Why Should Endurance Athletes Choose a Ketogenic Diet? – Dr.Berg

RESEARCH

Endurance exercise athletes' physiology was believed to be fed primarily glucose. In other words, when an athlete depleted their stored sugar, and glycogen they will become fatigued and hit a wall (bonked). This has led many athletes to consume carbs before, during, and after. However, new research has demonstrated using fat as a primary fuel source and using ketosis as a way to do it. This must involve becoming keto-adapted. This is what has been missing - getting an athlete to adapt fully to ketosis. It was then found that elite endurance athletes burned more than 2x the fat than carb-fed athletes.

Dr. Eric Berg DC Bio:
Dr. Berg, age 57, is a chiropractor who specializes in Healthy Ketosis & Intermittent Fasting. He is the author of the best-selling book The Healthy Keto Plan, and is the Director of Dr. Berg Nutritionals. He no longer practices, but focuses on health education through social media.

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Disclaimer:
Dr. Eric Berg received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1988. His use of “doctor” or “Dr.” in relation to himself solely refers to that degree. Dr. Berg is a licensed chiropractor in Virginia, California, and Louisiana, but he no longer practices chiropractic in any state and does not see patients so he can focus on educating people as a full time activity, yet he maintains an active license. This video is for general informational purposes only. It should not be used to self-diagnose and it is not a substitute for a medical exam, cure, treatment, diagnosis, and prescription or recommendation. It does not create a doctor-patient relationship between Dr. Berg and you. You should not make any change in your health regimen or diet before first consulting a physician and obtaining a medical exam, diagnosis, and recommendation. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
#keto #ketodiet #weightloss #ketosis

[brendanward]

I have been running Marathons for almost thirty years. I always hated having to carb-load before a race. But now that I'm Keto, I just stick to my normal diet right up to the evening before a race. My last meal before a Marathon is usually something like meat and eggs, or seafood. Since turning Keto, I have kept up my record of always breaking the three-hour mark for the Marathon. When running at sub-three-hour pace, a non-Keto runner is deriving almost all of his energy from his muscle glycogen, so there is a real risk of running out of fuel. But at the same pace, a Keto runner is still getting as much as 50-60% of his energy from fat and less than half from glycogen, so there is simply no way he is going to run out of fuel.

[rlshultz]

I am 63 and have been a recreational competitive triathlete for 30 years. In 2018 I had 2 stents put in after feeling bad after a race. I was very confused. There was no explanation by the doctors and I was put on the protocol of many drugs. After 2 months and with many hours of my research I quit all drugs and went on a Keto diet. I am back to racing and all my times are the same as before.

[forestlakesviplist]

This makes sense. I just told my husband last night after I did some HIIT and some weights on my upper body, that I've noticed over the last 5 or 6 workouts, that I don't get exhausted or feel like I'm hitting a wall when I work out anymore and I hadn't eaten in over 6 hours! When I was working out normally on a carb diet, I HAD to eat an hour before or after because I would get dizzy and I would shake, feel like I wanted to just pass out if I didn't eat before I worked out. I was really worried about working out so long after eating fearing this would happen again, but not so. My energy level is great and I don't feel exhausted or that my body is just done. Not only did I wait for several hours after my meal, but I didn't eat my 2nd/last meal of the day until another 2 hours or so after I finished working out :)

[browncoatsforever]

I love how you keep it simple and short in a concise way that I can understand - thank you so much. I’ve been googling stuff all morning relating to whether I need to come off Keto and inject some carbs into my diet because I’m pushing myself hard on my runs now. I’m relieved that I don’t have to return to carbs to get faster, stronger and better. This is great news!

[finerfortyniner]

Totally agree, I have been keto for over 6 months and recently completed the Boston Marathon with no bonk or hitting a wall. Mental clarity the entire day and never got hungry. Last year I was using GU's, Gatorade and carbs and struggled in my 20 mile run.

[matturmy]

is there a video about ways to manage hydration and electrolytes while doing long-distance endurance training in ketosis? That's the main challenge I'm running into.

[pugge]

I was running my last Marathon 15 Minutes faster in Ketosis (2:45) than Carb loaded (also Half Marathon, 10k) ;) I´m also running 400m, 5k or 10x100m (12, 5s) training without carbs. I was doing a Spiro-Test before and after Keto. Just imagine what happens ? ;) After 1 week with only meat an eggs i had my fastest time/power ever, lowest lactate treshold and most fat burning at 15km/h.

[karlitobrigante]

Dr Berg pleas do a Joe Rogan podcast.I think he would gladly do one with you.

