Thank you for coming to my site! I am Valerie Peterson, a cyclist who has recently adopted a ketogenic diet and is looking to share ideas with others in similar situations. I probably have more questions than answers, but look forward to sharing what I know with all of you, and learning from you in return.
I am not a doctor, nurse, nutritionist or anything close to it. I am a cyclist who goes on very long rides and while I believe in a ketogenic diet, I still have a lot of concerns about how to make sure I don’t damage my liver (or anything else!) on long rides (4 hours or longer) with lots of climbing involved. And yes, I blame my wonderful husband, who I call a “serial climber.” The higher the mountain, the better. I don’t currently share the same sentiment, but am working on it!!
Guidelines:
Because this is my blog that I use my personal time on, I get to set the rules! Thank you in advance for respecting the guidelines below.
- Please remember that I am not a doctor, nutritionist, or anything close to it. I created this blog as a way to share information and receive information back from other athletes in a similar situation as mine. I cannot and will not provide any type of advice on a diet you should or should not try, I will only share my experience with a ketogenic diet.
- Comments are welcomed. However, comments that are rude or in my opinion are only meant to hurt others will not be addressed and will most likely be deleted. Let’s make interaction on this blog a positive experience, and embrace differing views in a respectful way. The only way to learn is to consider all perspectives, but that starts with sharing your perspective in a respectful, non-judgmental way. After all, we are talking about opinions here!
- Solicitation is not permitted. If you have something to sell, there are many other places to do that – just not here!
Disclaimer
This blog is for general informational purposes only. Information posted here does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional health care services. Use of information in this blog is at the reader’s own risk. Before beginning any type of diet, professional medical advice should be sought.
I’m very interested in hearing more about burning fats for fuel! This is great stuff.
Thanks for taking the time to get this information stirring. There is not a lot of out there for keto adapted endurance just yet. The book, The Art & Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance has been a great place to start for me but its good to have someone in the day to day world giving and getting feedback. Looking forward to learning more.
Thanks, Kurt! Are you an endurance athlete?
Well, if that is what you call a 100 mile a week road biker. That may be stretching the definition a bit!
Hi Valerie,
Here are my anecdotal Experiences combining low carb/ ketogenic diet with 6-12 hour ycle touring rides http://www.shanecycles.com/how-a-lchf-lifestyle-changed-my-life/
The main challenge for me is staying away from beer during my trips (as im actually on holiday when cycling so much), and getting keto friendly foods in remote areas while travelling.
Im now tempted to experiment with sythetic ketones….
Hi Shane,
Congratulations on finding LCHF and putting it to such good use 😀. As you can see from some of my other posts here I’m a LCHF advocate and it’s great to see stories like yours that I can share with other people who need that little nudge to give it a try.
So thanks for sharing
Joseph
Hi there,
Thanks for sharing your experience, bit of background, my wife and myself are also keen cyclist and I’ve switched to a LCHF diet recently (lost 14kg in 4 months and riding faster than I have for … quite a while, recovery is also very good as I’m also a professional person with limited time, I can only ride before work. Up to a modest 40 or 50km now, but could never do that distance before work on HC diet). Anyway, sorry for the long post, my actual question, my wife is lactose intolerant, so dairy foods are not an option, she has dropped some Carbs, and slowly getting into eggs again, but I suspect she’s eating too much fruit and still not enough fat to compensate for the carbs, some days anyway she still get energy drops in mid afternoon.
Appreciate any thoughts
Joseph
p.s this is a rather old website of mine, just to share a bit of my history with you.
Congratulations on the weight loss and increase in speed!
As for your wife, I’d encourage her to eat non-starchy vegetables and coconut oil or HCT oil – several tablespoons a day. As for fruit, I’d encourage her to stick to berries since they are lower in sugar than other types of fruit.
How have I not found this site until today? I’m a life long cyclist who on 11/1 decided to go Keto. I’ve searched the internet for other cyclist who are keto and some how yours never showed up. I don’t think I could race keto, but I am fully convinced I can ride basically as long as I want – if I train for it! Gonna check out your site a bit more!
