytes are important. Pickle juice after a workout works wonders for muscle cramps and the lightheaded nausea feeling that can come from depleted electrolytes.
And my dinners the night before were not big bowls of pasta either. Just a bunless cheeseburger with salad or low carb zucchini bread with butter. I had a cheeseburger the night before two out of the three races, so I'd say that's better than a carb-up any day! :)
Myth #3: If you workout, you can eat whatever you want.
Okay, this relates back to myth #1, but it's the one I believed for several years when I was younger. It actually works okay if you are young and healthy and not insulin-resistant, but it's not a good mindset. Just because you are working out and staying slim does not mean you are healthy. I learned this when I had some labs done at a health fair and learned I was pre-diabetic at the ripe old age of 20. Yeah, working out and eating sugar all the time didn't really work for me. Sugar still affects your blood sugar and insulin response even if you exercise before or after eating it. Eating too much sugar can lead to Type 2 diabetes, as well as other health problems (check out The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taubes). I could just be the odd one out, and there is a genetic component to diabetes, but I still think it is good to develop healthy eating habits regardless of your weight and even if you workout daily.
Myth #4: If you don't workout 6 days a week, you are lazy.
I used to feel guilt over not working out as often or as hard as some of my friends and even complete strangers who I followed on social media. But being a college student, I learned that sometimes all I could do was get in a little exercise here and there. Walking to and from campus, as well as taking a couple of dance classes, was my main form of exercise for a couple of months. Although I got out of shape for running, it was not the end of the world. While I have been working out almost every day lately, it's because I have more time and it helps my to keep me busy and improves my mood. There's no rule saying you or I have to and I may not always be as consistent with it as my schedule and level of business changes.
On a related note, the important thing about working out is to do what is fun for you. I love dancing, going for walks, and hiking, as well as running and going to the gym. I recently started a strength training program for a change of pace, but I don't think I will do it long-term, because it's just not that fun. Not to mention that I think I pulled a muscle in my arm this morning. Also, I just love cardio so much. Running makes me feel alive and seriously improves my mental health and mood. But maybe lifting weights does that for you. Or maybe it's swimming, biking, or playing sports. I think it is important to get moving and have fun with it, and it is equally important to make sure it doesn't take over your life.
And that's enough for Kaylyn's ramblings about health for today. I'll leave you with a Bible verse to remind myself as much as you that ultimately all this stuff is not the big deal:
"For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come." 1 Timothy 4:8
(NKJV)
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