Keto Diet WITHOUT Carb Loading

[vintagewine]

Hello,

What would happen in the case where all week you eat high fat, high protien, low carb diet and skip the weekend Carb loading part

Or put in another way, what happens if we reduce our carb intake drastically and rely only on fats as primary energy source? Say Carb loading happens just once per month or so.

- VWine

[Wtf?]

Then you are doing the Atkins style of Keto. Atkins doesn't have Carb Loads.

Your workouts might suffer after a few weeks depending on your routine but if it's not that strenuous then you could probably get away with "once a month or so".

[vintagewine]

Let me describe my problem. I started doing a carb/calorie cycling diet. Last week I ate like 1500 calories 4 days per week and 2000 calories on remaining 3 days (Lifting days).

On the days that I ate 1500 calories I lost 1lb per day and on the lifting days where I ate 2000, I gained 0.4 to 0.6lbs per day. Overall for the week I lost like 3 lbs. On the last day though I increased my calories even more and ate around 2600 calories and surprisingly I gained all the 3lbs lost the next morning.

I understand that as with Keto diets and other carb cycling diets the weight is never lost but will be gained back once the carbs are back. What can I do to avoid this case and successfully loose 2lbs per week or so.

[JayWesson1]

Hello,

What would happen in the case where all week you eat high fat, high protien, low carb diet and skip the weekend Carb loading part

Or put in another way, what happens if we reduce our carb intake drastically and rely only on fats as primary energy source? Say Carb loading happens just once per month or so.

- VWine

What you are referring to is more like the Atkins diet which is designed for a sedentary lifestyle. The CKD and TKD diets are designed for people who are active. If you live an active life style and lift then you will need the carb loads to replenish glycogen stores.

[EngUAFitness]

Let me describe my problem. I started doing a carb/calorie cycling diet. Last week I ate like 1500 calories 4 days per week and 2000 calories on remaining 3 days (Lifting days).

On the days that I ate 1500 calories I lost 1lb per day and on the lifting days where I ate 2000, I gained 0.4 to 0.6lbs per day. Overall for the week I lost like 3 lbs. On the last day though I increased my calories even more and ate around 2600 calories and surprisingly I gained all the 3lbs lost the next morning.

I understand that as with Keto diets and other carb cycling diets the weight is never lost but will be gained back once the carbs are back. What can I do to avoid this case and successfully loose 2lbs per week or so.

i think youre either misunderstanding the diet, misinformed, or just neglecting part of it

you probably werent eating quite enough to start with, although the calorie cycling can be effective

the weight is only temporarily gained as a lot of it is water weight, and the other is glycogen replenishment..it goes away after 2-3 days and at the end of the week before then next carb load you should see weight/fat loss

[rigglemg]

Where do you get that weight is never lost, where did it go? Once I eat a carb I am going to automatically gain back 30 lbs I lost per say??? So the guy on here that lost 150 lbs on keto is going to gain it back? No, that is not true. I would say what is true is that you will retain less water weight on KETO than a diet with normal carbohydrate intake. You still have to manage your calories, you still have to eat at a deficit even in Keto. You carb up to replace glycogen stores so that you can work out the next week CKD. Why do you think we ever want to eat any other way?

[vintagewine]

The weight lost wont be regained after a month but definitely in a week I see that with carb ups, I regain the weight back.

Should I avoid doing that carb up and keep losing weight like that? Remember I am not on a keto diet, just a carb cycling diet. Do you guys see any problem if I loose 3 lbs per week with alternate low, medium carb/calorie days (1500 cals, 2000 cals) and then eat a high calorie day (3000 cals or so) once per 2 weeks

[BritishFighter]

Where do you get that weight is never lost, where did it go? Once I eat a carb I am going to automatically gain back 30 lbs I lost per say??? So the guy on here that lost 150 lbs on keto is going to gain it back? No, that is not true. I would say what is true is that you will retain less water weight on KETO than a diet with normal carbohydrate intake. You still have to manage your calories, you still have to eat at a deficit even in Keto. You carb up to replace glycogen stores so that you can work out the next week CKD. Why do you think we ever want to eat any other way?

What he said ^^^^^ :-)

The first few pounds that you lose are absolutely water-weight......and that's why most anti-keto people say "It's all water weight...blah..blah..blah".....but the fact is, water-weight, or actual fat loss doesn't matter in my mind when it instantly makes you look better and has a positive reinforcing effect. After that initial water-drop, you still lose weight....consistently....and then it really is fat.....so anyone who complains about the keto diet either hasn't done it, doesn't know anything about it, or is just simply lacking an average human brain.

The bottom line is that if you lose 100lbs on keto, and then go back to a "normal" (terrible) "American Diet", or a "balanced diet" (carby excuse for a healthy way to eat), you will almost certainly gain it all back....slowly but surely. It's not gong to magically reappear on your body overnight though.

