Keto Diets- Why They Work, How To Make Them Work For You, Why Vince Gironda Made a Song About Them… And I Finally Use Decllenium In A Sentence

Jamie Chaos

May 4, 2013

Vince Gironda says:

“Fuck you, Carbos. You can suck my dick. You can’t get me, Carbos, because you’re just God’s farts.”

In the information age, more than ever, it seems extremely common for trends in what passes for rational and intelligent thought and discourse to emerge wherein a particular opinion is held aloft as unassailable truth. For whatever reason, one of the most insidious and pervasive of these opinions in nutritional circles seems to be one that presents ketogenic diets as catabolic and useless for strength athletes. Simply put for the new jacks in the audience, this means they believe that ketogenic diets will cause you to lose muscle mass faster than an AIDS patient in a Somali slum. This, however, is simply not the case- in fact, the polar opposite is true. In fact, catabolism is blunted as the body metabolizes ketones for energy during a ketogenic diet.

Dave Palumbo’s legs seem not to have suffered any ill effects from ketogenic dieting, unless “freakish muscularity” is considered an ill effect.

I realize it’s a popular notion that I’m some sort of genetic freak who thrives on a diet that would kill a lesser man. True, I am awesome, and true, most of the shit I do on a daily basis would kill lesser men, but I’m hardly a genetic anomaly in regards to the ketogenic diet. A study conducted at the University of Connecticut in the early part of the last decade showed that thyroid function was greatly increased in a six week ketogenic dieting period, and that significant fat loss and muscle gain occurred- all of the participants had extraordinarily positive recomposition in a short period of time, and they accomplished this in spite of being fatties and saddies. If fatties and saddies can lose an average of 7 lbs of body fat and gain 2 lbs of muscle in a six week period, I’d think that the average techno-death metal-Viking Hooligan would thrive on it. Dave Palumbo certainly did- at his best, he squatted 800 for four and deadlifted 600 for 8, which is pretty fucking impressive for a guy training for size and definition rather than strength.

I suppose tentacle rape and ketosis go hand in hand.

For those of you unfamiliar with the myriad benefits of ketogenic dieting, allow me to educate you while I torture metaphors like they’re Chechen teenagers in the greater Boston metropolitan area:

ketosis is protein sparing, which means your body will not metabolize protein for fuel at any point in your day, provided you’re eating enough fat. Your body will actually learn to love burning ketones for energy more than the Japanese love tentacle rape and your protein synthesis will dramatically increase (Nair, Harber, Kadowaki).
IGF-1 levels will raise like a true Belieber’s current interest in shitty tattoos and girlish haircuts due to your body’s low levels of insulin, which in turn will lead to greater hypertrophy (Harber).
ketosis allows your body to utilize stored bodyfat for energy because of the aforementioned low insulin levels, and insulin blocks stored fat utilization like a fat girl cockblocking at a bar.
ketosis suppresses your body’s release of ghrelin, which means you will be less hungry on a ketogenic diet than you’d otherwise be. This is particularly useful for the aforementioned saddies and fatties, who often have Charley Sheen-esque impulse-control issues when it comes to stuffing their faces (Halton).
it may make you smarter- ketones seem to be a more efficient fuel for the brain than glucose (Amerman, but for a ridiculously complex explanation, go here and skip to the paragraph beginning with “We will use Alzheimers”).
recovery will occur quickly and wounds will heal like you’ve got a hirsute, irascible, pocket-sized Uncle Logan (Nishira).
in ketosis, your body becomes a furnace that would be the envy of every man named Goering in 1940s Germany, as you burn fat simply by breathing and pissing (Perez-Guisado).
for those of you amusingly concerned with the effects of dietary salt in your diet (and there appear to a be lot of you people living in 1982 in that way), high protein diets seem to counteract the negative effects of high sodium intakes and lowers blood pressure (Debry). As ketogenic diets are almost necessarily high protein, you’re safe from an exploding heart on the ketogenic diet as well.

Living in the 80s has its perks- you get to wear cool outfits.

Sounds pretty fucking awesome, doesn’t it? Quite frankly, it is- I’ve been on a cyclical ketogenic diet for going on three years and have gotten continually stronger and leaner. I’m not the only one who thinks this diet is the tits, either- one paper from the University of Cordoba (Spain) stated that “These diets are also healthier because they promote a non-atherogenic lipid profile, lower blood pressure and decrease resistance to insulin with an improvement in blood levels of glucose and insulin” and that “Such diets also have neurological and antineoplastic benefits and diet-induced ketosis is not associated with metabolic acidosis, nor do such diets alter kidney, liver or heart functions”(Perez-Guisado).

Keto doesn’t appear to be hurting my gainz- weighing in at 195, carb depleted.

