Please critique this diet

[Praetorian]

After 25 years of training, over ten years working with some of the most knowledgeable people in regards to athletic nutrition and performance, and literally hundreds of clients I have a what I think is a decent base of knowledge and experience.

That being said there are things you should and shouldnt do on keto...based on the energy source required for these activities.

1. training should be lower volume higher intensity (energy is limited so keeping training shorter is better and prevents excessive cortisol production, at the same time maximizing natural hormones)
2. low intensity cardio should be done (HIIT cardio is not good while on keto because it introduces O2 debt which changes the energy source from ketone bodies to glucose...where is glucose coming from while on keto? muscle tissue)
3. diet is started with lower direct carbs... relatively low...ie 100g daily and removed when fat loss stalls
4. cardio is introduced when fat loss stalls from diet...and introduced slowly...ie 20min EOD to start and increased when fat loss stalls...ie 10min daily
5. protein is never touched while dieting and is kept relatively high
6. fat is not touched until fat loss from cardio has stalled
7. training one major body part per day is ideal...keeps training short...see above also 5 days per week increases total activity which increases fat loss
8. how you train off season should be the basis of your pre contest training...just limit training to failure...no super sets, forced reps etc
9. rep ranges that build muscle also maintain muscle...which has been documented by many in the know...3-10 reps build strength and muscle...more then that with the exception of legs are out of the muscle building/maintaining range...now or then a high rep set is fine...ie high rep squats etc...but are not the basis of strength nor hypertrophy
10. over training is a result of CNS fatigue not muscular fatigue...so dropping volume and increasing intensity will lead to further CNS fatigue
11. pre-contest dieting is stressfull there is no question...so getting plenty of rest is necessary...7-8 hrs sleep per night, avoid stimulants (cortisol)
12. a refeed meal is necessary for thyroid function and helps with sanity
13. going by a schedule makes everything work optimally...ie getting up the same time each day, eating meals the same time, spacing meals equally, training the same time, cardio the same time, getting to bed the same time...the body loves a schedule
14. you will not lose muscle on a BB keto diet....that is if you follow the rules
15. you can go up to 6 six days without fats if absolutely necessary...most clients with stubborn fat level really only need 3-4 days (and you wont lose muscle)
16. your blood markers will improve on keto...as well as your insulin sensitivity
17. keto work for natural or enhanced BB...much better on natural BB when compared to carb cycling because of how it affects hormone levels
18 sodium is increased on keto...more water is flushed hence losses in sodium
19 fibre is essential in keto for regularity and health
20. trace carbs are necessary on keto (50g max) for training

I am sure there are more but you get the idea.

P

[TT Eric]

No gear, all natural here. This is might explain why I lost muscle on diet ? or maybe because it was not keto but on a moderate carbs diet, no fats and about 200g of protein per day ?

Protein intake now is ok, I go for about 240g a day. Good fats, fish oil, fat from meat, eggs and olive oil.

Eric

[Praetorian]

I wouldn't worry about muscle loss... if your protein intake is high enough and of course getting your good fats in and running gear (not sure if your natural or not), the whole overtraining thing i think is bullshit. Prepping for nationals I averaged 2-3 hours a day, sometimes going 10-15 days straight training doing giant sets and up to 3 hours of cardio per day everyday, sleeping less than 4 hours a night, working (as a personal trainer conveniently enough) 14-16 hours 6x per week AND eating roughly 1000 calories in the final weeks and I have never been so ripped and full in my life. Basically if you have all your ducks in a row, keep training as intensly as possible on your working sets. If you feel an injury coming on, maybe its time to pick a different variation of the exercises your doing, sometimes thats all it takes to get things going again. I know I get bored with my routines very often and like to change them up and even make new exercises. I don't think theres a whole lot you can do wrong. In my experience, the body can take a shit load of a beating on very minimal fuel and you will be ripped to shit. keep atter dude, take the extra time between sets if you need it. unless you're doing timed sets dont worry. I use the rule of thumb for breaks: whenever my breathing comes back to normal i start my next set. (taken from Craig Bonnett)

Micro periodization works much better than macro periodization...this has been proven by Louie Simmons and the results achieved by those athletes who use this system. The idea being instead of doing different phases for weeks at a time...reduce the time to days...this eliminates the stress on joints, the CNS, chronic injuries, hormone suppression etc. It also allows you to build more muscle because you are spending more time in the hypertrophy range or functional hypertrophy range,eliminating injury time off, and allowing for a more intense workout due to a fully charged CNS.
P

[Praetorian]

No gear, all natural here. This is might explain why I lost muscle on diet ? or maybe because it was not keto but on a moderate carbs diet, no fats and about 200g of protein per day ?

