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Programs like Rushfit, Insanity and P90X aim to offer a comprehensive program that will help consumers successfully reach their health, fitness and weight-loss goals. There is no question that these are ambitious goals, particularly when you consider how many variables are involved, such as diet, exercise (activity and non-exercise activity) and behavioral change. After all, these are the foundational principles for achieving that elusive physical metamorphosis so many desire, but they must never be offered at the expense of good science and safe programming appropriateness.While each of these programs possesses both merits and drawbacks, it is important to consider the bigger picture. What happens after the immediate workout that leaves a person out of breath and lying flat on his or her back? Or after the short-term extreme diet that promotes unhealthy weight loss? How do these experiences change the way people think and feel about their health and well-being, and how will it influence their choices in the future? A program that leaves an experienced exerciser exhausted and elated at the notion that muscle soreness is merely a forthcoming adaptation means something completely different to an individual who has been told by his or her physician to get into shape. To that end, we hope this evaluation provided greater insight into the strengths and weaknesses of these popular programs. If this review helps you serve the needs and desires of your clients and the public with whom you engage in fitness dialogue more effectively, then we have accomplished our primary goal with this endeavor.The most accurate sided-by-side comparison I've found is posted on the American Council of Exercise website by Fabio Comana. It is an excellent expert lead report!P90X™, Insanity™ and Rushfit™—turn on your TV or computer, and you’ll be hard pressed to miss an infomercial from one of these products claiming that it will transform your body into the “best shape of your life.” Given their extreme popularity (and subsequent profitability), it’s no surprise that these programs have spawned sequels and imitators. Interestingly, each product includes some slick marketing educational piece demonstrating the program’s revolutionary training method for shaping your physique, whether it be through “Muscle Confusion,” “Max Interval Training” or “High Intensity Interval Training.” Hardly revolutionary, these are training modalities that are generally categorized under Metabolic Conditioning (MC). After all, years before these programs existed, renowned researcher Dr. William Kraemer, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, demonstrated the merits of muscle confusion (non-linear or undulating periodization), including the ability to induce greater levels of metabolic stress and adaptation upon the body. And Tabata, LaForgia and colleagues demonstrated the benefits of high-intensity interval training (H.I.I.T.) approximately 15 years ago. BeachbodyTM (which produces both Insanity and P90X) and others have successfully turned these concepts into revenue-generating goldmines. Of course, popularity is no guarantee of effectiveness, so ACE decided to put P90X, Insanity and Rushfit to the test in a head-to-head match-up to evaluate each on the basis on efficacy, science and safety.A Brief Review of Metabolic ConditioningBefore we get started, let’s briefly review the overall concept of metabolic conditioning (MC), which is defined as training that incorporates more integrated (whole-body), high work rate–type exercise sessions of moderate loads (resistance), coupled with shorter active recovery periods (activity during recovery) or even no-recovery periods. One key goal is to boost caloric expenditure during and after workouts (i.e., excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC). This form of training is generally achieved through a combination of one or more of the following:Manipulating load (force generated) or the amount of resistanceManipulating the volume of work performed (usually quantified by the amount of sets times the number of repetitions performed in a session)Manipulating power or the rate at which work is performedThe initial strength improvements often witnessed early in a program are attributed more to neurological changes within the body as opposed to increases in muscle mass or size.Metabolic conditioning represents many different things to different individuals. To the athlete, it is specific training that mimics the demands of their sport—more specifically, the movement patterns and energy pathways needed for performance. To occupational professionals (e.g., firefighters, military servicemen or -women), tactical metabolic conditioning is task-specific, preparing them to perform their jobs successfully, efficiently and free from harm. For most people, however, MC is really just about health and fitness, with workouts designed to focus primarily upon helping individuals lose weight by increasing the number of expended calories during exercise and recovery. To a lesser extent, they also emphasize building muscle mass, which in turn increases the body’s metabolic flame (the increase in resting metabolism associated with having more muscle tissue). Contrary to many of