That’s all well and good for the average saddie, you might be thinking, but it’s got fuck-all to do with athletes and strength athletes in particular. There’s a reason for that- there’ve been almost no studies on the effects of ketogenic dieting on resistance training. I was able to hunt down a single study on the subject, but it’s not particularly relevant to the issue at hand, as it studied the effect of resistance training on obese, middle-aged women on the ketogenic diet. We’re about as dissimilar to that sample group as toasters are from Transformers, so there’s no point even delving into that one. Nevertheless, anecdotal evidence shows that ketogenic diets, in their myriad forms, have worked pretty fucking well over the last few decllenium for hominids.

As I believe I’ve not ever done so, it seems useful to outline for you guys exactly what ketogenic dieting is, and what forms it can take. A ketogenic diet is a diet in which a person consumes so few carbohydrates that their body beings breaking fat down into fatty acids and ketones for use as energy. Keto diets come in three flavors, standard, targeted, and cyclical. They work like this:

SKD (Standard Ketogenic Diet) – This is the diet of which most people traditionally think when they hear the words “keto diet”. Developed in the West by an undertaker named Banting in the 19th Century, it was resurrected as the Atkins diet in the US in the 20th Century. Amusingly, the peoples of the Arctic Circle have been eating this way forever and haven’t known they were dieting at all. In any event, on a traditional ketogenic diet you simply keep your carbs at a certain low level indefinitely.
CKD (Cyclical Ketogenic Diet) – Cyclical keto diets are my personal favorite, and that’s what my Apex Predator Diet is. On a cyclical keto diet you rotate between ultra low carb and high carb days and in a less common fasion, rotate between low and high carb periods every day.
TKD (Targeted Ketogenic Diet) – Targeted keto diets are diets in which one eats extremely low carb and then consumes carbs at very specific times of the day. I wrote a bit about these types of diets in my Apex Predator Diet For Italians And Athletes entry and noted that there is a difference of opinion by noted authors on when best to consume the carbs, but they’re generally consumed either immediately before or after a workout.

It was time for some Warhammer.

Clearly, I’m the biggest fan of the CKD, as that’s what I’ve been on for years. I monkeyed with the TKD a bit in the past, but I never liked the idea of eating high fat and then spiking my insulin, so I never ate high enough fat to really have called it a particularly ketogenic diet. It was more of a paleoized TKD. In regards to CKDs, I’ve given you guys the broad strokes of how I’ve modified the traditional cyclical ketogenic diet for myself (i.e. the Apex Predator Diet), but thought it might be prudent to share with you a few of the tricks, hacks, and cheats I’ve developed along the way to make the diet work even better. Thus, without any further adieu:

Protein is your primary concern at every meal. I’ve seen nonstop gibbering out of people whose opinions would best be left alone in their empty heads about the value of coconut oil online, and it’s ridiculous. One douche actually asserted that his diet of naught but eggs and coconut oil was one to follow, which I found as fascinating as I found it absurd. You are not eating unless you’re getting upwards of 40 grams of protein. Less than that isn’t a meal and can barely be construed as a snack. Cheat meals should start with protein and be followed by shakes- I always kick mine off with some kind of meat, be it hamburgers, wings, nuggets, or a meat-lover’s pizza. The more protein you consume, the greater the thermic effect of your meal and the better you will look and feel overall.
Get at least two grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. Chicks can get by with a gram to a gram and a half- apparently more than that fucks with their hormone levels. The mysteries of the vagina aside, no man is truly eating for strength if he’s consuming less than two grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day.

She might keto diet. I find myself not caring so much about the relevance of this pic, however.

Take a break every once in a while. That’s not to say you should adopt the asinine practice utilized by people who follow a “periodization” routine wherein they take one week per month off from lifting. Every now and again, though, it’s good for your mind and body to stop giving a shit so much about your diet. I realize that sounds fairly ridiculous for a guy who’s essentially been on a diet for three straight years, but I do actually take a couple days to a week off from my diet after meets, and take a week or so off from my diet over the holidays as well. I don’t go nuts eating garbage, but I don’t eat super-strict or super clean. Instead, I keep my protein levels very high and fill in the gaps with whatever I want. Again, caveats- I don’t really care for ice cream or particularly sugary foods. Thus, when I am am REALLY off my diet, the worst thing on which I’m generally snacking is Cinnamon Life, unless it’s Thanksgiving Day or Christmas, when I’ll eat desserts. Eating sugary shit will make you fat. It’s science.
Modify your total food intake to match your activity level. This does not mean you should count calories, which is pointless even off a keto diet by truly worthless on one. Instead, you should be eating more if you’re training harder, longer, or heavier, and less if you’re training lighter.
Do not skip your carbups. Skipping your carbups might have a small effect on fat loss but will ultimately render all of your training feckless. Type two muscle fibers require glycogen to function, and depriving them of that glycogen will force you to train lighter, which defeats the entire purpose of the diet in the first place. No one gives a shit if you’re ripped and you’re weak, and no one gives a fuck if you’re strong and you’re fat. The goal is to be strong as fuck and ripped to the bone, so you need to do your refeeds if you’re keeping your carbs under 30 grams a day 5-6 days a week.
Experiment. Once you get your bodyfat to a manageable level, feel free to experiment. I’ve tried supplementing with BCAAs post workout, and I think that post-workout BCAAs with additional leucine are a tremendously good idea, since leucine uptake and utilization is higher when in ketosis. Try utilizing insulin modulating supplements like cinnamon and chromium to see if they accelerate fat loss. ProSupps has a new product out called iLoad that looks to be good in that regard. Mix up days wherein you have multiple food meals and days wherein you only eat solid food once or twice if you’re doing the Apex Predator Diet.

