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KETO 101

Feeling Tired On Keto? [The REAL Reasons Why]

You might have seen success stories or heard from a friend how amazing they feel on a ketogenic diet. And they weren’t lying. However, there's a point where many are simply feeling tired and exhausted following the keto diet, so what gives?

People find themselves tired and exhausted on a keto diet due to a few reasons. The main reasons people experience low energy on keto are a lack of electrolytes (mainly sodium), which leads to the keto flu, eating too few calories, and not being adapted to using fat for fuel yet.

One of the reasons I love a ketogenic lifestyle is that I feel great.

  • Steady energy
  • Clear focus
  • No dips or crashes
  • Appetite suppression

So now you’re wondering why YOU are tired and exhausted on the keto diet, and it usually boils down to a few key reasons I will be outlining below and tips to resolve it.

Why am i tired on keto diet pinterest cover

Why You're So Tired, Hungry, And Exhausted On Keto, But First…

Look, I get it… you’re tired and hungry.

While you should expect at least some tiredness or hunger during a fat loss diet, you shouldn’t have to slog throughout the day or daydream about food every waking second.

Unless you’ve dieted down to ultra-low levels of body fat like a bodybuilder that is.

The truth is, if you give it enough time and fix what I’ll cover below you should feel satiated and have plenty of energy.

Burning fat for fuel

Your body can only store upwards of about 2,000 calories of carbohydrates. Compare THAT to even a lean individual who carries at least 30,000 calories of fat available for energy.

Compared to a carbohydrate-based diet, you are teaching your body to use this fat (both from your food AND your love handles) for fuel while on keto or low carb.

Steady energy levels

You should have steady energy levels on a keto diet because there are no sugar spikes and dips on a ketogenic diet compared to your Standard American Diet (SAD).

If your body needs fuel on , it can easily convert stored body fat (the fat on your body) into ketones and provide that energy.

Compare that to a carb diet… once you’re out of energy, you will have to eat some more carbs to bring yourself back to life.

Talk about being hangry.

Increased Satiety

Keto is appetite suppressing by nature.

A diet high in healthy fats helps delay gastric emptying (basically helps slow digestion of food).

This slowing helps you stay full longer.

Ketones themselves might also promote feelings of satiety, but through what mechanism exactly is still unknown.

Why You're So Tired On A Keto Diet

So let’s get down to it.

Why aren’t you experiencing all this energy you’re supposed to have?

Keto flu

The dreaded “keto flu” is just how it sounds.

You literally feel like you’ve come down with the flu and have no idea what’s going on. Almost everyone suffers a little bit from the keto flu, so you're not alone.

… even during the blazing summer months.

Why am i tired on keto diet keto flu

When does keto flu start?

You may notice flu like symptoms within 2-3 days after starting a ketogenic diet.

Keto flu symptoms

Keto flu symptoms include:

  • Fatigue
  • Irritability
  • Headache
  • Nausea
  • Dizziness
  • Brain fog

How long does keto flu last?

The symptoms of keto flu last anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks, but we can generally avoid or shorten that with the tips below.

Keto flu quick tips

A few tips to help minimize or erase the keto flu symptoms you may be experiencing.

Salt everything

Liberally salt ALL of your foods. Salt isn’t the devil here, and may even be more important to be mindful of while on keto. Many of the keto flu symptoms result from an electrolyte imbalance caused by the diuretic nature of a ketogenic diet, this includes sodium, magnesium, and potassium.

If you've noticed that you had to urinate more frequently lately, that's why. The same applies to anyone who's greatly reduced their carb intake.

A good read on salt is the book The Salt Fix.

Salts I recommend using due to increased mineral content (and they taste better), but really any salt will do:

  • Check prices and reviews of Redmond Real Salt
  • Check prices and reviews of Celtic Sea Salt

Keep your fats and calories high

When switching to a ketogenic diet, people naturally start to eat even less (which is a good thing).

The problem here is that dieting is a stress that your body doesn’t want. Compound this with making your body switch from burning carbs to burning fat for fuel, and that can be a recipe for disaster.

Keep your calories up, at least in the beginning (1-3 weeks), before dropping them back down for further fat loss.

Keto diet is too low in calories

To expand on the above point, your rate of weight loss is too high.

This is the part where you need to exercise patience and not fall for what you’re seeing on social media or expecting results like Bobby or Sally.

You do you.

I always recommend a weight loss of 0.5% – 1.5% per week. The more fat you have to lose the higher you can generally go, but when you’re down to the last few pounds, you should expect to lose slower as to minimize any muscle loss.

For a 200 pound individual aiming for 1% of weight loss per week, that would translate to a 2 pounds per week weight loss MAX.

Sometimes you didn't even mean to eat so little; the keto diet or a low carb diet can often significantly reduce or eliminate hunger for people, one of the many welcomed side effects.

Why am i so tired on keto diet keto weight loss rate

Keto-adaptation period

Regardless of what you do, the body AND the brain have to go through an adaptation period.

This period is usually referred to as keto-adaptation or fat-adaptation.

Again, this period will last between 1 to 3 weeks for most individuals regardless of whatever preventive measures you may take.

However, some people may feel fine, and some may feel low in energy during this time. The best thing you can do is follow the above tips and remain patient.

5 More Tips If You're Still Fatigued On Keto

If you've addressed the above issues and still experiencing fatigue on the keto diet, here are a few more tips to help boost your energy.

Eat More Frequently

If your body is processing higher fat macros just fine, then another reason to eat more frequently is for the sake of digestion. Some people find that larger meals don't sit well and are hard for the body to process.

Smaller, more frequent meals may be easier for you to digest. This will have you feel less sluggish and a lot lighter than larger, but less frequent, meals (much like those who practice intermittent fasting).

Also, if you're someone who generally suffers from heartburn or acid reflux, you may benefit from a supplement like Betaine HCL. You may lack enough acid in your stomach to help break down the food, and betaine can help.

  • Purchase Betaine HCL Here.

I would aim for between 3 to 4 meals per day or 3 meals and 1-2 snacks per day.

Clean Up Your Diet

There's a large number of people who subscribe to the “dirty keto” methodology. This can still work from a fat loss perspective, but it misses another big part of the overall picture, health.

Just because you're hitting your macros and losing weight eating pork rinds, bacon, sausages, and an avocado or two doesn't mean it's sustainable. It would be best to still be mindful of getting in an adequate amount of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) through whole “clean” foods.

What are “clean” foods? Probably exactly what you would imagine they were, for example—meats, nuts, seeds, vegetables, and a few berries here and there.

Get Some Movement

It may sound counterproductive (move to get more energy), but I assure you it works. There's a reason you feel great after going outside for a walk or getting in a good workout despite having expended additional energy to do so.

Research suggests that regular exercise increased feelings of energy while reducing feelings of fatigue compared with control conditions. 1https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17073524/ The effect of exercise on fatigue was so significant that it outperformed the use of stimulant medications.

Next time you're feeling tired or drowsy, maybe a walk would be better than a nap for boosting your energy.

A worthy goal to strive for is between 8,000 and 10,000 steps per day.

Get Some Rest

Sorry for being Captain Obvious here; many individuals underestimate the real power of sleep. Aside from living like a zombie the next day from a lack of sleep, not getting sufficient rest can also sabotage your weight loss efforts.

Lack of sleep makes both physical exercise and mindful eating less effective. Talk about the two most important factors for shedding those pounds.

Not only does the hormones for stimulating appetite increase from lack of sleep, but research has shown this increased appetite is mainly for what most would call “junk food.”

And to make it even worse, in one study where participants were limited to 5.5 hours of sleep per night, nearly 70 percent of the weight lost came from lean mass/muscle. 2https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2951287/ Meaning, you'll end up as a smaller but just as fat version of yourself, only now with a slower metabolism that makes weight loss harder and weight re-gain much easier.

7-8 hours of quality sleep is best. While not always possible to get this much sleep due to life obligations, you should make it a priority.

Keto and adrenal fatigue

First off, there really is no such thing as “adrenal fatigue.”

It merely is not a real medical condition.

Those who feel they suffer from this condition report one or more of the following:

  • Persistent fatigue
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Difficulty concentrating and remembering
  • Insomnia or disturbed sleep

If you’re experiencing any of the following, I find it usually is a result of high stress, excessive exercise, lack of sleep or food, possibly a combination of two or all the above.

The chances keto has anything to do with these symptoms isn’t likely.

Of course, you can also be experiencing the keto flu, and increasing your water and electrolyte intake will help with that.

How much water should I be drinking on keto?

Are you feeling nauseous while on Keto?

Maybe you’re not tired, but you feel a little “off,” possibly a bit nauseous?

This usually is the case for individuals who have a hard time digesting the increased fat from a ketogenic diet.

The body isn’t used to processing high fat

Our gallbladders are responsible for storing and concentrating bile from the liver. This bile is what helps our bodies digest and absorb fats from the food.

For more info about the gallbladder give this a read.

If you’re experiencing problems with digestion, I would recommend one of the following.

Smaller but more frequent meals

A lot of people are on the intermittent fasting and keto bandwagon or even limiting themselves to one meal a day (OMAD)

Instead, try eating smaller but more frequent meals.

This will allow your body sufficient time to process the smaller bolus of fat before you hit it with another one.

Bile salts

You can also try supplementing with these salts which are digestive enzymes that help with fat digestion.

Here is a couple I recommend:

  1. Check prices and reviews of Pure Encapsulations Enzyme formula
  2. Check prices and reviews of Enzymedica Lypo Gold
Eat less fat

Ok, I said 2…

But the truth is, you don’t NEED to eat tons of fat to be in ketosis.

You might be thinking that you need X percent of fat, but the truth is the only requirement to be in a state of ketosis Is not going over your carbohydrate threshold a.k.a staying extremely low carb.

Other Supplements That May Help Relieve Lethargy And Tiredness On Keto While Adapting

If you're experiencing tiredness and lethargy when switching to a ketogenic diet, going low carb, or after a “cheat” day, this may be one of the only times I would recommend either a keto salt or a keto ester product.

You're essentially providing your body with exogenous ketones to provide energy while your body adapts.

The benefit of salts over esters is that they generally taste better and are much cheaper. However, ketone esters raise ketones in the blood much quicker and are bio-identical to the ketones we naturally produce.

  • Perfect Keto BHB Salts (Check Latest Price)

Additionally, if it's electrolytes you're lacking, an excellent electrolyte supplement high in both sodium and potassium can do wonders for your energy levels.

I would say over half of the people who can't seem to find the energy on a keto diet have an electrolyte imbalance and slightly dehydrated.

  • Perfect Keto Electrolytes Capsules (Check Latest Price)

Wrapping up what to do if you’re in ketosis but have no energy.

One of the benefits of ketosis is high and steady energy.

However, there may be reasons why you haven’t experienced this benefit just yet.

So if you've been in ketosis but have no energy or find yourself sleep on keto:

First, resolve any electrolyte deficiencies that may lead to the keto flu.

Secondly, maintain a reasonable level of weight reduction per week of about 0.5 – 1.5% (with 1.5% reserved for those who are really overweight).

Third, exercise patience and allow for keto-adaptation before you throw in the towel. This usually takes upwards of 3 to 4 weeks.

Lastly, look at how your stress, sleep, and other lifestyle factors are before assuming it’s your diet.

If none of the above helps, a useful experiment may be to increase carb intake a little per day and see if fatigue gets better.

How To Use A Targeted Ketogenic Diet To Get FIT

One question I’m often asked on different forums and social media platforms is how to best use a ketogenic diet for performance and to build muscle.

While you can build muscle and perform well on a standard ketogenic diet, most bodybuilders and athletes I know who live a keto lifestyle implement a targeted ketogenic diet (TKD) or a cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD).

I’ve used variations of both over the last 15+ years, so here is how I can best explain what and how you can implement a targeted keto diet to maintain high-intensities in the gym or your sport.

What is a targeted ketogenic diet?

Simply put, a Targeted Ketogenic Diet (TKD) is nothing more than the standard ketogenic diet (SKD) with carbs around your workout.

TARGETED KETOGENIC DIET PINTEREST COVER

A quick reference:

  • SKD – Standard Ketogenic diet
  • TKD – Targeted Ketogenic diet
  • CKD – Cyclical Ketogenic diet

Who is a targeted ketogenic diet for?

The primary goal of a targeted ketogenic diet (TKD) is to strategically consume carbohydrates at specific times around exercise to allow you to lift heavier, do some extra reps, and help promote muscle growth while minimizing fat gain.

If your goal is to maintain a ketogenic lifestyle while improving performance and body composition, I would recommend trying a targeted ketogenic diet.

That being said, it is a very specialized and advanced approach. I would only recommend a TKD to athletes and individuals who exercise regularly at high-intensities for extended periods of time.

Another caveat before starting…

 For the best results,  I would suggest you become keto-adapted (fat adapted) before implementing either a targeted ketogenic diet or a cyclical ketogenic diet

You can accomplish this by eating a strict ketogenic diet for 3 to 5 weeks (preferably longer). This gives your body time to upregulate the enzymes to burn fat and ketones as fuel.

But if you’ve already been doing this, you’re ahead of the game.

Benefits of a targeted ketogenic diet

Unlike a cyclical ketogenic diet where you would implement a full one to two days of carbohydrates, a TKD is a compromise between an SKD and a CKD.

Improve immediate performance without interrupting ketosis long if at all

The TKD is aimed at allowing you to perform high-intensity exercise without having to interrupt ketosis for long. You may even stay in ketosis despite your carb intake pre and/or post-exercise.

I find that those who took my suggestion above and gave their body time to become keto-adapted have an easier time maintaining ketosis despite the influx of carbohydrates.

The TKD is more anecdotal 3User feedback versus actual studies than anything because weight training isn’t really limited by the availability of blood glucose. This is another reason a standard keto diet and bodybuilding is more than doable.

To build muscle, one doesn’t require the consumption of carbohydrates.

Building muscle is mostly the result of resistance training, adequate protein intake, and enough energy. Whether that energy comes from high fat, carbohydrates, or even stored body fat really doesn’t matter.

Improve your NEXT workout

While pre-workout carbs may improve performance during that specific bout of exercise, especially for those who perform quick and explosive movements. Another aim of pre-workout carbohydrates would be to promote post-workout glycogen synthesis.

Loosely translated, the carbohydrates taken before today's workout would be an attempt to set your body up to perform well during your  next  workout by maintaining glycogen levels.

But why carbs if they are unnecessary?

While there have been a few studies these past couples of years related to a low carb high-fat diet and performance, there’s still little research on the effects of a true ketogenic diet and weight training.

While carbohydrates are unnecessary, they have shown as little as 5 grams of carbs to raise blood glucose to normal levels. This means better muscle fiber recruitment and even a delay in fatigue, which may translate to an improvement in performance.

Studies show that ingesting carbohydrates before endurance activities, think an hour or longer, can improve performance and reduce perceived exertion.

That said, individuals on an SKD, including myself, report not only improved strength but also increased endurance. I’ve used a keto diet for CrossFit at a competitive level and even set my best times in the half marathon and marathon distances using a targeted keto approach.

As I am writing this in 2019, I am using a hybrid of a TKD and a CKD while preparing for a bodybuilding show. Even with the ingestion of carbohydrates prior to my races and workouts, I still register ketones in my blood and normal blood glucose levels post workout.

How to do a targeted ketogenic diet

As mentioned previously, a TKD is simply your standard ketogenic diet with carbs strategically implemented before and/or after your workout. This section will be aimed at describing the amounts, types, and timing of carbohydrates.

How many carbohydrates

How many carbohydrates to take in on a TKD diet will vary, but you don’t need as much as you would think.

While I would highly suggest experimenting with the number of carbohydrates that best works for you, most people will find that 10 to 50 grams of carbohydrates is ample to enhance your workout.

If you migrate towards the upper half ~50 or above, I would suggest splitting the intake between pre and post workout.

What dictates how many carbohydrates you should consume ultimately comes down to how long and intense your workout will be.

What types of carbohydrates

When it comes to what carbohydrates to consume on a TKD, not all carbs are created equally. For our purposes, we want to focus on high GI 2glycemic index, easily digestible carbohydrates, preferably liquids.

Our goal with the pre-workout carbohydrates is to have them absorb rapidly. We want the carbs available for use immediately while also avoiding stomach upset during training.

I would recommend a glucose source like dextrose or highly branched cyclic dextrin (HBCD). 3Also referred to as clustered dextrin If you want to get fancy or rather chew your carbohydrates, they make candies like smarties out of pure dextrose.

HBCD is a fairly new form of carbohydrate that provides a sustained increase in energy levels without causing a spike in blood glucose or insulin levels. While dextrose is perfectly acceptable, and cheaper, HBCD is my new go-to for pre or intra-workout carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates I recommend:

  • Muscle Feast Dextrose
  • Muscle Feast Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin
  • NutraBio Super Carb – Another HBCD alternative with added electrolytes, I personally use this one most of the time and love the orange mango flavor.

Carbohydrates to avoid

You want to avoid fructose and sucrose since they primarily refill liver glycogen and can disrupt ketosis. This means that things like fruit, honey, and table sugar are not ideal for our purposes.

When to take in carbohydrates

It is preferred that you take in carbohydrates thirty minutes before a workout for enhanced performance. Some will also prefer to consume additional carbohydrates post-training to help with recovery.

With post-workout carbs, you want to consume those as soon as possible following a workout. While I don’t think post-workout carbs are necessary, experimenting to see what is optimal for YOU is the best course of action.

Another variation I’ve experimented with is ingesting carbohydrates intra-workout by sipping my carbohydrates at the beginning of the workout and finishing it right before my workout is complete.