Protein intake now is ok, I go for about 240g a day. Good fats, fish oil, fat from meat, eggs and olive oil.

Eric

NEGATIVE...see rule number 17...keto works fantastic for natural athletes...much better than carb diets. I work with many natural athletes who have done up to 3 hours cardio per day and have gone 4-5 days without fats and have never lost an ounce of muscle.
P

[Praetorian]

No gear, all natural here. This is might explain why I lost muscle on diet ? or maybe because it was not keto but on a moderate carbs diet, no fats and about 200g of protein per day ?

Protein intake now is ok, I go for about 240g a day. Good fats, fish oil, fat from meat, eggs and olive oil.

Eric

50g protein per meal...6 meals per day while dieting should be ideal for you...240g is on the low side.
P

[TT Eric]

After 25 years of training, over ten years working with some of the most knowledgeable people in regards to athletic nutrition and performance, and literally hundreds of clients I have a what I think is a decent base of knowledge and experience.

That being said there are things you should and shouldnt do on keto...based on the energy source required for these activities.

1. training should be lower volume higher intensity (energy is limited so keeping training shorter is better and prevents excessive cortisol production, at the same time maximizing natural hormones)
2. low intensity cardio should be done (HIIT cardio is not good while on keto because it introduces O2 debt which changes the energy source from ketone bodies to glucose...where is glucose coming from while on keto? muscle tissue)
3. diet is started with lower direct carbs... relatively low...ie 100g daily and removed when fat loss stalls
4. cardio is introduced when fat loss stalls from diet...and introduced slowly...ie 20min EOD to start and increased when fat loss stalls...ie 10min daily
5. protein is never touched while dieting and is kept relatively high
6. fat is not touched until fat loss from cardio has stalled
7. training one major body part per day is ideal...keeps training short...see above also 5 days per week increases total activity which increases fat loss
8. how you train off season should be the basis of your pre contest training...just limit training to failure...no super sets, forced reps etc
9. rep ranges that build muscle also maintain muscle...which has been documented by many in the know...3-10 reps build strength and muscle...more then that with the exception of legs are out of the muscle building/maintaining range...now or then a high rep set is fine...ie high rep squats etc...but are not the basis of strength nor hypertrophy
10. over training is a result of CNS fatigue not muscular fatigue...so dropping volume and increasing intensity will lead to further CNS fatigue
11. pre-contest dieting is stressfull there is no question...so getting plenty of rest is necessary...7-8 hrs sleep per night, avoid stimulants (cortisol)
12. a refeed meal is necessary for thyroid function and helps with sanity
13. going by a schedule makes everything work optimally...ie getting up the same time each day, eating meals the same time, spacing meals equally, training the same time, cardio the same time, getting to bed the same time...the body loves a schedule
14. you will not lose muscle on a BB keto diet....that is if you follow the rules
15. you can go up to 6 six days without fats if absolutely necessary...most clients with stubborn fat level really only need 3-4 days (and you wont lose muscle)
16. your blood markers will improve on keto...as well as your insulin sensitivity
17. keto work for natural or enhanced BB...much better on natural BB when compared to carb cycling because of how it affects hormone levels
18 sodium is increased on keto...more water is flushed hence losses in sodium
19 fibre is essential in keto for regularity and health
20. trace carbs are necessary on keto (50g max) for training

I am sure there are more but you get the idea.

P

Awesome Prae that will help me!!

