So I think its definitely been over 6 months since Ive been on the Keto Diet, and overall Ive certainly noticed some amazing benefits. Needing to eat less, feeling more satiated from what I do eat, losing excess body fat, along with all the health benefits that come from being in ketosis. I noticed some initial mass gain, as I jumped up from ~76 to ~79 within the first 3 months whilst appearing to lose body fat (I didnt measure that however). I noticed some significant strength gains along with that on the lifts I was doing. However, Ive plateaued with mass gain at about 79kg. On top of that, I definitely dont feel like I have the same amount of power or endurance when training BJJ as I used to. After a little research I looked into two possibilities, both requiring the use of carbs (thinking of them as a drug now, a necessary evil). Carb Backloading or Cyclical Keto Diet. The difference between the two: Carb Backloading is effectively a keto diet in the morning, workouts/exercise in the evening around 5pm, followed by a high-GI carb dinner. The goal is to refuel glycogen stores with the carbs, and still run off keytones otherwise. Cyclical Keto Diet is similar but an entire week mimics a single day of Carb Backloading, where you eat keto during your week days, and then binge on high-GI carbs on Sat, and low-GI carbs on Sun to refuel your glycogen stores. Im going to give Carb Backloading a go for the next month or so and see how it goes. I just have to tinker with things and try to find the right balance of carb intake to match glycogen store requirements and no more so I dont gain fat. Wish me luck!
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 06:55:34 +0000