Keto diet for mma

Torakx

Im having trouble getting info about this type of diet in relation to mma training.
I have a disorder where i must stay away from carbs and sugar or yeast grows in my gut and makes me ill.Its called candida.
Its possible before a workout i could eat a small amount of carbs if it is burned up before the yeast gets to it(no idea if this happens though).

So i am going to be doing mma training, to start i will be doing jiu jitsu which will be a hard workout especially since i lost alot of weight on this diet over the last year or two when i was in detox/ketosis.
Im probably down to insanely low bodyfat now.

Are there any people here using this diet for training and not just to lose weight?
Or anyone know if this is possible.
I hear you lose alot of energy with intense workouts as fat takes longer to convert to energy compared to carbs,so im not sure if i will be able to do jiu jitsu on this diet as i am already needing to put on weight and get my cardio up as it is.
Any info will be appreciated thanks.

Niall0

What kind of food do you eat in a typical training day, and how much training do you do?

Torakx

Il be starting jiu jitsu as soon as my knee is healed.Did some damage jogging/sprinting a week ago and hurt my knee that way
Its good enough to walk on now but not jumping around yet.

I can imagne it will be an hour or two of BJJ 2-4 times a week depending how fast i get my cardio and strength up.Id like to be doing it everyday if i could lol

My diet is not so organised yet.

When i was jogging 5 days a week.
I tend to eat 2 eggs and 3 slices of bacon with salad around 11am and start jogging about 30-40 minutes later.

Not sure about a lunch since im up so late.But afterwards id munch on seeds and nuts while i cook whatever protein is in the fridge with another salad.

Dinner is ussually about 200g of meat(beef,chicken,lamb) but im looking to add fish aswell and mix it up a bit in general.

I tend to make sure i eat before and after any workout i do and then i will eat inbetween also if i feel hungry.

I dont eat anything really that has much in the way of carbs unless you start counting onions and my one apple or orange a day.

Ive got ketosticks and am in ketosis.Its fairly common and regular for me since i have been on a restricted diet for a long time with candida.
I am concerned however this diet wont supply enough energy to last in training mma since i might burn out too fast.

Its also hard to get enough fat into me but i wil work on that soon with some more research for ideas.

Doug Cartel

Torakx, don't take this the wrong way, but was it a doctor that told you to stay off the carbs?

What you're describing sounds suspiciously similar to some alternative medicine stuff I've heard about in the past.

Torakx

Its widely known as a candida diet i think.
Candida feeds off yeast,carbs,sugar etc destroys your insides and causes many knock on effects.
To be honest with you, ive had this since i was about 18 which is roughly 12 years.All doctors prescribed me drugs for depression and anxiety or meds for ulcers for indigestion etc etc
Two weeks on that diet and all symptoms dissapeared,my leaky gut healed and i can eat eggs again and so on.
So i wont be needng a doctor to cure symptoms or anything ive been to too many already to know better.
What im after here isnt medical advice either i am healthier than i have been in years.I will however need to stay off carbs and later can slowly introduce a small amount.

Just looking to know has anyone got experience with ketodiets and martial arts with regards energy levels.
I notice a slight drop when jogging but you also last longer when not going too hard.Since i havent really done BJJ on this diet(only had one class a while back) and im still waiting for my knee to heal so i cant test it out.

Doug Cartel

Torakx wrote: »

Candida feeds off yeast,carbs,sugar etc destroys your insides and causes many knock on effects.

Emm, everyone had candida all over their skin, in their guts, lungs etc. Having candida is perfectly normal. Sometimes too much of it in one place can cause thrush, but this is fairly easy to treat using fungicides, and it only occurs internally if you've got a very serious immune system problem like AIDS, or you've had a transplant.

Anyway, if you feel that this diet is helping you, great. If you're losing severe amounts of weight, and you don't have enough energy to take part in physical activity, then maybe you should weigh up your options.

Torakx

Thanks for the replies, but ive done enough research over the last two years to know what it is and isnt including blood tests.
I dont need medical advice and only mentioned candida because the inevitable "you should be eating carbs" will pop up.
Im looking for people who have experience with a ketodiet or anything similar who also train hard in any martial art or activity with a similar amount of energy expenditure in short bursts.
Probably not many martial artists on boards have experience with this, but i guess was worth a try.

Sid_Justice

A lot of the lads would be familiar with palaeo diets in which they wouldn't eat any cereals or refined starches or sugars. I think they'd eat some fruit and lots of vegetables, so it's definitely not a carb free diet.

