Ketosis and bodybuilding

[Tatersalad]

Just curious on your opinions on very low carb diet and bodybuilding. I lost a ton of weight on atkins diet before ever starting weight training. Just curious if fueling the body with fats instead of carbs is beneficial or is it an absolute no no in bodybuilding

 

[thatguy]

I think it depends on what your goal is. If it is to gain muscle mass, then I don't think low carb will help. Then again, I am not well versed in keto diets. I know I've seen a few guys recently post that they were doing keto, so it may be possible.

 

[Biggerarms22]

Just curious on your opinions on very low carb diet and bodybuilding. I lost a ton of weight on atkins diet before ever starting weight training. Just curious if fueling the body with fats instead of carbs is beneficial or is it an absolute no no in bodybuilding

Definitely individual response to different diet practices. You responded well, could absolutely give it another go while "body building." Keto is a popular form of dieting and arguably is the best way to cut, if you're trying to do it rapidly.

Personally I don't go for keto, wouldn't advise anyone of keto. I belive in sticking to a longterm diet, and manipulating it as I go.
My preference is high carb whatever phase I'm in. Keeps me fuller both in the muscles and in general. I'm not as hungry. Its all about fiber.

But again on your question, absolutely no reason why you can't continue doing something thats clearly successful for you.
Of course reserve keto for leaning out phases.

 

[Flathead Fred]

I’ve been doing Keto for the past year along with intermittent fasting. I started it mainly for the cognitive boost and once I reached deep ketosis (a few weeks in) I felt AWESOME, like a stimulant drug induced feeling with tons of mental clarity like microdosing LSD or Adderall without the comedown. My appetite has always been excessive so even though I was high fat, medium protein and low fat I would still kick myself out of ketosis along with a very active social calendar that made it tough to stick to the plan. The results were me ending up in no-mans land, not in deep ketosis and not enough glycogen stores to fuel my workouts. That resulted in a very rundown feeling.

I’ve recently added carbs back in pre and post workout and it is a night and day difference. I do miss the deep ketosis mental clarity but it was just too few and far between episodes. I’ll still do multiple day fasting here and there and get into it but at this point I’ll stick with more of a Paleo approach.

To summarize, if you have a strong will, no small kids at home (I hate to see food waisted carbs or not), not a very busy social life and you place cognition over gains in the gym then I say go for it.

 

[Tatersalad]

Yeah I used the urine test strips daily. Stayed in the dark pink to light purple and that was with 10-12 net carbs daily. Really not a hard diet once you get used to it.

 

[Flathead Fred]

If you’re serious about it I’d recommend the Keto-Mojo meter, it checks ketones and blood glucose but they’re not the cheapest meters.

 

[Tatersalad]

Cool, never heard of it. Thanks

 

[testaholic]

I’ve been doing Keto for the past year along with intermittent fasting. I started it mainly for the cognitive boost and once I reached deep ketosis (a few weeks in) I felt AWESOME, like a stimulant drug induced feeling with tons of mental clarity like microdosing LSD or Adderall without the comedown. My appetite has always been excessive so even though I was high fat, medium protein and low fat I would still kick myself out of ketosis along with a very active social calendar that made it tough to stick to the plan. The results were me ending up in no-mans land, not in deep ketosis and not enough glycogen stores to fuel my workouts. That resulted in a very rundown feeling.

I’ve recently added carbs back in pre and post workout and it is a night and day difference. I do miss the deep ketosis mental clarity but it was just too few and far between episodes. I’ll still do multiple day fasting here and there and get into it but at this point I’ll stick with more of a Paleo approach.

To summarize, if you have a strong will, no small kids at home (I hate to see food waisted carbs or not), not a very busy social life and you place cognition over gains in the gym then I say go for it.

were you able to bulk on keto?

 

[Flathead Fred]

I’m in my mid 50s so my bulking days are long gone, I used it to keep from putting on fat not necessarily a cut just trying to maintain. I wouldn’t recommend it for bulking, hell I’d enjoy my carbs and keep protein high and blow on up the old fashioned way.