The point is that eating carbs inhibits your ability to burn either the fat that you already have, or the fat that you eat along with the carbs.....so after doing Keto, it doesn't make much sense to me to EVER go back to eating the fat-generating, cancer causing things.

But back to the OP's original question, the version of Keto that does not involve a carb-up/refeed is called SKD or the Standard Ketogenic Diet, which Lyle McDonald outlines in his book as being for sedentary people who don't lift. With an SKD at a calorie deficit, people should still lose weight without working out.....but we all know it's a good idea to practice resistance exercise along with your diet to improve muscle tone/size as you lose fat.

The ONLY reason we carb-up is to recharge glycogen lost from muscles during heavy weight training......well, it does help to keep our metabolism in gear too, but it's all a matter of choice.

[nikkiloo2]

What he said ^^^^^ :-)
The ONLY reason we carb-up is to recharge glycogen lost from muscles during heavy weight training......well, it does help to keep our metabolism in gear too, but it's all a matter of choice.

I'm on my 3rd week with no carb-up, lifting heavy (well heavy for me anyway). The last few days I've been getting dizzy during both cardio and lifting. And the lifting is getting more difficult even though I haven't gone any heavier this week.
I'm definitely doing my carb up Saturday.
But you're not really talking about Keto, you're low carb calorie cycling.
IMO you should choose ... ckd, tkd or carb cycling which involves no, low and high carb days.
Or just calorie cycling ...
Trial and error. I didn't think I'd need a carb up the second week; apparently I should have done one because that is probably what is effecting my performance.

[berraco47]

I'm on my 3rd week with no carb-up, lifting heavy (well heavy for me anyway). The last few days I've been getting dizzy during both cardio and lifting. And the lifting is getting more difficult even though I haven't gone any heavier this week.
I'm definitely doing my carb up Saturday.
But you're not really talking about Keto, you're low carb calorie cycling.
IMO you should choose ... ckd, tkd or carb cycling which involves no, low and high carb days.
Or just calorie cycling ...
Trial and error. I didn't think I'd need a carb up the second week; apparently I should have done one because that is probably what is effecting my performance.

Hey Nikkiloo2,

How's that going for you so far? Did you lose alot of fat on the straight keto? I have been in Ketosis for 7 days now and I'm feeling the same way. I get dizzy when working out. I wanted to go 1month without carbs, but I think I workout too hard for that. I might have to carb up after 2weeks.

[nikkiloo2]

Hey Nikkiloo2,

How's that going for you so far? Did you lose alot of fat on the straight keto? I have been in Ketosis for 7 days now and I'm feeling the same way. I get dizzy when working out. I wanted to go 1month without carbs, but I think I workout too hard for that. I might have to carb up after 2weeks.

I was up to 130 when I started; down 10 pounds today. That's quite a bit at my weight. Started on 4/17. I'm sure the first few pounds is water but I look A LOT leaner and my clothes are definitely loose. Don't have that puffy look that you get with higher carbs.
I was gonna try to shoot for a month too but I'm not going to make it. No cravings; I'm not going crazy wanting a bowl of cereal or a bag of M & M's, as far as diet is concerned I can make it but my workouts are definitely suffering. Since nothing has changed but my diet it has to be because I need the carb up.
If you're feeling dizzy like that you probably do too. I seriously almost went and bought a banana and a bagel after my workout this morning (it was that bad) but I want to do a proper carb up and see what the results are.
I work out first thing in the a.m. on an empty stomach (sometimes a lite shake) and I though maybe that's what was making me nauseous and dizzy but I've been doing that for years.
It's carb up time for me for sure.
Maybe you could try a meal instead of a full blown carb up if you want to hold out longer???

[berraco47]

I was up to 130 when I started; down 10 pounds today. That's quite a bit at my weight. Started on 4/17. I'm sure the first few pounds is water but I look A LOT leaner and my clothes are definitely loose. Don't have that puffy look that you get with higher carbs.
I was gonna try to shoot for a month too but I'm not going to make it. No cravings; I'm not going crazy wanting a bowl of cereal or a bag of M & M's, as far as diet is concerned I can make it but my workouts are definitely suffering. Since nothing has changed but my diet it has to be because I need the carb up.
If you're feeling dizzy like that you probably do too. I seriously almost went and bought a banana and a bagel after my workout this morning (it was that bad) but I want to do a proper carb up and see what the results are.
I work out first thing in the a.m. on an empty stomach (sometimes a lite shake) and I though maybe that's what was making me nauseous and dizzy but I've been doing that for years.
It's carb up time for me for sure.
Maybe you could try a meal instead of a full blown carb up if you want to hold out longer???

Yeah I was thinking about doing the one carb meal also, but I'm going to wait at least two full weeks and then do a good clean carb up. I previously didn't do well on the carbups, but that was because I kinda went all out on it. So word to the wise if this is your first carbup keep it clean. This time I'm going to go with a 12hr carb up and I actually downloaded the CKD calculator, so I think I'll have a better handle on it this time around.