Hi Scott! I hope you enjoy the site, and I look forward to hearing how you’re doing with your keto diet! I can’t imagine eating any other way, and have been on it for over 2 years now.
Hi Scott
Similar to you I’m a relatively recent adopter of an LCHF diet and I cycle (for fitness and fun). I can only encourage you and tell you that I’m 51yrs old and riding further and faster than I have in a very long time. Generally 30km 3 times a week, I find recovery is very good with very little muscle tiredness after a ride. I encourage you to have a look at Dr. Jeff Volek’s book “The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance” as well as work done by Prof Tim Noakes and of course Dr. Stephen Phinney.
Keto adaption may take some time, but to my mind people like Chris Froome are proving it works. In particular a regime of training under LCHF and racing with the inclusion of a limited amount of carbs (taken at strategic points in a race).
Good luck with the riding
So good to happen across your site.Been looking for a cyclist who uses a keto diet. I have been cycling seriously for over a year. By seriously I mean most of my rides are training rides with fellow club members. Hard rides of 2 to 4 hours interspersed with gentler recovery rides. I ride about 5 or 6 days a week on a good week. I started keto about 6 months ago or TKD I should say. Then stopped as I felt I needed more carbs. Last 4 months have been terrible on HCD. Brain fog… extreme tiredness…having to rely on carbs all the time.Decided to go back to TKD. Presto …feel great again. With being fat adapted, when I take carbs its like rocket fuel.I feel I cannot train hard on no carbs. Not much fun for me . Gentler rides no problem , but really pushing it I have some carbs before, during and maybey some after but thats it. Rest of the day protien and fat and green smoothies. Most important to finish. On keto diet or TKD I feel amazing like you cannot believe. Totally different person. No brain fog …no tiredness at all…no real hunger to speak of….astounding energy….But I do need some carbs to clarify. I just take them around my training…and maybey the odd treat. Just to share what works for me. Homemade rice cakes…..after no carbs or fasting for a while this is like rocket fuel.Anyway thanks for your blog. A pleasure to read your experiences and the inspiration you give.
Hi Maurice,
Thank you for sharing your experience! We all have to figure out what works best, and it sounds like you’ve done that with using carbs to fuel before rides. A couple of suggestions – if you haven’t yet, you might try Super Starch before a ride. It helped me a lot the first year when I was worried about long rides and whether I could sustain them with a low carb diet.
Now I use Vespa before a ride that will be over 2 hours. I have been able to stay on a ketogenic diet before, during and after long rides with the help of Super Starch and/or Vespa. I did a 206 mile ride in 2015 while on a ketogenic diet. I didn’t know about Vespa yet so I used Super Starch.
Regardless, it sounds like fueling with carbs is working for you and you may not want to change anything!
Thanks again for your comments, and I’m so glad you found this site helpful!
Val
Thanks for that info….I will certainly look into superstarch…as I am really in the process of finding out what works best. Not sure if I can get vespa in the UK, but can certainly get superstarch.
Val,
I am jealous of those who can cycle in the mountains. It actually makes a big difference in leg strength. I only know that because we have a bridge near us (our only mountain) and I can see my climbing watts rise at a constant heart rate with repeats on this “hill”. I am sure the same result can be had by riding in a bigger gear. I will try that.
The keto adaptation I put myself in about a year ago has degraded somewhat but I still do long rides on water only and throw in some ketone salts. At the end of 70 mile rides I have glucose of about 75 md/dl and 1.5 mmol/L. I will go out next time without ketone salts to see what my liver is doing these days. I never bonk anymore. That was the goal. One thing to remember is to be gentle on these long rides and don’t overdo it. We have such hot summers down here with high humidity that heart rates are high just to stay cool.
One last thing, I would recommend you or anyone look into hydrolyzed collagen and vitamin C daily. I think these two in particular have eliminated and prevented joint issues over the last couple of years. I am 58 and I have not seen any decline in ability even though I ride only about 100 miles a week.
Keep the wheels down.
Bill
Thank you very much! I took a break from my blog for a few months (work got pretty crazy) but I am getting back into it. I appreciate your suggestions, and I hope you’re doing well.