Personally, I will take in ~30g of carbohydrates with ~10g of essential amino acids during or before my workouts. In addition, I may add MCT oil or caffeine for an added boost.

I usually consume my carbohydrate beverage before my first set and finish up close to the end of my workout. This gives me plenty of energy to sustain high volume workouts and recover well enough for my next session.

How does a TKD affect ketosis?

For many, just the act of working out causes blood sugar levels to rise due to the stress upon the body. However, as blood glucose is shuttled into the muscles, insulin levels will begin to drop and ketogenesis will resume.

If you stick to the tips I’ve laid out above and don’t overdo the carbohydrates, you might very still be in ketosis following your workout.

At the worst, you’ll transiently knock yourself out during your workout, but you find that you quickly re-enter ketosis shortly after.

Summary and guidelines for a TKD

  • Become keto-adapted by using a standard ketogenic diet for 3 to 5 weeks prior to implementing a TKD protocol.
  • Experiment with as little as 10 grams of carbohydrates pre-workout and adjust up or down as necessary.
  • If consuming upwards of 50 grams of carbs or more I would suggest splitting it up half pre-workout and the other half post-workout.
  • Stick to glucose based carbohydrates such as dextrose or clustered dextrin.
  • Whether fat loss or muscle gain is your goal, a targeted ketogenic approach is effective at accomplishing both through consistency and hard work.

Are you interested in giving a targeted ketogenic diet a try? Let me know down below if you have any questions or what your results have been giving on a TKD.

The Best Keto Weight Loss Guide On The Internet [Really]

This guide will teach you everything you need to know about keto weight loss.

Actually, all of weight loss in general.

Think of it as a keto diet for beginners manual

How to set up your keto diet.

When you should and shouldn't make adjustments.

Plus much much more.

Let’s get started…

but first click here => 4I am a footnote. Every time you see one of these gems you can click it to perhaps learn a bit more, read my thoughts, or to reference a study.

Don't have time to read all 12,000+ words? Download a PDF to read offline at a later time.

keto weight loss pinterest cover

Chapter 1: But first…

I'm not kidding you, the title says it all…

this is and will be the best damn keto weight loss guide on the internet.

BUT FIRST…

Before we get into it, I want to bring to light some of the misinformation I see being spread throughout the keto universe.

In fact, this one particular notion being spread by many of the “gurus” is leading many individuals astray. Can you guess what it is?  It's this notion that it's not your fault.

And here comes the other BUT.

It is your fault…

Chances are, you landed on this particular keto weight loss guide because you're unhappy with your weight, or your body, for whatever reason.

I hate to sound cliché like we're in AA or something, but the sooner you are able to accept that it is your fault, the sooner you're going to start making progress. 2Yes, certain individuals legitimately suffer from health conditions and rare conditions where it's not their fault(most times this is not the case), but adopting this mindset moves you from being passive to active so that you can start working toward making a change. It's taking action that will ultimately get you to where you want to go.

And time for the last BUT. 

But I'm not here to motivate you to lose the weight or scold you for all the decisions you made that led up to this point. I was where you are right now, and sometimes still find myself there every once in a while.

In fact, if all I've done by the end of this guide is motivate you… then I've failed. What I really want is for you to take the information presented to you and  begin taking ACTION  towards your weight loss goals.

The Truth is, motivation is only one percent of the equation. The other 99 percent of the equation is taking action.

It's the action you take that ends up motivating you and becoming an endless loop that makes taking more action towards your goals inevitable.


Take action

KETO DIET AND WEIGHT LOSS ACTION MOTIVATION

Most people commit to action only when they feel a certain level of motivation, and they only feel this motivation when they feel a strong emotional response, usually a negative one. 

And that's why people (not you because you're an action taker right?) are more likely to take action ONLY when they are afraid of the consequences, or they've already experienced them.

For many, this usually means they were diagnosed with something horrible, had a loved one diagnosed or pass away from an illness, or maybe they just finally got fed up with feeling like crap or how they looked in the mirror.

 So don't fall into the motivation trap, the trap where you must feel motivated before taking any action.  If you're waiting for motivation to hit, you may be waiting a long damn time.

As funny as it sounds, the more you look for motivation, the less motivated you become. C'mon. Really? Yes, because now you're too busy looking to get motivated and spending less time doing what you already know you need to do.


Chapter 2: Keto, the best diet for weight loss?

Another tidbit the keto gurus want to leave out is that EVERY diet works. 

Don't believe me? Let's dig into some of the research down below.

Follow me.


A study in 2009 by Sacks FM et al. looked to see if there was an advantage for weight loss by emphasizing different macronutrients (protein, fat, or carbohydrates).

The research concluded that reduced-calorie diets resulted in similar weight loss regardless of which macronutrients they emphasize. 3Comparison of Weight-Loss Diets with Different Compositions of Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrates Sacks et al. 2009

don't believe me? A more recent study, this year as I write this in 2018, by Gardner et al. sought to determine the effect of a “healthy” low-fat diet vs. a “healthy” low-carbohydrate diet over a 12 month period.4 Effect of Low-Fat vs Low-Carbohydrate Diet on 12-Month Weight Loss in Overweight Adults and the Association With Genotype Pattern or Insulin Secretion Gardner et al. 2018

In this randomized clinical trial consisting of over 600 adults, weight change over the 12 months was not significantly different for participants in either the low-fat or the low-carbohydrate group.

What's even more notable is that it was partially funded by NuSI, an organization co-founded by low-carb advocates.

Dietary modification and adherence is the key to successful weight loss.  In fact, satiety, hunger, satisfaction, and most of all… behavior modification are more strongly associated with weight loss then which diet you choose. 

The people most successful in keeping their weight off are those who changed their relationship with food.

 The healthy diet that will work for you is the one that you can stick to. There is no “best diet.” 

So yes, all diets can work in the short term, but some diets may be better suited for you than others. Is that keto? there's only one way to find out.


All diets work by, in one way or another (whether they admit it or not) having you control calorie intake.

KETO AND WEIGHT LOSS THOUGH ALL DIETS WORK

You get the picture.

 Consistency with calorie intake is more important than your sugar intake, meal timing, fat intake, eating “clean” foods, and any supplement you can find. 

Sometimes strict dietary rules CAN be helpful in the case of any the diets above, but we'll come back to this a bit later on in the guide.

To clarify: all diets work by, in one way or another, having you control your calorie intake.

When it comes to weight loss, neither a low-fat diet nor a low-carb diet is inherently superior, so choose an eating style that fits your food preferences, health goals, and lifestyle.

Most importantly, choose an eating style you can sustain. It's not that people fail with diets, people fail to maintain their diets over the long-haul

Think about it, anybody can stick to a diet for a short period of time.

 Losing the weight is not what's actually hard, it's keeping the weight off.  Willpower is not enough to lose weight and keep it off.

This is the reason why people find it easy to fall for the latest Netflix food documentary telling you that the key to weight loss is to consume nothing but juice or that meat is making us fat, not only fat, but it will kill you. *sigh*

So like the Superbowl champions every year, people will inevitably jump on this bandwagon, like almost every diet.

People will likely begin to see some initial weight loss, sometimes even lots of weight loss, but somewhere down the line, they realize they can't sustain it and revert back to their old ways.

… and BAM regain almost all the weight and sometimes even more.

Moral of the story, there are MANY ways to lose weight, and using a keto diet for weight loss is one of them. This doesn't mean that a low-carb diet is ideal for everyone, but for some people such as myself, it fits the criteria for MY food preferences, MY healthy goals, and MY lifestyle.

Plus, it makes me feel FANTASTIC.

If you come across an article that tells you that keto is the BEST diet for everyone then go ahead and close your browser window, they are trying to sell you something.

That said…


Chapter 3: Things to consider…

So now that I've explained to you that any and every diet can help you achieve your goal, here's 7 ways a ketogenic diet may benefit you in adhering to your diet and reaching your body recomposition goals.

This is the best friggin keto weight loss guide on the internet after all.


A KETO diet and weight loss… 7 Reasons it may be beneficial for YOU.

7 REASONS KETO AND WEIGHT LOSS

Rapid initial weight loss

Especially for obese or overweight individuals. Let's face it, seeing progress early on is very motivating.

Typically, during the first week of a ketogenic diet, people see a rapid drop in weight – anywhere from 3 to 10 pounds. This is unrivaled by any other diet, but it is also not all coming from fat, not a majority of it.

In fact, most of this weight loss is the result of the body shedding water weight as a consequence of decreasing or eliminating carbohydrates, and that's because every gram of carbohydrate carries with it about ~3g of water.

But like I said, this is not inherently a bad thing since it can be very motivating to see the scale drop at the very beginning of any diet, just don't be surprised if it doesn't drop that rapidly every week ok?

Fewer cravings

There's something about low carbohydrate diets, especially ketogenic diets, that causes people to have fewer cravings, especially that of many trigger foods that tend to be very calorie dense, but nutrient poor.

A study in 2012 by Martin et al. found that compared to a low-fat diet, low-carb dieters had more significant decreases in cravings for high carbohydrate and high sugar foods. 5Change in Food Cravings, Food Preferences, and Appetite During a Low‐Carbohydrate and Low‐Fat Diet Martin et al. 2012  

I don't know about you, but most of the foods I tend to overeat happen to be pretty high carbohydrate/high sugar combined with high amounts of fat. Ice cream and donuts anyone?

Increased satiety

When you go on a weight loss diet, it's no surprise, but you typically feel hungrier. Surprisingly, the ketogenic diet does not seem to follow suit.

In most studies, people felt less hungry on keto, though the primary mechanism in which it does so is speculative at best.

Ultimately, fat loss depends on expending more calories than are consumed. Many individuals have difficulty restricting calories on a high-carbohydrate diet.

If lowering carbohydrates increases satiety, and makes it easier to control calories, then a low carb or ketogenic approach to weight loss may be the better dietary choice.

Increased and steady energy levels

Opposite of a standard high carbohydrate diet, a ketogenic diet relies on fat stores and dietary fat instead of carbs for energy.

It is because your body can tap into these stores (your fat) at any time that you’ll enjoy a constant, steady stream of energy instead of dips throughout the day because you’re not spiking your blood sugar levels.

Gone are the days where you wake up hangry or experience those afternoon slumps after your lunch break.

At least for the most part.

Mental clarity and increased cognition

Elevated ammonia levels and depressed GABA levels contribute to a condition called “brain fog,” and ketosis increases this GABA signaling. This might explain the cause for why people experience clearer thoughts and even a sense of euphoria. 6Gamma-aminobutyric acid, also known as GABA, is a neurotransmitter that helps send messages between the brain and the nervous system. Its main function is to reduce the activity of nerve cells in the nervous system. A good amount of emerging research has found that it could play a role in many conditions, including depression, anxiety and stress.  

Ketone bodies are the most energy-efficient fuel, especially for the brain.

Compared to glucose, ketone bodies are an ideal energy source for the brain, as they supply more energy per oxygen consumed, provide energy at a faster rate, regulate energy levels, balance the glutamate/glutamine ratio, and reduce damaging free radicals associated with inflammation.

Muscle sparing

Let me make note, that within this entire guide when I refer to “weight loss” what I am really referring to is FAT LOSS.

Our goal here is not only to just lose weight but to lose weight in the form of fat. This is why combining a ketogenic diet with some form of resistance training is HIGHLY recommended.

Even with the absence of resistance training, the ketogenic diet can still elicit a muscle sparing effect. More specifically, the ketone body called beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) has been shown in one study to decrease leucine oxidation and promote protein synthesis. 7 Effect of beta-hydroxybutyrate on whole-body leucine kinetics and fractional mixed skeletal muscle protein synthesis in humans. Nair et al. 1988

This may be why many individuals, especially bodybuilders, are drawn to ketogenic diets in an attempt to lose body fat while sparing the loss of lean body mass. 8Leucine acts as more of a signal in the body that new muscle protein should be built.

Decreased inflamation

Eating a ketogenic diet that is very low in carbohydrates helps halt the surges of insulin that raise blood sugar and create inflammation in the body.

Behind most chronic diseases, such as nerve damage, arthritis, or diabetes, is a high amount of inflammation.

There are many factors involved in chronic inflammation, but our dietary choices make up a big chunk of that.

Also, recent research has shown that beta-hydroxybutyrate, one of the three ketone bodies, can block what’s called the NLRP3 inflammasome, an immune system receptor linked to inflammation.

Now that I've expressed why you may be interested in utilizing keto diet for weight loss, here are some things you may want to consider.


Considerations for picking a diet

Is keto the right weight loss diet for you? I don't know, you'll have to ask yourself and come to that conclusion on your own. That said, here are some things you may want to consider before picking a diet.

KETO DIET AND WEIGHT LOSS CONSIDERATIONS

Enjoyment

Taste preference: Does your diet support your personal taste preference? If using keto for weight loss, you may want to ask yourself if you enjoy fattier foods versus carby foods.

Can you rid your diet of basically every carbohydrate-based food? Because If you enjoy carb-filled foods significantly more, perhaps a ketogenic approach may not be what's optimal for you.

Remember, you have to actually enjoy the diet otherwise (at least as much as you can…) you are likely to give up eventually.

Health

When referring to health, I am referring to both psychological and physiological health as having one without the other is a recipe for disaster.

When referring to health, I am referring to both psychological and physiological health as having one without the other is a recipe for disaster.

abstainer vs moderator keto and weight loss
Psychological health

One of, if not the biggest, psychological factors is how restrictive a diet is, or better yet, how restrictive the diet SEEMS to the dieter.

Don't get me wrong, we are dieting with the intention of weight loss, so restriction is going to be necessary, especially that of calories.

It’s usually when we tell ourselves we can't have something, it makes us want it that much more. Simply being on a diet, you're going to feel restricted, and that's something you have to take into account.

Then, we have to take into account our own personalities when it comes to dieting. I don't know how many times I've heard “as long as it fits your macros bro” or you can eat anything as long as it's in moderation.

And this is great advice if you are a “moderator.”

Moderators are those who do better when they avoid absolute truths and strict rules.

These are the individuals who can have one oreo and put the bag away… the ones who can open a pint of ice cream and have three spoonfuls and pop it back in the freezer.

I, my friend, am not a moderator.

For years, I've tried this approach of “moderation” only to end up failing and failing hard. It wasn't until I realized that I wasn't a moderator, I was an “abstainer.”

It is far easier for me to give something up altogether than to indulge moderately.

If I try to moderate, I inevitably end up exhausting myself debating whether or not I should have some? How much? Should I have some now? How about tomorrow?

On the other hand, if I never do something, it requires no self-control; if I do something sometimes, it requires enormous self-control.

In the end, there's no right or wrong way, it's just a matter of knowing which strategy works better for you and suits your personality. 

If moderators try to abstain, they tend to feel trapped and rebellious. And, when abstainers try to moderate, they up spending a lot of energy trying to justify why they should indulge.

And believe me… I can probably justify why I should be able to eat that entire pizza and pint of ice cream if given enough time. This is why strict dietary rules can be helpful for one person and detrimental to the next.

Physiological health

The other end of the health equation is the physiological factors that come into play when choosing a diet. Most importantly is the quality of the foods we eat and the current level of body fat percentage you are at when starting the diet.

On the topic of food quality, we'll save that for another discussion altogether, but just know that food quality does matter and will play a role in both your health and longevity.

Now, on the topic of body fat percentage, there is plenty of research to suggest that your body fat levels will semi dictate what type of macronutrient composition may best suit you.

That is because one of the primary determinants of insulin resistance is one's body mass index (BMI), more specifically, fat mass. 

Basically, this means people with higher levels of fat mass don't respond as well to carbohydrates as those with lower levels of body fat. 9

This leads to those with a higher body fat percentage tending to fare better on a lower carb diet due to this insulin resistance.

And conversely, someone with a lower body fat % tends to fare better with more carbohydrates, there are, of course, exceptions, and more importantly our preferences. But this holds true for most.

insulin sensitivity with keto and weight loss
 As long as there is a calorie deficit in place, YOU WILL lose fat.  However, in my experience, people with higher levels of body fat tend to fare much better restricting carbohydrates.

This restriction can come in the form of a low carbohydrate diet or a very low/no carbohydrate diet such as that of a ketogenic approach.

All of this is important to understand because while the basics of changing your body composition come down to energy balance, each person is different when it comes to psychologically and physiologically meeting his or her needs.

Once you've understood your own personal psychological and physiological needs, you can then begin to put the pieces of your diet together.

Get it? Got it? Good.

Now onwards we go to setting up your diet.


Chapter 4: Setting up your ketogenic diet

But first, a brief interruption to dispel another common misconception.

Despite what Dr. Keto told you and how it's all about your hormones, insulin, and pesky little gremlins keeping you from losing weight, the real reason you're not losing fat is that you're eating too much.

Yes, even when you swear you're not.


I have a slow metabolism, maybe my body is in starvation mode?

Here comes the but's again.

But what about metabolic damage or a slow metabolism or how about my body is in starvation mode, that's why! I mean, the intrawebs told you so it must be true.

Just to get everyone up to speed, starvation mode or “metabolic damage” is this idea that if you eat too little for an extended period of time, your body will compensate by somehow halting fat burning in its tracks and possibly even doing the opposite causing you to gain weight… on like 900 calories.

Sound familiar?

When you reduce calories, there is, in fact, SOME slowing of your metabolic rate over time. What DOESN'T happen is your body mysteriously enters the twilight zone where the laws of thermodynamics cease to exist, thus resulting in no fat loss on an absurdly low amount of calories.

The leaner and lighter you become the fewer calories your body will require to keep itself alive and functioning, that's just common sense. This process is referred to as adaptive thermogenesis.

Basically, your body has adapted to the lower energy requirements of your lighter, and hopefully leaner self.