 

[RackPuller]

Your body will never be as full on low carbs

You will never carry the mass of a bodybuilder on low carbs

you cannot store fats as muscle glycogen which is half the battle

So continuous Keto is no bodybuild

infrequent for insulin sensitivity reset and fat loss ehh, personal



personal opinion is you wanna look like a bodybuilder you need the correct amount of everything, not just two of our macros

It’s about timing

 

[Mac11wildcat]

If by bodybuilding you meant building some muscle on anabolics and looking good at the beach…sure.

If you meant bodybuilding as in true bodybuilding…no. It’s terrible for muscle gain comparatively. The goal as a BB is to spend as little time as necessary on low carb to get show lean. The entirety of the rest of our time is spent eating a fuck ton of food for a reason.

 

[bigpoppachump2]

I've been in deep ketosis for about 2 months now with my ketones fluctuating between .7 and 1.7

I wanted to lose fat but I was also like looking forward to seeing if it helped with inflammation caused by my high crab diet and arthritis prior. I've cut before and went on calorie restricted diets but the inflammation was always present throughout, this time has been different and I feel like I rolled back the clock a good 5+ years in terms of how badly my arthritis effects me. I'm coming to an end of this keto diet but for me the joint relief I gained from it was worth the trouble more than the fat loss.

I've noticed some mental clarity boost but nothing major. Mostly it just cut out the morning brain fog.

I dropped 30lbs in 7 weeks without counting calories or really any other modification to my diet other than flipping products over and avoiding things that had more than 4 net carbs per serving.

My weight loss has just about stalled but I can definitely see why. I increased my protein intake whilst staying low carb and I've actually gained some muscle, not a ton of muscle but there has definitely been an increase in LBM and the weight I'm moving has definitely went up a good deal since the protein increase. With all that said I still feel the lack of explosiveness in the gym due to the lack of carbs. And my muscles are flat and vascularity is mostly non existent for most of the day other than for about 30 minutes or so after I eat.

Overall this diet is a tool. I'm going to stick with it for a little while longer and I'll do it again but I can't say that I've lost fat quicker on this diet than others but it did feel easier in terms of prep and counting calories since this time I didn't count shit I just stayed away from carbs. I was able to put on a little but of mass while also dropping body fat which I've always had trouble getting that ratio dialed in in the past. But the relief I had in my hands and knees from arthritis and inflammation alone makes this diet worth trying again.

 

[Flathead Fred]

I've been in deep ketosis for about 2 months now with my ketones fluctuating between .7 and 1.7

I wanted to lose fat but I was also like looking forward to seeing if it helped with inflammation caused by my high crab diet and arthritis prior. I've cut before and went on calorie restricted diets but the inflammation was always present throughout, this time has been different and I feel like I rolled back the clock a good 5+ years in terms of how badly my arthritis effects me. I'm coming to an end of this keto diet but for me the joint relief I gained from it was worth the trouble more than the fat loss.

I've noticed some mental clarity boost but nothing major. Mostly it just cut out the morning brain fog.

I dropped 30lbs in 7 weeks without counting calories or really any other modification to my diet other than flipping products over and avoiding things that had more than 4 net carbs per serving.

My weight loss has just about stalled but I can definitely see why. I increased my protein intake whilst staying low carb and I've actually gained some muscle, not a ton of muscle but there has definitely been an increase in LBM and the weight I'm moving has definitely went up a good deal since the protein increase. With all that said I still feel the lack of explosiveness in the gym due to the lack of carbs. And my muscles are flat and vascularity is mostly non existent for most of the day other than for about 30 minutes or so after I eat.

Overall this diet is a tool. I'm going to stick with it for a little while longer and I'll do it again but I can't say that I've lost fat quicker on this diet than others but it did feel easier in terms of prep and counting calories since this time I didn't count shit I just stayed away from carbs. I was able to put on a little but of mass while also dropping body fat which I've always had trouble getting that ratio dialed in in the past. But the relief I had in my hands and knees from arthritis and inflammation alone makes this diet worth trying again.

No doubt it helps with inflammation, I’m adding carbs back in pre and post workout using mainly rice and oats and going to avoid gluten see if the inflammation stays away.