Valerie
Valerie,
Could you please inform me how I could hydrate myself during long rides. I’m situated in the Caribbean (hot and humid) and I sweat like crazy. Im on keto and tend to be prone to cramps.
Thx in advance
Theuns
You might try chicken broth with sodium before you ride. I have found that many times it’s how well I’m hydrated before I start a ride that matters, and chicken broth has helped a lot. Also – make sure you are taking magnesium every night as that will help with the cramping.
Thx Val, I’ve started to take some electrolytes before and after my rides and so far so good. I also integrated a small amount of sugar after rides and it seems to help and energy levels are much higher as well. Thx for the advice.
Regards
Ti
Hello, my name is Thomas Milliron. My wife and I started on the ketogenic lifestyle two days after Christmas. Yesterday was day 60 and I was proud to step on the scale and see that I had lost 50 lbs.
I have been an avid cyclist for about 12 years. Since starting the diet I made 3 Sunday rides each about 28 miles long. It had been about 60 days since my last ride, but I could not believe how much harder these rides were. But they all got better, even after wiping out on black ice 3/4 mile into the third ride.
Yesterday I went out to celebrate on a mountain bike ride. Got a total of 7 miles in 3.5 hours. There was lots of mud and snow, but I felt great. The last hour did get tough but I didn’t bonk and feel great today.
I found your blog because I was wondering how to fuel on these longer rides while staying on strict keto. I look forward to following and learning from others in the same situation.
look forward to learning more …
I’m a bike racer in Texas and have been experimenting with LCHF diet after reading Naokes book. I’m trying to find the correct carb balance for high intensity training and racing. I train about 13 hours a week with some being high all out intensity so I’ve had issues with energy on low carb diets. If I only rode zone 2 or 3 it would be no problem but when I go to zone 5 and above the lack of glycogen becomes a factor.
Hi Anthony,
I can certainly appreciate that. What are you using as fuel on your rides?
following
Hi Valerie, HELP!!! I’m 6 days out of my first Century Bike ride with 8000 ft of climbing on May 19th. I’m Fat adapted. I’m figuring out what to eat before and during the 8-9 hours of cycling. This is what I’m thinking. First wake up and eat spinach salad with ham, cheese, avocado, and a sour cream based dressing. Then Vitamins and electrolyte supplements. Then Bullet Proof coffee prior to start of race. During race I’ll have water and electrolyte supplements (saltsticks). After 2 hours start Super Starch every 2 hours, and MCT Oil. I don’t know how much MCT oil to take or how to store it during the ride. Please let me know what you think. Or anybody else that has experience.
Hi Dan,
I’m so sorry I missed this! How did the ride go? I use powdered MCT oil and it can go right into your water bottle. I’ve found I don’t really need it on long rides, though, as the Super Starch is typically enough. I’ll also use Vespa on long rides, as well.
Val
Hi Val- your blog is fascinating and helpful. Do you know of any Ketogenic cyclocross racers? I train on the road but mainly <30 miles specific to cross- ie less endurance, more sprint. Thanks, Meg
Hi Meg,
Thank you for checking out my blog! I don’t know of any cyclocross racers who follow a ketogenic diet. I think the main issue is having that top end speed to sprint. Arguably (I think the research goes both ways) you don’t have the quick burst of energy you need from burning fat as opposed to having a quick burst from carbs.
I hope this helps – let me know if you decide to give it a try! You can always supplement with carbs for certain parts of your race if needed. Your body will burn carbs first before turning to fat for fuel.
I’m enjoying Dom D’Augistino’s interviews. I’m 3-4weeks in and certainly feeling heavy legged on the bike but hopeful that with a good 12 weeks I’ll be ready for my season.
Thank you for the reply.
Meg
Hello everyone.
I’m a keen cyclist that has done many century rides for charity and sportives.
I never seem to be able to manage weight (not that its excessive) and fuelling effectively on rides seems to be a hit and miss affair.
My sister and brother in law recently tried LCHF for health reasons, primarily joint inflammation. They both report amazing results, particularly my BIL who has missed many days work over recent years because of his shoulder problem.
Having a similar work related condition i have been on the diet myself and have noticed similar as to joint inflammation. Improved mental clarity and stamina.
