Glycogen Depleting Program without Gym?

[lbraff]

Hi all!

I'm going to try a ketogenic diet for insulin issues (PCOS). I don't have a particular urgent need to lose weight or get fit, though losing 5-10 pounds might be nice. I'm 130 and 5'5, 38 years old, usually in pretty good shape but now a little out of it after corona recovery and some intense downtime and fatigue. I've been recommended metformin for years for the PCOS and finally decided to try, and to do the ketogenic at the same time as I know it's excellent for insulin sensitivity. In the past it felt quite brutal, but I've had some ozone therapy in the past few months and for some reason the carbohydrate restriction is feeling less brutal and more energetic this time.

However, because I have thyroid issues, I don't want to be too rigid and do want to cycle with some reasonable "feast" periods. I guess that would be considered more of a cyclical ketogenic diet? I also really want to enjoy some foods in moderation once in a while, like maybe bread or a sweet dessert once a week -- or less, it doesn't have to be so often. I have some really special foods that I want to enjoy again, like a buckwheat rye bread in the freezer and a sweet dessert that was a gift -- I want to try to eat some of them safely at some point.

From cyclical ketogenic explanations, I've seen recommendations about glycogen depletion before eating carbs so that it goes straight to the muscles rather than liver. But, in lockdown, I don't have access to a gym with weights, or capacity to make a gym in my apartment. I have stairs and area to walk, and I can get a jump rope, and do any body weight exercises. Does anyone have recommendations on how to do a glycogen depleting workout so as to have a moderate carbohydrate meal without repleting liver glycogen? I could do it fasted if that make a difference. Or would some form of intermittent fasting do it?

Thanks all for your wisdom! I love the combination of science and empirical self-experimentation in ketogenic experimenters.. looking forward to all for your thoughts!

Best,
Lisa

PS- in case any questions about why choosing ketogenic for insulin resistance or the medical issues - basically i have some higher genetic susceptibility to some specific health consequences from even slight insulin resistance, levels that would be fine for other people. so its sort of a unique health condition that can only be corrected by very low insulin, drugs being recommended, but maybe diet can support.

[Heisman2]

We're not supposed to mention meds specifically so consider editing your post to remove the names.

You would probably be fine not doing keto but making sure to eliminate added sugar. Look up the Ma Pi 2 diet as an example for a high carb diet for people with diabetes. A treat every now and then is generally fine; probably best to do after a workout.

If you want to deplete glycogen you can definitely do this with a whole body workout at home but expect it to take a couple of hours of burpees/jumping rope/etc. I would try to do that in the morning after fasting overnight. I don't expect this to be very beneficial truthfully.

So basically, if you want to give keto a try that is fine but if you're going to be doing sweets/rye bread/etc every now and then it may be a lot simpler to just go low added sugar.

Regarding recovering from COVID, a lot of people are still affected 5/6/7 weeks after. If you ever stop progressing or if you have shortness of breath or a fast heart rate at rest, definitely talk to a doctor right away as some people are getting pulmonary emboli and some people are getting myocarditis because of it.

[elliot3394]

there are a few different options. one, you can rent a piece of gym equipment to do HIIT training on. if you want to do that, rent a spin bike and do HIIT cycles on that. if not, i'd order some resistance bands which you can get from academy sports for a good price. resistance bands are great at-home workouts as they match the strength curve to your body. bicep curl for example with a band, it'll get harder the further you pull up as opposed to it only being hard when your forearms are 90 degrees to gravity with a barbell or dumbbell. i'd buy those, and then you can do intermittent fasting 16:8. workout right before your feed window, and be sure to keep protein synthesis elevated during the feed. also, during the feed, have low fat and high carb, protein. focus on fast digesting food as you're trying to get an insulin spike during this time. however, since you're trying to keep glycogen levels lower i'd stick to 1g of carb per lb bodyweight

[70Klassic]

The best way to deplete glycogen is via fasting and also cold exposure.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12070189

From an evolutionary perspective, this is how mammals transitioned to fat burners in their hibernative state allowing them to uncouple their mitochondria to burn fatty acids as heat rather than produce ATP. Humans can do the same, and although we do not hibernate, this pseudo-hibernative pathway can still be activated allowing us to reverse inflammation brought on by summertime high carbohydrate diets and excessive exercise/activity.

I've been using this for years and have been able to reverse a lot of inflammatory conditions naturally while maintaining optimal body composition through cold-induced ketosis. PM me if you want to learn more.