The lowdown on low carb diets

Low carb diets are incredibly effective. Get the book "Ketogenic Diet" by Lyle Mcdonald. He was one of the first to target the diet for bodybuilding useage. The diet is protein sparring. Any weight you lose will be from adipose tissue and water. You will not lose any protenacious (muscle) tissue from the diet. Strength may go down if you only do a SKD (Standard Ketogenic Diet), which is what the atkins diet is pretty much, but for us bodybuilders there are other options. You can do a TKD (Targeted Ketogenic Diet) or CKD (Cyclic Ketogenic Diet). Both of these diets allow you to incorporate a decent amount of carbs either right before your workout or on the weekends so that you keep your muscle glycogen at a decent level. That will allow you to maintain your current excersise level. If you deplete your muscle glycogen by going on a SKD you will notice a loss in strength due to the loss of muscle glycogen. The diet is also good for your cholesterol levels beleive it or not. No matter what peoples opinions are on this, the diet has been proven to actually lower your cholesterol levels. That fact combined with fast permanent loss of adipose tissue and no loss of muscle make this diet the perfect choice for a bodybuilder. Another nice factor is that you do not need to control the amount of food you eat, as long as you intake more fat then protein and under 30-40 grams of carbs a day (I usually stay under 20). If you do that you can eat all day long and still lose weight. About a year ago I was pretty out of shape (had an extended period of time away from the gym and my diet went to shit) and I lost 40-50 lbs in under 3 months time! So I would say it works, and it works well. If you decide to give it a try, look into that book I mentioned above and also do a search here to see if anyone has outlined the diet in more detail.

Goanna did you ever get hypoglycemic on the diet? have you almost had the feeling of passing out or fainting?

no, I did not. I even did what your not supposed to do, which is eat a lot of carbs with no intention of working out. I did that when I went on vacation with the intent of staying on the diet and then decided the hell with it, I am on vacation, lol. Well, I did it and had no ill effects at all.

i read somethin by jay cutler saying that he adjust his carbs. his low carb days are his days off and when he lefts he usually ups his carbs 100grams or so

CKD works GREAT for me when i need to cut some fat... i actually put on significant amount of muscle mass WHILE losing fat on the CKD + a cycle. i'm an endomorph though so that probably has something to do with the muscle gain... i imagine it wouldnt' work quite the same for an ecto

if i go below 50 a day i get dizzy and faint on or off!!

Originally posted by triplej if i go below 50 a day i get dizzy and faint on or off!! Some people just cant handle it. My cousin got the same way. For the people that can handle it though it works great, and for those who may have a rough time starting but will their way through, they often adjust rather quickly, as ketone bodies are a more efficient source of fuel for the brain then carbohydrates.

once i get into the diet its really easy. last time i did it i got to the point where things like cookies or donuts or anything like that just makes me sick to smell it... it made a HUGE difference on my insulin resistance. the last few weeks i was on it, if i remember eating a circus peanut 😀 and i could feel my insulin shoot up and then i felt like i was going mildly hypo. after the first few weeks my view of food changed completely. i had no cravings, i just ate what was allowed and BAM fat was melting off yet i was still putting on muscle (albeit slowly) those first few weeks are a BITCH in the weight room until your body adjusts. then i felt great all the time

Originally posted by Goanna Low carb diets are incredibly effective. Get the book "Ketogenic Diet" by Lyle Mcdonald. He was one of the first to target the diet for bodybuilding useage. The diet is protein sparring. Any weight you lose will be from adipose tissue and water. You will not lose any protenacious (muscle) tissue from the diet. I've read the book, done the diet, and studied biology/chemistry.....no carb, or ketogenic diets are not protein sparring unless your body adapts and your brain starts taking in ketones as fuel rather than glucose. Lyle Mcdonald says on a regular ketogenic diet, this takes 3 weeks to adapt to, scientists are not sure if adaptation even occurs at all in CKD or TKD diets. The first 3 weeks your body is breaking down protein into glucogenic amino acids which are transformed ultimately into glucose to feed the brain. Ingested proteins are broken down and not resynthesized into muscle protein. Your brain/nervous systems needs 400-500kcal from glucose to function properly so assuming 4kcal/gram you need 100-125grams carbohydrates to function normally. Thats my diet as of late, I'm sparing proteins while minimizing blood sugar levels and insulin levels. All carbs come from vegatables, fibours grains, and other low GI carbs. Post workout is usually grapes or a couple slices of white bread.

"NO carbs" probably won't work "Low carbs" probably will work much better. like anything, when taking something to the extreme you usually don't get what you expected, espcially with diets

I find TKD much easier then CKD, and lose a ton of fat this passed summer on TKD> It was tough, I ate so much fucking tuna and bacon and cheeze and chicken and...you know, keto foods, and even going off the diet I find I still eat low carb. Keeps fat off nicely.

Originally posted by Maximus5824 I've read the book, done the diet, and studied biology/chemistry.....no carb, or ketogenic diets are not protein sparring unless your body adapts and your brain starts taking in ketones as fuel rather than glucose. Lyle Mcdonald says on a regular ketogenic diet, this takes 3 weeks to adapt to, scientists are not sure if adaptation even occurs at all in CKD or TKD diets. The first 3 weeks your body is breaking down protein into glucogenic amino acids which are transformed ultimately into glucose to feed the brain. Ingested proteins are broken down and not resynthesized into muscle protein. Your brain/nervous systems needs 400-500kcal from glucose to function properly so assuming 4kcal/gram you need 100-125grams carbohydrates to function normally. Thats my diet as of late, I'm sparing proteins while minimizing blood sugar levels and insulin levels. All carbs come from vegatables, fibours grains, and other low GI carbs. Post workout is usually grapes or a couple slices of white bread. same here bro....once i gobelow 100 grams..i start to feel tired and cant concentrate as well...so im doing a modified keto diet...115 grams carbs...325 protein...80 grams fat...and this seems to work VERY well..loosing fat slowly while off roids...and maintaining muscle. have most of my carbs in the morning, right before working out and right after...and rest of the day little to no carbs

Originally posted by Goanna Some people just cant handle it. My cousin got the same way. For the people that can handle it though it works great, and for those who may have a rough time starting but will their way through, they often adjust rather quickly, as ketone bodies are a more efficient source of fuel for the brain then carbohydrates. I get results but I wanna fucking kill anything and everyone. I'm so fucking irritable and anxious that I can't even stand myself. Then I can't concentrate and strt feeling like I have alzhiemers disease. This pisses me off. I either have to go all out with total keto or say fuck it. Any carbs shoots my insulin up and drives BG so low that I feel like I'm dying(just as you guys describe slin OD). I did a the 5 day keto 2 day carbs and it just was a mother fucker to leave the carbs alone +insomnia out the ass. The cure- 100gr/carbs=fast asleep. I've found for myself that keeping the carbs away from the fats formula works without the destruction of relationships and toys!=pissed:

there's a difference between ketogenic and a lowered carb diet...I function well in the 100-150 range and still manage to gain muscle whilst dieting, so it depends on individuals... For me, I just started cutting out all my simple sugars and starches and concentrated on low-GI foods like yams, veggies, oats...