CKDs work and work well for powerlifting, no matter what the message board know-nothings might assert to the contrary- I’m living proof, and science has my motherfuckin’ back.

Eat like a beast if you want to lift like one.

Sources:
Amerman, Don. Benefits of Ketosis. Livestrong. 28 Jul 2011. Web. 7 may 2013. http://www.livestrong.com/article/503671-the-benefits-of-ketosis/

Butterfield GE: Whole-body protein utilization in humans. Med Sci Sports Exer 1987, 19:S167-S165.

Debry G: Data on hypertension. In Dietary Proteins and Atherosclerosis. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; 2004:191-203.

Deprospo, Jonathan. In depth look at ketogenic diets and ketosis. Bodybuilding.com. 25 Sep 2002. Web. 4 May 2013. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/keto.htm

Harber MP, Schenk S, Barkan AL, Horowitz JF. Effects of dietary carbohydrate restriction with high protein intake on protein metabolism and the somatotropic axis. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Sep;90(9):5175-81. Epub 2005 Jun 21.

Halton TL, Hu FB. The effects of high protein diets on thermogenesis, satiety and weight loss: a critical review. J Am Coll Nutr. 2004 Oct;23(5):373-85.

Kadowaki M, Kamata T, Noguchi T. Acute effect of epinephrine on muscle proteolysis in perfused rat hindquarters. Am J Physiol. 1996 Jun;270(6 Pt 1):E961-7.

Layman DK, Evans E, Baum JI, Seyler J, Erickson DJ, Boileau RA. Dietary protein and exercise have additive effects on body composition during weight loss in adult women. J Nutr. 2005 Aug;135(8):1903-10.

Manninen AH. High-Protein Weight Loss Diets and Purported Adverse Effects: Where is the Evidence? J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2004; 1(1): 45–51.

Manninen AH. Very-low-carbohydrate diets and preservation of muscle mass. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2006 Jan 31;3:9.

Motil KJ, Matthews DE, Bier DM, Burke JF, Munro HN, Young VR. Whole-body leucine and lysine metabolism: response to dietary protein intake in young men. Am J Physiol. 1981 Jun;240(6):E712-21.

Nair KS, Welle SL, Halliday D, Campbell RG. Effect of beta-hydroxybutyrate on whole-body leucine kinetics and fractional mixed skeletal muscle protein synthesis in humans. J Clin Invest. 1988 Jul;82(1):198-205.

Nishihira J: Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF): its essential role in the immune system and cell growth. J Interferon Cytok Res 2000, 20: 751-762.

Paddon-Jones D, Sheffield-Moore M, Zhang XJ, Volpi E, Wolf SE, Aarsland A, Ferrando AA, Wolfe RR. Amino acid ingestion improves muscle protein synthesis in the young and elderly. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2004 Mar;286(3):E321-8. Epub 2003 Oct 28.

Pérez-Guisado J. Arguments In Favor Of Ketogenic Diets. Int J Nut Wellness. 2007 4(2).

Phinney SD. Ketogenic diets and physical performance. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2004 Aug 17;1(1):2.

Volek JS, Sharman MJ, Love DM, Avery NG, Gómez AL, Scheett TP, Kraemer WJ. Body composition and hormonal responses to a carbohydrate-restricted diet. Metabolism. 2002 Jul;51(7):864-70.

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Jamie Chaos

I am a former all-time, all federation world record holder in raw powerlifting at 181lbs, a record I broke just to say fuck you to the internet’s “lifting” community and the powerlifting community at large. Over the last ten years I’ve written over 500 articles on strength training, nutrition, and supplementation, and continue to do so simply to fight the tide of weakness and sadness that currently pervades the scene I’ve called home for the better part of three decades. I’ve got personal trainin certs, BodyPump and BodyCombat certs, a BA in History and East Asian Studies from the University of Arizona, and MBAs from the Vienna University and University of South Carolina on my side, in addition to some sick lifts and a hell of a lot of rage. What the fuck have you got?