the testimonials offered within infomercials, the reality is that while muscle conditioning (endurance, toning, etc.) is a likely outcome, most adults are lucky if they achieve significant muscle gains during these relatively short, defined program timeframes (e.g., 60, 90 days or eight weeks). While muscle typically takes four to six weeks after beginning a workout to start showing any increase in mass and size, a majority of research only shows adults gaining 2 to 4.5 pounds during studies lasting eight to 52 weeks.Initial Product ImpressionsThrough both infomercials and the Web, all three products utilize an effective marketing strategy to capture interest, especially through vicarious experience (seeing others successfully performing the workouts). Thus, after ordering each product, task number one was to review the introductory segments of each program, then take more time to review all the DVDs. Table 1 compares the costs, requirements, and overall appeal of the host and presentation of the workouts, while Table 2 details the goals, objectives and format of each program. http://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/1443/p90x-insanity-and-rushfit-a-side-by-side/How Do the Three Programs Measure Up?The three programs are compared side-by-side for overall content, quality, training purpose(s) and strengths. A 1 to 10 scoring system (Tables 3, 4 and 5) is used for qualitative and quantitative purposes to evaluate each parameter measured, with a “1” indicating “poor” and a score of “10” indicating “excellent.”http://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/1443/p90x-insanity-and-rushfit-a-side-by-side/Scientific Value: Evaluation, Appropriateness and SafetyRushfit: Overall Exercise Program ImpressionsTrainer Erik Owings demonstrates a solid understanding of science, exercise programming and progression. This program offers foundational instruction of key movement patterns that include squats, lunges, push-ups, sit-ups, rotations and dumbbell exercises, but he does miss some important technique cues (e.g., hip-hinging, lumbar stability) and key compensations, such as St-Pierre’s lack of mobility during squats, during which his feet fall into pronation and his heels lift during the lowering phase. This is a bit concerning given the repetitive nature and complexity of some of these exercises and movement patterns.However, Owings clearly is knowledgeable about training the body and energy systems, as evidenced by his progressions and work-to-recovery ratios (e.g., during his plyometric intervals, he incorporates appropriate work-to-recovery ratios. He also demonstrates easier exercise alternatives and modifications for many of his movements for novice exercisers.The exercise and movement patterns selected mimic various activities of daily living while also introducing a variety of basic movements and techniques needed by the MMA fighter (especially in The Fight Conditioning Workout). All the participants perform the workouts barefoot, much the way an MMA fighter trains and fights. While I personally believe we all need some form of barefoot training, not everyone should or will want to train barefoot. This does not imply that these workouts cannot be performed with shoes on, but I think some discussion on the matter would have been helpful.The workouts offer a comprehensive approach to MC training that targets a variety of the health-related parameters of fitness (endurance, strength, flexibility and cardio) and the skill-related parameters of fitness (power, agility, balance, coordination and quickness).Insanity: Overall Exercise Program ImpressionsFrom a scientific standpoint, what is most alarming about the Insanity program is the overall lack of understanding of science, programming and how to effectively train the energy pathways. This is evident from start to finish. For example, DVD #1 features a battery of eight fit tests, each challenging the exerciser to complete as many repetitions of a particular movement in 60 seconds, separated by brief 30- to 60-second recovery intervals. Given the protocols selected, sequence of testing and the work-to-recovery ratios, one must question the validity and purpose of this battery. A good test administrator recognizes the need for purposeful tests that avoid redundancy, utilizes a progressive test sequence (assessing more compound movements first) and also allows for appropriate muscle and energy pathway recovery between assessments. All of these elements are missing, as the tests induce partial fatigue with simpler movements before the more complex and challenging protocols are conducted. Additionally, it strings together a series of almost redundant jumping drills in succession before concluding with two assessments emphasizing the upper extremity. Even the most basic of circuits alternates between the upper and lower extremities to allow for appropriate recovery.Equally concerning is the intensity of the warm-ups, which last approximately 10 minutes and have the models sidelined in exhaustion. This is followed by approximately five to eight minutes of static stretching, which makes little sense given the mostly plyometric-based training that follows. On a positive note, however, a static stretching component is appropriately included in the post-exercise