A new study advises against the ketogenic diet in people who exercise . Although there are many ketogenic diet protocols for those who do sports, Dr. Edward Weiss of the University of Saint Louis recently conducted a study which shows that, contrary to the trend that encourages people to combine a diet low in carbohydrates and high in fat to lose weight, the ketogenic diet reduces the quality of our hours in the gym.

The study is small, conducted on a mixed sample (men and women) of 16 participants who were observed to perform sporting activity after 4 days of ketogenic or low carb diet and 4 days of high carbohydrate and reduced diet. of fat: people who had followed a ketogenic diet for 4 days, arrived at the sports performance test, had a decrease in performance in anaerobic activities, unlike those who ate carbohydrates.
Personally, even considering the limit of the study (4 days are few; the sample is small), I agree according to my experience, and the experience of some athletes I have known: every time I followed a ketogenic diet, whether pure (two months without carbohydrates) or cyclical (two weeks without carbohydrates and then two days of high carbohydrates and 5 of ketogenic), I had to significantly reduce sports activity and I did not have the same performance.

This even considering that the ketogenic diet is linked to an increase in cortisol , it is likely that in spite of other studies on the ketogenic diet for athletes that speak favorably of it, this study still has a grain of truth: if you are on a low carb diet. ketogenic (high fat content) it is best to avoid activities such as HIIT and intense anaerobic exertion, optimizing your routine on low-intensity cardio (liss, yoga, pilates) on non-workout days and reducing training volume on gym days, and increasing recovery times to avoid excess stress.