With the new year only days away the time to improve the quality of life couldn’t be better. In today’s article, we’ll go over how the benefits of the keto diet can help you make those improvements.
Most people know that keto can help with weight woes, but there are far more benefits that aren’t as often talked about.
What’s keto?
To put it simply, keto (short for ketogenic or ketosis) is a way of eating that tricks your body into utilizing fats for fuel instead of liver glycogen. Just like with anything, the benefits vary from person to person, and — for the sake of transparency — might not be for everyone. The most widely reported benefits:
- Improved cognition
- Accelerated fat loss
- Appetite control
- More (steady) energy
- Can help fight Type 2 Diabetes
- Elevated, more stable moods
- GAINZ on GAINZ on GAINZ
Anecdotal Gainz
As a youth, I experimented with “clean eating,’ (your typical cookie-cutter meal plan from a coach of chicken breast, brown rice, and broccoli), IIFYM, Carb Backloading, dirty bulking (I just wanted an excuse to eat more donuts, let’s be honest), and a hunter-gatherer’s form of Paleo.
Then a close friend of mine convinced me to try keto. It didn’t take much convincing if I’m being honest. In part because one of my favorite old school bodybuilders, Larry Scott, practiced keto.
I cut out carbs. Ate fattier meats. Screwed up a bunch of stuff. Kept at it. Lost fat. Gained a little size. Then started optimizing. A year later, I found myself on the receiving end of steroid accusations, which as a “natty,” I loved.
I’m not special. Not in the slightest. I just research relentlessly and experiment with pretty much everything — pros and cons to that one. If I can figure it out with little help, aside from Google, then you can too.
The Potential Benefits of Keto
Improved cognition:
The problem with carbs as an energy source is they cause blood sugar levels to rise. What goes up has to come down. When your blood sugar drops it’s like a wall blocking out brain fog just crumbled, in turn inviting the clouds in.
Ketones, on the other hand, are far more consistent. They don’t elevate blood sugar to give you focus and energy. They elevate your brain as a whole.
I live in Salt Lake City, Utah. We’ve recently been inducted into the Hall of Terrible Air Quality Infamy. Hiking up to one of the surrounding mountains and looking down into the valley, sometimes the air quality is so terrible the smog is opaque. But, up on high, the air is crisp and clear.
That’s what running on ketones is like. Don’t build a wall to keep out the fog. Rise above it.
Not only that, recent studies have shown that Keto may protect against cognitive decline.
One in particular, with results found in the Scientific Journal, looked at keto’s effect on neurovascular function — which play important roles in determining cognition and mental health; studies show the neurovascular risk is associated with accelerated decline. The study also focused on circulation (blood flow), which is critical in mental health.
The referred-to study had two groups of mice. One received a keto diet. The other received a “regular” diet. It took place over 16 weeks. When the study concluded, they found that the keto mice had:
- improved blood flow to the brain
- better bacterial balance in the gut
- lower blood sugar levels
- lower body weight.
Note: There’s no denying that the first 1-2 weeks spent transitioning to keto are hell — similar to going through withdrawals or so I’m told. Even those negative side effects can be mitigated, though. With proper supplementation, like MCT Oil Powder and Fish Oil, those effects can be mitigated.
Mood Improvement
While that study is fresh in your mind, let’s look at how keto can improve your moods.
Better bacterial balance in the gut: For starters, we’ve recently discovered that the gut microbiome may be responsible for up to 70% of your serotonin levels. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter and plays a critical role in moods.
Lower blood sugar levels: Ever hear the word “hangry?” Of course you have. It’s the best-known excuse for nonsensical arguments that occur between significant others. This goes back to blood sugar rising and falling due to carbohydrate intake.
You feel happy when the carbs come in, but as the hours go by without consumption, those blood sugar levels fall, and they take your joy with them.
Take video games for example. (A lot of you might not be gamers, but I won’t judge, just try to keep up.) In what’s called an RPG video game, your avatar will often have a Health bar and a Stamina bar.
- The health one is easy — you get hit a bunch of times and you die.
- The Stamina plays a role in how long you can run, swim, fight, etc. Activities drain it.
In real life, that Stamina bar is also your Mood bar. When you intake carbs to refill that bar, you’re getting a quick refill, but there’s a catch. Carbs have a short half-life for energy, and when they run out, they drain your Mood bar that much quicker.