However, i still have concerns over how i can fuel a long ride (living in a hilly part of the world) safely and healthily.
Looking forward to learning from your collective experience.
Hi Paul,
You’ll have to experiment a bit to find out what works best for you. Because I was committed to a ketogenic diet, I fought through a number of rides where I felt awful, as I knew it would eventually pass (and it did). But every person is different, and what works for me may not work for you. Just don’t be afraid to experiment a little, but don’t change too many things with each ride, otherwise it will be tough to know what works and what doesn’t. Feel free to browse through some of my older blogs. I chronicle a lot of the struggles, what worked, what didn’t, and I talk about the year I rode Lotoja – 206 miles in one day – on a ketogenic diet. And I felt great. Hopefully some of what I went through will help you.
Keep me posted on how you’re doing!
I am an active cyclist and I do multi day charity rides. My wife started the Keto diet a month ago and has lost 10 pounds and feels very healthy. My question is, when my meals are all planned for the ride, how do I navigate to choose only Keto foods? I can’t carry five days of food on my bicycle
Hi Dale,
I haven’t done a multi-day charity ride as you describe, but I’m wondering if the organizers would be willing to carry some items for you so you can stay close to your diet. When you are keto-adapted, even if you have some meals with carbs you will be ok. Your body will still go back to burning fat once there are no carbs left to burn through. I hope this helps!
In November 2017 I had reached more than 270 lbs purchased a Day6 e-bike. I began with 10 mile rides. In the month of June I rode 700 miles for the Great Cycle Challenge. I was a type II diabetic and by this time was 35 lbs lighter but my HA1C reduction to 6.6 (from 7.2) was disappointing. In July I began intermittent fasting and shortly after adopted a ketogenic diet. At my physical last week I was BMI normal (184 lbs) with HA1C 4.9. At the moment I follow a true alternate daily fast with a keto diet. I am NOT a power cyclist – but typically ride 30 miles in the East Tennessee hills using pedal assist when needed – based on heart rate monitoring I am getting a good workout. I ride on both fast and non-fast days and feel great. I was happy to see a blog for keto-adapted cyclists as this is a long-term lifestyle change for me.
Congratulations on the lifestyle change!! Thank you for following my blog – I look forward to your input.
Val
Hi, thanks for the interesting read.
I was wondering what are you using in your bidons for electrolytes replenishment? I was using Nuun tablets but at 4g of carbs per, I would like to find another option.
Thank you and have a great day.
Seb
Hi Seb,
We use ZipFizz.
Val
Thanks a lot, I’ll give it a try.
I am doing a 200 mile bike race in August and have been on modified keto for 5 months with no reason to change. What can i carry on me and for the ride to sustain myself for 15 hours and 18,000 ft of climb? Thanks!
I’m looking for the same answers…I have a long ride Saturday, I just started keto..I don’t want to be left behind!
Do we mix UCAN in the water bottle?
Order powder MCT oil?
Use them both together?
Eat salted almonds on the ride?
I can’t believe I’m going on a long hill ride with no gel or foods, very stressful.
Jennifer,
I hope your ride went well! Since you’re fairly new to keto, if you’re like me you’ll have some tough rides – ones where you feel like you have no energy. Hang in there, it gets better as your body gets used to burning fat for fuel. I responded to MS with what I used for a 200 mile ride a few years ago – hopefully that helps.
I did some research Jen. Visit http://www.califlourfoods.com and get the 5” flatbreads. I was planning on making a ton of PB sandwiches and storing them in the back of my jersey. It’s the perfect food. I also have been eating keto bars as well during rides. That and just some electrolytes in the water should be enough. Take a look lmk what u think.
Hi MS,
I used UCANN SuperStarch in a bottle when I did a 200 mile ride and drank 1 or two over the 12 hour ride. I carried low carb bars with me, including UCANN bars, and salted nuts. Since you have time, start experimenting with what works for you.
You did 200 miles in 12 hours? Not terrible. My problem is this ride has 18,000ft of total climb
Yes, that is quite a day you will have! Mine was just over 10,000 feet of climbing. But what works early in your ride will work just as well late in the ride. I actually got less hungry as the day went on which makes sense when your body is burning fat. Staying hydrated is of course the challenge. Salt tabs will help, too. I did not have those when I did the long ride, but I do use them now.