 

[Elistheman]

Tried many low carb variations over the years, even carnivore for around 4 months. You can build muscle on them to a certain point depending on carb intake.

Carbs are important for that insulin spike (protein does that too but less carbs are required for the same spike) in addition, the type of workout is also something to consider, since we are interested in bodybuilding, that means we are relaying mostly on anaerobic pathways.

Ketosis is the state of subsiding from fatty acids oxidation, meaning you need oxygen. it's not that you won't be able to recover between sets, you will, but it would take double the time, at least from my experience.

That being said, ketosis has place and a very special one while cutting on AAS, you would retain an incredible amount of muscle while utilizing body fat for energy, have a look at bodybuilders from the 80's and their pre contest nutrition.

 

[Mac11wildcat]

Tried many low carb variations over the years, even carnivore for around 4 months. You can build muscle on them to a certain point depending on carb intake.

Carbs are important for that insulin spike (protein does that too but less carbs are required for the same spike) in addition, the type of workout is also something to consider, since we are interested in bodybuilding, that means we are relaying mostly on anaerobic pathways.

Ketosis is the state of subsiding from fatty acids oxidation, meaning you need oxygen. it's not that you won't be able to recover between sets, you will, but it would take double the time, at least from my experience.

That being said, ketosis has place and a very special one while cutting on AAS, you would retain an incredible amount of muscle while utilizing body fat for energy, have a look at bodybuilders from the 80's and their pre contest nutrition.

They weren’t in keto for whole preps. They may have done it for a few weeks as a result of needing to reduce cals to get leaner. We’ve also learned a LOT about nutrition since 1980z

 

[bigpoppachump2]

No doubt it helps with inflammation, I’m adding carbs back in pre and post workout using mainly rice and oats and going to avoid gluten see if the inflammation stays away.

Your plan and mine are the same. I'm going to add carbs back into my diet when I get to my goal weight of 185-190lbs. I'm not going to add added sugar sugar products and gluten, I'm going to stick with potatoes, oats and fruits. If I really want a sweetener I'll stick to honey only and limited amounts.

I never got into the Keto sweets such as cookies, cakes, bars and those kinda things but me being a 100% ice cream junkie I did test out the keto ice cream products and have allowed myself one keto butter pecan ice cream pint per week and when I do drop the keto diet I plan on sticking with the keto ice cream cause the "Enlightened" brand butter pecan is actually really frigging good.

 

[Flathead Fred]

Your plan and mine are the same. I'm going to add carbs back into my diet when I get to my goal weight of 185-190lbs. I'm not going to add added sugar sugar products and gluten, I'm going to stick with potatoes, oats and fruits. If I really want a sweetener I'll stick to honey only and limited amounts.

I never got into the Keto sweets such as cookies, cakes, bars and those kinda things but me being a 100% ice cream junkie I did test out the keto ice cream products and have allowed myself one keto butter pecan ice cream pint per week and when I do drop the keto diet I plan on sticking with the keto ice cream cause the "Enlightened" brand butter pecan is actually really frigging good.

I’m on the same sheet of music, Enlightened and/or Rebel are on my shopping list for ice cream, good luck on adding the carbs, I have to be careful not to get carried away. Banishing them wasn’t hard but flirting with them may be tougher

 

[eery]

for a surplus? stupid and counterproductive.

in a deficit? ideally, no. Only if you have to.

why? because carbs lets you perform better, stay more anabolic/anticatabolic and most people feel and look better as well. On keto you end up dragging ass and being flatter then you need to.

 

[Demondosage]

Stupid way to diet, period. No reason to go that extreme on carb deprivation when you could be more volumized and still lose fat. Just dumb as hell, but just my opinion

 

[Flathead Fred]

Almost nonexistent inflammation and a cognitive boost is not dumb, not wise for bodybuilding maybe but it does have its place in many people’s lives. I did it, got the t-shirt and time to change directions but now I know. I’ve done chicken and rice for decades so being one to experiment thought I’d give it a try. I learned a lot more about my body doing it the last year or so and will do it again in the future.