81 responses to “Keto Diets- Why They Work, How To Make Them Work For You, Why Vince Gironda Made a Song About Them… And I Finally Use Decllenium In A Sentence”

Unknown

May 4, 2013

It appears that the tentacle is coming from within her.
1. Landyn Volaric
  
  January 17, 2015
  
  In one side, out the other!
Andrew Hernandez

May 4, 2013

In my dealings with the Japanese, they seem to love racism, xenophobia, a near total lack of temperature-controlled housing, and boring, censored porn more than they love tentacle rape.

So if I'm understanding correctly, on a CKD, one solid carb refeed a week is enough to ensure solid workout performance (all other things being optimal)?
1. Jamie Lewis
  
  May 6, 2013
  
  Yup.
ghjklbny

May 4, 2013

Loving this article great overview of the keto diet and as ever presented in a highly amusing manner!
The section on experimentation was interesting, I've always considered those supplements to be worthless shit, either way its a better idea to spend money on dead animals when your poor.

Also re-feeds do they have to be as regular as once a week or is it possible to go beyond that before glycogen depletion really fucks your training? (not that I want to not eat carbs for that long…)
Dave

May 4, 2013

Jamie, do you eat much, if any, organ meat?
1. Justin_PS
  
  May 5, 2013
  
  Try sweetbread!!!! God is it good, cheap, and high in protein.
2. Nathan
  
  May 5, 2013
  
  How do you prepare it? I bought some ( it is cheap as fuck) and fried it and it was kind of uninteresting. Sri racha helps, but that's kind of a cop-out.
3. Justin_PS
  
  May 5, 2013
  
  I've never made them. I've only had them in a local restaurant. I know they have a membrane that has to be removed (soak them in salt water for a bit). Then they were simply grilled (couldn't have been more than a few minutes) and served with some lime juice and chimmichurri.
  
  They have a ridiculously soft, sweet texture. Based on what I read, they have more protein than sirloin.
4. Justin_PS
  
  May 5, 2013
  
  Apparently, they need a bit of prep…http://www.cheftalk.com/a/how-to-cook-sweetbreads-the-supreme-offal
5. Jozef Varhaník
  
  May 5, 2013
  
  hearts and livers oh yeah. liver is the bigger powerhouse of the two but hearts taste better and have shitloads of co-q10 you hear ladies?
6. Justin_PS
  
  May 5, 2013
  
  I eat cow heart pretty regularly since my wife is Peruvian and its a popular dish there.
  Of all the organ meats I've tried, this is the most similar to muscle meat.
  
  Its a bit more dense and very lean. Don't dream of cooking past medium or it'll suck.
7. Jamie Lewis
  
  May 6, 2013
  
  None at all. It's good for you, but I despise the taste of it.
Aldan Chip

May 5, 2013

Hey Jamie, if you like warhammer art and violence (I know I do) watch the trailer for Mark of Chaos.
1. JD
  
  May 5, 2013
  
  I second this.
2. Jamie Lewis
  
  May 6, 2013
  
  If I were independently wealthy, I'd finance a Warhammer movie myself.
Nathan

May 5, 2013

I'm not a fan of keto diets, but in my experience they definitely don't cause muscle or strength loss. People love their superstitions about muscle loss almost as much as they love tasty carbohydrates.

Have you read "Antifragile" by Nassim Taleb? It's a great book about how much economists and other academic experts suck by a deadlifting stock-trader who got richer than fuck off the 2008 financial collapse. I'm definitely seeing some parallels between your ideas and his, and I think you'd enjoy his writing style.
1. Jamie Lewis
  
  May 6, 2013
  
  I've got all of Talib's books at home, but have yet to read one.
Rant

May 5, 2013

Vince Gironda looked shit, that picture of Dave Palumbo's legs, well, he should have taken steroids, imagine how they'd have looked then!!! NOBODY needs more than about 52 grams of protein a day, and EVERYONE should be getting upwards of 457 grams of carbs a day (athletes more!!!). And eating fat clogs your arteries and stops erections. I can show studies for all of this, especially Vince Gironda looking shit. That is all.
1. Blobb
  
  May 5, 2013
  
  Would like to hear more about people studying Gironda's legs, thnx.
2. Jamie Lewis
  
  May 6, 2013
  
  This is quality jerking. I knew you had it in you, Rantypants.
Anonymous

May 5, 2013

^^^^what??^^
Jamie, what are your thoughts on high protein on a keto diet and the effects of gluconeogenesis being bad for you and stopping you utilising ketones for energy. Any thoughts?
1. Rant
  
  May 5, 2013
  
  ^^^^what??^^
2. Jamie Lewis
  
  May 6, 2013
  
  See my answer to the dude below you. Basically, there's no way it could throw you out of ketosis long enough for it to be a major issue.
3. The Verb
  
  May 8, 2013
  
  Gluconeogenesis is not gonna throw you out of fat burning.
  
