Cyclical Keto Diet - Trials and Tribulations
August 9, 2007Cyclical Keto Diets - Trials and Tribulations
The purpose of this post is to communicate the difficulties I experienced while on a three month Cyclical Keto Diet.
This post is a follow-up to my first bodyblog post, located here: http://blog.bodybuilding.com/Cram/2007/08/07/cyclical-keto-diet-experiences/
To briefly summarize the first bodyblog post, I completed, successfully, a three month Cyclical Keto Diet (CKD).
I maintained my weight, starting and ending at 170lbs, replacing 10% of my bodyfat (started at 20, ended at 10%) with muscle. It was a painful and rewarding experience. I have received some great feedback and questions regarding this diet. I wish to use this post to demonstrate some of the challenges you may face on this diet if you decide to do one.
Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only. I am not telling you to either begin or not begin a CKD, or any other Keto diet. It is up to you to do the necessary research to determine if this diet is right for you. Knowledge is power, so read and empower yourself.
The Challenges:
1) Getting into Ketosis:
After a carb-up period, it took anywhere from 24-36 hours for me to re-enter ketosis. I would try to accelerate this by lifting extremely heavy the day after carb up, and doing two 30-minute med-high intensity cardio sessions of the treadmill (essentially starting the workout with cardio, lifting heavy, and doing another cardio session to finish the workout off). For the remainder of the week, I would only do one cardio session a day.
Cheating. You cheat, you will knock yourself out of Ketosis. I cheated more then once. This is not the end of the world, but you are essentially delaying your diet by a day (or more), depending on your metabolism. If you cheat, it is your duty to go extra hard the next day as punishment for cheating. Cheating will happen to you, at least once.
When you’re beginning this diet, entering Ketosis may take days depending on your diet, exercise and beginning metabolism. It gets easier to re-enter Ketosis as your body adapts, switching from glucose/carbs as its primary fuel source to Ketones.
2) Carb Withdrawl:
I do not smoke, or do anything else that is negatively addictive. I can only imagine that carb withdrawal is similar to someone trying to quit cigarettes, perhaps not as extreme but it can get pretty bad until you find ways around it that work for you and your CKD. About 5 weeks into the diet, Wednesday would roll around (I did carb up Friday post-depletion workout and Saturday) and carb withdrawal would hit. I would stare at the phone for hours sometimes resisting the urge to call the local pizza place (that happens to serve my favorite pizza, as well as favorite food in general). I did break down once or twice. You will face carb withdrawal, and that’s where you will be put to the test.
One particular item I discovered that help slightly minimize the carb cravings, for reasons beyond me, was Coke Zero. I started drinking a couple cans a day around Week 6ish. I was already taking caffiene as a supplement, so I do not think it was the caffiene property that reduced the urge. I believe it was more mental, that I was enjoying a product that tasted very similar to regular coke. I believe I was tricking my brain into thinking it was getting something it wanted. You too may find other products that reduce these cravings, without actually containing carbs of any sort.
3) The Diet:
We all have busy lives. This diet requires some pretty demanding things. Working out hard, and eating frequently. I recommended in my previous post to do your research before going on this diet. This includes planning your diet out, perhaps up to a month in advance of starting the CKD. Devise a schedule. Try to follow it. I was luckier then perhaps you may be. I only worked part-time, and had loads of time to spend at the gym with no other responsibilities for the three months I was on CKD. You will learn time management on this diet. You can meet this challenge, but you must plan for it. Planning is key.
4) Motivation Factor:
You’re putting yourself through a lot. You want to see results. Well you won’t see much looking in the mirror after every single workout. You won’t see much weighting yourself on the scale after every single workout. You won’t see much after measuring your waist after every single workout. Motivation is what kills most people at the gym, whether they are on a diet or not. I highly recommend you stay away from scales and measuring tapes, though not completely. Keep a daily journal of your activities at the gym and your diet. Right down what you think is going well, what you think you need to improve on etc. Once every week, measure yourself. Maybe once every two weeks. Write down the results in your journal. You can look at your journal, and actually see results through a weekly basis, versus seeing pretty much nothing on a daily basis. You are achieving results, the point is you are not going to physically see them each and every day. Also, make sure you get a bodyfat test from a personal trainer or doctor before going on this diet, so you can compare after you are done the diet and get another test done. The ultimate motivation spark comes after the diet, when you see you’ve accomplished something amazing, and you want to continue working out hard to improve yourself.
5) The Dark Reputation of Keto Diets:
I do want to say that Keto is not for everybody. I also do not believe it is a wise choice for a permanent diet change; I, myself, would not stay on a Keto for more than six months. I do not base that on any scientific merit, but rather personal opinion based on my own experience and the experiences of others I’ve read about that have done CKD.
There is a lot of negativity at bodybuilding.com forums about Keto. It is up to you to research both the potential benefits and potential negative merits of Keto Diets. Again, knowledge is power, so empower yourself. Read up.
I hope this post gives you some idea of the basic challenges one may face going on a CKD.
I’ll end this post saying that any goal is reachable, it comes down to how much you really want it. Good luck to you.
cram
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