And even then, studies have shown that when people have lost vast amounts of weight, the actual change in their basal metabolic rate is only around ~10%-15%. 9 Long-term persistence of adaptive thermogenesis in subjects who have maintained a reduced body weight. Rosenbaum et al. 2008  

The majority of the reduction in metabolism comes from decreases in the physical components such as NEAT (but we’ll get to that later on in this guide). Naturally, you begin to move less, so it only makes sense that you are not burning as many calories. 

Don't believe me still?

In the 40's, thirty-six men took up residence in the corridors at the University of Minnesota for what is known as the Minnesota Starvation Experiment.

The study was mainly to gather data on the psychological effects of starvation. Basically, 36 men were put on a 24-week long starvation diet.

Calorie intake was first established for 12 weeks before the experiment on a diet of 3,200 calories per day, then followed by the 24-weeks of semi-starvation at 1,570 calories a day.

Their calorie intake was then reduced further throughout the study to keep weight loss happening.

On top of the food restriction, they were required to work 15 hours per week in the lab, walk 22 miles per week, and participate in a variety of educational activities for 25 hours a week.

This was roughly around a 50% deficit in calories, general guidelines for most aggressive fat loss protocols still range in the 20-30% deficit; only half the amount of that in the study.

All the men lost about 25% of their total body weight and ended up around 5% body fat. By the end of the study, the men's metabolic rates dropped by about 40%, but their actual BMR only dropped by around ~15%.

Metabolic rate takes into account everything including physical activity while Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is how many calories you would burn if you were to do nothing but sit on your butt all day, literally.

So to give you a better idea of what actual “starvation” looks like.

keto and weight loss starvation

Now go look in the mirror, don't look that emaciated? You're not starving.

Ok, finally let's get into it.


Setting up your ketogenic diet take two

When setting up your keto weight loss diet, there is a hierarchy of priority as illustrated below.

body recomp for keto and weight loss pyramid

Starting from the bottom and moving our way up.

First off, what this pyramid leaves out is that the number one successful way to lose weight and keep it off is through behavioral modification.

Meaning,  implementing LIFESTYLE CHANGES and good daily habits is the ultimate way to lasting fat loss. 

That said,

Calories

As you can see, calories come first. Despite all the nonsense you've heard about calories not mattering on a ketogenic diet, they do.

Again, if someone tells you calories don't matter as long as you control insulin and yada yada yada they're just trying to sell you something (or live in a bubble) go ahead and stop listening to them. 10It's also not just a simple calories in calories out equation, but to lose weight we must create an energy imbalance where more calories are expended versus what we consume.

If your goal is to lose body fat, which is why I assume you're here in the first place, then the most efficient way to do this is to take in less food.

You can also increase your activity to create the deficit needed or utilize a combination of both (less food and move more).

calories in. calories out keto fat loss

To work out your fat loss calories, you can use the keto macro calculator or simply take your bodyweight in pounds and multiply it by 9-14, which will be further explained below.

Either way, you'll end up at around the same number give or take ~5%.

 Ideally, you would have kept a food journal and figured out what your maintenance calories were based on a week or two of record keeping. 

Maintenance calories = the number of calories it takes to roughly maintain your weight. This would make it a lot easier and be more of an accurate starting point. 

keto weight loss calculating maintenance

But I digress.

This is only a starting point, and  adjustments should be made based on actual results;  therefore it's easier to get a number and run with it rather than being paralyzed by fancy equations.

The sooner you begin, the sooner you can start seeing results. Remember, action action action action action action action action. TAKE ACTION!

So back to 9-14, why the range? Well, there are a lot of factors that go into someone's calorie needs. Here is a very rough guideline on where you may fall on that spectrum.

– If you're a sedentary female (desk job) who might train 3x a week at a very low intensity (or not at all), then first… start training, but stick with the lower end of (9-10)

– If you're a female who works a fairly active job and/or you're training more frequently 3-5x a week at a moderate to high intensity, go with the mid-range of (10-12)

– If you're a sedentary male then same deal, except lucky you… you have more muscle than your female counterpart, so you get to start a bit higher. Go with the low-mid range (10-12)

– If you're a male who works a reasonably active job and/or you train pretty intensely 3+ more times per week then go with the higher range of (12-14)

ez calclulaor to lose weight on keto

Keto macros

Ok, so we've calculated calorie intake either by using the calculator or using the simple equation above and finding your body weight multiplier. Now, we are gonna set your macros.

Macro is short for macronutrient, and macronutrients make up the components of food in the form of protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Technically alcohol is a macronutrient as well, but we're not diving into that in this guide.

Macronutrients contain calories and each macronutrient contains a certain number of calories per gram.

So basically, protein and carbohydrates both contain 4 calories per gram while fat contains a whopping 9 calories.

keto and weight loss macros and calories

Now, every other ketogenic site on this earth will have you calculate your macros based on percentages, but I ain't about that life. 11The problem with percentages is it relies on how many calories you are eating in the first place. It was also established to optimize the diet for epileptic children. Here, I'm about getting you results, and by results, I mean fat loss.

My recommendations will be more evidence-based and skewed toward body recomposition, not based on if you were an epileptic child who would need to stick to specific percentages for the treatment of a disorder unless you consider fat a disorder.


Protein

The first macro we'll set up is our protein. Now, contrary to popular belief, protein does not automatically get converted into chocolate cake aka gluconeogenewhat? 12Gluconeogenesis is a metabolic pathway that results in the generation of glucose from non-carbohydrate carbon substrates such as protein (amino acids)

Technically, gluconeogenesis is happening all the time, but there is a common misconception in the ketosphere that “a little extra” protein in the diet will magically turn into chocolate cake. Sorry, but if that were the case, I would probably just eat some chocolate cake.

All kidding aside, you would need to eat a significant amount of protein to knock yourself out of ketosis. Secondly, ketosis is technically not our goal… right?

Fat loss is. Lastly, I would rather have gluconeogenesis occur from the protein I eat rather than break down my hard earned muscle tissue for energy.

Even if we get knocked out of ketosis, which would only happen temporarily, ketosis is a welcomed side effect, not our primary goal. Myself, along with many others have successfully eaten high protein diets while maintaining a state of ketosis.

Myself, along with many others have successfully eaten high protein diets while maintaining a state of ketosis.

So back to protein shall we? Protein is quite essential when it comes to fat loss. In fact, I would venture to say that protein is probably the most critical macronutrient of the three.

protein essential for keto weight loss

Protein is responsible for:

Muscle retention. In conjunction with resistance training, eating sufficient protein helps to limit or even stop the body from burning its own protein (muscle).

Satiety. Of the three macronutrients, protein is more satiating than either fats or carbohydrates. Additionally, protein stimulates the release of the hormone cholecystokinin (CCK) which is thought to help regulate appetite.

Deliciousness. Protein is just delicious.

So how much protein do you need?

Again, we're not basing macros on percentages. Instead, we are going to calculate macros on body weight and more specifically lean body mass.

total weight – fat mass = lean body mass

Or at least that would be the ideal situation.

The problem with setting protein or any macro according to lean body mass is that most people simply don't know their body fat percentage and figuring it out can be both time-consuming… and possibly even inaccurate.

Just like we used per pound of bodyweight to calculate our total calories, I have a simple way to figure out how much protein you should eat. Set your protein intake at 1g per pound of DESIRED body weight.  13 If you do know your body fat or have a way to accurately measure then go ahead and do 1 – 1.2g/lbm

For example, if you are a 150lb female and want to weigh 120lbs, then you would eat 120 grams of protein per day.

This usually works well since it almost ensures an adequate amount of protein, and when it comes to protein too much is better than too little.

Easy Peasy. Now let's move on.

A SIDE NOTE
A little caveat I want to mention in regards to protein. During the first ~3 or so weeks of transitioning to a ketogenic diet, there may be an increased need for protein to provide enough glucose to supply the brain and prevent the body from breaking down muscle protein. This is because the brain hasn't yet become efficient at utilizing ketones. This may be why you often hear that it takes about 3 weeks to become “fat or keto-adapted.”

That said, I would advise people ingest a minimum of 150g of protein during the first 3 weeks of a ketogenic diet. After the 3 weeks, you may choose to reduce your protein intake if you wish or keep it at 150g and bring your fat intake down. This, of course, is dependent on if your calculated protein is below 150g to start with.


Carbs and fats

Lastly, we have our carbs and fats.

Why am I grouping the two? Well, being a ketogenic diet we're basically eliminating almost all carbohydrates except that of those coming from leafy greens.

So first, let's go over carbohydrates because then it will be a no-brainer when it comes to determining our fat intake.

When it comes to carbohydrates,  I generally recommend people utilizing a ketogenic diet for fat loss to limit their TOTAL carbohydrates to 30g or less.  Yepp, you heard it… TOTAL, not NET.

Why total?

Simply because I know people will take 30g of net carbs way too far. Sure, they might stick to 30g of “net carbs,” but they also have 40g of fiber, and another 40g of sugar alcohols from their “keto-friendly” treats… but hey, those aren't net carbs, so they don't count.

Funny enough, those tend to be the same people who wonder why they aren't seeing any results, but they conclude it's because their body is in “starvation mode,” and they are barely eating anything.

The majority, if not all, of carbohydrates consumed, will come from vegetable sources. So green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, chard, etc. are all fair game.

 In the end, it won't matter too much where the carb sources come from or how you spread it out with such a minuscule amount. Might as well make those carbs count and fill up with fibrous nutrient dense veggies. 

Which leads us to our last macronutrient. FAT.

We've basically covered protein and carbohydrates, the last remaining macronutrient is fat.

To reiterate everything up to this point, we've set our calories at roughly 9-14 x our body weight in pounds. We've also calculated our protein, or instead simply set it, at our desired body weight, and limited our carbohydrates to less than 30 total grams.

In practice, it would look a little something like this:

MEET SARA
Imagine my friend Sara is 160lbs and wants to get down to 120lbs at the end of her diet. Sara has a fairly active job where she's on her feet all day and does CrossFit 4x a week. To calculate Sara's calories, we'll start her off with a multiplier of 12.

160lbs x 12 = 1920 total calories per day

120lbs = 120g of protein x 4 calories per gram = 480 calories

30g of carbohydrates x 4 calories per gram = 120 calories

Protein + Carbohydrates = 600 calories

Now it will be easy for Sara to calculate how much fat she will need since she knows her total calories are at 1920 calories per day and she already filled up 600 of those calories with protein and carbohydrates.

This leaves Sara with 1320 calories left over to fill with fat grams.

Fat = 9 calories per gram so 1320 / 9 = 147g of Fat

Sara's totals are 1920 calories, 120g protein, 30g carbs, 147g fat


A common misconception

Now, there is often another misconception about ketogenic diets and that you must consume large amounts of fat to enter a state of ketosis.

Although a high fat intake is necessary for epileptic children since they must maintain a deep level of ketosis, dietary fat is not required to be in, or enter, a state of ketosis. 

 The only requirement for the body to enter a state of ketosis is a reduction or elimination of carbohydrates. 

Then why have any fat at all?

The primary reason for the inclusion of dietary fat in our ketogenic diet is to keep caloric intake high enough to prevent a slowdown of metabolic rate. Setting our calories too low increases the likelihood of muscle loss and metabolic slowdown. 14A total caloric deficit of more than 1000 cal/day seems to be the threshold for slowing the metabolism. Some slowing is expected when dieting, but it seems deficits greater than 1000 causes a more significant decrease.

Besides, fat promotes feelings of fullness and makes food taste better. Remember how diets must be enjoyable for adherence?

To summarize in one graphic

Just remember, carbs and protein are 4 calories per gram and fat is 9 calories per gram

Keto and micronutrients

he next level of our pyramid brings us to micronutrients.

Micronutrition may sound boring, but you can't afford to ignore it. Long-term deficiencies will ultimately impact your health and as a result, sabotage your fat loss efforts over the long term.

Some things to note:

  • Since you are dieting, you are at a higher risk of micronutrient deficiencies simply due to eating less.
    Six micronutrients (vitamin B7 (biotin), vitamin D, vitamin E, chromium, iodine, and molybdenum) were identified as consistently low or nonexistent in many diets.
  • A multivitamin isn't a substitute for a nutrient-poor diet but can act as insurance on a nutrient-rich one.  After all, a poor diet with a multivitamin is still a poor diet. 
  • If you have issues with energy, sleep, or just feel off, it could be that you're deficient in some vitamins and/or minerals such as electrolytes.
  • When it comes to water intake, a good rule of thumb is to aim for 5 clear urinations per day.

At the end of the day, if your diet consists of whole, unprocessed foods and you're fulfilling your 30g of total carbohydrates with green leafy vegetables you should basically have most, if not all, of your micronutrition covered.

The end.

Just kidding.

So you've calculated how many calories you should eat and have your macros all figured out, now what do you eat? This section usually leads us to the inevitable debate between the If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM) crowd and the “Clean eating” crowd.

Clean eating

The truth is that  no food is inherently good or bad , but of course, there are foods which are probably more nutritious (fiber, vitamins, minerals, etc.).

The problem with this line of thinking is that it creates a black and white, good vs. bad, neurotic mentality toward food.

I know, because I used to be of this mentality.

If It Fits Your Macros

The exact opposite of the clean eaters, basically eat whatever you want as long as it “fits your macros.” 

The intent behind IIFYM was originally to prevent the neurotic mentality of clean eating and let people know that it was ok to have such “forbidden foods” once in a while so long as you accounted for it. 

Much like anything, people took it out of context and used it as an excuse to fill their diets with pop tarts and ding dongs.

The best approach likely falls somewhere in the middle of these two trains of thought. Food quality does matter, so let's exercise the 80/20 rule when it comes to food choices. 

80% of the time stick to whole nutrient-rich foods and 20% of the time feel free to have your keto treats and snacks.

For a list of foods, you can visit the keto foods list or click here to download a printable list of foods you can take with you to the grocery store.

Word of warning, almost everyone has some sort of trigger food or hyper-palatable food that can trigger overeating.  What triggers me may differ than what triggers you.

For example, give me a jar of peanut butter, and I can comfortably sit there and eat the entire jar with a spoon.

Foods such as nut butters, or better yet, nuts in general, are types of foods that are hyper-palatable, calorically dense, and easy to overeat if you don't pay attention.

You'd be surprised at just how little a single serving is of peanut butter is according to the nutrition label.

And no, a tablespoon doesn't mean how much you can fit onto one tablespoon. 

peanut butter tbsp comparson
Very deceiving, but can make a big difference

As you can see above, the difference between 100 and 200 calorie spoonfuls looks negligible.

So when it comes to choosing what foods to eat, be mindful of your personality type. If you're a restrictor, while no foods are technically off limit, some foods should be limited or avoided altogether since it can lead you down the wrong path.

This might mean that you should steer clear of these foods and even go as far as not having them in your home.

During a diet, hunger and cravings are almost inevitable, and like I always like to say… willpower is finite. Meaning, everyone caves in eventually.

I do, you do, your best friend does… it's human nature. That's why you have to create an environment that is conducive to your goals instead of relying on your willpower to get you through 100% of the time.

Besides, when dieting, you're better off choosing high-volume foods. High-volume foods are foods that are low in calories, but high in nutrients. High-volume foods are those with high water and fiber contents, such as vegetables.

These types of foods increase gastric stretching which can help one feel full and satisfied which is quite important on a diet.

At the end of the day, be mindful of your food choices.

Onto another hot topic in the keto community.


Meal timing

One of the significant benefits of a keto weight loss diet is that often, many people report never feeling hungry. On a weight loss diet, this is probably the most crucial part of the equation.

After all, the most successful diet is the one that you can adhere to, and most people end up quitting their diets, yes plural, because they are just plain hungry and miserable.

Just remember, it's still a weight loss diet, and there WILL be times you will feel hungry, and you WILL have to dig deep, even on a ketogenic one.

But first…

I know what you're thinking already, this is the part where you want me to tell you that intermittent fasting is the holy grail. If you are already doing IF and it's working great for you, awesome.

If not, don’t worry, you’re not missing out on much.

Intermittent fasting and just plain fasting, in general, has become rampant, but especially within the keto community. Just pop open Instagram, you'll see people going 16 hours without eating, then progressing to 20 hours, next thing you'll notice they are eating once a day.

Before you know it, they are seeing how many days they can go without eating.

But it's for the autophagy Steven. 15Autophagy is a natural process and it's the body's system of cleaning house

Stop kidding yourself.

First off, there are many health benefits to fasting, that's not what we are debating here. I know, and you know that you're fasting because you want to see the scale drop and you want to see it drop as fast as possible.

I get it ok?

 There is nothing wrong with implementing intermittent fasting, but at the end of the day, there is no additional fat loss benefit once calories and protein are equated for.  16Any additional “fat loss benefit” would really be insignificant in the grand scheme of things… therefor it really is nothing to worry about or mention.

Meaning, if you lose weight on 1800 calories and you eat that spread over 6 meals vs. 1 meal, it really won't matter all that much.

As recent as this year, 2018 depending on when you're reading this, after a 1-year study by Sundfør et al., they concluded that both intermittent and continuous energy restriction resulted in similar weight loss.

However, they noted in their study that the feelings of hunger were more pronounced in the group that was doing intermittent fasting.17Effect of intermittent versus continuous energy restriction on weight loss, maintenance and cardiometabolic risk: A randomized 1-year trial. Sundfør et al. 2018

I actually find that myself and many others experience the exact opposite concerning hunger. The sole reason I recommend intermittent fasting for most people is that they are better able to manage their hunger earlier for a bigger payoff (more substantial more satiating meal) later.

Mind you, while most people intermittent fast by skipping out on breakfast, you can do the opposite and eat earlier in the day and start your fast earlier as well.

