How I Keto...
Hello KetoHeads!
Welcome to another edition of the KetoHead blog! Last time I shared “Why I’m Keto”. Today I want to share “How I Keto”.
I know that most people turn to the “Keto” lifestyle with weight loss (body composition) goals in mind. And, for many, going keto has been the only thing that has worked in their weight loss journey. Personally, I have found other more effective ways to achieve fat loss/muscle gain, which don’t require being in a Ketogenic state. Yet, I choose to be in a Ketogenic state anyway because it dramatically improves my heath and how I feel. Yet, body composition and performance are still very important to me. So, I have to find ways to achieve my body composition and performance goals, within the constraints of a Ketogenic diet.
If my only goal were fat loss, I would simply follow the same protocol I did when I competed as a bodybuilder. The last time I stepped on stage, my bodyfat percentage was under 5%. The nutritional protocol that I followed to achieve such low levels of body fat, looked nothing like a Ketogenic diet. It’s a protocol that is very effective at burning fat or “weight loss”, yet not sustainable and definitely not healthy.
So how do I achieve both the health benefits that come from being in a Ketogenic state, while continuing to build/maintain muscle, burn body fat and improve performance?
Read on...
There are a lot of fun details we can get into, regarding how I get into ketosis, how I reach therapeutic levels, how I use meal timing, protein spikes, fasting, refeeds and a whole plethora of tools that I’ve found to be very effective. But before getting into all that, let’s look at the big picture.
For starters, I vary the levels of ketosis I’m in and I spend as much as 10 weeks of the year out of ketosis. My favorite metabolic state to be in, is therapeutic ketosis. In this state, I’ve been able to reach ketone readings as high as 7.0mmols. Not only is this potentially a way to ward off some types of cancer, but I cannot begin to tell you just how amazing I feel when my ketones reach this level. Zero cravings. Crazy mental focus/acuity. Boundless energy throughout the day. On and on. So, if being in therapeutic ketosis is so great, why not just do it year-round? Simple. To reach these levels of deep ketosis, I need to incorporate fasting and I cannot allow my protein consumption to exceed 15% of my total calories (under 100g/day). If my protein gets any higher, my ketone levels drop below therapeutic levels. After 2-3 months of this, in spite of feeling great, I notice that I start to slowly lose muscle and strength. So, I limit the time I spend in therapeutic ketosis. Long enough to reap the great benefits it provides, but not so long that I start to wither away.
Most of the year, I stay in nutritional ketosis, where my ketone levels range from .5mmols to 1.5mmols. I still feel great in this keto state. Minimal inflammation. No GI distress. Lots of energy. Great mental clarity. And, in this metabolic state, I am able to double my protein consumption to about 150g/day. This makes a big difference in my ability to impact body composition (more muscle less fat) and gym performance (stronger). During this time, I also incorporate refeed and cheat days. On a future blog, I will go into more detail on the difference between the two, and how I use them to rev up my metabolism, burn fat/build muscle. Maintaining Nutritional Ketosis is easy and very sustainable for me. I could easily do it year-round. However, I do intentionally get out of ketosis for about 2 months every year. I time this around the holidays so that I can enjoy all of the food celebrations that start with Thanksgiving and culminate with New Year’s. Doing this allows me to not just fully enjoy the holidays with friends/family, but the added protein/carbs allow me to build muscle and strength.
However, not long after upping my carbs/protein, I start to feel pain in my joints again. My belly starts to get bloated. Heartburn returns. Energy fluctuates. Food cravings come back. While the added protein/carbs may be optimal for burning fat/building muscle, I feel like crap. After a few weeks of this, I am usually very ready for a prolonged fast. The last two years, I’ve been doing 7-day water only fasts to transition from being out of ketosis to getting into therapeutic ketosis.
So that’s an overview of “How I Keto”. I’m in ketosis approximately 10 months out of the year, with two of those months in deep therapeutic ketosis. The other two months of the year, I allow myself much higher protein and I double my carb intake. Cycling in/out of ketosis like this, has allowed me to fix many of my annoying health issues, while being able to stay lean/muscular.
I hope you found this helpful. If you did, please let me know in the comments and please share with someone you think will enjoy this info.
In the next blog, I will go into more detail on how I approach calories, macros and food nutrients and share some of the charts/graphs that help me track it all
I cycle through different levels of ketosis and in/out of ketosis
While I may have successfully transformed my physique, I did so at the expense of my health. My approach to nutrition and training today, is healthier and sustainable. And, while I may not be winning any bodybuilding trophies, I feel better in every way.