Andrew Stenberg Ms. Shaw English 2 2 January 2018 Over the past few years the ketogenic diet has become very popular. There are professional athletes that have said the diet enhanced their performance, but there has also been way more athletes that said it hurt their performance. This has caused a lot of controversy as to whether athletes should try the diet or not. Being in a state of ketosis hurts the performance of athletes, such as basketball and football players, by significantly decreasing body mass, making it hard to gain muscle, and decreasing energy. There are many reasons why the ketogenic diet hurts the performance of athletes such as basketball and football players. These athletes need to make sure they are always eating a sufficient amount of calories to maintain their muscle mass and body weight. On the ketogenic diet, 75-85% of daily calories come from fat, only leaving 15-25% of calories coming from either protein, carbs, or a little bit of both(Rutberg). This is not good for basketball or football players because eating that much fat makes it harder to consume the amount of calories needed to maintain body mass and weight. A diet high in carbs and protein makes it much easier for athletes to maintain their physique(Rutberg). …show more content…
For example, football players are constantly in the weight room trying to put on as much muscle as they can so that they will have an advantage over their opponents on the field. In order for them to gain muscle, the rule of thumb is that they need to consume their bodyweight in protein(Cutler). For football players, that would be anywhere from 210 to 300 grams of protein a day on a normal high carb diet. On the keto diet, they would have to restrict protein consumption to 25 to 45 grams, making it almost impossible to gain muscle. This is a major turnoff not just for football players, but any athlete who is trying to be the strongest they possibly