segment.The coaching cues and exercise instruction are poor. The introductory DVD begins with some basic instruction and a review of four basic movements that are used frequently throughout the program—jumps, squats, planks and a C-sit. Not only are most of these movements instructed incorrectly, but many of the technique instructions are simply read from a checklist, with almost no explanation or demonstration to the end-user. Additionally, on countless occasions, the trainer emphasizes a specific technique in one area while neglecting other more significant compensations (e.g., missing repeated valgus stress in the knees during jump-landing in many of the female models, while demonstrating a firm core). Most experts agree that it is not advisable to introduce jumping activities until you have successfully instructed individuals how to land correctly, a basic premise omitted with this program.While each workout features a unique (albeit similar) title, it is almost impossible to make sense of each workout’s objective or differentiators, other than simply inducing fatigue and exhaustion with repetitive exercises and to burn calories. This suggests that the trainer, Shawn T, simply devised a series of exercises (emphasizing low-to-moderate lower-extremity plyometric exercises), then randomly assigned them to different workouts without rhyme or reason.Dr. Donald Chu, a leader in plyometric training and research, has long suggested that appropriate plyometric volumes for athletes should be based upon training experience and intensity, and determined by the number of foot or upper-extremity contacts. While most of Insanity’s drills qualify as low-to-moderate intensity drills, the number of foot contacts featured in several sessions is almost double the number suggested by Chu, which raises concerns about repetitive micro-trauma or overuse.No programming philosophy appears to exist for how the workouts are sequenced during the “circuits” (e.g., alternating upper and lower extremities or push-pull movements), and DVDs labeled as “Max” are simply longer workouts. Almost every DVD involves jumping, along with static and dynamic balance drills (to a lesser extent). The “Max Interval Plyo” workout primarily targets muscular endurance and only has four true plyometric exercises. Given their complexity and increased potential for injury, plyometrics are traditionally performed early in a session.Curiously, Cardio Abs is filled with jumping activities, and the Core Cardio and Balance workout introduces three true balance exercises during the last 14 minutes of the workout. Again, balance training is traditionally positioned toward the earlier phases of a session when concentration levels are higher (e.g., during dynamic warm-ups).Exercisers are frequently asked to monitor heart rate (HR), but no information or explanation is offered regarding target HR zones or appropriate HR training intensities.While this program demonstrates popularity among competitive, athletic individuals, perhaps creating a cult-like following, it does present a myriad of concerns for the average deconditioned individual who is simply trying to improve his or her overall health and fitness. Although Insanity’s effective marketing campaign clearly states this “program is not for everyone,” part of its success is attributed to how effectively it baits one’s competitive fervor, whether conditioned or not.For the average person, Insanity’s exercise intensities, exercise selections, sequences, durations and work-to-recovery ratios are inappropriate and, at a minimum, may breed disappointment. When exercisers are encouraged to use outcome goals (e.g., complete as many reps as possible in 60 seconds) without adequate recovery, it is just a matter of time before individuals begin to perceive failure if they are unable to complete some (or even most) of the assigned drills.P90X: Overall Exercise Program ImpressionsOne of the first things that is evident from the P90X DVDs is the charisma and humor that characterizes Tony Horton’s teaching style. He possesses a strong ability to engage participants and build rapport effectively, demonstrating skill sets so critical for success when working with people. Additionally, his sense of humor certainly helps alleviate the anxieties many people possess associated with exercise. Undeniably, these traits probably account for much of the success his program has enjoyed.Metabolic or physiological stress, or “muscle confusion” as he calls it, is nothing new, but he has developed a comprehensive system that puts it into practice. His program design, while not perfect, as no program ever is, is deeply rooted in science. It is evident that he has gone to great lengths to develop his program and consider which of the various parameters of physical fitness should be included. He identifies appropriate exercise modifications for more inexperienced individuals, understands how to train muscle groups (split routines) and how to sequence exercises with appropriate recovery intervals. Although he does miss key biomechanical flaws and cues during his instruction and coaching of various exercises, he is attentive to safety and his instructional cues are generally solid.Unfortunately, one disappointing aspect of P90X is the need to make a considerable