There is some evidence to suggest that while intermittent fasting leads to no additional fat loss over regular calorie restriction, there may be some benefit to Early Time-Restricted Feeding (eTRF).

eTRF is a form of IF that involves eating early in the day to be in alignment with circadian rhythms in metabolism. In practice, instead of doing what most people do and skip breakfast you would eat breakfast and start your fast by about 3pm.

The jury is still out on this one, but the research shows that eTRF improved insulin sensitivity, β cell responsiveness, blood pressure, oxidative stress, and appetite.

So while not a direct correlation with increased fat loss, you can see how improving these factors may lead to greater adherence.

I don't know about you, but I'd rather have one or two substantial meals instead of 4-6 small bite-sized meals throughout the day. 18I just find it easier to skip breakfast. I also feel more energized and light on my feet in the daytime. I also like to go to bed on a full stomach, but that's just what works for me and my preferences.

So, if you want to give IF, or even eTRF, a go, and it works for you, more power to you.

Which finally leads meads to the question, how frequently should you eat to maximize fat loss?

You should eat 8 meals at two-hour intervals throughout…

Just kidding.

As stated previously, it really doesn't matter all that much once calories and protein are equated for. Meaning, in every trial that matched for calories and protein, 1 meal versus 6 meals, low carb vs. high carb, the end result is generally the same.

 Eat the number of meals and at the frequency that suits YOUR preferences and YOUR lifestyle the best.  Whether you enjoy eating three to four times or only once or twice, it really will not make much of a difference regarding fat loss.

Since we are talking about weight loss, you will probably benefit from eating bigger meals but less frequently, unless you enjoy eating smaller sized meals.

And off to the last little totem on the pole. Supplements.

intermittent fasting for weight loss

Keto supplements

Supplements, as the name implies, are meant to complete or enhance, not take the place of.

Unfortunately, when it comes to 95% of supplements, as sexy as their claims are,  very few supplements actually work  and even then, you'll only notice the benefits if your diet, training, and lifestyle taken care of first.

BUT

I know a lot of people reading this will disregard that statement and look below to see what magic pills, powders, and potions I'll recommend.

But that's not you, right? 

I know YOU definitely have your diet, training, and lifestyle optimized and are about to peek below to see what you can add to further your health and fat loss effort; therefore, these are for you guys and gals.

keto weight loss supplement list

Also, bear in mind that not all supplements are created equally. Many companies use fillers, have no quality control, and sometimes just blatantly lie.

The below supplements are what I recommend based on companies I trust and have also been third party tested to make sure what they say is in it is ACTUALLY in it.

Caffeine

Caffeine has been shown to aid in fat loss, gym performance, appetite suppression, and if you're drinking it,

aka black gold, aka coffee, aka nectar of the gods,

it's also filled with plenty of antioxidants.

The dose is often based on body weight, set at around 1.4–2.7 mg per lb of body weight or 3–6 mg per kg. This is about 200–400 mg for most people, although some studies use up to 600–900 mg. 19 International society of sports nutrition position stand: caffeine and performance. Goldstein ER et al. 2010

Start on the low end to assess your tolerance before working your way up.

It's hard to give a blanket recommendation since some can tolerate 50mg, while others may tolerate 500mg and go right to bed.

Regarding when to take it, caffeine should be taken 30-60 minutes before exercise for its performance boosting benefits since it reaches peak stimulatory effect somewhere between 30 and 70 minutes.

Just be mindful if you workout in the evenings

Not a fan of coffee? You can try other caffeinated beverages or use caffeine tabs. Tabs usually come in 200mg doses but there a link below to 100mg tablets for easier adjustment.

Recommended: Caffeine Tablets

Creatine

Creatine is probably one of the most thoroughly tested supplements that is proven to work for increasing performance. Not only that, but creatine's benefits seem to also expand outside of just performance. This is why creatine has become one of my most recommended supplements.

Creatine has been proven to be safe and dirt cheap, which makes it a no-brainer in my opinion.

When it comes to dosing creatine, there is no need to front-load or doing a “loading phase.” Just take 3-5g (teaspoon) daily whenever convenient to you in the form of creatine monohydrate.

You can literally buy a 6 month+ supply for ~$30

  • Recommended creatine: Bulk supplements creatine
  • Recommended creatine: Musclefeast creapure

Fish oil

By fish oil, I am referring to EPA and DHA, the most useful types of omega-3s, which are generally found in fatty fish and algae.

Regarding body recomposition, fish oil has been linked to increased fat oxidation and decreased fat storage, but omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to help with numerous health conditions: reduced inflammation, reduced risk of cancer and diabetes, and improved heart health.

While there are no “official” recommendations of just how much fish oil to consume, a minimum of 250-500 mg combined EPA and DHA seems to be the general consensus by most health organizations. 20 U.S. Department of Health Guidelines 2010

If you are eating fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines) at least 2-3x a week you should be ok, but for the rest, I would suggest taking in a quality fish oil supplement.

  • Recommended fish oil: Fish oil pills
  • Recommended fish oil: Fish oil liquid

Vitamin D

Getting in enough vitamin D is essential for optimal health, and it makes this guide because nearly 50% of the population has a vitamin D deficiency.

Unlike other vitamins, vitamin D functions similar to a hormone, and every cell in your body has a receptor for it. Your body makes it from cholesterol when your skin is exposed to the sun, hence why it's given the name the “sunshine vitamin.”

Consuming 400–800 IU of vitamin D should meet the needs of ~90% of healthy people. However, a variety of studies show that taking more than this is linked to more significant health benefits.

Based on current research, consuming 1,000–4,000 IU of vitamin D daily may be more ideal for most people to reach healthy vitamin D blood levels.

Your vitamin D needs depend on a variety of factors. These include your age, skin color, current blood vitamin D levels, location, sun exposure and more. 

If you're getting enough natural sunlight exposure regularly, go with the lower end and vice versa.

  • Recommended Vitamind D: Vitamin D3 Soft Gels

Magnesium

Like Vitamin D, magnesium plays a vital role in everyday bodily functions,  and it's estimated that 80 percent of adults are deficient in this vital mineral.

While magnesium can be obtained from our diet, soil depletion lowers the amount of magnesium present in our foods making it hard to get from diet alone (hard, but not impossible). Our bodies also lose stores of magnesium every day from normal functions.

When it comes to dosing magnesium, a good rule of thumb seems to be 200-400mg daily.

  • Recommended Magnesium: Pure magnesium glycinate
  • Recommended Magnesium: Zhou magnesium glycinate complex

Electrolytes (sodium in particular)

We've gone over magnesium already, so let's briefly go over sodium. A lot of the unwanted side effects that many experience on a keto weight loss diet is due in part to a deficiency in electrolytes, most notably, sodium.

Reason being, not only are you eliminating carbohydrates, you're probably not consuming many of the pre-packaged foods that you once were. You basically hit your body with a double whammy when you switched to a ketogenic diet.

For every gram of carbohydrate you consume, the body stores an additional ~3-4 grams of water. Eliminate carbohydrates, and you quickly see what happens as experienced by the frequent urination during the first week of a ketogenic diet.

Not only are you eliminating carbohydrates, but most people generally switch to whole foods (a good thing) instead of prepackaged foods.

However, the problem with this is that those pre-packaged foods are typically filled with tons of sodium already. You've now drastically cut your sodium intake without adding them back in.

It is suggested that you take anywhere from 4-6g of sodium per day whether from supplementation or just liberally salting your foods.

  • Recommended salt: Redmond real salt
  • Recommended salt: Celtic sea salt
  • Recommended salt: Pink himalayan salt

Multivitamin

A multivitamin CAN be useful especially while dieting and calories are low. A multivitamin can serve to help cover any nutritional deficiencies almost like an insurance policy. Again, NOT required, but may be beneficial.

The trouble with most multivitamins is they are filled with inferior ingredients and forms of vitamins and minerals that are not bioavailable and full of garbage. So like most other forms of supplements, quality does matter.

  • Recommended multivitamin: Pure multivitamin

Lastly, a list of all the effective keto weight loss pills.

. There

. Isn't

. Any

. 😛


Chapter 5: Making adjustments to your keto weight loss diet

One of the biggest differences between those who are successful and those who are unsuccessful with any diet is their ability to track fat loss and make adjustments.

There are certainly a number of tools that ketogenic dieters can use to maximize results. These include the weight scales, various body fat testing methods, blood ketone meters, a tape measure, etc.


The difference maker: How to track fat loss and make adjustments

And off to the first BUT of this section.

But first, let's differentiate between weight loss and fat loss. One of the reasons why I don't recommend using the scale as the only means to measure progress is that it is often unreliable.

There are just too many factors that can influence what the number on that pesky little thing will give you on a daily basis.

keto weight loss did you gain weight?

To give you an example:

Weight loss is easy, don't drink water for a day or two and you'll quickly drop three to five pounds on the scale. However, when you drink water again, you'll soon regain that lost couple of pounds, so apparently, it wasn't ‘real' weight loss.

 When most people refer to weight loss, what they really want and are referring to, is fat loss. 

Without knowing where the lost weight is coming from (fat vs. muscle vs. water), you won't know whether your diet and exercise is working optimally.

What's EVEN WORSE, if you are NOT exercising, you can almost be sure that over half of the total weight loss will be from muscle and water, not fat.

The leaner are when you start dieting the more susceptible you are to muscle loss.

This often leads people to what is commonly referred to as skinny fat or basically a skinnier version of your fat self.

keto weight loss vs fat loss

no Bueno.

To make it clear, your goal should be maximal FAT LOSS not WEIGHT LOSS. Retaining as much muscle as possible while burning fat should be your priority instead of just weight loss.

Muscle helps burn more calories at rest, promotes insulin sensitivity, helps preserve and maintain healthy bone density, and frankly, it just makes you look sexier…


On how to track progress

If you are putting in a serious amount of effort with your training and nutrition, you owe it to yourself to take a few extra minutes each week to track your progress.

Tracking progress will help ensure you are on the right track and achieve your goals is a systematic way. Here are my top 3 methods based on ease of use and accessibility for most people.

SCALE

Wait a second, didn't you just say the scale wasn't a good way to measure progress? Not quite. A scale is a valuable tool, one of many, and can be useful if you know how to use it to your advantage.

Here's how to use the scale.

Weigh yourself every morning upon waking, preferably after going to the toilet. Scale weight will fluctuate day to day, but we're after averages and trends over time.

At the end of every week, add up all your weigh-ins and divide it by 7 (assuming you weighed yourself all 7 days).

Frequency of measurement: DAILY

TAPE MEASURE

Much like scale weight, I suggest measuring in the morning when you wake up, after going to the toilet. If you have someone that can do this for you, i.e. your spouse or partner, great… if not, do it yourself.

Either way, make sure it's usually best done by the same person whether yourself or another for consistency.

tracking your keto weight loss progress

When used in combination with the scale, this will help you to gauge muscle growth and fat loss in different areas. Make sure you measure the largest point in each area.

Frequency of measurement: ONCE A WEEK

PICTURES

Our third method of measurement will be pictures. Your goal is to take two photos, front and side, every four weeks.

Why not every week or every other week? Simply, changes will be too small to be noticeable.

Every four weeks seems like a happy medium to show some decent progress.  Everyone loves progress pictures, side by side comparisons end up being great motivation when you're able to see where all your hard work is going.

Aim to use:

  • Same lighting conditions
  • Camera
  • Camera angle
  • Distance from the camera
  • Time of day
  • Pose

Frequency of measurement: ONCE A MONTH

Some additional methods of measuring progress can include subjective feelings. After all, everything affects everything else.

Rate all of these on a scale of 0 – 5.

  • Sleep quality (0 = Slept like a baby. 5 = GIVE ME COFFEE.)
  • Stress levels (0 = Life's great! 5 = The world's gonna end.)
  • Hunger Issues (0 = No prob Bob. 5 = I'm gonna chew my arm off.)
  • Energy levels (0 = Let's smash a workout 5 = Carry me!)

Lastly, another useful data point to track is your gym performance. Am I getting stronger? Faster? Maintaining my strength?

 Strength maintenance is usually a good indicator of muscle preservation. 

However, this is not always the case, and in some lifts the leaner you get, the less you will be able to lift due to a change in leverages vs. actual muscle loss.

And while we're on the subject of tracking progress, you might be wondering why I didn't recommend monitoring body fat percentage.  Getting a body fat test done is not as convenient and widely available to individuals as the methods listed above.

Besides, most people are aiming for a certain “look,” so what would it matter what the scale or a body fat test told you if you liked what you saw in the mirror?

Let me answer that for you.

It wouldn't.

More importantly, every method of measuring body fat has their own set of accuracy and consistency issues.

Over the long term, having your body fat tested is a great way to measure progress, but in the short term, where the decisions and adjustments happen accordingly, it doesn't fit the bill.

To summarize

Gauge progress by looking at data over a more extended period, about four weeks. Analyze the trend, not the day to day fluctuations or even the week to week ones.

This means you'll have to exercise some patience and hold off on making adjustments.

 Don't fix what ain't broke. 

If your weight is slowly increasing while your stomach measurements gradually decrease, this indicates simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain.

Muscle growth will hide fat loss which is another reason why we cannot just rely on the scale.

keto weight loss vs keto fat loss

Making adjustments to your diet

It's inevitable, every diet will need to be adjusted as you lose weight and get leaner. If you've come to the point where you are experiencing no weight loss on keto here's what you do.

Bear in mind, if you are just starting your fat loss efforts, it takes the body some time to catch up to the deficit. I suggest waiting at minimum 3 – 4 weeks before making any adjustments to allow enough time to gauge actual progress.

Assuming you've done the above, waited a good 3-4 weeks, been tracking progress and still see no weight loss on keto. How do you make the adjustment?

The impatient dieter would probably do something drastic like cut 1,000 calories from their diet, the patient dieter would make SMALL adjustments.

Just remember, it's not how fast you get to your goal, all that matters is that you get there.

Years from now, you won't even care or remember if it took you 3 months, 6 months, or over a year. You'll just be glad that you've built up some great habits and that you got where you so wanted to be today.

So how small of an adjustment? Reduce your calorie intake by 5-10%.

For example, if your starting calorie intake was 2000 calories, you would further reduce this by only 100-200 calories.

Where should the adjustment come from?

Since carbs are already low, the only two remaining macronutrients to pull from are protein and fat.

Since we calculated protein based on our lean body mass or our ‘desired body weight,' this number must remain the same. This leaves only fat as the lever to dial back on if we aren't seeing the progress we desire.

In the case of our 2,000 calorie dieter who will make a 100-200 calorie adjustment, let's call him Bob, he will reduce his fat gram intake by 100-200 calories.

This means Bob will reduce his fat grams by 11-22 grams and keep his protein and carbohydrate intake the same. That's it.

After making this adjustment, Bob will keep an eye on his weekly average weight, measurements, and progress photos.

If after another 2-4 weeks things look like they are stalling, Bob will make another 5-10% reduction. If progress is steady, he will stay the course and continue doing what he's doing.

Experiencing a keto weight loss stall? Perhaps it's time for a diet break.

Yes, you read that right… a diet BREAK.

You've read earlier, or at the least heard of intermittent fasting, now let's talk about intermittent dieting. Basically, I'm talking about breaking up your dieting with periods of 10-14 days where you bring your calories back up to maintenance.

Reasons for taking a diet break.

Physiological reasons

When we diet, specific metabolic adaptations take place to counteract the caloric deficit. This is part of the reason why we must make small adjustments on a continual basis. 

A short period of regular eating has the potential to reverse some of these adaptations and allow our hormones to recover to normal, or at least semi-normal levels.

Psychological reasons

Dieting sucks, so sometimes taking a diet break is what we need to re-light the fire we had when we first started. Taking a break also allows us to recover emotionally and mentally… and possibly relieve some stress that has accrued.

How to implement the diet break.

In a perfect world, you would take a break from counting food entirely and eat to your hunger. If you know that free reign to eat according to hunger is a bad idea, then you may want to keep to semi-regular meals and times.

Just like we used a simple calorie calculation to determine our weight loss calories, you may do the same to get a baseline maintenance. A good rule of thumb is to calculate your weight in pounds by 14-16 calories.

The increase in calories can come in the form of increased protein or from fat, your choice. It really won't matter too much whether you choose protein vs. fat, all that matters is that you increase your calories for the 10-14 days.

Current literature does suggest that the increase in calories should come in the form of carbohydrates as carbohydrates has the biggest impact on hormone levels.

That said, I will leave that at your discretion as to whether or not you wish to consider using a ketogenic approach during your periods of bringing calories up to maintenance.

For many individuals who adopt keto as a lifestyle this may not be a feasible option. In this case, make up the increase in calories by bringing up your fat intake.

Remember, we are trying to give our bodies a break, so don't panic and overcompensate by trying to do more cardio or anything of the sort. In fact, this is a great time to actually take it a tad easier if you've been going balls to the wall.

How often to implement a diet break.

The leaner you are, the harder it generally is to keep dropping fat. Also, the leaner you are, the harsher the metabolic adaptations become as you diet down.

Since leanness plays a part in how fast our body decides to hate us, this will determine how frequently diet breaks should be taken.

DIET BREAK KETO WEIGHT LOSS

You can expect a rise in the scale weight due to the increase in food, but that is to be expected.

Don't panic, we actually want this, and if you've followed the (14-16 calories per pound of body weight), and didn't go on a binge fest, then you likely didn't put on much if any fat.

This increase in scale weight will soon subside once you return to a caloric deficit.


Chapter 6: How fast can you lose fat?

First off, what's the rush?