  Your RBCs and 1/3 of your brain is always going to require glucose or your RBCs will lyse and your kidneys will fill with hemoglobin and fail, meanwhile your neurons will swell and rupture as you stroke out and you're basically fucked. To keep this crap from happening you have gluconeogenesis. Its always gonna be happening. You know all that lactate you made busting ass? it gets made back into glucose through gluconeogenesis too. Because lactic acidosis and coagulative necrosis is bad.
  
  Now if you eat a surplus of protein what will happen? Your liver, is pretty happy eating up excess proteins to derive energy. It will deaminate or transaminate the amino group from the amino acids to make a carbon skeleton it can burn for energy in the TCA. But keep in mind that this is for a fraction of the amino acids you intake. And this is going on anytime you eat, regardless of your diet.
  
  You may spike insulin, but that would drive whatever glucose you have in you into the muscles, adipocytes and anything with a glut4 transporter, which would lead to a state of hypoglycemia, and retrigger fat burning and the production of glucose, (if you are not on a carb based diet. in the case of carb based diet glycogenolysis will be triggered instead of fat burning)
4. The Verb
  
  May 8, 2013
  
  Now when the liver provides glucose to the body (one of its prime functions), the first place to look is the liver glycogen. If you're ketoing you prolly don't have much, unless you've refed. In which case your body is going to burn this off before it touches your fat (not entirely true, but fat burning will be kinda minor).
  
  As liver glycogen (not muscle glycogen, muscle glycogen is UNAVAILABLE to the rest of the body) levels get lower, gluconeogenesis starts to play a bigger role in how your body provides sugar to the dependant tissues. Gluconeogenesis requires fat to power it. This fat comes from your adipocytes. Fat comes into your liver and gets burned off to make energy and acetyl coa to make pyruvate into oxaloacetate and go through gluconeogenesis to make glucose. It does not turn the acetyl coa into sugar, it REQUIRES an amino acid or a lactate, or a glycerol to make pyruvate, and this pyruvate can be used to make glucose (this is why you had better eat some god damn protein on a keto diet because you body will start to look elsewhere otherwise. This is also why when people try to lose weight by simple calorie reduction or overt calorie reduction they look like shrunken fuck versions of their previous selves with the same body composition, as your body is looking to burn fat AND protein and will fucking SCAVENGE for both. This is also the basis of the miracle of the protein-sparing modified fast, although I have yet to understand why people consume retardedly low calories in a lyle macdonald worshipping self flagellating manner. Also the PSMF is a good way to hormonally rip your balls off and throw a month long hissy fit, maxing sub par weights).
  
  Now as gluconeogenesis is going on your liver gets flooded with acetyl coa. The liver basically begins to fuse acetyl coas to make ketones and puts them out into the blood to supply tissues which will burn them. Now early on you are not going to register on keto sticks, because your rate of ketogenesis is relatively low and your muscles and heart are stuffing there faces with it but your brain is not yet ready for it. About two weeks later, the amount of ketones produced will be so high that your heart and muscles won't be able to eat all of it and your brain can get to it and get 2/3 of its energy from it, the excess gets pee'd out. (does anyone ever notice that their sticks go purple and then eventually move back to pinkish? thats the point where your brain is beginning to burn ketones for fuel)
  
  Gluconeogenesis is always going on. Having a high protein meal may put you out of ketosis temporarily, but at that time your body will be burning off excess aminos and still burning fat to make glucose. The sticks might not register but you're still burning fat.
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLi9SEIrbuc
5. Hitower77
  
  May 8, 2013
  
  Holy shit!, that's the best explanation of Ketosis I've read yet; I fucking love this blog; 'it brings out the finest people':
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs8QKXtCN9w
6. The Verb
  
  May 8, 2013
  
  I have never felt that ketosis is essential. Ketones are always produced when fat is burned, the difference between ketosis and non-ketosis is simply producing more ketones than your heart and muscles can clear from the blood, leading to it being excreted in urine. A slight advantage of ketosis is the amount of protein converted to produce glucose decreases in ketosis as the brain begins to utilise ketones (therefore you burn a bit more fat too), but this can simply be surmounted by an increased protein intake. Regardless of ketosis or not, you will be burning fat and by providing enough protein to your body you will not suffer significant effects of catabolism. If you are consuming less calories than you expend this fat will be taken from your stores.
  