investment into ancillary equipment to complete the workouts. Unlike the other products, the muscle-strengthening focus of P90X requires resistance equipment, which may come as an unexpected surprise to many consumers. While this equipment is readily available within the confines of a commercial gym, most people intend to perform these DVD-based workouts at home. It is no surprise, then, that Beachbody offers all of the necessary equipment for purchase on its Web site. Of course, these items can also be found at most sporting-goods stores, as well.As with Insanity, exercisers are frequently asked to monitor heart rate (HR), and check target HR zones, but little explanation is offered for why this is necessary. While there is an initial cardio test that measures recovery HR, no information or explanation is offered in the program regarding target HR zones or appropriate HR training intensities.Dietary ComponentsFor most people, the impact on weight loss of a calorie-restricted diet is greater than the effects of exercise during the initial phases of a weight-loss program. When one considers initial tolerance levels for exercise intensity, duration and frequency for most deconditioned individuals, and the fact that elevated metabolic rates attributed to the addition of a few added pounds of lean mass do not occur for four to six weeks, a successful program to transform the body has to include effective dietary strategies. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how the three programs stack up in terms of nutritional and weight-loss advice.RushfitRushfit’s nutrition guide is very simple, suggesting healthier sources for the three macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein and fats) and a variety of effective dietary strategies. The program also offers pre- and post-exercise snack or meal guidelines. While the pre-workout macronutrient proportions and hydrationstrategies fall in line with recommendations from current research, the post-exercise guidelines prove somewhat questionable. The general nature of their workouts is anaerobic endurance, which utilizes carbohydrates as a primary fuel, necessitating glycogen replenishment during recovery, especially during the first one to two hours post-exercise when recovery rates are greatest. Reducing carbohydrate intakes to 35 percent of consumed calories during this period only serves to retard glycogen recovery, which normally can take 24 to 36 hours. Consequently, progressively lowering available glycogen stores will compromise energy and performance levels in successive workouts.The body requires carbohydrates to metabolize fats completely, and if an individual’s carbohydrates stores become progressively depleted, his or her fuel utilization will be compromised. Without adequate carbohydrates provided by the diet, the body turns to a viable alternative to convert specific amino acids to glucose for fuel or to allow it to continue burning fats. Unfortunately, 99 percent of these usable proteins exist in the form of muscle tissue; thus, this practice simply promotes attacks on muscle protein.While protein is crucial to recovery for muscle synthesis, suggesting 55 percent of the post-exercise calories originate from protein stores is excessive. Various research studies demonstrate a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio of carbohydrates-to-protein as optimal for enhancing recovery rates after exercise.Estimates of daily caloric expenditure or caloric need are important, yet very difficult to ascertain. Many rely upon standardized formulas (e.g., Harris & Benedict) and standard activity factors to estimate current activity and total daily energy expenditure. While these formulas are commonly used, it is important to understand that they can feature large margins of error of as much as 500 to 750 kcal per day.P90XBeachbody’s business model relies significantly upon income generated through their supplement line, and both the P90X and Insanity programs prominently feature supplement sales. In the interest of time, this discussion will focus upon the P90X’s Nutrition Plan, which is both extensive and controversial. Although Carrie Latt Wiatt, author of various nutritional books, is featured and appears to endorse the P90X nutrition plan (on DVD #1), this diet does deviates significantly from current 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines.P90X contains a three-phase nutrition plan (approximately 30 days each) and allows the user to choose the most suitable timing and plan. Each phase is significantly different and some research does support the notion of changing one's diet composition and caloric intake on a regular basis as a means to induce metabolic stress and possibly assist in weight loss.Phase 1: Fat ShredderMacronutrient composition: 50 percent protein, 30 percent carbohydrate, 20 percent fatClaim: High-protein diet designed to strengthen muscle will rapidly shred fat from the bodyConcerns: The 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines suggest that 45 percent to 65 percent of total calories should originate from carbohydrate sources, yet this dietary phase targets 30 percent, an amount considered carbohydrate-restricted.One stated objective behind this phase is to shed fat, but realistically much of the