Like I mentioned earlier,  whether it takes you 3 months, 6 months, or 12+ months, years from now you won't even care or remember. You'll only care that you lost the weight and built up the habits that kept it off. 

Besides, you didn't gain all that weight in a month, so why are you expecting it to come off in one?


Average weight loss in ketosis? Is there a keto weight loss rate you should be aiming for?

You'd be quite surprised, or maybe not, to see how often I get questions like ‘What's the average weight loss in ketosis?' or is there a ‘ketosis weight loss rate I should be aiming for?'

It's the ones who have this fast fat loss mentality who are also the ones who tend to regain the weight back after they end their diets, or quit entirely before accomplishing their goal.

Not to say that there is no such thing as aggressive fat loss diets or that they don't work, because they do.

It is because this mentality encourages the use of fad diets that won't be sustainable in the long-term nor will it help you build proper habits that allow you to maintain the fat loss in the long-term.

So be patient young grasshopper.

keto weight loss patience.jpg

Now that's out the way, just how fast should you be expecting to lose fat? To circle back, there is no average weight loss that everyone can expect while in ketosis or any other diet.

However, there is a sensible weight loss rate you could aim for, but this is dependent on how much fat you have to lose to begin with.

The higher your starting levels of body fat, the faster you can expect to lose. Conversely, the leaner you are, the slower rate of loss will be or at least should be, to best minimize muscle and strength loss.

With that said: I like to set fat loss targets between .5 – 1% of your total body weight per week. 

The benefit of using percentages is that the rate of loss will automatically scale as your weight decreases.

So, if you have a lot of weight to lose you will have a higher target, but this will be autoregulated downward as you drop weight and have less to lose overall.

For example:

 When in doubt, take the slower route. 

If you're unsure where to start, err on the side of slower fat loss rather than faster. If you were to ask me, I would probably tell you to eat as much as possible while still losing fat.

It may take a bit longer to reach your goal weight, but you will probably lose less muscle, feel better, and you get to eat more food vs. if you take a sledgehammer approach and be more aggressive with your calories.


Chapter 7: Training for fat loss

Remember back when we discussed the difference between Bodyfat vs. Bodyweight and how what most people want, yes… including you, is FAT loss and not just weight loss?

Well, if you are not including any type of resistance training in your keto weight loss program then the likelihood a good chunk of the weight you'll lose will be muscle.21Again, this will also come down to how lean or fat you are when starting the diet.


Where many folks go wrong

This is where most people go wrong. Many people I see on ketogenic diets either do no exercise whatsoever, or the only form of exercise they perform is some form of cardio, like running. 22I'm not saying cardio is bad, just that it is not technically necessary. You can create your caloric deficit with diet alone or a combination of the two.

What, so cardio is bad?

There is a common misconception that you need to do cardio to lose weight, but the truth is you can lose weight without it. Cardio, in the context of weight loss, is another form of calorie reduction.

Everyone should do some type of cardio for health purposes, and even more so if it's something you enjoy, but when it comes to fat loss… it's not required nor high on the priority list.

So what should I do?

Since our primary goal is ‘fat' loss, then our efforts should be to not only get rid of fat but maintain or even possibly gain as much muscle as possible. To do so, we must include some form of resistance/strength training in our regimen.

This is the part where a lot of females tell me, ‘but I don't want to get bulky.'

Believe me, the fact that you don't want to get bulky is already a sign that you won't, combine that with the fact that females don't carry as much testosterone as men and you're all set.

Besides, do you see all the guys in the gym who actually do want to get big and aren't? It's not that simple.

If you are wanting to lose fat and ultimately change the look of your physique, you need to incorporate resistance training.

Note:  I said you need to, not, if you want to. 

That lean, toned or ripped look that you so desire comes down to having at least some muscle in combination with a low enough body fat percentage.

In fact, the more muscle you have, the more you can get away with concerning body fat percentage, hence why I said ‘low enough.'

Simply put, the more muscle you have, the less fat you have to lose actually to achieve the look you desire.

To top it off, since there is no such thing as spot reducing fat (sorry everyone, but it's true), one way around that is to spot increase muscle. By increasing muscle on certain parts of your body, you can help “tighten up” that area.

At the end of the day, resistance training is essential for maintaining lean body mass, strength, and function. Being a functionally fit human being is vital for daily living no matter whether you want to lose fat or not.

I'm not saying you have to be a bodybuilder, there are plenty of workouts you can do with dumbbells at home or even with just your body weight.

What matters is that you progress over time in whatever you choose to do by increasing the resistance (weight), doing more reps, doing more sets, or a combination of the three.

If you're looking for a little more guidance on bodybuilding or putting on some muscle, you can check out the guide on the keto diet and bodybuilding.

Ok, so lifting weights will make me lose weight?

Not exactly, it's just one of the tools we are incorporating to get you that sexy body you so desire. When it comes to losing body fat, there is an order of importance as illustrated below.

keto weight loss order of importance

Wait a minute… what the heck is NEAT?

I'm glad you asked,  NEAT stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis.  NEAT encompasses all of the activity that you accumulate throughout the day that isn't intentional exercise.

This may mean washing the dishes, fidgeting, folding clothes, etc.

Uhm, so what does this have to do with my weight loss goals?

Let me explain. There are 24 hours in a day, and if you're lucky, maybe you spend around an hour of that each day working out.

This means that the other 23 hours of your day will have a more significant influence on how many calories you burn vs. what you can accomplish in a one-hour training session.

So, giving you the benefit of the doubt here… but say you train an hour a day seven times per week, that's seven hours of physical exercise versus 161 hours of no training.

 That's ~95% of your week. 

OK… 96% if you want to get all technical on me.

keto weight loss exercise vs non exercise

What's your point?

My point is, the more active you are throughout the day, the more things begin to add up – taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking a little further, getting up from your desk for a light stretch or short walk on your break, etc.

This is why fitness wearables can be useful tools since it gives us a simple way to measure activity (i.e. steps).

Moral of this story

When it comes to training for fat loss, a combination of both cardio and strength training should be incorporated, if not for fat loss, at least for your health, but the majority of the calories burned will come via non-exercise activity.


Chapter 8: Keto weight loss F.A.Q.

Just a little keto weight loss F.A.Q.

This portion will be updated as questions come pouring in.

Have a question of your own? Leave it down below in the comments section.



So there you have it!

What'd you think about the best damn keto weight loss guide on the planet?

I'd love to hear what you think or if you have any questions down below.

Enjoy the guide? Share it using one of the methods above, I would greatly appreciate it.

Keto Diet And Bodybuilding [The Ultimate Guide]

This guide will teach you everything you need to know about a keto diet and bodybuilding.

First off, it is possible to build muscle on a ketogenic diet.

You will learn…

How to set up your keto diet.

How to train on a keto diet.

Plus much much more.

Let’s get started…

but first click here => 23I am a footnote. Every time you see one of these gems you can click it to perhaps learn a bit more, read my thoughts, or to reference a study.

Don't have time to read all 8,000+ words? Download a PDF to read offline at a later time.


keto and bodybuilding pinterest cover

Chapter 1: Consistency of the fundamentals

The keto diet and bodybuilding are two words you may not often see thrown in the same sentence.

In fact, you may be here because there's so much misinformation floating around and you're questioning whether bodybuilding on keto is even possible.

One question I hear most is whether or not you can build muscle while on a keto diet. In short, yes it is possible to add muscle while on a ketogenic diet and I'm here to tell you how.

Trust me, I was there and had those very same questions, but I'm here to share with you that IT IS possible and many individuals are doing so.

When it comes to building muscle, it boils down to about four fundamental principles whether you're on a ketogenic diet or a high carbohydrate diet.


Keto diet bodybuilding fundamentals

A “traditional” bodybuilding regimen typically follows a super high carb high protein and virtually no fat diet, almost opposite of a ketogenic diet.

It's no wonder why there are so many people that question whether or not they can build sufficient muscle on a ketogenic diet.

Again, trust me… I was there! But when it comes down to it, building and/or maintaining muscle comes down to a few fundamental principles:

  • TRAINING. Sufficient stimulus and overload
  • NUTRITION. Enough calories and protein
  • RECOVERY. Rest and quality sleep
  • ADVANCED. Supplementation and meal timing

The bodybuilding world filled with all sorts of bro science and overhyped supplements, but when it comes to building muscle, you can't argue with key fundamentals backed by science.

A little forewarning:

First off, there is a strong chance you will not be able to work out with the same intensity as before… INITIALLY. That is, your body hasn't adapted to using fat as fuel or what many refer to as becoming fat adapted or keto-adapted.

Many say this process takes about 3-4 weeks, but from mine and many others personal experiences… it only gets better and better as time goes on.

Eventually, your gym performance will surpass that of when you were on a standard carbohydrate based diet.

With that said, let's get to the fundamental principles for putting on some quality muscle on a ketogenic diet.


Chapter 2: Keto bodybuilding and progressive overload

The most closely associated variables with muscle hypertrophy (growth) are progressively overloading your muscles and increasing your training volume.

Meaning,  stressing your muscle over time and performing an adequate amount of volume  (done by increasing your reps and/or sets)

Depending on the program, this can occur daily, weekly, monthly, or even over a longer duration of your choosing.  The most IMPORTANT concept is that we do MORE over time. 


Different progression schemes

The body will adapt to the stress of resistance training with increased fitness, in our case… muscle growth. Of course, the stress must meet a minimum threshold of intensity.

If the stress is not sufficient to overload the body, no adaptation will occur. 

FORCE YOUR BODY TO ADAPT AND GROW!

LINEAR LOAD INCREASE

The weight used increases from week to week or session to session generally on the same exercise.

LINEAR REP INCREASES

An increase in the number of repetitions from week to week or session to session generally on the same exercise.

LINEAR SET INCREASES

Increase the number of sets performed from week to week or session to session generally on the same exercise. 

ust remember, you should be increasing your training load over time using a single method or a combination of the above methods.

While strength increases are a useful marker for the effectiveness of your training program, it is not necessarily our primary function when it comes to bodybuilding which is muscle growth.

Just think of strength as a very welcome side effect. Hypertrophy is one component of strength, but not the other way around.

Furthermore, if you are effectively overloading the muscle and generating growth, you'll likely get stronger over time, but a part of that strength increase is also due in part to skill development (becoming more proficient) with the exercise and neurological adaptations.

Nevertheless, an increase in strength is also a useful marker of your training programs effectiveness. 2Start on the low-end range of volume of what may seem optimal for you and then steadily increase if performance or muscle size is not increasing. Just realize that muscle gain is a slow process, even more so for those who are well trained or beyond their “noobie gains.” Provide enough stimulus, and your muscles will grow. With resistance training, you are sending the signal to your body to both recover and to rebuild. Your muscles grow as an adaptation to this stimulus and in a sense becomes more resilient.

You must provide enough of the right type of stimulus for your muscles to grow. This is accomplished by progressively overloading your muscles over time through resistance training using one or a multitude of progressions.


Chapter 3: Keto bodybuilding nutrition

Ever heard the phrase “Abs are made in the kitchen?” Well, that's because they are.

Whether you're looking to build muscle or lose fat, your diet is almost always the limiting factor WHATEVER your goal and given your training is in order.

That being said…


Keto diet and bodybuilding nutrition: CALORIES

 During the first couple weeks of starting a ketogenic diet, it is imperative that an adequate or even increased amount of protein intake is consumed. 

When switching to a keto diet for bodybuilding, your body has yet to shift to a fat-burning metabolism.

Before the adaptation period of about 3 weeks, small amounts of glucose are still required for your brain and body to function, in turn, your body ends up breaking down its own protein stores to provide that glucose. 

Eating enough protein will help prevent muscle loss by supplying the amino acids for gluconeogenesis that would otherwise come from your body protein.

However, once your body has made the shift from using glucose as its primary source of energy to using ketones, the need for gluconeogenesis from protein will also decrease.

In fact, once your body is adapted to using ketones for fuel, the ketones exert a protein sparing effect which makes it great while cutting for the summer or getting shredded for the stage.

In the end, the importance of nutrition is no different on a ketogenic diet vs. a carbohydrate-based one regarding the fundamentals laid out below.

However, the macronutrient breakdown will, of course, differ since we are relying on a different source of energy, fat.

Here is an image to help you visualize the degree of importance when it comes to nutrition and meeting your goals. 

keto diet bodybuilding keto body recomp pyramid of importance

How much weight is gained, lost, or maintained comes down to energy balance i.e. your calorie intake.

If you're not sure where to start, head over to our keto macro calculator to get a personalized starting point based on your lifestyle and goals or simply use the “easy” calculation method below to generate a great starting point.

keto bodybuilding calculator cheat sheet

When it comes to bodybuilding, people generally have one of two goals, ok maybe three. You either want to lose fat, gain muscle, or the third… accomplish both at the same time.

The ability to gain muscle while losing fat (caloric deficit) usually comes down to:

  • Your current body fat percentage
  • How trained you already are
  • The size of your caloric deficit

Essentially, the higher your body fat and the less training experience under your belt, the higher the likelihood you will be able to accomplish both, provided you're not HEAVILY restricting your calories.

Changes in your diet, rather than manipulating your training or cardio, should be used to create the energy surplus or deficit you need to put on muscle or drop body fat (for the most part).

It's just easier and more effective to control your energy balance through diet than it is through training, but hey… do what makes you happy.

As the saying goes, “You can't outrun a bad diet.”

For a better understanding of calories, how many you should eat, and best practices check out the article on How many calories should you eat on a ketogenic diet? 3Get clear on what your goals are so you’re not always yo-yo’ing between gaining and losing weight. When it comes down to it, the amount of fat you lose or muscle you gain will highly depend on how many or how few calories you eat.

The foundation of any diet whether that is muscle gain or fat loss is total energy intake (calories). It’s easier to manipulate what you do or do not eat vs. your training or cardio.

Keto diet and bodybuilding nutrition: MACROS

To oversimplify things a bit, while calories (energy balance) determines whether weight is gained, lost, or maintained, macronutrients (protein, carbs, and fat) determine whether that change comes from fat or muscle.

If you ever hear the term or see me refer to ‘macros' you're just hearing an abbreviated term for the word macronutrients: carbohydrate, protein, and fat.

Macronutrients will be the biggest difference when it comes to a ketogenic diet and bodybuilding vs. your standard bodybuilding diet since our primary energy source is fat and not carbohydrates.

ONE MACRO TO RULE THEM ALL!

Which leaves us to what I consider the most important macronutrient, PROTEIN aka PROTONS. Protein, contrary to all the keto hearsay, is not a bad thing and is actually quite important.

 Protein helps us to recover from our training, it preserves your lean tissue when dieting, helps us repair and grow muscle when bulking, and has the highest satiety effect of the three macronutrients. 

But what about gluconeogenesis?

What about it?

Technically, gluconeogenesis is happening all the time, but there is this common misconception in the keto community that “a little extra“ protein in the diet will magically turn into chocolate cake (wouldn't that be cool though).

As in, excess protein will be converted to glucose and spike your insulin, therefore, knocking you out of ketosis, but this couldn't be any further from the truth.

Gluconeogenesis is a demand driven process. Meaning, it will only occur if it is absolutely necessary.

Myself, along with MANY others have successfully eaten high protein diets while maintaining a state of ketosis. In fact,  the ONLY prerequisite to achieving a state of ketosis is the reduction or lack of carbohydrates , not eating high amounts of fat or eating low amounts of protein.

Mind you, if you are using a ketogenic diet for therapeutic reasons, please do so under the care of a medical professional.

Within the keto community it is quite common for people to stick to specific “percentages,” but this can often lead people to unintentionally under consume protein or over-consume fat.

Guidelines for protein intake should ideally be based on an individual’s lean mass and be given in total grams, rather than as a percentage of total energy intake.

Here's why you want to calculate by grams and NOT percentages.

Since we want to base protein on an individuals lean mass, let's give you an example:

Bob is a 195lb male with 20% body fat and wants to shed some of that fat.

This leaves Bob with 39lbs of fat mass and 156lbs of lean mass.

Per my experience and some of the scientific literature, Bob at the very least should be consuming 156 grams of protein, probably more since he is in a deficit. If Bob was dieting aggressively, say averaging 10 calories per pound of bodyweight based per our EZ calculator, that leaves Bob with 1950 calories.

Now, using traditional “ketogenic percentages,” even at the high end of the protein recommendation, 30% ( which is probably higher than what you'll see even at the HIGH end ) this leaves Bob with 146 grams of protein.

Imagine if Bob was eating even less than 1950 calories, protein intake would be insufficient.

One could argue that ketones are muscle sparing, and they are, but  when it comes to protein, too much is better than too little. 

HOW MUCH PROTEIN ON A KETOGENIC DIET? READ MORE.

For a better estimate, it's best to calculate protein requirements on lean body mass rather than total body weight. We can calculate lean mass by taking our total weight and subtracting our fat weight.

Protein recommendations are based on lean mass since individuals with more fat will end up with too much protein and leaner individuals end up with too little.

Basically, the more lean mass you have the more protein you require.

If you have no idea of what your body fat is, there are a myriad of testing methods such as body fat calipers, a bodpod, electrical impedance, or a DEXA scan.

Either way, all methods tend to have inaccuracies and inconsistencies so the purpose of having it done is to have a general starting point.

If you prefer, you can use the image on our keto calculator page to guesstimate your body fat and also calculate your calories and macros based on your preferences and goals. 4When first starting a ketogenic diet, regardless of body weight, I would recommend an intake of at least 120 – 150 grams of protein to stave off any muscle loss. Afterward, I recommend at least 1g per lb of lean body mass in protein or more depending on preference. The rest of your calories should be coming from fat with very little carbohydrates.

