The keto diet is taking off, and even though the Body Reboot book does a thorough job at explaining this popular diet, we thought we’d give you some low carb workout tips in this article. People who workout on the keto diet, which is a diet that focuses on eating a lot of fat and few carbs like to know how best to proceed. Check out some low-carb friendly workout tips that’ll help optimize physical activity below! 

For starters, Perfect Keto explains why it’s essential to limit carbs while on the keto diet. Obviously, you must eat more fat than carbs; otherwise, you’ll get knocked out of ketosis. See how being on a low carb diet can help you achieve your workout and weight loss goals. Plus, check out a delicious keto-friendly smoothie recipe below! 

Limit Carbs

You do not need carbs to build muscle.

In fact, eating carbs will impede your keto workout goals.

With that in mind, try this strategy. Calculate your daily carb intake, then write that number down.

If that number is over 10-15% of your total caloric intake, you may be out of the keto-zone.

To bring your carb intake down, make some swaps. Swap nut butter for jelly, avocado for banana, Keto Bars for other higher-carb bars.

Soon you’ll be fueling your workouts like a ketogenic champ — and your muscles will thank you.

Blend A Post Workout Smoothie

You can almost every item on today’s list to a post-workout smoothie. Here’s what that smoothie might look like:

20-30 grams grass-fed whey protein isolate

1-2 tablespoons MCT oil powder

1 scoop exogenous ketone salts

1 medium avocado

2-3 scoops collagen protein powder

1 scoop greens powder

½ cup coconut milk

This smoothie is high fat for your keto goals and high protein for your muscle synthesis goals. Plus it has a ton of micronutrients.

The best part of having a smoothie routine? It spares you the agony of decision fatigue.

Health argues why it’s essential to stay hydrated on the keto diet. While it’s ordinarily crucial to hydrate when working out, on the keto diet, you have to work extra hard at staying hydrated. Your body will deplete salt at a faster rate, so make sure you are drinking enough water to keep up with the salt you’ll lose. 

Dehydration is another common side effect of keto. “Ketosis causes you to lose electrolytes because it increases urine output,” says Axe. (That’s one of the reasons people lose pounds so quickly on the plan; it's water weight at first.) Also, because many fruits are high in carbs and you have to dial back your carb intake on the keto diet, you probably won't be consuming as much fruit as usual. Fruits have a high water content, so without them, you might be more dehydrated.

Thirst during a workout is your first clue that you need a water bottle break. But you might also notice an increase in fatigue and cramping as you get more into your routine. These are also signs of dehydration, and if you sense them, it's important to rehydrate ASAP. “If you’re dehydrated and fatigued, you’ll either feel less motivated to work out, or your workouts will feel crappy,” says Axe.

Of course, eating fat should be your first goal, but Ruled.me says that if you’re going to exercise a lot, you should also focus on eating protein. See why they recommend eating enough protein:  

In the most recent International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand on diets and body composition, the researchers reported that a protein intake of 1.4-2 g per kilogram or 0.6-.9 grams per pound of lean body mass is ideal for athletes and others who exercise regularly.

If you are highly active and/or trying to lose weight, then you may benefit the most from eating around 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of lean body mass (1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass). This will help preserve muscle mass and promote fat loss.

Keto athletes will also benefit from higher protein intakes because their bodies will use the excess protein to provide their muscles with the glucose that they need by using a process called gluconeogenesis. However, if your goal is to get into deeper levels of ketosis, then it is best to divide your protein intake evenly between meals while eating a bit more protein after your workout to boost recovery (without impairing ketone production).

The best protein sources on the ketogenic diet are:

Meat

Eggs

Fish

High-fat dairy

Low-carb protein powders

Here’s a quick recap of our protein recommendations:

If you are trying to gain or maintain muscle and improve exercise  performance while on a ketogenic diet:

Eat around 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass (2.2 g of protein per kilogram)

If you are trying to lose fat and maintain muscle:

Eat around 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass (2.2 g of protein per kilogram)

However, some may be able to gain muscle with protein intakes above ~1.3 grams per pound of lean body mass (3 grams per kilogram). The only downside to eating this much protein is that it may keep you from reaching deeper levels of ketosis.

To figure out how these numbers play into the rest of your ketogenic diet, use our keto calculator. It will provide you with the information you need to find out if you are eating enough protein and calories.

Even though your goal is to lose weight, the beauty of being on the keto diet, as Shape explains, is that you don’t have to undereat! That’s right — don’t ever feel like you have to eat less. Your body will naturally burn fat, and unless you’re overdoing it on the carbs, it should be reasonably easy to shed the weight and get fit simultaneously.  

It's super important that you don't undereat.

“Make sure you're giving your body enough energy and you're not cutting calories too strictly,” says Lisa Booth, R.D.N., dietitian and health coach at 8fit. This is especially key because people on keto are likely to undereat, she says. “When you restrict an entire food group (in this case, carbs), you often naturally cut calories, but a keto diet also has an appetite-suppressing effect, so you might think you're not hungry even if you don't give your body enough energy.” When you reduce calories too much and combine that with working out, you will not only feel crappy but it can also affect your performance and results. (Not sure where to start? Check out the keto meal plan for beginners.)

You could burn more fat during cardio.

This is one of the main reasons people swear by keto for weight loss. “When in ketosis, you aren't using glycogen as your energy source,” says Booth. “Glycogen is a substance deposited in muscles and tissues as a reserve of carbohydrates. Instead, you're using fat and ketone bodies. If you are following aerobic exercises such as running or biking, a keto diet can help increase fat oxidation, spare glycogen, produce less lactate and use less oxygen.” In other words, that could translate into more fat burned during aerobic exercise. “However, it probably won't enhance performance,” he adds.

Ruled.me tells you how to optimize the keto diet to improve your performance while working out, so listen up! 

To optimize your diet for muscle gain and improved exercise performance:

Eat a calorie surplus of 250-500 calories a day to increase your body weight by 0.5 to 1 pound a week.

Most of the excess calories should come from fat, not protein or carbs.

Maintain protein intake at around 1 gram per pound of lean body mass (~2.2 grams per kilogram

of lean body mass).

If carb restriction is impairing your performance, then consider implementing the targeted ketogenic diet or the cyclical ketogenic diet

To optimize your keto diet for fat loss while exercising:

Calorie intake should be set at a level that results in steady weight loss. Weight loss of 0.5 to 1% per week is typically recommended to maximize muscle retention.

Cut down on fat consumption to achieve a caloric deficit of 250-500 calories.

Maintain protein intake at 1 gram per pound of lean body mass (~2.2 grams per kilogram) or more.

If you are overweight or obese, you will benefit from faster weight loss (>1% of body weight lost per week) and a slightly higher calorie deficit.

The Body Reboot book was written for people interested in the keto diet so they can transform their health and enjoy the many benefits the keto diet offers. Help us cover shipping and visit this page to get your free copy right away!

Sources: Perfect Keto, Ruled.me, Shape, Health