initial and rapid weight loss will stem predominantly from the loss of water rather than true fat loss. After all, carbohydrate-restricted diets gradually deplete the quantity of stored carbohydrates (glycogen) within the body, and for every gram of glycogen stored, 2.4–2.7 g of water are stored. Therefore, as these stores deplete, much of the weight lost is simply the release of water mass (e.g., sweat, urine), but this mass will return once a healthy, non-carbohydrate-restricted diet is resumed. Additionally, restricted carbohydrates diets tap energy reserves, increasing fatigue and decreasing exercise performance.As carbohydrates stores are depleted, the body attempts to spare the remaining carbohydrates and burn more fats. However, without adequate dietary carbohydrates, the body will utilize available proteins to manufacture glucose (carbohydrate). While this may spare any attacks upon existing muscle, the process of metabolizing proteins for energy or conversion to glucose exacts a toll on both the liver and kidneys, increases urine output and possible dehydration, and, as some research suggests, may potentially increase bone calcium losses.Following the example provided on page 5 of the nutrition plan (180-pound male classified in Level II aiming for 2,400 kcal/day), 50 percent of kcal from protein would amount to 1,200 kcal, or 300 g/day of protein. By contrast, the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for this same individual is 65.5 g/day, and leading fitness organizations suggest that a resistance-trained 180-pound male should consume 115 to 147 g/day of protein. In fact, the highest level of protein intake considered to be safe for this individual is 164 g/day, which is considerably less than the P90X guideline suggests.Furthermore, a high-protein intake makes even less sense given that little muscle growth actually occurs during the first four to six weeks. Rather, initial strength gains are associated primarily with neurological changes that do not require mega amounts of protein to achieve that outcome.Recommendation: Skip this phase. Be smart and follow the current USDA Dietary Guidelines. Do not restrict carbohydrates below 45 percent of total calories consumed. Keep your protein intake between 10 percent and 35 percent of total caloric intake (meets current guidelines) and not at the 50 percent this phase recommends. If you have specific needs or possess a strong desire to follow this phase, talk to a registered dietitian first.Phase 2: Energy BoosterMacronutrient composition: 40 percent protein, 40 percent carbohydrate, 20 percent fatClaim: A balanced mix of carbohydrates and protein with lower amounts of fat will supply additional energy for performanceConcerns: This phase is referred to as an energy booster, and individuals should probably experience greater energy levels because near-normal levels of carbohydrates are being reintroduced. Following this diet during the second month of training, when additional protein is needed for muscle building, does merit good protein intake. However, the recommendation to consume 40 percent protein and 40 percent carbohydrates is still outside of recommended guidelines for active individuals.Recommendation: In terms of protein and carbohydrate intake, Phase 2 is considerably better than Phase 1.Phase 3: Endurance MaximizerMacronutrient composition: 20 percent protein, 60 percent carbohydrate, 20 percent fatClaim: An athletic diet of complex carbohydrates, lean proteins and lower fat is the necessary combination to get the most out of this final training block.Concerns: This training block is simply block 1 and block 2 repeated (weeks 9 & 11 = Block 1, week 10 & 12 = Block 2). While this phase matches the current dietary recommendations and most closely resembles the traditionally dietary plans of endurance athletes, a 60 percent carbohydrate intake may not be suitable or palatable for all.Recommendation: If more cardio and endurance is the goal, then shifting toward this diet is logical. Furthermore, 45 percent to 55 percent carbohydrates, 20 percent to 25 percent protein and 20 percent to 30 percent fat is healthy and will satisfy almost all individuals.Finally, a word about Beachbody’s supplement upsale: Arguably, supplements have value for some individuals, but are they necessary when one’s goal is to simply improve overall health and fitness? Not if a well-balanced and healthy diet is followed. However, those who sell or endorse supplements will necessarily take a different stand. Supplements should always be considered a complement to diet rather than a replacement for proper nutrition.Beachbody’s recommendation to consume 4 to 8 ounces of fluid every 15 minutes during exercise is alarming given that leading health and fitness guidelines suggest 7 to 10 ounces every 15 minutes during exercise.An exceptional article from Fabio Comana, M.A., M.S., is an exercise physiologist and spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise, and an adjunct professor at San Diego State University (SDSU) and the University of California San Diego (UCSD), teaching courses in exercise science and nutrition. He holds two master’s degrees, one in exercise physiology and one in nutrition, as well as certifications through ACE, ACSM, NSCA and ISSN.via http://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/1443/p90x-insanity-and-rushfit-a-side-by-side/

