What To Eat Before The Gym If You're On The Keto Diet

You're in a hurry and need to get to the gym but you haven't eaten all day, you're hungry. Go grab your pre workout powder or a protein bar. WAIT! Did you check the ingredients? You're on the keto diet and you can't have too many carbohydrates. 

This is a very real world scenario for anyone wondering what they can eat before the gym while they are on the keto diet. Traditional sports nutrition advice is to eat a bunch of slow digesting carbohydrates or have a carb packed pre workout shake in order to fuel your training. Let's be honest, the idea of almond butter or a protein shake with fat before a workout, it's unsettling to some.

So what can you eat before the gym when you are on the keto diet? Here's some options.

Fresh Fruit

I understand that fresh fruit contains sugar and sugar is forbidden on the keto diet. In reality, if you've been on the keto diet for longer than a week, you are already in ketosis and are going to be using the sugar from those fruits for energy in your upcoming gym session. They won't kick you out of ketosis. You should be fat adapted at this point.

Stick with the basic, lower sugar fruits like berries and grapefruit.

Keto Bars

With the ketogenic diet exploding in popularity, there is no shortage of keto approved bars or keto snacks at your local grocery store. Any option either in the story or a homemade recipe that you find online will give you enough sustainable energy.

I personally choose the BulletProof collagen protein bars or the actual Keto Bars brand of snacks prior to the gym.

(Do this if you are not losing weight on the keto diet)

Eat A Full Meal

This one requires some prep but if you have a set schedule for when you go to the gym, your best option might be to have a full meal an hour or so prior to training. Packing a keto meal and bringing it with you to work is one way to avoid the entire issue at hand.

BCAAS

Okay so I know branched chain amino acids aren't going to fill you up prior to your workout but BCAAs alone can provide sustainable fuel for your muscles in the absence of any incoming calories.

BCAAS are one of the best supplements for a fasted workout

Whatever Doesn't Hurt Your Stomach

This is the common sense portion of the article. When you are looking for something to eat before the gym while you're on keto and can't have any carbohydrates, you'll need to experiment with different options.

I personally do fine with a few big tablespoons of peanut butter or almond butter before a workout, others don't. I'll need to spend more time in the locker room if I have a protein shake with coconut oil however.

(Best Keto Pre Workout Supplements)

You might be able to have a greek yogurt or cottage cheese before you train, I can't.

Don't get so caught up in the idea that you need to have a protein bar or supplement or you need to have whole foods before you workout. Try different keto options and see how you perform in the gym.

Want to know more? Read our complete keto pre workout guide