Another, rather simple, method is to eat 1 gram of protein per pound of DESIRED bodyweight. Meaning, if you were 180 pounds but wanted to cut down to 150 then you would simply eat 150 grams of protein per day.

Other great reads on the other two macros right below:

How many carbohydrates on a ketogenic diet?

How much fat on a ketogenic diet?

When it comes to macronutrients (protein, carbs, and fat) we want to make sure we have a sufficient amount of protein, especially during the first 3 weeks of a ketogenic diet. Eating between .8g – 1.2g/lbm should provide an adequate amount of protein to help maintain lean mass in a caloric deficit and put on muscle during a caloric surplus. Carbs are typically limited to under 30g of net carbohydrates and fats will make up the rest of your calories and adjusted up or down depending on your goal.

Keto diet and bodybuilding nutrition: MICRONUTRIENTS

In short, these are your vitamins and minerals. If you are following a diet rich in whole foods and not solely relying on processed meats or fast food you may more or less have this covered on a ketogenic diet.

Long-term micronutrient deficiencies will eventually impact your health and hamper your bodybuilding efforts.

BUT WHAT ABOUT FIBER?

Depending on which side of the keto fence you land on, this may leave you with some fiber or none at all.

With the rise of the carnivore diet or even the keto carnivore diet, new research is emerging questioning the role of dietary fiber or if it is even required at all to live a happy and healthy life.

Moral of the story, we might not need as much fiber as we have been led to… especially if utilizing a ketogenic diet for bodybuilding.

CAN I JUST TAKE A MULTIVITAMIN?

A multivitamin isn’t a substitute for a poor diet, but it can be insurance on a good one. Those in a calorie deficit have a higher risk of micronutrient deficiencies since their overall intake is less and may benefit from supplementation. 5Food quality matters! If you have the means, try to source high-quality foods such as pasture raised eggs and grass finished beef. Concerning fiber, experiment and see what works best for you and your body. Like mom says, you're a unique snowflake… so what works for me may not be what's best for you and vice versa.

Eat a diet high in whole UNprocessed foods such as pasture raised eggs, grass finished beef, full-fat dairy, and green leafy vegetables.

Keto diet and bodybuilding nutrition: NUTRIENT TIMING

To define nutrient timing simply, nutrient timing refers to eating specific macros (protein, carbs, or fats) in specific amounts and at specific times (such as before, during, or after exercise, before bed, you get the picture)

Trust me, I've done it all… everything from eating every 2 hours to downing a 4:1 carb to protein shake IMMEDIATELY post-workout, to eating my nightly cottage cheese, and even going as far as having a protein shake ready for when I woke up in the middle of the night.

Every fad, protocol, and bodybuilding folklore has been tested at some point.

As a whole, I've seen the shift from recommendations of eating every 2-3 hours throughout the day to everyone jumping into intermittent fasting and eating only one or two meals per day.

The best answer I can give you regarding meal frequency is that it likely falls somewhere in between one and five meals a day in terms of what is “optimal.”

At a certain point, you're seeing very marginal increases. For the recreational bodybuilder or those who are just trying to look and feel better, I don't believe it matters a great deal.

WHAT ABOUT PRE OR POST WORKOUT NUTRITION?

For years, we all used to believe in the “post-workout anabolic window.” Bodybuilders everywhere were rushing to chug down their protein and carb shakes within 30 – 45 minutes of finishing their workouts.

Well, hate to burst your bubble… but the “anabolic window” is actually a whole lot longer than we used to believe. In fact, muscle protein synthesis is elevated as long as 48 hours after a bout of heavy resistance training.

Recent data suggests that the total amount of protein and calories you eat, over the course of the entire day, is arguably more important for body composition and performance than worrying about nutrient timing.6Do whatever fits your lifestyle and preference the best whether that's eating four times a day or only once. If you really are looking for every possible edge, having a meal anywhere from 2-3 hours before and/or after should do the trick. Alternatively, you can supplement with a protein shake before, during, and/or after your workout if you feel so inclined

Nutrient timing may matter for high-level athletes or those performing multiple training sessions throughout the day, but for the recreational bodybuilder or those just trying to look and feel better, it doesn't matter a great deal. Your total protein and overall diet will have a more significant impact on your body composition and performance.

Keto diet and bodybuilding nutrition: SUPPLEMENTS

If everything else above is in order, supplements can benefit a good nutrition plan, but they cannot make up for a poor one.

Most people skip directly to this section, because the first thing they want to know is what are the best supplements for keto.

When it comes to a ketogenic diet, the only one I believe to be essential are electrolytes (sodium, potassium, and magnesium).

When everything else above is dialed in, you don't need an extensive supplement list. This is why supplements are at the top of the pyramid and really shouldn't be considered until you have your training, calories, and macros in order.

 There are very few supplements with strong evidence to support their effectiveness.  Unfortunately, when it comes to most supplements most of them are all talk but here are a few that have deemed themselves worthy of being recommended.

Here are the ones I do recommend along with the brands I use and trust due to purity of ingredients.

CAFFEINE

Shown multiple times over to aid in fat loss, gym performance, appetite suppression, and if you're drinking it (i.e. coffee) filled with plenty of antioxidants.

Depending on your sensitivity, I would recommend between 100mg and 200mg 30 minutes to an hour before your workout. Just be mindful of your intake if you workout close to bed since caffeine carries a half-life of 5 to 6 hours.

A 16oz cup of coffee carries about 200mg so that should do the trick.

Another study shows that maybe even higher doses ~3-6mg/kg is required to see any kind of performance benefits.7Performance of muscle strength and fatigue tolerance in young trained women supplemented with caffeine.

  • Recommended: Caffeine Tablets

CREATINE

Possibly one of the only well tested, tried, and true supplements.

Creatines benefits expand outside of just performance which makes it one of my most recommended supplements. It is indeed the number one supplements in my opinion for improving your gym performance.

I recommend a dose of 3g – 5g of creatine per day and with creatine being so cheap, why not? You can buy nearly a years supply for $20.

  • Recommended creatine: Bulk supplements creatine
  • Recommended creatine: Musclefeast creapure

Foods rich in creatine include beef, salmon, and tuna.

FISH OIL

I recommend eating plenty of omega-3 rich foods and possibly even supplementing in most cases. The typical diet contains about 10x more omega-6s than omega-3s.

This is why it's important to pay attention to food quality and sticking to whole and unprocessed foods when possible. Many experts believe we should be closer to a ratio of 2:1 (omega-6:omega-3) for optimal health.

If you're mindful of your food choices on a ketogenic diet you should be closer to the average than most people already. Personally, I aim for anywhere between 1,000 and 2,000 milligrams of combined EPA/DHA day.

  • Recommended fish oil: Fish oil pills
  • Recommended fish oil: Fish oil liquid

Foods rich in Omega-3 include fatty fish, ( mackerel, wild caught salmon, sardines ) walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, and pasture-raised egg yolks.

VITAMIN D3

Vitamin D is made by the body when the skin is exposed to sunlight, so If you find yourself in an area with very little or don't get out much then I would highly recommend between 1,000 – 6,000 IU per day.

  • Recommended Vitamind D: Vitamin D3 Soft Gels

Foods rich in Vitamin D include fatty fish, ( mackerel, wild caught salmon, sardines ) beef liver, and egg yolks.

WHEY / CASEIN PROTEIN

First off, there's nothing magical about whey or casein protein, but if you're having trouble hitting your protein intake then supplementing can make a difference. Just look at protein powders as just foods in powdered form and nothing more.

  • Recommended protein powder: Grass-Fed Whey isolate
  • Recommended protein powder: Grass-Fed Casein
  • Recommended protein powder: Vegan protein

KETONE SALTS

Great for a boost of energy / pre-workout or while making the transition to a ketogenic diet. Ketone salts or exogenous BHB supplements can supply you with a quick burst of energy.

  • Recommended Ketone Salts: Perfect Keto Exogenous Ketones

MCT OIL

Medium Chain Triglycerides are digested easily and sent directly to your liver, where they can be quickly converted to ketones because they require fewer steps to be metabolized in your cells.

Personally, I'll take about a tbsp (15g) in my pre-workout cocktail. If new to MCT oil I would suggest starting with about 5g and work your way up in dose. MCT oil has been known to give people the case of disaster pants.

  • Recommended MCT (C8 Oil): C8 MCT Oil 
  • Recommended MCT Powder: Perfect Keto MCT Oil Powder
  • Recommended MCT Oil: Viva Naturals MCT Oil

SO YA… 8If you have your training and diet in order and want to take it to the next level… you almost can’t go wrong with supplementing caffeine and creatine alongside your key electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium) to give you a boost in performance.

Supplements are at the top of the pyramid and really shouldn't be considered until you have your training, calories, and macros in order. The only necessary supplements are electrolytes and any vitamin you may be deficient in such as Vitamin D.

Chapter 4: Keto diet bodybuilding recovery

Recovery from muscle breakdown is an often overlooked piece in this muscle building and fat loss puzzle.

After all, the better you can recover from workouts, the more frequently you can train, and training frequency does play a major key in hypertrophy (muscle gain).

I’m not advocating that hitting your chest every day is going to make it grow exponentially, but there is research to suggest that training a body part 2-3x per week seems to be more optimal if muscle growth is your goal.

With that said, recovery can be boiled down to some key principles.

  • Proper nutrition. Giving your body the fuel it needs.
  • Plenty of rest. Plenty of sleep, taking days off, and planned deloads.
  • Managing stress. Not much to add here.

Keto bodybuilding recovery: NUTRITION

Proper nutrition

Since we covered nutrition earlier, we won’t go into too much depth here, but a big part of recovery comes down to how much and what foods you put into your body.

You want your body to have the resources it needs to repair itself whether you’re looking to lose fat or pack on some muscle.

I can go on and on about food quality, but you either believe that food quality matters or you don’t so I’ll leave you with this tidbit, everything you put in your mouth either helps you or hurts you.

Now, when it comes to nutrition and recovery, you want to be following the guidelines we laid out above to first determine how many calories you should be eating and then following that up with making sure you are eating a sufficient amount of protein.

To rehash your memory here is the order of importance.

KETO AND BODYBUILDING HOW TO CALCULATE MACROS
  1. Determine your calorie requirements (yes, calories still matter)
  2. Eat an adequate amount of protein
  3. Restrict your carbohydrates
  4. Fill in the remaining calories with fat

If muscle gain is a priority

An extra 250-500 calories is really all it takes to give your body what it needs to build and repair. Any more than that and you risk putting on too much fat since there is a point of diminishing returns.

Muscle gain expectations

Regarding muscle growth, your level of training and even your genetics play a massive part in what determines muscle growth potential.

The more advanced in training age you are, the slower it'll likely be to pack on some muscle. Below is a rough breakdown of the rate of growth you can expect based on your training age:

KETO AND BODYBUILDING MUSCLE GROWTH POTENTIAL
Even for advanced lifters .5 lbs of actual muscle tissue is a stretch

If fat loss is a priority

How fast you want to lose body fat is determined by your caloric deficit. If we take the number of 3500 calories, the amount of calories in 1 pound of fat, we can assume that if we subtract 500 calories per day over the course of a week (500 calories x 7 days) that we would lose around 1 pound per week.

Therefore, if we were to increase our calorie deficit to 1000 calories per day, we could assume about a 2-pound decrease per week.

These are just estimates and don’t always work out this way since a lot of factors are at play, but in general, these principles do apply.

Fat loss expectations

Fat-loss tends to be proportional to a person's body fat percentage rather than total body weight. In general, the higher your starting body fat, the more aggressive you can be.

The below recommendations should be a realistic expectation of fat loss while also preserving muscle mass using a keto diet for cutting: 9Be realistic when it comes to muscle gain as it is a slow process. It’s much easier to lose fat than it is to gain muscle. With that said, when cutting, diet as aggressively as you can without losing muscle.

FAT LOSS EXPECTATION FOR KETO BODYBUILDERS
Proper nutrition plays a big part in how your body recovers from one training session to the next. Providing your body with sufficient calories and protein will give your body the substrate it needs to recover and rebuild.

Keto bodybuilding recovery: REST

All about rest

Rest comes down to three parts:

  1. Days off from training
  2. Deloading (strategic periods of less volume and intensity)
  3. Sleep. Many individuals undervalue the importance of getting a sufficient amount of rest and end up burned out or spinning their wheels wondering why they aren’t seeing any progress in the gym.

1. Days off from training

As a culture, we tend to think the harder and longer we go the “bigger the gains” and this is true… to a certain extent.

Up to a certain point, the more is better approach is fine and dandy, but you may quickly end up at the more is TOO much making it harder to recover. You end up taking a four steps forward three steps back approach.

Your body doesn’t grow while you’re in the gym. If you’re not taking time away from the gym, your body doesn’t have time to adapt by becoming bigger and stronger than it was before.

2. Strategic deloads

Just as in life or business, training should also have a period of time where you reduce the intensity and volume.

Much like taking a vacation from work, by taking our foot off the gas for a brief period, it allows us to dissipate any fatigue and come back with a renewed sense of purpose and energy.

 A deload may sound counterproductive, but if you want to make the best muscle and strength progress, you shouldn’t be training hard all the time. 

Or best put, you cannot. After some time, residual fatigue accumulates, and performance ends up taking a dip and worse performance = fewer gains. Now, what once was your 100% may now only be 85%.

Can you still make progress without a deload? Sure, but you could make better progress by incorporating these periods of less intensity and volume, and that’s where a deload comes in.

Again, Why should you deload?

  • Dissipate fatigue
  • Mental rejuvenation
  • Time to heal any possible injuries
  • Allows a progressive system to ensure overloading

Picture a deload as walking up four flights of stairs, but we stop for a short rest on the fourth floor. We stop just long enough so that we may catch our breath and regain enough energy to continue another four flights of stairs before rinse and repeating.

How to implement a deload

In order to deload, all we are doing is reducing our intensity and volume to reduce the accumulated fatigue from weeks of hard training while maintaining our fitness.

In practice, you should not be going so hard as to cause more fatigue and muscle damage. At the same time, you should not be going too easy that you lose substantial fitness.

Just depending who you ask, everyone goes about deloading in one of two ways, planned or “by feel.” Personally, I subscribe to the first camp and plan my deloads since if you are “feeling” that you need one it may already to be too late.

For this purpose, I generally schedule a deload every 4-6 weeks where I reduce the load (weight) on every exercise by about 5% and cut my volume by about 25 – 50%

For example:

If in my 4th week of training after coming off a previous deload I was squatting 315lbs for four sets of 10 reps. During my 5th week (deload week) I would do the below:

315 x .05 = 300lbs (we’ll just round for simplicity sake)

4 / 2 = 2 sets

10 / 2 = 5 reps

Essentially, I would do 300lbs for 2 sets of 5 reps on my leg day for squats during my deload week and then I would apply this same load and volume decrease on every exercise during my deload week.

Again, the main goal is to allow us to continue progressing with maximum performance. It may suck to take it a bit easier every now and then, but the benefits far outweigh the negatives IMO.

Done correctly, you should be coming off that week stronger, feeling better, and even more excited to hit the weights hard.

3. Sleep

We all know that the body needs sleep, after all… sooner or later we all get tired. But how much sleep we need is difficult to determine because, like many other things, it depends on individual differences.

Besides, who doesn’t like sleep?

What most people don’t realize Is that sleep and muscle growth, and even fat loss, go hand in hand. During our workouts and even day to day life, we create microscopic tears within our muscle on a cellular level.

It’s these tears that repair and rebuild resulting in muscle growth. The biggest factors in how well our muscles repair after training are our sleep and our nutrition.

While not always possible, you should be aiming for anywhere from 8 to 10 hours of sleep every night. It is when we sleep that our body creates spikes in larger amounts of vital hormones for muscle repair and growth such as HGH, testosterone, and melatonin.

Moral of the story, get some shuteye. 


Keto bodybuilding recovery: STRESS LESS

DESTRESS

There’s an often overlooked aspect to muscle gain or fat loss, and that’s stress. That’s because stress physiology can cascade down and effect virtually every other system in our body including the immune system, endocrine system, neurological system, and gastrointestinal system.

If you’re frustrated and know you may be doing everything right and still not seeing any progress, stress may be one part of your life you may need to take a good hard look at.

Lots of chemical responses occur during periods of stress including:

  • Rising levels of cortisol secretion. Cortisol isn’t bad in and of itself, but when it spikes and stays elevated for prolonged periods this may hamper your progress in the gym. Elevated levels of cortisol may negatively impact blood sugar levels, digestion, metabolism, fat storage, and the immune system.
  • Hunger and cravings increase. FOR SUGAR! Yepp, quite counterproductive for those looking at bodybuilding on keto as an alternative to the mainstream. Hormonal changes in the body can be the cause for that Ben and Jerrys craving.
  • Thyroid gland slows production. One of the essential hormones needed for metabolism. It may be one reason why you may spinning your wheels in the gym and sticking to your diet and not seeing the scale budge in the right direction.
  • Increase catabolism. Breaking down of muscle to use as energy while increasing fat stores… quite the opposite of what we’re looking to accomplish.
9 WAYS TO DESTRESS FOR KETO BODYBUILDING

Adequate sleep, calories, and attention to recovery as we’ve gone over earlier in the article are three of the biggest factors that we have control over on a daily basis.

In addition, supplements like ashwagandha and chaga mushrooms have been shown to aid in adaptation to stress.

Recommended ashwagandha: KSM-66

Recommended chaga mushroom: Chaga powder

Also, take time to relax! Go for a nice walk outside and soak up the sun, get a massage, watch a good movie, and my personal go to. MEDITATE.

I was never into meditation and was even a bit skeptical at first, but having incorporated meditation into my daily routine, the results speak for themselves.

