Anecdata: for the past decade, my preferred way to begin a ketosis regimine has been a long run to "burn off remaining blood sugar" based on the old-wisdom of "the body starts to utilize fat after 30min of intense exercise."
This seems to work great. Fewer cravings.
I've even taken a this a step further. Running on the first morning of a 3-day fast. Works the same.
Note: I wouldn't recommend doing the above without carefully managing electrolytes. But, anyone who's been keto successfully for more than a month should understand what I mean about managing electrolytes.
The average American eats enough salt and potassium in their diet that they don't need to "manage electrolytes" unless they are going well beyond 30 mins of intense cardio...
Potassium deficiency is actually very common. It's extremely hard to get the recommended daily amount of potassium in your diet, as even high-potassium foods like bananas contain only ten or fifteen percent of the recommended daily intake per serving.
As far as I can tell, this is mainly a problem due to modern farming practices resulting in less nutritious produce; there have been studies done on the vitamin mineral content of food over the last century, and there has been a steady decline in a number of different nutrients, including potassium.
The trouble is, it's also hard to supplement. To avoid stomach issues, over the counter potassium supplements are limited to 99mg in the US, which is only a few percent of the recommended daily intake. If anyone has any good suggestions on how to regularly get enough potassium, I would love to hear them.
Could you point to a link or such regarding 'managing electrolytes?' I took my desk-bound self on a four day Appalachian Trail hike with friends recently and burned out hard at the end of the second day (~2600 ft elevation gain, sunny, hot) and am pretty sure dehydration was at the core. Some fellow hikers bailed me out with extra water spiked with Propel (~Gatorade), and I was fine the next day, but I'd like to be equipped with both supplies and understanding the next time I try something like that.
Electrolytes is mainly sodium, plus a little magnesium and potassium. Dehydration can be an issue, but drinking more plain water won't replace sodium lost in sweat. You can buy electrolyte powders to mix in your water. Or just eat some salty food occasionally.
Bonking hard on a moderate intensity activity can be a symptom of a messed up metabolism which can't produce enough energy from stored fat. If you want to check for sure you can visit a sports medicine lab for a metabolic profile test where they measure how much fat versus carbohydrates you burn at various effort levels. The usual recommendation to shift your metabolism to be more fat adapted is to do a lot more long Zone 2 (below ventilatory threshold) workouts but it can take years to see major changes.
Sports drinks can be helpful to keep you going when you're struggling, but they tend to contain a lot of sugar and aren't ideal for daily consumption.
When you stop eating carbs, body uses carbs, carbs contain water, body removes water (think 4kg of water), the water removes electrolytes, you get "sick". A spoon of table salt in water fixed it once for me.
This seems to work great. Fewer cravings.
I've even taken a this a step further. Running on the first morning of a 3-day fast. Works the same.
Note: I wouldn't recommend doing the above without carefully managing electrolytes. But, anyone who's been keto successfully for more than a month should understand what I mean about managing electrolytes.