[KhaleahMcCain]

I know this is a very old video, but Dr. Eric Berg, can you please do more in-depth videos covering keto diet and endurance athletes 🙏

[jekabsd]

I can approve from my experience. I started ketogenic diet a little over a month a go, also endurance training. Performance was not affected whatsoever. I actually notice that my running performance is better when running while fasting! Looking forward about research on ketosis and endurance training, as I am preparing for my first marathon.

[Goldcrest]

Absolutely agree! I went from never working out with at least 1 meal to almost never working out unless i'm in Ketosis. You really do have so much more energy during your workouts.

[enjoybendlife]

I competed in mountain bike events from short-track, XC, 50 miles, 100 miles, seven-day stage races, and solo 24-hour races. I have eaten (and thrown up) more "science" food like gels, blocks, maltodextrin-based electrolyte drinks, protein powders, etc., than I can remember. In the 24-hour solo races when I was competitive (my best finish was second place), I ate a mix of "real" food: small sandwiches, fruit, nuts, bananas, and electrolytes.

I have been eating healthy keto for over a year, and like Brendan, I stick to my regular diet before training and exercise and focus on hydration, using Dr. Berg's sports electrolyte drink. I train fasted, and last year rode a 30-mile technical mountain bike trail in 3 1/2 hours using only plain water and four 24-ounce bottles with two scoops each of Dr. Berg's sports electrolyte mix. During my ride, I never dealt with any of the GI issues that plagued me in my racing days. I rode strong to the finish and felt great. Having followed all of the carb-loading protocols in the past, with the 200-300 calories per-hour advice given to racers, I can say with certainty that those plans are extremely difficult to follow logistically.
The idea that you need to eat that much hourly now that I follow a keto diet and OMAD seems insane. But, if you read the "expert" advice, they all still beat the drum of replacing muscle glycogen. For me, keto works! Chris Froome won the Tour de France eating keto, Jeremy Powers has documented doing a 100-mile road ride on keto, world record ultra-endurance runner Zach Bitter is on keto, and I am sure there are many more. Athletes are superstitious and generally opposed to experimenting since a race season can be short and mistakes costly. I believe that is the biggest reason keto hasn't been more popular, but that seems to be changing. Elite athletes are also genetically gifted to handle massive training volumes.

No doubt diet plays a role, but many could follow a well-planned keto diet and still perform well. In 100-mile technical mountain bike races, most top racers finish in half the time of decent recreational athletes. Many elite athletes eat very little during the events since they are on course for a relatively short time, and everyone is dehydrated at the finish line. A racer on a course for five hours has different diet and hydration requirements than an elite athlete in 2 hours. Still, I've witnessed mid-to-back-of-the-pack athletes make every nutritional mistake imaginable. Lastly, base training and preparing for endurance events primarily revolve around training your body to train specifically and burning fat rather than muscle glycogen. It always seemed at odds that I should log hundreds of long-slow base miles to become fat-adapted, then rely on a fueling plan to replace lost muscle glycogen hourly. If you are having success fueling with carbohydrates, great. But keto is definitely an alternative that works. Plus, how many looking down their nose at keto are elite athletes? The thought that refueling needs to begin after one hour for people only exercising for two hours total seems untethered from reality.

[cathiker]

Been on keto for 3 months. Lost 40 lbs. Just ran for the first time in a year and a half. Incredible, ran much faster and farther than other times in my life when I started running again after a long pause. Life changing.

[andyspark]

I can confirm that.
Works pretty well.

[machrs]

Can you do a video on diets for "burst" types of sports? For example, wrestling/boxing/MMA are a combination of endurance as well as explosive movements and I've heard that ketosis isn't the best for those types of sports.

[cliffcollier]

I have been doing this almost a year and every 3 months or so will break for holidays and such for no longer than 2-3 days. I weight lift and run and found it has enhanced my abilities and I even think faster.

[jbo]

I do all my cycling in a fasted state. I have done 63 century rides this year, all fasting. Fat burning 🔥 is great!

[HansQuistorff]

I have my breakfast established now so I can do chores and mow grass with a scythe for 4 hours. 1 avocado, 2 pasture fed eggs, hand full of nuts, home made raw milk yogurt and home made apple/blackberry pulp. The juice I use to make kombucha which I delute with my drinking water. I am 77 years old.

[talawoods]

Dr Berg can you do a vid on colostrum?

[xadrach]

Dr. Berg, thanks much for your videos. I've lost 20 pounds through ketosis and your guidance. ill be losing more to get to my goal of 190 lbs. you rock man, and i really appreciate your videos