In the end, do something you enjoy and helps you relax, feel happy, and most importantly stress less and unwind. 10People often overlook recovery as part of their muscle gain and fat loss strategy. Everything from what we put in our mouth to getting in a good nights rest is paramount for not only fitness BUT YOUR HEALTH! My advice is to eat well, sleep well, and unwind every now and then.

Recovery is an often overlooked aspect in peoples fat loss or muscle gain goals. Some tips for helping manage recovery:

  • Get adequate sleep (8-10 hours)
  • Proper nutrition (sufficient calories and protein)
  • Taking days off from the gym and planned periods of lower intensity
  • Managing stress by finding things that relax you and give you joy

Chapter 5: Keto bodybuilding concerns

 Many of the same principles apply to gaining muscle and losing fat on a ketogenic diet as they do on your standard carbohydrate based diet. 

However, there are some common concerns when it comes to bodybuilding on keto due to a lack of understanding and frankly a lot of misinformation and hearsay.

While not everything is fully understood in the realm of a keto diet and bodybuilding, research and anecdotal evidence is beginning to emerge at an increasing rate.


Water loss on a ketogenic diet

It’s well established that low carbohydrate diets, especially a ketogenic diet, cause rapid loss of water in the first few days. Reason being, three grams of water is stored for every gram of stored carbohydrate.

Additionally, ketones appear to have a diuretic effect themselves causing the excretion of water and electrolytes.

With a water loss of only 2% of your body weight, physical performance will be impaired, and with a 2.8% water loss, your cognitive functions begin to be impaired as well.

This amount of water loss can easily occur during the first week of a ketogenic diet as the body sheds water and sodium due to the reasons explained above.

If not mindful of your water and electrolyte intake especially during the first week of transitioning to a ketogenic diet, you may experience what is commonly referred to as the “keto flu.”

Basically NOT GOOD.

To diminish or even avoid these symptoms altogether, make sure you are drinking plenty of water and increasing your electrolytes. I usually suggest people aim for close to a gallon of water a day and between 4,000mg – 6,000mg of sodium.

I suggest people liberally salt their meals and possibly even dilute some salt in their water throughout the day to ensure adequate sodium intake.

KETO DIET BODYBUILDING SODIUM DEFICIENCY

TAKE HOME

Ketogenic diets cause a loss of water due to carbohydrate restriction and the fact that ketones exert a diuretic effect causing a loss of water and electrolytes.

To counteract the performance and cognitive decline that may happen you should increase your water intake (around 1 gallon per day) and electrolytes, especially sodium (4,000mg – 7,000mg).


Glycogen replenishment without carbohydrates

Often, a concern about a ketogenic diet for bodybuilding leads one to ask how glycogen is replenished.

The whole idea behind replenishing glycogen immediately following a workout was to set our bodies up for the next workout and switch off catabolism (bad) and switch on anabolism (good).

To break it down, we are trying to accomplish:

  • Replenished glycogen I.e. replenish energy stores
  • Decrease protein breakdown i.e. build bigger muscles
  • Increase protein synthesis i.e. repair damage from our workout

This is why you’ll often recommend eating carbohydrates post workout or ingesting a sugar-filled protein shake immediately post-workout. I used to do it, I’m sure you may have or may still be doing it, but I’m here to let you know there’s no need.

You’d have to train a muscle twice daily with a volume you could not possibly recover from in order to require carbs to replenish your glycogen in time for the next training session.

It’s been shown that when ample protein is ingested, carbs do not have any additive effect on protein balance.

Even with very minimal amounts of carbohydrates, as with those trying to use a keto diet for bodybuilding purposes, your body has more than enough to maintain a proper bodybuilding routine.

Research by Volek found that long-term ketogenic dieters not only have similar pre-exercise levels of glycogen but also deplete glycogen slower AND replete glycogen at a similar rate compared to long-term carbohydrate-adapted athletes.

This is likely an adaptation that occurs following longer adherence to the diet and becoming fully keto-adapted.

So, do we need glycogen and if so, how is glycogen replnished without carbohydrates?

Glad you asked…

Yes… your body does use glycogen when lifting, but this glycogen is already in your muscles.

What you eat right before your workout has very little to do with what your performance will be like, it’s more about what you already had inside your muscle. 11Although, there have been benefits shown with carbohydrate mouth rinsing or small amounts of carbohydrates pre-workout (such as in a TKD) and an improvement in performance

Even high levels of bodybuilding (LOTS of volume) only roughly burn 40% of the glycogen stored within the muscle.

So how is glycogen replenished then?

The science behind this is explained via the Cori Cycle. The Cori Cycle provides the body with important pathways to maintain adequate muscle glycogen levels without glucose from the diet.

CORI CYCLE FOR KETO DIET AND BODYBUILDING

Glycogen can come from the conversion of lactate, a by-product of glycogen breakdown in the muscle, to glucose in the liver. This newly made glucose is released into the bloodstream and stored again in the muscle as glycogen.

As you see, low carbohydrate dieting isn’t the “performance killer” that people make it out to be. Therefore, If you’re looking at bodybuilding and strength training, the keto diet is not an issue.


Chapter 6: Keto diet and bodybuilding advanced strategies

Okay, so we gave you a breakdown of the three primary macronutrients in our ultimate keto diet food list. We even gave you our best recommendations for beverages, but what about supplements?

As this is primarily keto food list, we'll keep this section brief with some keto supplement recommendations we frequently get asked about.


Carbs as a tool to improve exercise performance

If you are an already lean individual or have noticed your performance in the gym still suffering, even after adapting to a ketogenic diet, you may benefit from strategically increasing carbs around your workouts.

The two main methods of strategically using carbs are known as a targeted ketogenic diet (TKD) and a cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD).

Having experimented with both a TKD and CKD, I much rather have people utilize the former rather than the latter.

The TKD is a much more simple strategy to implement that doesn’t involve complicated workouts and shifting your body out of ketosis for prolonged periods of time. 

However, there is a time and place for everything. There are plenty of successful bodybuilders that utilize a cyclical approach to a ketogenic diet and make amazing progress.

The Targeted Ketogenic Diet

The TKD is a compromise to staying in ketosis ala the standard ketogenic diet, but instead, we interrupt ketosis for a short period of time by strategically implementing carbohydrates before and/or after our workout.

While studies giving carbs prior to resistance training have not found an increase in performance, anecdotal evidence from myself and many others have noticed improved strength and endurance from as little as 5-10g of carbohydrates right before working out.

Research also suggests that carbohydrates consumed before or after exercise should not negatively affect ketosis. Though, if you happen to drop out for a short period do not fret, you’ll likely jump right back in within a couple of hours. 12If you’re an individual who is on a keto diet for bodybuilding or other high intensity activity and want to experiment with a TKD, I would recommend 5-50g of carbohydrates (depending on your training volume) 30 minutes prior to your workout. Experiment with the lower end and gradually increase the amount depending on the volume and intensity of your workout. As little as 5g may do the trick to increase your performance so taking more would be a waste.

If unable to sustain high intensity workouts on a standard ketogenic diet, a TKD may suit you. The targeted ketogenic diet (TKD) is your standard ketogenic diet (SKD) with carbohydrates consumed at specific times around exercise. Most individuals find that 5-50 grams of carbohydrates taken thirty minutes before a workout enhances performance.

Chapter 7: My top 5 tips for bodybuilding on keto

I'll be the first one to say that what works for one person may not work for the next.

If you decide on a keto diet and bodybuilding as your plan of attack, the best thing you can do is EXPERIMENT.

Every day is a chance to learn about yourself, your body, and make adjustments based on real-world results.

I believe a ketogenic approach is a great compromise between optimal health and aesthetics.

That said, I guess that makes it 6 tips.

🙂


Tip #1 Consistency is the name of the game. Muscle gain is a slow process and while fat loss can be achieved a bit quicker, results still take time.

Tip #2 Stick with a standard ketogenic diet for at least 3-4 weeks before deciding you want to strategically implement carbohydrates for performance.

It takes your body at least 3-4 weeks to become accustomed to utilizing free fatty acids and ketones as its primary fuel source.

Tip #3 Supplement sodium pre-workout. I take 1-2g (.5-1tsp salt) in my pre-workout cocktail. This allows me to push harder and also get those “pumps” we all seek at the gym.

Tip #4 If you want to optimize muscle protein synthesis, it might not hurt to spread out your protein between 3-4 meals.

Tip #5 Use good form and a full range of motion on all your lifts even if that means lowering the weight.

Recent studies suggest that a full range of motion led to more muscle activation and growth even with lighter loads than the participants who used heavier loads with partial range of motion.


Chapter 8: Keto diet plan for bodybuilding and closing thoughts

All good things must come to an end, but before I go, I want to leave you with some final tips and examples to get you on your way.


Sample keto diet for bodybuilding

First off, there are no magical keto diet bodybuilding macros that I am about to present to you. What follows is based on the principles outlined above and using our EZ calculation method for determining calorie intake. 

Muscle gain

Based on a 180lb male at 10% body fat looking to put on muscle.

  • 180 POUNDS X .10% = 162lbs of LBM and 18lbs of FAT MASS
  • TOTAL CALORIES = 180 x 18 = 3240 CALORIES
  • PROTEIN = 162 (lbm) X 1g/LBM = 162g PROTEIN = 648 CALORIES
  • CARBS = < 30 = 120 CALORIES
  • FAT = (3240 – PROTEIN CALORIES – CARB CALORIES) / 9
3240 – 648 – 120 = 2480 CALORIES / 9 (9 CALORIES PER GRAM OF FAT)

TOTALS 3240 CALORIES 162g PROTEIN 30g CARBS 276g FAT

SAMPLE KETO DIET FOR BODYBUILDING BREAKDOWN

TIME:BREAKDOWN

0600: PRE-WORKOUT COCKTAIL (CREATINE, SODIUM, CAFFEINE, 10g MCT OIL, 20g WHEY PROTEIN)

0630 – 0730: TRAINING

0830: MEAL 1 35g protein 10g carbs 66g fat

1230: MEAL 2 35g protein 5g carbs 66g fat

1630: MEAL 3 35g protein 5g carbs 66g fat

1830: MEAL 4 35g protein 10g carbs 66g fat

Fat loss

Based on a 180lb male at 20% body fat looking to drop body fat.

  • 180 POUNDS X .20% = 144lbs of LBM and 36lbs of FAT MASS
  • TOTAL CALORIES = 180 X 13 = 2340 CALORIES
  • PROTEIN = 144(lbm) x 1g/LBM = 144g PROTEIN = 576 CALORIES
  • CARBS = <30 = 120 CALORIES
  • FAT = (2340 – PROTEIN CALORIES – CARB CALORIES) / 9
2340 – 576 – 120 = 1644 CALORIES / 9 (9 CALORIES PER GRAM OF FAT)

TOTALS 2340 CALORIES 144g PROTEIN 30g CARBS 183g FAT

1000: MEAL 1 48g protein 10g carbs 57g fat

1400: MEAL 2 48g protein 10g carbs 57g fat

1700: PRE-WORKOUT COCKTAIL (CREATINE, SODIUM, CAFFEINE, 10g MCT OIL)

1730 – 1830: WORKOUT

1930: MEAL 3 48g protein 10g carbs 57g fat

These are just examples of how one can calculate their calorie needs macro needs.

Using the easy calculation above might serve as a great starting point for some and be way off for others. It’s best to track on a weekly basis and make adjustments based on results or lack thereof.


Closing words

Ultimately, fat loss or muscle gain boils down to expending more calories than is consumed or eating more calories than is expended. Some individuals have difficulty restricting calories on a high-carbohydrate diet. GUILTY.

If lowering carbohydrates and increasing dietary fat increases satiety, and makes it easier to control calories, then a ketogenic diet for bodybuilding may be a better dietary choice for you

(Not to mention many of the health benefits myself and others experience on a ketogenic diet).

7 REASONS TO USE KETO FOR BODYBUILDING

The keto diet is very appetite suppressing, this is one of the most significant benefits because it becomes easy to drop fat (by eating less than your body burns).

Fat tends to slow digestion, meaning that food stays in the stomach longer, providing a sense of fullness.

The same has been shown to for protein. Additionally, protein stimulates the release of the hormone cholecystokinin (CCK) which is thought to help regulate appetite.

In general, individuals who begin a ketogenic diet without paying attention to calorie, protein, or fat levels will automatically lower their caloric intake below maintenance.

Therefore, if muscle gain is your goal, it may be useful for you to track your calories and macros. Otherwise, the resulting caloric deficit will result in weight/fat loss.

Putting it all together

Hopefully I’ve been able to shed some light about combining a keto diet and bodybuilding to obtain the results you seek.

Done correctly, a ketogenic diet with bodybuilding is an effective way to achieve not only health but your body composition goals.

IT IS POSSIBLE!

TO OPTIMIZE YOUR DIET FOR MUSCLE GAIN:

  • Eat a calorie surplus of 250 – 500 calories per day. The aim is to increase bodyweight by .5 to 1 pound a week. Stick to the lower weight gain range the more trained you are.
  • Keep protein intake between .8g – 1g per pound of lean body mass
  • Some studies show benefits of splitting protein between 3 – 4 meals 

TO MAXIMIZE YOUR DIET FOR FAT LOSS:

  • I usually suggest a deficit of 10 – 20% below maintenance to ensure muscle is preserved. Heavier individuals with more body fat may be able to get away with bigger deficits. Aim to decrease bodyweight 1 to 2 pounds per week.
  • Keep protein intake between 1 – 1.2g per pound of lean body mass and create your calorie deficit by reducing your fat intake.

AND IN SHORT:

  • Progressively overload your muscles providing the stimulus needed to grow.
  • Consume enough calories and protein based on your goal.
  • Get adequate sleep

These are the main principles to muscle growth or fat loss regardless of diet. However, you can further optimize your health and bodybuilding results by including some of the following:

  • Supplement with tried and true supplements backed by strong evidence such as caffeine and creatine.
  • Include MCT Oil and/or Exogenous ketones like Perfect Keto BHB
  • Use carbohydrates as a tool to improve performance by following a targeted ketogenic diet as described above.

I hope you enjoyed THE ULTIMATE KETO DIET AND BODYBUILDING GUIDE.

Are you currently on a ketogenic diet with the goal of adding muscle to your frame?

Any questions? Feel free to drop them down below.

Enjoyed the guide? Share it using any of the buttons above, I would greatly appreciate it.

The Definitive Guide To Electrolytes While On Keto

If you’re following a low carb or ketogenic diet you need to read this.

This is the most thorough guide to keto electrolytes online.

You’ll learn why it’s essential to monitor electrolytes, foods rich in different electrolytes, and much more.

Don't have time to read all 4,000 words? Download a PDF to read offline at a later time.

keto electrolytes pinterest cover

CHAPTER 1: Electrolyte Basics

 One of the most common, yet unpleasant, side effects when starting a ketogenic diet that you may… or perhaps have already experienced is the “keto flu.” 

The keto flu is just as it sounds… it will literally feel as though you are suffering from the flu. If you’ve experienced tiredness, fatigue, dizziness, and bouts of lightheadedness, then these are some of the common symptoms that may indicate you are deficient in ELECTROLYTES.


What are electrolytes?

Electrolytes are natural minerals found in the body and are important for controlling many of our body’s physiologic functions. Electrolytes need to be balanced for our body to function correctly. If one or more of these electrolytes are severely deficient, you’re going to end up in a world of hurt.

The most essential keto electrolytes we cover in this guide are:

  • Sodium
  • Magnesium
  • Potassium
  • Calcium
keto electrolytes the four basic minerals
The four basic minerals we are concerned with.

These essential keto electrolytes are present in your blood, bodily fluids (like sweat), urine, and are crucial for important functions like:

  • Regulating heartbeat
  • Contracting your muscles
  • Bladder control
  • Body temperature control

Why are electrolytes on keto more important?

While not always the case,  many of the unpleasant feelings that come about on a ketogenic diet are due to a lack of certain or all electrolytes,  most notably sodium, potassium, and or magnesium.

Part of the reason it’s important to monitor your electrolytes on a low carb, or ketogenic diet is that when you drastically cut carbs, glycogen stores (stored carbs) are lowered. For every gram of glycogen, your body also stores three grams of water. Hence, when you restrict carbohydrates, you will tend to see a rapid loss of water and weight during the first few days of transitioning to a ketogenic diet.

Additionally, it seems that ketones themselves have a diuretic effect causing excretion of water and electrolytes,13https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/236328 so it’s like a double whammy. You can see why it’s important to not only increase your water intake but replace the lost electrolytes that are excreted.

Lastly, when insulin levels are kept low, which is the case on a ketogenic diet, the kidney excretes sodium at an increased rate.

In this guide, we’ll go over each of the electrolytes you should be paying attention to, why they’re important, and the best way to replenish them on a ketogenic diet.

Some common symptoms of electrolyte deficiency

Not all electrolyte deficiencies cause the same symptoms, but they do share some similarities. This is what makes pinpointing the specific electrolyte deficiency hard unless you get your blood levels checked to identify the problem.

Some common symptoms of an electrolyte deficiency include:

  • Lethargy
  • Irregular heartbeat
  • Nausea
  • Diarrhea or constipation
  • Muscle weakness
  • Muscle cramping
  • Irritability
  • Headaches
  • Numbness and tingling
keto electrolyte deficiency symptoms
Many of the symptoms are shared if you have a deficiency in one or a few of the electrolytes

If you are experiencing one or more of these symptoms, you might be suffering from an electrolyte imbalance which shares the same characteristics as the keto flu. Electrolyte deficiencies have the possibility of becoming life-threatening if left untreated, so be sure to take proper precautions.

CHAPTER 2: Sodium

Sodium has received a bad rap in the past.

