Keto diet and carbing up

Hey all

So just over a week ago I started a ketogenic diet(got some great info off this forum on it, so thanks for that guys) with some great results (2.6kgs down in 8 days ) . The goal is to still loose around 6kgs+-. Now I am very happy with the results but apart from my 1 cheat meal a week I am consuming a very small amounts of carbs.

Retaining muscle mass is very important to me, after alot of reading people that train alot reccomend having a carb up period of high carb high protein low fat from friday night to saturday night. My question here is for the training that I do is the carb up period required?

I would like to keep doing what I am doing because its working great, but not if its going to effect my muscle mass.

Stats
Training is 5 days a week, 50 mins weights followed by 30 mins cardio.
Bodyfat is a guestimate at around 18%

Refeeds are always a good idea on keto, but wait until your second week to make sure your glycogen is completely gone. Remember ketogenic dieting is a bit of a commitment, you have to follow it for quite some time to retain benefits and not bounce back. How long you planning to be on it bro?

Thanks man.

Plan to be on untill I drop 6kgs more so how ever long that takes. Was also thinking once I hit my goals of adjusting my regular diet to incorporate something like this. Eg mon to fri keto then weekend carb it up with low gi carbs (apart from my cheat meal) and low fat.

Yeah sounds good man, just plan that carb-up well. I reckon with you doing all that cardio you spend all your glycogen fast - great for keto working correctly. Just remember to hit
*all* your muscles with the weights as well. If you keep training consistently and do the carb-ups, you won't be loosing muscle mass. The biggest challenge with keto (IMO) is getting back to regular dieting, i.e. getting your body to start burning carbs for energy and not fat. Otherwise keto is pretty sweet deal.

You mentioned a cheat "meal", what would that be? Remember to keep carbs to a max of 30g per day on keto.

Cool, I am keeping the carbs low, only source of carbs is from veggies at dinner (not massive amounts either) other than that its mainly fat and protein.

I do miss my massive bowl of oats in the morning, need to start getting creative with my eggs. Gets a bit rough having poached eggs every day for breakfast.

Cheat meal without fail is a large chips and mcfeast from MCDs Saturday at 11am (probably the worst thing to have, but keeps me strong during the week knowing on saturday I get my cheat meal).

Remember every time u cheat u out of Keto for up to 3 days so u are only on keto for half the week ....2 weeks fat protein then add fibre veg for 4 weeks no cheats ...after 6 weeks start adding starch in small amounts until u stop loosing then back off slightly ...cheat meals when u reach your goal...

mike123 wrote: ...after 6 weeks start adding starch in small amounts until u stop loosing then back off slightly ...)

Well, only if you want to exit keto though.

Thanks for the advice guys.

For now I'm still loosing each week. But as I get closer to my goal and i start loosing less I will have to tighten up what I eat along with the frequency of the cheat meal.

Furk wrote:

mike123 wrote: ...after 6 weeks start adding starch in small amounts until u stop loosing then back off slightly ...)

Well, only if you want to exit keto though.

Yep ...but if u want to retain / build muscle u cant keto for to long ...u need carbs ...

Synergy wrote: Thanks for the advice guys.

For now I'm still loosing each week. But as I get closer to my goal and i start loosing less I will have to tighten up what I eat along with the frequency of the cheat meal.

Yip, when weight loss stops or becomes drastically slower you'll need to re-asses your caloric intake.