J.Edward

Don't think so - it's to address......basically the stuff your body can't get from internal fat stores. So that's water + potassium chloride + sodium chloride + sodium bicarbonate + magnesium sulfate - or Snake Juice - as coined by a youtube personality.Stopped lifting but picked up jogging / running. When in deep ketosis I did notice a lag but it's only temporary (~1-2 seconds) and you bounce back immediately - if I ran up the stairs or threw myself out of bed I'd feel slightly dizzy for a second or so but then was back to normal. No issues with blood chemistry when I did tests about 2 months ago nor did I see a large decrease in lean muscle mass per Dexascans.

Here here. I've come to appreciate the salad bar area under the UC at the 80's gate in EWR. That's my go-to when I'm looking to get food for a flight out and a great resource for any UA travelers heading through EWR.

titaniumfemme

I'm similar. I've been keto for almost 2.5 years now. I IF pretty much every day, and limit my eating window. Just finished a day of protein sparing modified fasting yesterday. I also travel with keto friendly snacks.

My external counsel now know to check with me before booking restaurant reservations to be sure I can find keto options (I nearly always can). But I find I seldom can eat anything on United, including the snack boxes -- I finally gave up trying the day my only option was a sandwich (bread carbs and very little meat), chips (carbs), fruit (carbs) and some other dessert (more carbs). I think there was even a roll on the side!! Now I either schedule flights so that I can eat before or after (if needed) or occasionally, I carry on my own food. (Fortunately, my home airport has some good options for me).

Down 80 pounds -- and more importantly, A1c and fasting blood glucose are in the normal range (after being diagnosed as a diabetic before starting this way of eating).

p_man

I do 16/8 IF with keto, but I don't hold myself to it too strictly when traveling to maximize my flexibility around schedule, what food is available in the area, etc.. Down ~50 pounds in 15 months.

I typically bring a bag of macadamias (Hawaii's Local Buzz FTW), a couple of Quest Hero bars, and a small bottle of electrolyte concentrate (which would be a must-have for any trans- or inter-con flight). Depending on the airport, I might grab a salad or a sandwich that I can eat the inside of. If I eat UA food, it's the non-carb portion of a snack box (lamenting the now-vanished cheese box) or the burger patty with enough of the chipotle mayo to make it tolerable. I don't know if I would do this if I had to pay for it, though. If in business, I pick the least carby meal and eat the proteins.

Regarding exercise, I certainly haven't noticed any impact on my own routine of rowing (steady state or short intervals) and kettlebells.

narvik

BTW, the other way to do this is like I did last year: I ONLY ate on the United flights and in the PEK CA lounge, albeit being rather selective on food choices. No food at all at home or at travel destination.
Food was simply limited to flights and lounge.

1) PEK CA lounge limited to the rather bland & awful selection of "sushi" and their salad selection.
2) Standard UA Polaris meal, but not having the nuts, the bread, butter, salad dressing, cheese, nor desert.
3) Only drink calorie-free options, preferably seltzer water/S.Pellegrino.

This worked out pretty good, and desired weight was achieved much faster than I thought possible.

VegasGambler

I found workouts easier on keto. As long as you have fat to burn you have access to a lot of energy. I lost about 40lb in 5 months. It was pretty steadily 2lb/week. Then I decided that carbs were too tasty to give up and gained it all back.

Honestly I did not find flying to be that hard. One meal is not going to make that much of a difference (admittedly I was not flying as much as people do here). Also my flights were kind of short for the most part. If I was hungry I'd grab a snack box and eat the low-carb stuff out of it. You can get a salad with chicken on it at pretty much any airport too, and oil&vinegar dressing is readily available. Or, better yet, a cobb salad. It basically has all my favorite foods + lettuce.

npei

thatflyer

dkmatter

Strongly agree with OP, ex-US meals are much worse. I consume nothing but water on most 13 hour flights. Racked up 32 already this year. It's a good habit especialy if you're flying somewhere with much better food.

There's some decent evidence to suggested that fasting during some portion of the day (so that you feel a strong sense of hunger at the next meal) is important for mitochondrial/cellular function and longevity.

Incidentally, I also take Metformin even though I don't have diabetes. Helps with appetite and food choices. And has had a life changing effect on my energy and work stamina as I get older. Though its action on AMP-activated protein kinase, it may also help produce a healthier longer life. Still a little controversial if that will turn out to be true once more data rolls in.

RoxyMountain

Thanks.^

Johnson21710

Been doing IF for about a year on a 16/8 schedule (only consume calories between 8am-4pm). I find it has greatly improved my digestion and sleep issues but for anybody considering this, it isn't a diet in itself, you still have to control what you eat. I find, I eat just as much as before IF but just within a 8 hour window. The real gain is metabolic.

Since I usually fly coast to coast a couple of times per month, I find that on some days, I just can't make my window and accept that one day here or there isn't a problem but on days when I know I'm not going to be able to stay within my window, I try to limit the damages by knowing what I'm eating which to me means eating before the flight. The food on United Transcon isn't anything special so I skip it and just allow myself a few drinks.

jtwiz

I hit that salad bar for most of my longer flights. I totally agree it is a good resource and will go out of my way (for example, my gate was in C2 this week) to head there before my flight.

Atuchan

While it is not as strict as IF, I used to love the option of low-card food in business when UA had that option.

zombietooth

Good on you. I haven't been eating on international flights for a couple of years now.

However, I always found that ex-Asia catering, especially from Japan, was poor unless it was in F on NH or SQ.

wolfie_cr

how did you like being on the show 'naked and afraid' :P

yikes 38 days!!!!

VegasGambler

Hmm that is interesting. I actually had someone tell me that to reduce jetlag "don't eat anything on the plane" but it went in one ear and out the other. But this is all making sense... at least for westbound.

I find that if I'm going east, I'm a mess no matter what, and the issues are not digestive. I'm just tired when I'm supposed to be awake and wide awake when I'm supposed to be asleep. The best eastbound flight I ever had was when I took CX HGK-SFO in Premium Economy, leaving HKG at around 1am. It was comfortable but not THAT comfortable. So I slept for about 4 hours and played video games and watched movies for the rest of the time. I did eat on the plane. I landed in the evening, and when I got home I watched TV for a couple of hours and went to sleep at a relatively normal time. I had only slept for 4 hrs on the plane so I was tired, and I had a pretty good night's sleep. Jetlag was minimal.

Then last time I took that same flight it was in F. I slept very well for most of the flight. The result was that I got home in the late evening and could not sleep, and I was jetlagged for a week. Maybe PE is better than F for that flight

Going TPAC westbound, I find that sleep is not really an issue, but I do find that I have that "stomach in knots" feeling for a few days. This is especially frustrating because my TPAC trips are pleasure (not business) and one of the main reasons I'm there is to eat. (of course I like other stuff too but I go to Asia primarily for the food). I'm going to give this fasting thing a try next time and see if it lets me eat normally when I arrive.

I'm actually just starting keto today as well, because (1) this thread got me thinking about it, (2) my stomach has not been feeling great lately, and (3) I'm a little heavier than I'd like. Keto + steep uphill walking (3mph, 10% grade, 45min, 3x per week) on the treadmill has always been an effortless 2lb of weight loss per week for me (it's actually much better exercise than it sounds like). I may mix in some fasting and see what happens.