Bjj isn't a hugely strenuous activity (most of the time), your diet including eggs and chicken, protein shouldn't be a big factor. obviously i'm neither a dietician or a nutristionist.

when i was googling the candida diet i got this http://www.dublin.ie/candida/?pageID=4&siteID=744

now this seems to be geared to those who get chronic repetitive skin infection of the candida albicans fungus so perhaps it's a totally different condition to the one you have. if your diet is as liberal as that in the link, you've got plenty of room to get your energy requirements in my opinion.

having said that, i remember someone telling me they had a similar condition to you (sickly, ibs, low energy levels) and were given numerous viral/bacterial infection treatment and diagnoses which exacerbated their condition - i.e. the antibiotics encouraged the fungal growth. they were also, either subsequently or alongside , were diagnosed with ME (which i think people are causing CFS now). So perhaps my earlier judgement that your energy levels should be fine was naive. let us know how you get on.

if you begin to feel sick/really tired in a bjj class you should be able to tell the guy in charge and take a rest/go home etc. without too much fuss.

Torakx

Hmm ye that diet is pretty much what i have been on(i had the fungus part too).Im quite strict and my infection started in the gut due to 5 days being pumped with anti-biotics at age 17 for an open crush injury on my finger in hospital.So it was systemic from the gut throughout the rest of my body for 12 years! lol

Mainly its the whole deal with glycogen for energy in my muscles.Although i may need to have some carbs for this reason when training.Maybe less than 100g a day.

I guess i will just see how it goes when my knee is ok and will update this thread if people are interested in the results of a keto diet in mma.
Alot of fighters for example use this diet for a week or two to lower body fat % and water, but i will be using it to live normally as i have for a long time now.
I tend to feel more energized and happy but cant know if it will give me enough energy as the only time i did BJJ was when i was not used to any exercise and just off from smoking.

Ive been doing some jogging for cardio so will tackle the BJJ again hopefully in better shape to see if its different.Last time i ran out of energy and breath quite fast and my arms and shoulders burned out cause im not used to that workout.

Khannie

I remember reading that eating coconut oil pre-workout (while on a keto diet) helped / gave a similar effect to carbs. Worth googling anyway.

Dave Joyce

I'm slightly confused by saying its candida that is your main problem. If that is the case why not just avoid foods containing yeast. It would be possible to eat SOME carbs which do NOT contain yeast

You do realise that Keto is NOT a long term diet.

Doug Cartel

Dave Joyce wrote: »

I'm slightly confused by saying its candida that is your main problem. If that is the case why not just avoid foods containing yeast. It would be possible to eat SOME carbs which do NOT contain yeast

Candida is a yeast. The idea is that not eating sugars and other carbs starves this yeast and gets rid of it, but I don't think it's a mainstream idea.

I'm going to step away form this thread though.

Torakx

Yep candida is a naturally occuring yeast that everyone has.
But anti biotics killed off the other sort that keeps it under control and since ive had it for so many years out of control it will be about a year with hardly any carbs before i can be eating normal again.(its reccomended for every year you have it a month without carbs/sugar etc)
I reckon i will be ok with the minimum amount of carbs(40-100g) for producing glucose for the brain.I eat alot of veg and while not starchy or carb loaded some of them do have a small amount(aswell as all the nuts/seeds i eat) and it is enough to keep the diet very healthy.

The only thing im unsure of is energy levels, i dont walk into anything without researching it well so dont worry about me and my longterm diet
Again i only mentioned candida because i was expecting alot of replies saying why not just eat carbs for energy.Its not an option right now at least not plates of carbs.
I will try out a bowl of porridge the first day before i head out to do jiu jitsu and take it from their.

Got the coconut oil today also and will be upping my fat intake in general while monitoring for ketosis.
I will also be keeping an eye on colesterol levels every now and then too

SBG Ireland

talk to these guys
http://www.isipersonaltraining.com/
nobody better

SanoVitae

You might find this site useful -> http://www.snyderhealth.com/candida.htm

The whole theory behind this approach is that candida overgrowth is a side effect of overacidity in the body. You counter this by eating 70-80% "alkaline foods" while only eating 20% "acid foods". It's not a diet and is very easy to do.

Hope this helps,

Paul

Torakx

Thanks that one is very helpful.
Ive been drinking only water and sliced lemon for this reason but now i have a list of all the foods and acidity levels

Khannie

Dave Joyce wrote: »

You do realise that Keto is NOT a long term diet.

Keto can be very healthy as a long term diet once you're not stuffing your face with sausages and batter burgers.

Torakx

It is what happens to the body naturally when you go into starvation and i think alot of people associate it with starvation.
However from what ive learned so far, you can be eating more or enough calories and getting all the nutrients you need and still be in"starvation" aka ketosis.
For example ive been on and off the candida/keto diet over the last year and have lost too much weight.That was giving into cravings and eating carbs on and off.
Im now off them and able to stick to the diet alot easier.Ive started putting on weight now too.Its to do with calories and exercise.Since ive been eating more and working out more i have put on a bit more muscle and still have hardly any fat.
Alot of athletes have used it to replace fat with muscle and stayed the same weight when watching how many calories going in and out.
The only issue is if you are diabetic of any type and your liver has issue with making insulin from protein or at all, so would advise to see a doctor before gong on this type of diet to be safe.