Ketones, however, don’t instantly replenish your Stamina. They give it a boosted regeneration ability, so you can feel happier longer.
Accelerated Fat Loss
Energy and cognition enhancement alone should be enough to sell you on keto experimentation. Let’s be honest, though. It’s not your intellect that catches the eye of that cute non-gender specific individual at the squat rack. It’s your shoulder-waist-hip ratio. Keto might just be the fastest way to attain the sought after taper (or hourglass).
According to over 23 studies, low carb diets — such as the keto diet — have been shown to help people lose fat quicker than their counterparts — low-fat diets.
One particular study, performed by the New England Journal of Medicine, randomized 63 individuals into two groups — a low-fat group and a low carb group — then had them adhere to the instructed diet for 12 months.
The Low-Carb Group: The 33 individuals in the low-carb group met with a registered dietitian, who had them restrict carbohydrate intake — 20g or less — but not restrict fat or protein intake. Some keto snobs might say you need to restrict protein intake to reach ketosis. I disagree but will touch on that in later articles.
The Low-Fat Group: The 30 individuals in the low-fat group also met with a dietitian, who laid out their diet. Interestingly, not only did these individuals have to restrict fats, but they also had to restrict calories.
The outcome: The low-carb group lost more weight, 7.3% of total body weight, compared to the low-fat group, which lost 4.5%. The difference was statistically significant at 3 and 6 months, but not 12 months
So, to be clear. When I say keto can accelerate fat loss, I do mean it accelerates it. Keto won’t necessarily make you lose more fat in the long run, but it can help you lose fat quicker.
I’ll take that result any day.
We live in the “gimme now” day and age. If you think patience is a virtue, good for you. But when we’re both at the pool and I’ve been doing low-carb for six months while you’ve been counting calories and I have better abs, well…how valuable is your “virtue,” really?
Helps Fight Type 2 Diabetes
I’d be remiss not to mention something as important as arming oneself with a diet fit enough to hack and slash the Diabetes Dragon.
This will be the shortest section, though. We aren’t PubMed. We’re Bucked Up. Long story short, yes, Keto can help fight Type 2 Diabetes.*
People who suffer from Type 2 often produce too much insulin. Ketosis lowers insulin levels. Hell, you can’t even reach ketosis unless your insulin levels are low. Furthermore, it’s really hard to cause a blood sugar spike when you don’t eat carbs. Weird…
Appetite Control:
By now, you’ve probably tried at least one diet in your life. Calorie restriction, 6-8 microscopic-sized meals, chicken breast prepped using zero-calorie cooking spray (aka olive oil robbed of all its beneficial fatty acids), steamed brown rice, or pop-tarts for breakfast — because it fits your macros, bro.
Tell me if any of these sound familiar:
- Food cravings
- Hanger
- Never satiated
- Sluggish workouts
- An appetite even the Donner Party would cringe at
What if I told you that the Keto “diet” could change all that? Reduce cravings. Go longer between meals without feeling like starvation looms around the corner. Less desire to have a cheat meal. Would you call me crazy? Disturbed? A liar? Perhaps. But guess what. I have science on my side.
Keto Vs. Moderate Carb — Appetite Control Study
Numerous studies have been performed to test the effects of a ketogenic diet on hunger and appetite control.
One study conducted by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition split subjects into two groups for 4 weeks.
- Group LC: Low carb keto diet.
- Group MC: Moderate carb diet
Both groups were fed ad libitum — as needed. Their body weight was measured daily, ketosis was monitored via plasma and urine samples, and they assessed hunger using some sci-fi computerized tech.
What they found: Over the 4-week period, the LC folks not only had a lower food intake, their hunger was also significantly lower. And surprise, they lost more weight than the MC group as well.
Keto Vs. Moderate Carb: My 190lb-6% Body Fat Percentage Life
When my wife and I first started keto — after the two weeks of transitory hell — we were both amazed. We went from feeling like robots who might shut down after a few hours without eating to forgetting to eat altogether. Why? Our energy levels stayed consistent and we never felt the pangs of hunger — until post-workout, of course.
We panicked.
The idea of skipping meals flew in the face of all the “wisdom” the fitness community had so politely shoveled down our throats. However, the panic attacks caused by past indoctrination were quickly replaced by something incredibly strange — RESULTS.
