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Brian Carroll
I’m considering a keto diet in order to trim some body fat and hopefully relieve my sleep apnea. Is this diet suitable for a powerlifter who is training to gain strength at the same time?
I’ve used the keto diet twice for relatively short periods of time to drop some weight.
What I liked
What I didn’t like
In the short run- I don’t like it. Outside of the current trendiness of keto, I look at this as a serious lifestyle change. If you are willing to commit to it FOREVER and stick to it no matter what, maybe it could work well for you in the long run. But if you are looking for something shorter term and aren’t willing to make a big lifestyle change, I’d recommend just cleaning up your diet some. I’ll bet you eat like crap now, don’t you? Admit it. Your diet sucks.
You want to lose a few pounds and stop sleeping like you’re in a choke hold right? And still train like a powerlifter?
Easy. You need two things. A filter question for food- for everything you eat just ask yourself: “Is this a healthy choice?” If no, don’t consume. If yes, go ahead. That alone will clean up your eating a lot and promote some weight loss. Any reasonably intelligent adult should be able to correctly answer that question. The other thing you need is more movement. Don’t start training for a marathon. Just go for 2-3 more 10-20 minute walks per day. Start with that. See where you get in 90 days. Your goal isn’t extreme, don’t make an extreme nutritional change to accomplish such a simple goal.
I have to say my teammate Daniel nailed it right on the head here.I tried strict keto for strongman for a few cycles and found it to have some benefits in an aesthetic/energy sense but most of that was due to extreme adherence to an extreme diet. That being said, if anyone takes extreme adherence to any diet/lifestyle you are going to find some great gains. I find keto to be beneficial as a cyclical tool to reset diet, insulin sensitivity, inflammation or even give you something to hone in on during off season or injuries but over all for strength performance sports I found that my training numbers suffered.
As stated by Daniel, it really boils to lifestyle adjustments and accountability. The more extreme or demanding the diet the more extreme you’re going to have to be to get its benefits. If you’re having trouble etc with a more simple varied diet now, then chances are a lengthy Keto cycle will only hurt your training or body in the long run. I hope this helps. there are a lot of benefits in Keto but as far as strength performance, i have yet to find true benefits both on a personal level, with my lifters, as well as literature or peered reviewed journals.
MDLP
They nailed it. Great for short term, or to use for a purpose, but as far as building strength on it, it is scarce that a top strength athlete is keto. Hell, even the endurance “Keto” athletes supplement with glucose packets and such, since carbs are so quickly & easily usable.
Dan has had a non-subtle paradigm shift in his eating over the last year; I would listen to what he has to say. He’s done many different things. Mike too.
As a rule of thumb, I would be wary of eliminating ANY foods or macros out of a diet unless you are forced to medically. There are no bad foods, only lousy application. And the pro keto people have excellent points, but they are also even greater counterpoints and arguments against when it comes to overall athletic performance.
Again, for a nice reset; Sure, but it’s a significant lifestyle change that is not conducive to strength sports in the long haul. It can also be quite expensive.