  Anytime you are eating carbs you will trigger insulin which stops the fat burning show and shifts to storage mode in the form of quickly accessable glycogen and then space saving fat (glycogen is an osmotic burden for you organs, its many branching glucose fibers are polar and hydrate with H20 leading to a low density of energy, fat is non-polar and therefore does not hydrate and takes up less space in tissues, thats why the body makes it).
  
  If you work out and then eat carbs you are in a situation where preferential blood flow is to your muscles instead of fat cells, this is the basis of keifer's diets saying eat carbs after working out. Carbs can therefore be used advantageously to keep your muscle glycogen levels topped. Some liver glycogen will form, but the insulin induced transporters for glucose in the muscles is far better than the liver transporters so it is unlikely that significant liver glycogen will be produced if decent sense in the amount of carbs eaten is taken. Once liver glycogen is burned off fat-burning and gluconeogenesis will continue.
  
  As you can see from this writeup, the intake of protein (PSMF) during the day will provide protein to run gluconeogenesis, and being in a low carb state for the majority of the day will keep you in fat utilization mode. Ketosis provides modest benefits in my opinion, but for those wishing for every possible way to burn fat it can be used to benefit.
  
  Intake of carbs can be done after exercise in modest amounts in one meal to replace muscle glycogen (like TKD) or once a week in a larger meal after exercise to allow for greater psycological compliance and possible hormonal benefits (of which I have to admit I have not fully read about in my experience, but does make sound logical sense).
  
  All this goes to say that the APD is quite biochemically sound in my opinion, and does a very good job of blending the various principles that make an effective diet.
7. Eric
  
  May 13, 2013
  
  This is very good Verb. I can't say I learned anything groundbreakingly new but it is formatted in a very user friendly manner and did tie a few loose ends in my understanding of biochemistry. Thank you.
8. Trev Thorpe
  
  June 7, 2013
  
  Good read.. thanks for the info.
The Fat Dad

May 5, 2013

Thanks for the post, Jamie. I just have a couple of questions:

1) How much fat are you eating in relation to protein? I know, in the past, you've stated you eat about 50% protein (versus the standard Keto ratio of 65% fat 30% protein). Is that still the case?

2) Depending on your answer to #1, is calorie counting still pointless to those trying to cut? And is 2g/lb protein still recommended for those on a cut/deficit? (I put on 25lb over winter while nursing a back injury; dropped 10 of them earlier this year on a Keto run, then slipped up around Easter and put all 10 back on, so now I'm starting over)

3) What are your thoughts on the belief that whey protein is insulinotropic. Have you looked into that any? If so, is it bullshit/broscience or do you just not give a shit?
1. The Fat Dad
  
  May 5, 2013
  
  4) Also, what about, on occasion, swapping out the whole-meal of meat for a meal of eggs, which are invariably cheaper than the majority of protein sources at $2.59 per 100g. The only thing that beats that is Walmart's garbage chicken breasts at $2.17/100g. 85/15 ground beef is about twice that, though usually my keto staple. I haven't priced cheaper cuts of bone-in meat, though, because they usually turn to shoe leather when I cook them (must be doing something wrong).
2. Jamie Lewis
  
  May 6, 2013
  
  1) I'm still splitting fat and protein equally, more or less. It's not as though I wakl around with a calculator to determine this, though.
  
  2) Yes. you'll need to moderate your food intake, but that can be done on a day to day basis as you make progress and determine what general caloric intake you need to sustain training. I'll generally alternate between high and low calorie days and not worry overmuch about my daily caloric levels.
  
  3) Whey is insulinotropic. That's indisputable. Insulin, however, is not going to kill your fat loss- carbs will. Insulin causes your body to secrete GIP(gastric inhibitory polypeptides), which enhances your ability to metabolize fatty acids. The issue, however with keto is liver glucose levels. The liver can hold 200g of glucose, all of which is depleted within 16 hours of your last carbohydrate meal. If then, there is fractional glucogenesis from your whey protein shakes, it still wouldn't be enough to negatively impact your body's lipolysis, due to the incomplete conversion of protein to glucose. Basically, the science is hazy. I've not had a problem with whey, and I've been using it pretty much exclusively for a couple of months. You might want to experiment with it. To me, it comes down to macronutrient content of the protein trumps the possibility of glucogenesis/insulin spike from whey. Supplement companies are jamming carbs into protein left and fucking right, so finding a no carb blended protein at this point is well nigh impossible. Throw on top of that the fact that major supplement companies are fudging their label numbers (i.e. Gaspari and Myofusion), and I'm going with what's cheap so I get fucked a little rather than a lot.
3. Jamie Lewis
  
  May 6, 2013
  
  Macronutrient wise, there's no problem with eggs at all. I fucking hate them and pretty much all sulfur rich foods.
4. Alkinoos Platonist
  