I saw your response about the cauliflower flatbread. That sounds great. We live in Colorado and have a company called Outside the Breadbox that makes grain free vegan bread that tastes really good so we use that for peanut butter sandwiches on long rides.
My husband just reminded me that we’ll have a 15,000 climbing day during our trip to France in late July. So I’ll be exploring new ways to stay hydrated and to fuel for that type of effort as well!
I am curious is anyone else is among the minority of people whose LDL cholesterol became significantly elevated after going on keto and if cycling has been helpful to reduce. I’m 62 years old and almost to my goal weight of 165 (down from 270 16 months ago when I began e-biking). All my other numbers are good – blood pressure, blood sugar, triglycerides and HDL are fine. I try to ride about 28 miles 3 times week (winter and travel have slowed me down a bit).
John try and keep your saturated fat % to 15-20% of your daily fat intake. That will help your LDL. Give it a month to readjust.
Hi Valerie, I’ve just discovered your blog.
I’m on Keto now (on & off) for 12 months.
25 years of cycling with the notion that I would not consider going out for 60 mins or more without pockets full of bar/gels and whatever was being touted as the newest (best) energy gloop in your bottles.
The first 4 months out riding with gels still in my pockets with the fear of hitting the wall when an hour from home, which never happened after adaption…
Proof in the (no sugar) pudding was the Ireland’s largest sportive last year, the 180km (112 mile) ‘Ring of Kerry’ completed on zero food, only 8 bottles of water and no stops – previous editions had me departing weighed down with all matter of fashionable gels, etc. plus 2 stops enroute to load up on sandwiches, etc.
Cue my incredulous riding colleagues when I kept riding when they stopped for their food stops (stopping only for water) finishing an hour + ahead of friends and not hungry when finished at all.
I had initial 10kg weight loss but alcohol is my downfall (how very Irish…) I have now discovered a low carb ‘Skinny’ local beer. I would also drink whiskey, which I know is a better option than beer but still not as good as no alcohol.
Hopefully the oncoming spring/summer means I’ll get out more than the current once weekly which will boost my energy usage and get the weight loss back on track.
Sorry to give my Keto life story, but it is true that the world seems brainwashed on ‘Carbs good / fat bad’ – I’ll give a 30 second surmise to friends interested, but no preaching after that. You’ve given me another reference point for those who are curious.
Thank you for sharing your journey!!
Outstanding story. I am in the same predicament not knowing what to fuel up with on my 7th, 100 mile race but first on keto. It will be a good test as I have a 200 mile race in August in Pennsylvania. Not sure what to eat except maybe quest bars because they seem to fill me up. Any ideas?
I’ve been freezing ketobars and putting them I. My saddlebag…they’re great on rides. I also bring Trader Joe’s coconut oil in 1T packets which I got from amazon, as well as grass fed beef sticks.
I just found your blog – great info!! I’ve been looking for something like this for when I get back into long road rides but I’m also about to start mountain biking again which requires some quick energy bursts to climb small hills (I’m in TX…no mountains here LOL). I have only ridden the trails once since going Keto & just like I heard/expected, my legs were burning around 40 minutes & it was so tough to finish. I REALLY don’t want to eat carbs for these rides but it seems like I have to – those bursts of energy took it out of me. I asked around to see what other Keto mountain bikers do & they all take carbs for the rides/races. I will experiment & see what happens. I do have UCAN to see what happens. I will say that I’m looking forward to road rides where I won’t need to eat 🙂 I’ll keep an eye on your blog and take notes. Again, thanks for the great info!
This is a great blog! Can anyone offer some advice, I’ve been fully fat adapted for 6 months and it’s amazing, i also follow a 20/4 IF daily routine which maintains my weight of 85kgs (186cm tall) I usually eat 2 meals between 2-6pm Mon – Sat and then fast from Sat 6pm until Monday 2pm. For long bike rides do people usually eat an hour or 2 before the ride or fuel the night before? Or is it a question of trial and error?
Thanks in advance