Untruth No9: Ketosis makes you feel better and doesn’t affect your performance
The human organism is neither pure carnivore, nor pure vegetarian. Your body is a remarkable machine that is fully capable of adapting to whatever fuel is provided in predominance. You can burn protein, fat, or carbs for energy and most people can adapt well to using dietary fat for energy after a short adjustment period. However, carbohydrates are your body’s preferred – and most efficient – fuel source for strength training and vigorous physical activity.

Many low carbers believe that fat is a more efficient energy source than carbohydrates, but this is not true. Fat is not a more efficient energy source, it is only a more concentrated energy source.

Since the fuel for muscular contraction is carbs (glycogen) a high fat, low carb diet is not the best approach to fat loss for athletes, bodybuilders or highly active individuals. These diets simply don’t support high intensity training.

Very low carb diets might be a temporary quick fix for the sedentary, severely overweight, or those with orthopedic conditions that prevent any exercise. It seems that ketogenic diets take off weight even with little or no exercise (although the weight loss won’t be pure fat and you may not keep it off). Some Atkins dieters even report feeling more energetic after adapting to the low carbs and high fat. It’s likely, however, that most of them were relatively inactive. Low carbs and high activity don’t go well together.

Truth is, a more balanced diet of natural foods combined with exercise is a much better way to take off pure fat for good.

Anyone who CAN exercise SHOULD exercise! Of the two methods for creating a calorie deficit – burning more, or eating less – the former is the superior method with far fewer downsides. Any fat loss program that does not make exercise the centerpiece is ultimately destined for failure.