  March 28, 2015
  
  Jamie you stated that liver glucose will be depleted within 16 hours of your last carb-meal. Do you suggest to fast for these 16 hours or to have same fat-protein?
Vittorio

May 5, 2013

Any sources on the need of eat the whole day through? Where I live, meat is cheaper than any kind of protein powder and cooking & eating six times a day is a productivity hell.
1. Jamie Lewis
  
  May 6, 2013
  
  There's a bit of dispute on the subject. You can, however, get around your food prep issue with jerky- it needs no prep after the initial cooking, tastes awesome and is portable.
2. Vittorio
  
  May 8, 2013
  
  Is your email still chaos_and_pain at yahoo dot com? Shot you up a message.
Brad

May 5, 2013

Both of those citations with links to the articles are fucking fantastic. Thank you for the article and thank you for those links!
1. Jamie Lewis
  
  May 6, 2013
  
  No worries, brothaman.
Borohydride

May 5, 2013

Where did you find the bit about 2 grams per lb of bodyweight of protein fucking with female hormones?
1. Jamie Lewis
  
  May 6, 2013
  
  I picked that up from a female bodybuilder who spoke from experience. Chicks, hormones, and lifting is a subject most scientists seem to avoid like the plague.
Calacaverde

May 6, 2013

WHo's the woman with the rag on her head?
1. Jamie Lewis
  
  May 6, 2013
  
  No clue.
Robbie

May 6, 2013

Jamie,
What is your opinion on doing a ckd with just eggs as the primary protein source? I have been doing keto the past two years with cheap ass beef and I'm conteplating if 2lbs of corn fed beef a day is healthy or not……i realize it would take about 2 dozen eggs a day to replace the beef macros and am prepared to shit myself every now and then. Thanks
1. Jamie Lewis
  
  May 6, 2013
  
  It'll work fine with eggs, or should. I don't think it's possible to overdose on sulfur, except that everyone you know will fucking hate you because you'll smell like feet and ass all day long.
2. Robbie
  
  May 6, 2013
  
  I'm a fat Italian, so I smell like that anyways. Thanks for the reply.
Neil

May 6, 2013

This sounds funny, but what kinda protein you on dawg?
1. Jamie Lewis
  
  May 6, 2013
  
  I use CSN's 100% Pure Whey. We sell it at work for $76 for 10 lbs, so I just buy one of those every two weeks and keep it behind the counter. Tough to beat 7.60$ / lb on protein.
Neil

May 6, 2013

Thanks for the reply buddy. Awesome blog!
Jason M

May 6, 2013

I deal with cost and time by using a crockpot. I'll buy big cuts of beef brisket, chuck, pork butt, or anything that's cheap. When I get home, I'll divide them up into whatever servings I'll eat in a day and throw them in individual ziploc bags with spices/marinade and throw them all in the freezer. Every other morning (each one usually lasts me a couple days), I'll take a bag out of the fridge and put it in the crockpot frozen and come home from work to magically cooked damn good meat and nice smelling house.

PS: I'll go through 4-5 dozen eggs a week, scrambled, boiled, or raw, and I've never reeked of sulfur. Though I've been told my cum is far more unpalatable than others.
Dread

May 6, 2013

I've been on APD for fat fucks for a little over 2 months now. I'm 5'8" and 220,approximately 25 percent bodyfat. My goal is to drop weight and shred out before my first PL meet which I'm planning on going for at the end of the year. My question is should I still be gunning for 2g per pound, or should I reduce in order to cut weight? I train 6 days a week on one of your programs and don't fuck around with running at all. Thanks for posting the article, an engrossing read as always!
1. Dread
  
  May 7, 2013
  
  Also I wanted to see if you could clarify; do you mean 2g of protein per pound of total bodyweight, or total lean mass?
2. Jamie Lewis
  
  May 7, 2013
  
  total bodyweight. How's the diet worked for you thus far? From what I'm hearing in emails, the problem has lay with people not monitoring their carbs closely enough.
3. Dread
  
  May 8, 2013
  
  I'm not entirely sure because I haven't exactly measured bodyfat. I went from 195 bulked to 235 when the wifey got pregnant, completely stopped going to the gym and was working 70 hours a week (trying to keep this short and sweet). I ran SKD and dropped to 220, then switched to APD and have been pretty much maintaining weight. I do think muscle mass is increasing, which is causing the scale to not move. I've been as low as 217 and on Fridays which is my carb up, I've gotten to 224 but slowly but surely I do think the fat is coming off. I am going to have to figure a way to drop poundages because at my pathetic strength levels I won't survive in the 221 class! (Squat 335, Bench 205, Deadlift 365, Press 145, as of 2 weeks ago). Slow and steady I suppose is how it's going. I'm planning on buying your week of advice possibly in a few weeks, I'm just getting back to work after a layoff and need that money for steaks.
4. Dread
  
  May 8, 2013
  
  To answer the question it's going good, though. Really the only carbs I get is from Muscle Infusion, of which I take between 9 and 12 scoops daily. Keeps it under 30 all week. Today I stepped on the scale and it said 216.2, so something must be working, and calorie counting has to be bullshit since I ate double what a "10% deficit" should be.
Dominic

May 6, 2013

Jamie, can you post the link to the study where Amerman says the brain may use ketones more efficiently than glucose? I couldn't find it in the bibliography, and would really like to read more on the subject.