Our body fat dropped like crazy. But that’s a given.
What’s strange — or at least seemed strange then — is that we both experienced strength gains and increased lean muscle mass. That’s right. Increased lean muscle mass. While staying between 10-30 grams of carbs too — in the form of avocados, almonds, and the trace amounts found in some smooth KETO PROTEIN goodness.
Keto and Muscle Mass
I saved the best, and likely most controversial, for last. Drum roll…Keto does not cause you to lose muscle mass. In fact, studies have shown that keto can help preserve muscle mass. Read that one more time, then take a second to let it sink in. I’ll wait.
There are quite a few plausible reasons this can occur, but we’ll focus on one: how ketones convert into energy and keep protein from being broken down into energy.
It’s long been believed that in order to make gains, you need to eat carbs and a lot of them — anywhere from 300-700g. Reason being that our body’s preferred source of fuel is glycogen.
Glycogen comes from glucose, which is what carbs are broken down into and used for energy.
When the body’s glycogen stores are depleted, a process called gluconeogenesis occurs where the liver switches to pulling from amino acids — building blocks of protein — for energy.
When you break down amino acids you also break down protein strands. Since your muscles require protein to repair — and grow — it makes sense to fear ever pulling from protein for daily energy. This is one reason competitors add BCAAs like our RACKED into daily supplementation when in prep mode.
Now, imagine what would happen if you reprogrammed your system so that it (mostly) ignored amino acids as an energy source. Theoretically, wouldn’t that make it possible for your body to dedicate protein intake to muscle repair?
Ketone Bodies: We Volunteer as Tribute
When your body goes into a state of starvation, the mobilization of fatty acids from fat tissue is accelerated and the liver cleverly produces ketones. Since the liver can’t really utilize ketone bodies, they flow from the liver to tissues (e.g. the brain and MUSCLE) for use as fuel. In other words, glucose utilization is replaced by ketone metabolism and…voila! Muscle mass is spared.
- Out of Ketosis: body pulls from dietary carbohydrates for energy. Once those carbohydrates run out, the body breaks down protein and converts it to glucose for energy. Break down protein = muscle waste
- In Ketosis: The body produces ketone bodies on its own (can we please take a second to acknowledge how badass we humans are?). Ketone bodies volunteer as tribute and do the energy work, thus saving protein.
This is one reason why I always recommend that anyone transitioning into keto equip themselves with Exogenous Ketones: you might not burn as much fat as you would producing your own ketone bodies — endogenous ketones — but the EK can help preserve muscle mass by tricking your system early on to pull from ketones as opposed to amino acids.*
Keto: Getting Started
Before you speed to IG and change your name to janedoe_keto (or johnsmith_fitness), here are some quick tips to help your transition feel more like a mid-winter foggy morning jog, as opposed to Atreyu and Artax fighting through the Swamps of Sadness.
- If you can handle a prolonged fast — 48-72 hours, do it. Get the misery over with quicker. If you fast, still train.
- Skip breakfast — Fasting is “cheat codes”
- Keep protein lower and fasts higher at first, then slowly level them out
- When beginning, you will likely have glycogen that needs to be depleted. Perform workouts that deplete you as much as possible. It’s not necessarily fun, but it works. (see table below for examples)
- Add in extra cardio sessions where possible
- Switch out your current whey protein for KETO Protein
- Start your morning off with Exogenous Ketones or MCT Oil
- If you find yourself lagging cognitively, switch to BAMF — nootropic pre-workout*
- For the love of Buck, DO NOT EAT CARBS. That will be possible later but only after you’re adapted. For the first 4-6 weeks (at least) just put them out of your mind. Period.
- HYDRATE: Seriously. If needed, add in some Himalayan Rock Salt to your water to help keep those levels higher.
- Avocados and Kerrygold Butter are your best friends.
- Hold off on buying peanut butter — if you’re anything like me, 1 serving of the stuff isn’t 2 tbsp. It’s an entire jar.
- Remember. You got this.
When you find yourself in need of some pre-workout to make life easier, make sure to check out our BAMF. And if you really want to start right and cleanse your system of carbs, our BLACK Series is a solid starting point. Click this link and optimize those New Year’s Resolutions. Click here to bust and learn about some popular keto myths. Or continue reading about exogenous ketones.
Related Posts
