Hi All,

I don't normally go anywhere else for Keto advice but I stumbled across this answer on yahoo in answer to somebody asking why it is detrimental to carb cycle on a ketogenic diet:

Carb cycling programs never allow the body to become fully fat adapted, which I believe takes 3-6 weeks. The metabolism just shuts down & awaits a return to glycolysis. You hear bodybuilders claim that their body doesn't function without carbs, this is because they've done carb cycling & never allowed their body to convert - so it becomes a self fulfilling prophesy. This study referenced:

show that the body (even for athletes) become fat adapted *with time* & allow unimpaired endurance performance despite nutritional ketosis. "The most obvious of these is the time allotted (or not) for keto-adaptation. In this context, the prescient observation of Schwatka (that adaptation to "a diet of reindeer meat" takes 2–3 weeks) says it all. None of the comparative low-carbohydrate versus high-carbohydrate studies done in support of the carbohydrate loading hypothesis sustained the low carbohydrate diet for more than 2 weeks .... There are to date no studies that carefully examine the optimum length of this keto-adaptation period, but it is clearly longer than one week and likely well advanced within 3–4 weeks. The process does not appear to happen any faster in highly trained athletes than in overweight or untrained individuals. This adaptation process also appears to require consistent adherence to carbohydrate restriction, as people who intermittently consume carbohydrates while attempting a ketogenic diet report subjectively reduced exercise tolerance." I highly recommend low carb way of eating for optimal health. It takes 3-6 weeks for the body to become fully fat adapted to perform athletically but the body does convert *if* carb cycling is not used. Athletes studied said their performance was effected the first week or so but recovered to full athletic ability within a few weeks. For bodybuilders, low carb creates lean tissues even without working out, working out should create even more muscle mass. When insulin dominates the blood stream, testosterone & human growth hormone (HGH) aren't produced, which are both anabolic hormones & contribute to muscle growth. Excess protein is converted to glucose *unless* dietary fat levels are greater than 80% of dietary calories, then I believe that excess protein is forced to create lean tissues (just as excess carbohydrates are forced to create fat tissues). Marathon athletes aren't restricted to glycogen stores. Athletes in glycolysis (using glucose for fuel) have to "carb load" to fill glycogen stores but athletes in ketosis (using fat for fuel) don't have these restrictions. A normal weighted person has enough fat stores to run for more than 200 hours - glycogen stores only last a few hours before being depleted & the athlete "hits the wall" from the article below -Numerous current studies show that dieters who follow high-protein low-carb strategies--even plans with higher fat intake--lose more fat and maintain or gain more muscle mass than dieters who rely on higher carb diets. Yes, you read that right--many dieters actually gained muscle mass without working out, simply by eating a high-protein diet. This is due to several factors. First, amino acids from protein drive muscle growth. When you consume a high-protein meal, amino acids from the protein travel to muscle cells and actually initiate the processes that cause muscle growth.

I highly recommend adding virgin coconut oil to your diet. All fats can be used for sustained energy, but coconut oil is the (only) fat that can be used for quick energy like a carb. I think that ketosis is not the back up fuel plan. I think ketosis was meant to be primary fuel plan, that is easily overridden (one bite) by ingestion of carbs (or alcohol). The body is rarely allowed to become fully fat adapted, especially in these days of people using processed food formula to feed infants instead of breast milk. Carbs were never supposed to be available year around, only seasonally during harvest. The body can easily handle carbs even in excess occasionally, just not continuously. The body can also be fueled by protein (via gluconeogenesis) but long term protein synthesis creates the byproducts of ammonia & nitrogen. The body can easily handle clearing out these byproducts but if gluconeogenesis is used as the primary fuel source for long term, the body can be overwhelmed (poisoned) by the excess ammonia & nitrogen. It's all contingent on balance but the body functions at optimal levels on more dietary fat & suboptimal levels on less dietary fat. Source(s): Glucose is the bodies preferred fuel - the body can convert 100% of carbs, 58% of protein & 10% of dietary fat into glucose. The body can also be fueled by fat (dietary fat & fat cells) but only in the absence of carbs. Your brain actually prefers* to be fueled by ketones (part of the fat burning process), it does require glucose also, but glucose can be easily converted from excess protein if needed or dietary fat. * After 3 days of carb restriction, the brain uses ketone bodies as fuel, cutting its need for glucose. The production of ketone bodies & glycerol cuts the brain's glucose requirement from 120 g per day to about 10 g per day in time. Ketones have been described as "magic" in their ability to increase metabolic efficiency, while decreasing production of free radicals, the damaging byproducts of normal metabolism. The heart and brain operate 25% more efficiently using ketones as a source of energy.

Thoughts?