Thanks for a great post, by the way.
1. kdo si
  
  May 7, 2013
  
  I definitely want to read that one too. Because some say if you´re in longterm ketosis ketones get bonded in your nerve cell synapses, thus making you a bit dumber during that time.
2. Jamie Lewis
  
  May 7, 2013
  
  Here's one easy resource: http://www.sott.net/article/228186-Your-Brain-On-Ketones-How-a-High-fat-Diet-Can-Help-the-Brain-Work-Better
  
  I'll look for the Amerman study. I can't believe I didn't include it in the bibliography. My bad.
koios

May 7, 2013

Quick typo. You'r "Doctor named Banting" is incorrect. He was an English undertaker who was massively obese. He was, however, the success of a keto diet, which brought him into mainstream. I think the Doctor's name was Harvey.

Only reason I'm bringing it up is because there was a Doctor Banting (born in the late 19th) that developed insulin for diabetics. Kind of the exact opposite of lean fuckers that read this blog.
1. Jamie Lewis
  
  May 7, 2013
  
  Interesting. Good catch.
Bop123

May 7, 2013

Serious q: do you find that high protein / fat and low carb gives you the shits? I'm prolly not digesting it well, or does the body adapt to the food intake?
1. Jamie Lewis
  
  May 7, 2013
  
  It has at times, though it's not a regular occurrence in my life. If it were, I'd likely have died long before setting a world record.
2. Bop123
  
  May 8, 2013
  
  Ha fair enough. I have a suspicion it's caused more by the fats than it is the proteins. Will soldier on!
3. Ponderous Panda
  
  May 19, 2013
  
  Less fat more protein. Happened to me for a bit until I balanced it out. Everyone has different tolerances, you should use this info as a guideline, not a bible.
BodhiBuilder

May 8, 2013

Would you include two carb meals a week (every three days) if doing 12 hrs of incredibly physical labor a day, 5 days a week? I basically, lift, pull and drag objects from 11 lb to 1.5 tons constantly. I enter ketosis in less then one shift after eating a carb meal. I only know this by testing my piss with the strips throughout the day. I can easily go an entire shift without eating or feeling tired although I normally chew on about 14-15 liver tablets (ala vince) over the course of a shift
Adam

May 8, 2013

are you even in ketosis bro?

there were several studies concerning this and were pretty much debunked.

they put two twins identical in sealed monitored chambers, 1 on keto diet and the other with carbs. after 2 weeks calories burned difference was (1)

They did another study on fat and appetite. where several hundred people were given food one group with higher fat contents than the other and compared. the group who had more fat, subsequently continued to eat more, thus eating more calories and getting fatter. fat played no role in shutting down hunger response but actually increased consumption rate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laMuyJhMcE0
BBC The Atkins Diet
1. Adam
  
  May 8, 2013
  
  @29:00
  and
  @37:30
2. Adam
  
  May 8, 2013
  
  concluding statement 45:38
Trey Bert

May 9, 2013

Would the diet you're proposing be adequate for a hard gainer?
1. Unknown
  
  May 9, 2013
  
  Only if you're an animorph.
2. Matthew Haretakis
  
  May 9, 2013
  
  Id like to know if this would work for bulking, as well…
Glen MacCharles

May 14, 2013

Vince Gironda was a goof.
sockrocker

May 14, 2013

Now that ketones are being recognized as perfectly acceptable brain fuel, do we have also a good opinion of their efficacy as muscle fuel? Back when I was still in school, my nutrition prof railed against them as an inadequate muscle fuel for athletes, but he also railed against them as an inadequate fuel for the brain. Science?
Alvar Karlsson

May 29, 2013

What about those that report reduced thyroid on low carb?
Brandon Trahan

August 1, 2013

Hey man. I noticed you were wearing an I declare war shirt. Awesome. I play drums for impending doom and I LOVE your articles.
Παναγιώτης Γουλέτας

January 15, 2014

Great article man! Thanks for all the tips. Just a quick question. Can I combine creatine and mct oil/coconut oil, as a pre-workout, if I don't want to use carbs with creatine?
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