Originally Posted by
Jarrett2
I can now answer my own question. After a few months on the keto diet, I have apparently become fat-adapted and don't need carbs to ride like I once did. I did 83 miles over the weekend in a fairly low carb state and didn't bonk or need sugar to keep pedaling.
There was one several mile section directly into a headwind with no breaks and I thought for sure I'd feel my energy wane or have a bonk during or after, but I did not. My energy level stayed the same through the whole ride. Felt perfectly fine after as well, not a hint of fatigue. I knew something had changed at that point. I don't think I have the explosive energy I had when I was running on sugar, but my endurance seems to be increasing.
It just takes time for your body to adjust to running on ketones/fat versus sugar. I've also dropped 21 lbs. since I started and my blood work looks great according to my doctor.
Grats on the results. Seems like youre adapting well to the training. Making your body more efficient by increasing your fat combustion rate is pretty much what keto/base is all about. Maybe you could push only 30~40% relying purely fat energy, but perhaps you can do 50~60% with low effort.
Really awesome that you gave us the results. Will you work on your upper range power/FTP with a different diet now?