Stress and Keto are two such things which simply cannot sync with each other. As a matter of fact, being highly stressed can actually ruin your chances of unleashing the optimum potential of a ketogenic diet as well as stall your endeavour of getting into ketosis. In our today’s article, we shall discuss the scientific reasoning behind the same and what can be done to prevent its occurrence.
- The Scientific Explanation
During the initial days of adapting to the ketogenic diet, it is imperative to be as much stress-free as possible. Otherwise, it can meddle with our anatomy and hinder its capacity of adjusting to the massive change taking place. Our adrenal glands secrete a stress hormone termed as cortisol, which incites our sympathetic nervous system by triggering a ‘fight or flight’ response. This stimulates the release of glycogen and adrenaline in our blood-stream for infusing greater energy to our muscles for running the show.
Occasional stress can invigorate our body, speed up metabolism, burn calories and help us in handling stressful situations in a much better way. But the problem is that given our hectic life schedule, we get exposed to stress much more frequently than what is desired. This causes people to have highly elevated cortisol levels as they seldom get to rest and recover. With such hiked up the level of cortisol, glucose gets released into our bloodstream followed by terribly high insulin level. As we all know, ketones share an inverse relationship with blood glucose and take a downswing with an increase in the glucose level. Rising insulin level can cease both keto-adaptation and fat burning for anything ranging from hours to days at a stretch.
Constant high levels of insulin and cortisol can wreak havoc in our body by breaking down energy producing tissues. Thus, it is extremely important to seek expert advice if you are keen on working out during the initial stage of ketosis. In such a stage our body replenishes its energy store by draining out our organs and muscles. Thus, it would be utter foolishness to carry out glycolytic workouts unless the energy source is restocked with fast absorbing glucose.
- Reducing Stress On Keto
Our body cannot distinguish one stressor from the other physiologically. Our sympathetic nervous system gets stimulated whenever we get anxious, scream at someone or boil in anger. Even worrying about stress factors is enough to cause more stress. However, you can escape from this vicious loop by following the simple steps while on a keto diet:
- Engaging in some stretching exercises and light yoga in the place of high-intensity workouts.
- Meditating for at least 20 minutes on a daily basis.
- Taking brisk walks in the joggers’ park or other areas filled with lush green trees so that your mind can be at peace.
- Indulging in hot saunas or ice baths whose effect can get accentuated if you pair the same with scented candles for relaxing those tired nerves.
- Spending time with your family and loved ones.
- Using a foam roller or visiting a massage parlor for a deep tissue massage.
- Improving sleep quality by limiting blue light radiating during the night, increasing sun exposure during the day and following a similar sleep schedule round the year.
Once you are done catering to the stress issues, make sure that your protein intake is optimum for ketosis to show maximum effect. You can purchase low carb protein powder available in the best prices at KetoaHolics.com for boosting up the overall process.