Things I will gladly change and do :

1. Will ontinue lower volume, higher intensity (as I already do, it's not natural to me to leave a rep on the table).
2. Will continue low intensity cardio and stop HIIT (glad I did it only once) I could add steady ride of bike (outside) to the actual long walk I take. Should it be done while fasting first thing in the morning ? What should be the aimed heart beat ?
3. Yes I was low carbs before keto, from 225 for 100-175 for a month before keto
4. Will do
5. 240g daily is ok ? (I'm 182lbs now)
6. Ok I've already reduced it, so I'll keep this still and add more cardio instead of lowering it again
7. That is awesome, I trained like this for a while, one body part per day (6 days a week) Markus Ruhl style/beat the crap out of it once a week. That will suit me very well.
8. Will do
9. Perfect will do, it look like I'm a fast twitch type, so it will suit me good as well
10. Ok, I have to ingest that.
11. Already do
12. Already do
13. I can improve here, will do
14. I hope, this is a concern
15. Ok, I thought I could reduce instead of eliminating. I'll try that when cardio is not producing the results wanted
16. I hope so
17. Nice
18. Already taking more
19. I agree
20. My carbs come from those in eggs, milled flax, vegetables (celeri, onion, broccoli, spinach, salad, red/orange peppers, cucumber, green beens...)

Thanks

Eric

[TT Eric]

50g protein per meal...6 meals per day while dieting should be ideal for you...240g is on the low side.
P

Ok I can do that, but I will need to reduce fat intake a bit. When I go too high in protein, it seems I go fatter. I'm a light eater, maintenance for me is about 2300cal. Even sometime I need to force-feed the 6th meal. If I aim for 1800cal, I would need to go for :

300g of protein, 1200 cal
50g of carbs, 200 cal (not counting fibers)
45g of fat, 405 cal (7-8g per meals)

I may need to take some dessicated liver pills or BCAA/glutamine on certain meals to reach 50g of protein.

I take 2 whey shake per day, when I do, I count each gram of Glutamine, BCAA and Glycine as protein, then I complete with whey.

Is all that sound right ?

Thanks

Eric

[Praetorian]

50g protein
15-25g fat
trace carbs only

Here is a sample keto from DP.
P


MEAL #1
4 whole eggs (omega 3) add another 6 egg whites to this

MEAL #2
SHAKE: 50g Whey Protein with 1.5 tablespoon of All Natural Peanut butter (no sugar) + fiber

MEAL #3
"Lean Protein Meal": 7oz chicken with 1/3-cup cashew nuts (almonds, or walnuts)

MEAL #4
SHAKE: 50g Whey Protein with 1.5 tablespoons of All Natural Peanut butter (no sugar added) + fiber

MEAL #5
"Fatty Protein Meal": 7oz Salmon, Swordfish, or RED MEAT with a green salad (no tomatoes, carrots, or red peppers) with 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil or Macadamia nut oil and vinegar

MEAL #6
SHAKE: 50g Whey with 1.5 tablespoon all natural peanut butter + fiber

P

[#8]

^^ im gonna try something closer to this starting soon. the problem is eating that lean chicken without anything else. chicken is so dry and hard to chew, i honestly hate eating it, its brutal. What can I eat with the chicken as far as sauce or something goes to make it less painful?

[TT Eric]

50g protein
15-25g fat
trace carbs only

Here is a sample keto from DP.
P


MEAL #1
4 whole eggs (omega 3) add another 6 egg whites to this

MEAL #2
SHAKE: 50g Whey Protein with 1.5 tablespoon of All Natural Peanut butter (no sugar) + fiber

MEAL #3
"Lean Protein Meal": 7oz chicken with 1/3-cup cashew nuts (almonds, or walnuts)

MEAL #4
SHAKE: 50g Whey Protein with 1.5 tablespoons of All Natural Peanut butter (no sugar added) + fiber

MEAL #5
"Fatty Protein Meal": 7oz Salmon, Swordfish, or RED MEAT with a green salad (no tomatoes, carrots, or red peppers) with 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil or Macadamia nut oil and vinegar

MEAL #6
SHAKE: 50g Whey with 1.5 tablespoon all natural peanut butter + fiber

P

Thanks, but there is 2 problems here for me, the calories here are over what I need for maintenance!

And I'm allergic to all kind of nuts, so I take vegetables and more meat or protein supplements.

And why is that red peppers are out ? They are only 6% carbs, so a 50g portion is 3g of carbs (with .7g of it is fibers) I use to eat them raw.

Also 3 shakes I'm surprised, I thought real fool was the deal, so I was taking only 2.

@ #8, you can try to ground chicken, much more easier to eat and it's more acceptable with mustard too (weird I know lol).

Eric