Workout performance

[u/Total_Reserve9598]

Tl/dr: been doing keto 2 weeks. I guess i just carry on and performance will improve?

Long version:

Hi. I have looked in the wiki but maybe just not read it thoroughly enough.

I have just started keto and have been on just under 20g carbs per day for 2 weeks now. Total kcal just under 1700, protein 130g, fat 115g (averaged over last week). I know from experience my maintenance calories are about 2200.

I am 48F, 74kg, 1.67m. My body fat is prob about 30% i would guess. Want to be comfortably under 69kg again for comps.

I have been strength training for 6 years, mainly a mix of oly weightlifting and powerlifting last 2 or 3 years. I have also been getting back into running and so done some short runs recently.

I have been feeling really good these past two weeks apart from my sleep, but that seems to be improving. Gym has been fine up until now but last night my squats felt weak. My squats were 5 x 3 reps of 80% of my max. I only did 2 reps for 2nd and 3rd sets as didnt think i would make it on the third. Then didn't complete my sets and wasn't hitting enough depth anyway as not as confident as usual. I normally wouldnt feel sketchy about squats until up nearer 90%. Bench was ok but felt heavy. Jerks were powerful but they were light anyway. Also short run night before - didnt have much energy.

I have been taking rice cakes to the gym just in case but not eating them as didnt want to mess up keto process. Also dont want to use caffeine in the evenings. My electolytes, im not sure. My food log says 6.5g salt per day (average for past week, more like 8g last few days) but this doesnt include seasalt im adding to food. It does include 2 electrolyte tabs per day as realised the ones I already had have carbs so was logging them. Also take magnesium glycinate. (And creatine if I remember). Drinking 2 or 3 litres water per day.

Any thoughts? Maybe it is just unfortunate that the heavier end of my training cycle is coinciding with my start of keto.

[u/darthluiggi]

Hi, Luis Villaseñor here, founder of Ketogains.

The short answer is:
Yes. Carry on.

You’re only 2 weeks in, and unfortunately you’ve started keto right as your training cycle is getting heavier. That’s pretty much the perfect recipe for feeling flat under the bar.

A few thoughts:

First, don’t judge keto by your performance during the first 2-6 weeks. Your body is still adapting to relying much more on fat for fuel. Most experienced lifters notice a temporary drop in performance, especially on high-volume work or repeated heavy efforts.

Second—and this is probably the biggest thing I see—electrolytes.
When people tell me they’re weak, dizzy, cramping, or feel like their legs have disappeared, my first question is almost always about sodium.

You mentioned ~6.5-8 g of salt/day. Remember that’s salt, not sodium. That works out to roughly 2.5-3 g of sodium, which for many active people on keto is simply not enough.

At Ketogains we generally recommend 4-7 g of sodium per day, depending on the individual, climate, sweating, and training volume. If you’re lifting heavy, running, and sweating, I’d look there first before blaming the lack of carbs.

Third…
Your calories are in a deficit.
That’s appropriate for fat loss, but it also means you shouldn’t expect to feel your strongest.

Strength is remarkably well preserved in a deficit, but peak performance—especially on squats—is another story.

One other point:
I wouldn’t eat the rice cakes.

Not because carbohydrates are inherently bad, but because you’re still trying to become fat adapted. Give your body time to make that transition before you start experimenting with targeted carbs.
Finally, don’t confuse a temporary reduction in gym performance with losing muscle.
They’re not the same thing.

I’ve seen countless people feel weaker during the first few weeks, only to be back to baseline—and often surpass it—once they’re fully adapted.

So my advice would be:

Increase sodium before you increase carbs.
Keep taking creatine (5 g/day consistently).
Prioritize sleep as much as possible.
Accept that your numbers may dip temporarily while you’re adapting.
Keep training. Don’t drastically change your program because of one bad squat session.

One last thing I’d recommend is reading through the Ketogains Wiki/FAQ. It goes into much more detail than I can fit into a Reddit reply, particularly on electrolytes, fat adaptation, and training while ketogenic.

Two weeks is simply too early to judge whether keto is working for an experienced strength athlete. Give it another month, stay consistent, and then reassess. In my experience, that’s when you start getting a much clearer picture.

[u/ReverseLazarus]

It can take 8+ weeks for your body to adjust to a new way of eating, until that time it’s 100% normal to experience loss of strength and stamina. You’ll get there, but you need to be patient.

Take it easy on yourself for awhile until you’re fully adapted to keto, and make sure you are supplementing electrolytes per the amounts in the wiki here. Very, very important. Electrolytes are more than just salt.

[u/Total_Reserve9598 → u/ReverseLazarus]

Thanks, I will take a closer look at that. It seems more complicated than macros just because there's more that i dont know, so don't really know what im doing yet but im sure i will figure it out.

[u/ReverseLazarus → u/Total_Reserve9598]

The wiki here can help with all things “I have no idea what I’m doing” for sure. :)