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Everybody has a phase where they want to 'start eating healthier,' and they want to follow a diet plan that will help them with their weight loss goals.
Even many competitive athletes have been through a phase where they wanted to fix their nutrition so that they can be leaner and more athletic.
A popular diet plan that many people seem to turn to when they go through this phase is the Ketogenic diet— or more commonly known as the Keto Diet.
The Keto diet is a nutrition regime where the person following the diet eats very little or no carbs at all and obtains most of their calories through healthy fats and proteins.
The idea or goal of the ketogenic diet is to force the body to stop using carbohydrates as its main source of energy, and instead completely turn to burning fat as a means to fuel itself and its activity.
Because of it's popularity, many young footballers, and even some older ones, have switched to this ketogenic lifestyle and are completely cutting off carbs from their diet in order to lose extra bodyfat.
However, even though the Keto diet has proven useful for many other fitness goers and your average person, it is detrimental for footballers and their performance at trainings and games.
In this blog post, you will learn why, you as a footballer, should stay away from the ketogenic diet.
How the Keto Diet Works
Our bodies are heavily reliant on the carbohydrates we eat to fuel our activity throughout the day. Whether that activity is working out, walking to school, or even sitting at home and watching TV.
Carbohydrates are our body's main source of fuel and the go-to source of energy for cellular and muscular function. However, when there are no carbohydrates to convert into usable energy, our bodies look for other ways to fuel itself and it's many processes.
When there is a severe lack of carbohydrates in our body, we enter a metabolic state called ketosis, where the body becomes very efficient at burning the fat inside our body and using that as energy to replace carbohydrates.
This is because all the fat in our body is stored energy. Think of it as leftover calories that your body stored away so that it could use it later. The stored triglycerides in our bodyfat is broken down into smaller forms, and glucose (which is the main sugar our body uses as energy) is extracted from these broken parts.
What Are the Benefits of the Keto Diet?
Just like any other diet, the keto diet was mostly designed to aid in weight loss. This is achieved by the lack of carb consumption, which makes up a majority of our calorie intake.
There are other health benefits of the keto diet for the average fitness goer, such as:
Appetite management
Weight Loss
Increased Levels of "good" cholesterol
Can help manage blood sugar and insulin levels (particularly beneficial for people who have diabetes.
Can support heart health
Can support neurological and brain health
Although these seem like good things if you're an athlete, there are tons of disadvantages in the Keto diet that will heavily impact your performance on the pitch.
The Impact the Keto Diet on Footballers
Decreased Energy Levels
When we perform high intensity exercise, our bodies break down the glycogen we have stored in our body into glucose in a process known as glycolysis.
Glycolysis is the process in which a glucose molecule is broken down into pyruvates and a useable form of energy known as ATP. This form of energy is used up by our working muscles and cells in order to fuel their function and allow you to perform the current task your body is doing.
Glycolysis can take two pathways during exercise, one pathway is the aerobic system, where the breakdown of glucose relies on the presence of oxygen. The other pathway— and the one we as footballers use the most— is the anaerobic process where our bodies are able to break down glucose to form ATP without oxygen.
When we perform short bursts of energy, like accelerations, sprints, and changes of direction, we won't always be able to take in oxygen compared to if we were to maintain a constant speed at a lower intensity. Because of these short bursts of energy, the muscle cells in our limbs and muscles are quickly drained of their energy and resort to Lactic Acid Fermentation in order to break down glucose molecules and release ATP.
This is why stocking up on carbs is a great way to fuel yourself before an intense training session or game. Since out bodies are going through a large number of accelerations during a 90 minute game (approximately 5-10 accelerations per minute), our muscles will constantly need to break down glucose molecules for energy.
If we as footballers, who rely heavily on the process of glycolysis, turn to the keto diet, our performance and energy levels during matches and trainings will be impaired due to the lack of energy our bodies are able to produce.
When our bodies enter a state of ketosis, it attempts to break down the fat cells inside our body to convert them into useable glucose, however, this process of fat oxidation also requires energy, and for us athletes, this would place double the stress on our bodies during exercise, which will make us feel even more fatigued.
Even if you were to follow the keto diet for a prolonged period of time and your body becomes very efficient at using fat stores, you still wouldn't be as efficient and as energized than if you were to incorporate more carbohydrates into your diet.
Nutritional Deficiencies
Since the principle of the keto diet requires that you consume less than 50g of carbohydrates daily, that would mean you need to stay away from many foods that are rich in micronutrients that aid our body.
Some of these foods include fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. By excluding these important foods from your diet, you are depriving your body of essential micronutrients that aid our body's function.
For example, by following the keto diet, you will struggle including nutrients such as:
Potassium - Potassium is found in most plant-based foods, as well as fruits. Potassium is essential for helping aid blood pressure, liquid retention, muscle contractions, and nerve function— all of which helps with our performance.
Magnesium - Magnesium can be found in many different starchy vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, all of which are high in carbs and off-limits in a keto diet. The deficiency in Magnesium results in a decrease in enzyme function in our body, which will impact muscle and nerve function, protein production, among other internal functions that help us stay healthy as athletes.
Vitamins - Because of the restrictions on fruits and vegetables, you're missing out on a ton of important vitamins that support your energy levels, hemoglobin formation and function (which aids in your ability to transport oxygen throughout the body), heart health, sleep, and many more.
As athletes who work very hard on the pitch and need to have our body's performing at a high level, we need to make sure that we are providing our body with the nutrients and fuel it needs to be able to function properly and perform to its best ability.
Carbs Aren't Your Enemy!
If I had a dime for every single time my teammates and friends who play football tell me that they're trying to stay away from carbs, I would be on a yacht.
Too many people have fallen for the misconception that carbs are your enemy, and that eating too much carbs will immediately get stored as fat. As a result of this misconception, there has been a huge trend to diets such as the low-carb and keto diet because of it's lack of carb intake.
However, carbs aren't your enemy! Especially if you're a footballer! Remember that you're body is constantly looking for glucose to break down in order to release energy and provide your body with the fuel it needs to perform at a high intensity. Your body needs carbohydrates and the glycogen it stored from consuming carbs in order to have enough glucose to break down and use as energy to fuel your performance!
Limiting your carb intake will only make you feel sluggish and fatigued since you're body will not have the proper fuel in order to provide your working muscles and cells with the energy they need to perform at the top of their level!
Carbs don't make you fat. Staying consistently in a calorie surplus is what makes you fat.
Takeaway
If you're a footballer, and you're trying to start eating healthier, and maybe cut back on some extra bodyfat, the Ketogenic diet is not the answer.
By staying in a keto diet and restricting your carb intake, you will heavily impact your performance on the pitch. You will experience burn out, since your body does not have the proper fuel to provide your working muscles and cells the energy they need to function.
By staying in a keto diet, you are also bringing a ton of nutritional deficiencies into your diet, since most of the carbohydrate sources you are limiting, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, have essential micronutrients that support your body's function.
If you're looking to lose fat and start fixing up your diet for football, stay away from the keto diet, and stop fearing carbs. A footballer's diet should be a balance between all the macronutrients and include a variety of healthy proteins, carbs, and fat sources in order to provide your body with the essential fuel and nutrients it needs to function.
If you're looking for a guide to help you with your nutrition goals, and help you become a healthier footballer, then feel free to download our free guide on Nutrition.
I hope that this blog post has answered your concerns and questions on the keto diet, and any other concerns you have on what type of nutritional route you should be taking.
Thanks for Reading! Alex from GoGrind Soccer signing off...
Get Up. Go GRIND.
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