Pro bodybuilders like Robert Sikes and expert coaches like Menno Henselmans use and even recommend keto for bodybuilding. These guys, however, are a rare few to took the leap and give up carbs almost entirely. Most of their peers would actually consider going low-carb counterintuitive. Unfortunately, they may be missing out on some major keto benefits.
Truth is that the keto diet can transform your metabolism to rely on its own fat stores even during workouts. There’s evidence the diet helps shed body fat while sparing muscle – essentially every bodybuilder’s dream. And what’s even better, this diet was found to help people bulk up.
If you are interested in trying keto for yourself, then there are rules you need to follow and facts you need to know. Being well informed also helps prevent mishaps. With that in mind, here’s everything you need to know before getting started.
The Ketogenic Diet (aka Keto Diet)
So, what exactly is the keto diet?
The word “keto” is short for ketogenic. And the word “ketogenic” means ketone generating. Ketones (aka ketone bodies) are acidic molecules that work to replace glucose as fuel and they include the following three:
- Acetoacetate,
- Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB)
- Acetone
Of these three, BHB is the most abundant ketone and the one you get most benefits from.
But how exactly does a keto diet generate these molecules?
Well, keto hacks into something your body was designed to do during starvation and illness. That something is ketosis, a change to your metabolic functioning in which the body starts to run on ketones that it makes from fat. Normally, ketosis happens during starvation and severe illness, i.e. when carbs are not available to fuel the body. But the keto diet does the same and without the risks associated with starvation.
Another important thing to note is that not all low-carb diets are ketogenic, but all ketogenic diets are low-carb.
To stimulate fat burning and ketosis, the keto diet relies on a couple of strict principles:
- Restricting carbs to less than 50g per day
- Getting 65-80% of your daily calories from fat
- Eating moderate/adequate amounts of protei
All of these rules are drastically different from what your average bodybuilder’s diet looks like. And that’s the main reason why so many are skeptical about going keto.+
However, careful planning is still necessary to make low-carb diets such as keto work for bodybuilders. Make sure to learn everything you can about keto for bodybuilders before taking the leap into low-carb living. Hope this simple guide has helped give you an idea of how and why keto works even when everyone else would say it doesn’t.