I’m sure you’ve heard or even been told that you should avoid adding sodium to your diet. However, since you’re on a ketogenic diet, your body needs EXTRA sodium.


What is sodium?

Many people often confuse sodium with salt and salt for sodium. While salt is the most common way we get sodium in our diets, table salt is composed of two minerals sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl). Table salt contains 40% sodium and 60% chloride with one teaspoon of salt containing about 2,300 mg of sodium


Why we need sodium and how much we need

Sodium helps to balance bodily fluids, regulate blood pressure, and contract muscles among many other essential bodily functions. Simply put, the human body cannot live without some sodium.

The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for sodium is 1500 – 2300mg, which is about 1tsp or 6g of salt a day. 

Three major health organizations recommended intake of sodium:

  • (USDA) United States Department of Agriculture: 2,300mg per day
  • (AHA) American Heart Association: 1,500mg per day
  • (ADA) American Diabetes Association: 1,500 to 2,300mg per day

The problem with these recommendations is that they are based on a high carb, high calorie, high processed food diet. If your diet is full of whole, unprocessed foods without a ton of added sodium, then you can safely aim for anywhere from 4000 – 7000mg of sodium per day.

When I say processed, think of canned foods or boxed meals. Even keto friendly foods like vienna sausages or spam fall into this category.

  • Read: Is Spam Keto?
  • Read: Is Vienna Sausages Keto?

Keto electrolyte requirements for sodium

As stated, you should aim for anywhere from 4,000 – 7,000mg of sodium. This comes out to somewhere around 3 tsp or 15 – 18g of salt. Your individual sodium requirement will depend significantly on your activity levels and how much you sweat.

If you’re an athlete or tend to sweat a lot because of exercise or even sauna use, then you should definitely aim for the higher end of the spectrum. However, if you’re sedentary or don’t tend to sweat, then you can probably stick with the low end of that range.


Health benefits of salt

  • May improve exercise performance. This is a big reason why I recommend taking in 1 – 2g of salt pre-workout.  Not only will it help with achieving the pump many feel lost on a ketogenic diet, but it will help replace or offset the electrolytes lost during vigorous exercise and other diuretics such as coffee.
  • Help improve or eliminate “keto flu.” When transitioning to a ketogenic diet, people often report feelings of dizziness, headaches, and low energy. Increasing your sodium will often diminish those feelings or even eliminate them altogether.
  • May improve fat loss. Yepp, you read that correctly. Sodium plays a large role in metabolic health and fat loss by reducing insulin levels.

How to get more sodium on a ketogenic diet

Many foods contain small amounts of sodium naturally, but most of the sodium in the diet will come from salt. So out of all the other electrolytes, getting additional sodium is simple…

Just salt your foods liberally…

And to taste!

I recommend using salts such as Redmond real salt, pink Himalayan salt or Celtic sea salt because they contain additional minerals like magnesium, which is another important electrolyte.

  • Recommended salt: Redmond real salt
  • Recommended salt: Celtic sea salt
  • Recommended salt: Pink himalayan salt

You can also replenish your sodium by adding salt to your water, making sole water, or regularly drinking things like chicken stock.

Another favorite is to make homemade bone broth, or if you’re like me and not that kitchen savvy (ok lazy) or prefer to buy it prepared, I would recommend Kettle and Fire which carries delicious bone broth ready to sip.

keto electrolytes sole water
A great way to get in some extra sodium AND water throughout the day

The sodium summary

Sodium is probably the most crucial electrolyte as it helps retain water in the body and also regulates the other electrolytes. As far as how much salt to eat on a ketogenic diet, a good rule of thumb is to get a minimum of 4,000 mg of sodium a day. However, if you’re physically active or sweat a lot, then you should aim for at almost double that.

If you’re interested in learning more about salt and why it’s way more important than you once might have thought, a great book on the subject is The Salt Fix by Dr. James DiNicolantonio.


CHAPTER 3: Potassium

What is potassium?

Potassium is the third most abundant electrolyte found in your body.

Potassium helps regulate bodily functions like your heartbeat, so heart palpitations and swelling are typically correlated with a potassium deficiency.


Why is potassium important?

Potassium helps regulate fluid balance. Along with sodium, potassium is responsible for maintaining fluid balance within our bodies. Since our bodies are made of approximately 60% water, you can see why this would be very important.

Now, 40% of this water is found within our cells in a substance referred to as intracellular fluid. Potassium is the primary electrolyte that governs our intracellular fluid.

Necessary for the nervous system. Getting in enough potassium will help maintain healthy nerve function. Nerve impulses in our bodies are what help regulate things like muscle contractions, heartbeat, and various other processes.

Since potassium levels have a significant effect on muscle contractions, low levels can lead to muscle weakness, and in the heart, this may cause an irregular heartbeat.

As you may be able to tell already, potassium and sodium are very closely tied together. I thought it may be important to help explain this a bit further.


The sodium-potassium pump

What most people don’t realize is that your body’s potassium stores are controlled by your sodium intake via the sodium-potassium pump. This is another reason why an adequate intake of sodium is crucial to maintaining proper electrolyte balance.

Much like ketones and carbohydrates are muscle sparing, sodium is potassium sparing. Meaning, If you get in enough sodium, you don’t have to worry so much about potassium so long as you are getting in between 2,000 – 4,000 mg per day. Much like sodium, the more physically active you are and/or sweat the higher in the spectrum you should go.

keto electrolytes sodium potassium pump
A handy depiction of the sodium-potassium pump in action

The function of the sodium-potassium pump is to help move fluids in and out of your cells. This allows blood to circulate, helps pump our heart, and allows messages to be delivered along your nerves.


How do you know if you are deficient in potassium?

Signs you may be deficient in potassium include:

  • Fatigue
  • Heart palpitations
  • Insomnia
  • Dehydration
  • Constipation
  • Muscle cramps

Many of the same deficiency signs of potassium share their similarities with sodium and/or magnesium deficiency which makes it hard to pinpoint precisely. Again, the only soundproof method is to have your electrolyte levels checked via a blood draw.

Of course, you can always experiment and add in varying levels of one electrolyte over another depending if you know you’re already consuming adequate amounts of the other electrolytes. Then, it just becomes a wait and see to track whether or not the symptoms you are experiencing lessen or go away altogether.

Granted, if it persists or even worsens, you may want to go ahead and get it checked out by your doctor before it turns into something more serious and potentially even lethal.

Our bodies are usually great at regulating potassium levels on their own, but certain health conditions can lead to a higher risk of developing a potassium deficiency:

  • Alcoholism
  • Diabetes
  • Kidney disease

Can you have too much potassium?

It is quite rare to overdose on potassium assuming you are obtaining most, if not all of it, from naturally occurring sources (whole foods). The exception to this if you suffer from a pre-existing medical condition or kidney problem.


Keto electrolyte requirements for potassium

As stated, you should aim for between 2,000 – 4,000 mg of potassium per day. The general RDA for potassium is between 1,000 – 4,700 mg per day. Of course, we recommend you stick to the higher end, the more you sweat and the more active you are, which of course tends to go hand in hand most of the time.

Different organizations recommended intake of potassium:

  • (NHANES) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey: 4,700mg per day
  • (WHO) World Health Organization: 3,510 mg per day

What are the health benefits of potassium?

My top 3 health benefits of potassium

Blood pressure and cardiovascular health. Low potassium intake has been linked to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. In one study, those who consumed roughly 4,000mg of potassium per day compared to those who consumed 1,000 mg per day had a 49 percent lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease. 2https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21788603

Keeps bones strong and helps maintain muscle. Some studies show an increase in bone density with high potassium intake. Also, one study found that participants that took in around 5,000 mg of potassium per day maintained an average of 3.6 pounds of lean mass MORE than those with a potassium intake of around half that. 3https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18326605

Reduces the chance of kidney stones. Potassium-rich foods maintain an alkaline environment within the body creating a less welcoming environment for kidney stones to nest.  Potassium also binds with calcium, thus not allowing calcium the chance to bind with other minerals and form kidney stones.

So now that you understand the importance of potassium let’s go over what foods to include in your diet to meet your needs.


What keto friendly foods are high in potassium?

Bananas are probably the most popular source of potassium with about 420mg for a medium sized banana. However, there are much better and lower carbohydrate sources of potassium to be had.

Here are some of my favorites:

AVOCADO

Everyone’s favorite keto-friendly fruit full of healthy fats. Avocados are indeed a superfood and one of the best sources of potassium for many individuals on a ketogenic diet.

One medium avocado provides a whopping 690 mg of potassium.

BEEF

Yes, you read that correctly… BEEF is an excellent source of potassium! Besides tasting delicious, a 4 oz steak provides almost 384 mg of potassium.

MUSHROOMS

One of my favorite vegetables on the planet. Mushrooms are rich in vitamin b12, a great antioxidant, and of course… high in potassium.

Cremini mushrooms have the highest amount of potassium per volume with 1 cup coming in at 323 mg.

BRUSSEL SPROUTS

Who doesn’t love some oven roasted Brussel sprouts with bacon?  One cup of cooked Brussel sprouts gives you a whopping 494 mg of potassium. Not to mention, you get 4g of protein and 4g of fiber on the side.

SPINACH AND LEAFY GREENS

I think Popeye was onto something because you get all three electrolytes (potassium, magnesium, and sodium) in spinach.

One cup of cooked spinach delivers a significant amount of potassium at 839 mg.

SALMON

When people think of salmon, they think of omega 3’s, but salmon is also packed full of essential nutrients and a great source of B vitamins.

A 3 oz serving of salmon provides 416 mg of potassium.

CAULIFLOWER

Everyone’s favorite keto-friendly vegetable to make everything from mac and cheese to cauliflower pizza crusts.

One cup of cauliflower contains 320 mg of potassium.

SUMMER SQUASH OR ZUCCHINI

Squash and zucchini are some of the most versatile veggies. Whether you like to slice them up on a salad or create spiral “zoodles,” for less than 30 calories for an entire cup you get a lot of bang for your buck.

A cup of zucchini gives you 455 mg of potassium.

PUMPKIN SEEDS

I love to snack on pumpkin seeds or even crush them up and use them as a garnish on various dishes.

A one-ounce serving of pumpkin seeds will supply you with 226 mg of potassium.

BACON

YES, you read that correctly. Bacon is a good source of potassium and a very delicious one to boot.

Three cooked slices of bacon net you a whopping 539 mg of potassium! Personally, I love Pederson farms bacon, and they also offer ready to go pre-cooked bacon free of preservatives.

At the end of the day, make sure you are taking in adequate amounts of sodium before worrying about how much potassium you are eating. Stay in the range of 2,000 mg and 4,700 mg of potassium to ward off any side effects and ensure your potassium levels are maintained.

YOGURT

Want a yummy treat? Try this keto yogurt dessert.

Greek yogurt is another great source of potassium that is keto friendly in moderate quantities.

  • 170g of Fage Greek Yogurt or Two Good Greek Yogurt / Oikos Triple Zero Greek Yogurt
  • 1/4 cup blueberries
  • Drizzle of Walden Farms Pancake Syrup

CHAPTER 5: Calcium

WHAT IS CALCIUM?

Calcium is the MOST ABUNDANT mineral in the body.

Often associated with milk, calcium is perhaps the most essential nutrient when it comes to bone health.

But don’t start chugging that milk just yet…


Why is calcium important?

  • Calcium makes up much of your teeth and bones
  • Muscle function

Teeth and bone health. 99 percent of the calcium in our bodies is found in our teeth and bones making calcium ESSENTIAL for the development, growth, and maintenance of them.

After the age of 25 when bone density is typically at its highest, our bone density begins to see a slow decline as we age, thus making calcium more important to help maintain and the natural losses we experience as part of the aging process.

Muscle contraction. When a nerve stimulates a muscle, including the heart, calcium is released. The muscle only then relaxes once again after calcium is pumped outside of the muscle.


How do you know if you are low in calcium?

Calcium deficiency is known in the medical world as hypocalcemia. While calcium deficiency is not as prominent as a deficiency in the other key electrolytes, here are some signs and symptoms you may want to look out for.

Signs you may be deficient in calcium:

  • Fatigue
  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Muscle cramps (particularly in the back and legs)
  • Brittle nails
  • Bone fractures
  • Tooth decay
  • Osteopenia or osteoporosis

Again, most people don’t tend to be deficient in calcium, but certain things may cause calcium deficiency such as:

  • Prescription medications
  • Certain genetic factors
  • Malabsorption (Vitamin D, K2, and even magnesium effect this)
  • Age
  • Hormonal changes (especially postmenopausal women)

Keto electrolyte requirements for calcium

It should be said that calcium and Vitamin D are closely tied with one another. That is because vitamin D increases the rate and which calcium is absorbed into your blood. This is another reason why I find vitamin D vital for those who are not exposed to the sun often.

How much calcium you need also will depend on age and sex. The calcium RDA for adults ranges between 1,000 mg with an upper limit of 2,500 mg.

Since calcium and vitamin D are closely tied with one another, if you do not have constant access to sunlight, the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for vitamin D in adults in 600 IU per day.


What keto foods are high in calcium

Here is a list of some keto friendly foods rich in calcium.

Seeds

Seeds including poppy, sesame, and chia seeds are packed with calcium.

A one tablespoon serving of seeds provides about 126 mg of calcium.

Cheese

A ketogenic diet favorite, no surprise there, is cheese! Basically, every cheese is a good source of calcium, but parmesan cheese especially has the most.

An ounce of Parmesan cheese gives you a 331 mg dose of calcium.

Canned fatty fish WITH bones

Seems as if fatty fish is excellent for all of our electrolyte needs AND a good source of healthy fats. It’s no wonder why fish such as salmon and sardines are nutritional powerhouses.

A four-ounce serving of sardines or salmon with bones provides nearly 85 grams of calcium.

Almonds

Not only a great source of magnesium, but almonds are also the highest in calcium among all the nuts.

A one-ounce serving of almonds delivers around 80 mg of calcium


CHAPTER 6: Keto electrolyte supplements

I’m typically not the biggest proponent of supplements since most of them are useless, but since I believe electrolytes to be CRUCIAL on a ketogenic diet…

Here is a list of electrolyte supplements by brands I would recommend based on the purity of ingredients.

Not all supplements are created equally.

SODIUM

Your typical table salt is stripped of minerals and bleached. Salts such as Himalayan and Celtic salt are rich sources of not only sodium but also over 60 trace minerals.

  • Redmond Real Salt
  • Pink Himalayan Salt
  • Celtic Sea Salt

POTASSIUM

Potassium is one of the electrolytes I typically recommend you stick to whole foods to get your recommended dietary allowance, but I know sometimes that is not feasible.

With potassium supplements you generally are limited to 99 mg pills, this is why when supplementing potassium I would recommend you buy a powdered version instead.

  • Bulk supplements potassium citrate

Or if you rather take in pills.

  • Pure potassium citrate
  • Thorne potassium citrate

MAGNESIUM

Magnesium is one of the electrolytes that is hard to get through diet alone (hard, but not impossible) It is definitely one of the supplements I highly recommend that can help with things like muscle cramps and quality of sleep.

  • Pure magnesium glycinate
  • Zhou magnesium glycinate complex

CALCIUM

Out of the other electrolytes mentioned in the guide, calcium tends to be the one people get enough of through diet alone. However, there may be reasons why you may need to supplement calcium as indicated in the guide.

  • Pure calcium citrate

KETO ELECTROLYTE DRINK MIXES

The following are some of electrolyte drink mixes I have tried that contain a mixture of all of the vital keto electrolytes. Of course, taste varies by individual, but I so happen to like these ones listed below.

  • Mio
  • Zip Fizz *Also available at Costco
  • Vega sport hydrator
  • Dr. Berg electrolytes
  • Keto vitals electrolyte powder
  • Nuun tablets
  • Ultima

KETO FRIENDLY DRINKS WITH ELECTROLYTES

Not quite supplements, but these are some off the shelf drinks that contain a mixture of electrolytes. Mind you, many of them are only sodium and potassium and not much in the way of magnesium.

  • Gatorade zero
  • Vitamin water zero
  • Powerade zero
  • Propel fitness water

CHAPTER 7: F.A.Q.

How much sodium should you have a day on keto?

I recommend an intake of anywhere between 4,000 mg and 8,000 mg. If you exercise and/or sweat a lot, then stick to the higher end of the spectrum.

Why is sodium important on keto?

Sodium is important on keto as mentioned above to help regulate water balance. Due to a lack of carbohydrates on a ketogenic diet, our body begins to secrete both water and electrolytes making them more vital on keto.

Does salt affect ketosis?

Salt has no direct effect on ketosis. However, a lack of salt/sodium may cause unpleasant side effects also commonly referred to as the “keto flu.”

Can you eat salt on keto?

Yes, you can eat salt on keto, and I even highly encourage you to add extra in. You should be salting your foods liberally and to taste. It’s almost impossible to overeat salt on a ketogenic diet as I find your taste buds will almost inevitably self-regulate you.

How do you replace electrolytes?

Most electrolytes can be replaced by eating whole foods, but sodium, in particular, is obtained mostly by salt.

Is salt and sodium the same thing?

Salt and sodium are not the same thing, but the primary way we consume sodium is through salt. Table salt contains 40% sodium and 60% chloride.

How do you get potassium on a ketogenic diet?

You can obtain enough potassium on a ketogenic diet through low carbohydrate foods such as spinach, cauliflower, and even bacon!

What foods are in high in potassium and low in carbs?

Refer to the list in chapter 3.

How much potassium does keto need?

The RDA for potassium is between 2,000 mg and 4,000 mg.


Would love to hear your thoughts or maybe if a lightbulb went off. Simply let me know in the comments down below.
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