The No Nonsense Ketogenic Article of Your DreamsThe ketogenic diet is probably the trendiest diet ever. It’s also probably the most misunderstood diet ever as marketers and influencers love to take advantage of it’s popularity by overexaggerating claims and taking science out of context to hype up ketogenic products.Ultimately, you’re wondering, is keto truly good or bad for you? Is it overrated or can it be useful? Let’s answer this looking at the unbiased science, shall we?What is Keto? (pronounced key-toe not ket-toe)So, what even is keto? The ketogenic diet is essentially a moderate protein, high fat, and very low carb diet. The goal of this diet is to toss you into a state called ketosis by severely restricting carbohydrate intake.This carbohydrate limit for keto is generally about 50 grams a day (2,3). This is not a set in stone limit for everybody as mild ketosis has been seen in some people with slightly higher intakes, but generally speaking you’d want to stay under about 20-60g of carbs daily to remain in ketosis. This likely means the only carbs you can eat are fibrous vegetables.What the Heck is Ketosis?So being on a ketogenic diet puts you into ketosis. Ketosis is where your body’s primary fuel source of glucose and fat switches to primarily using fat and ketones (4,6).Your brain in particular, uses primarily glucose. It can’t use fat so when carbs are severely restricted on keto, your brain switches to using ketone bodies that your body produces. Ketone bodies also called ketones are essentially an alternative fuel source for your brain when glucose isn’t available and despite what keto zealots will tell you, ketones are likely not the ideal fuel source for your brain when compared to glucose (9,10).As for the rest of your body it begins to utilize fat more as opposed to glucose (carbs). This might negatively affect you depending on your goal, but we’ll talk more about that later.This entire process of converting to ketosis generally takes about 3-4 days and usually isn’t pleasant to adapt to (5). This is why people often report what they describe as keto fog or keto flu within the first few days/weeks attempting the diet describing symptoms of sickness or fatigue (16).While on keto, it’s also common for people to report bad breath known as keto breath because of the presence ketone bodies in the blood (6).A bit random, but it’s interesting to note that ketosis can also occur with extended fasting and times of starvation (11).How Keto StartedEven though your annoying co-workers on keto might make this diet sound new and flashy, it’s actually not new. The ketogenic diet has been frolicking around for an entire century and if you’ve been attentive, it spikes in popularity every couple of years, then dies down slightly before spiking up again.And this might be shocking, but keto actually didn’t start as some flashy fat melting diet popularized by celebrities. It actually started way back in the 1920s where doctors used it to treat epilepsy (1).Epilepsy is a neurological disorder associated with seizures. 1 in 26 people will develop epilepsy and fortunately the ketogenic diet has been shown to help.What About My Love Handles Bro?You’re probably thinking, “that’s great and all that keto helps children with seizures, but what about my weight loss goals bro? Is keto good for that?”Yes, keto can definitely be good for weight loss, but it isn’t magical or superior to other diets as keto marketers would have you to think.When people first learn about ketosis, many misunderstandings arise.Because you do burn more fat than carbs while in ketosis, it leads many to believe you’ll lose more fat on keto.Unfortunately, what marketers don’t want you to know is that burning and losing fat are completely different. You can burn more fat, but not necessarily lose more fat off your body.How is this so?Well, your body adapts to the fuel source you provide it. With extreme fat intakes and extreme carb restrictions, your body is obviously going to burn more fat and less carbs because that’s what you’re providing it (8,12).Burning fat simply means your body is oxidizing it as fuel. On the other hand, to lose fat, you have to burn more total fat than you store or in other words, you have to be in a caloric deficit.When tightly controlled studies comparing low carb vs low fat diets, even though the low carb group burned more fat, it also stored more fat making the net outcome the same when calories and protein intake are equal (7).This is why despite the hype behind ketosis, fat loss is not superior on a ketogenic diet given calories and protein in a diet is matched.Net energy balance (calories in vs calories out) still determines fat loss not ketosis (14). This is also to a good time to bring up that the ketogenic diet shares the same awful potential as every other diet on this planet which is, it still has the potential to make you fat.Even though ketosis might sound great, it doesn’t miraculously save you from excess calorie consumption. If you eat more calories than your body can burn over time, you will still gain fat regardless if you’re in ketosis or not.Why the Ketogenic Diet Might Be a Good Idea For Fat LossEven though the ketogenic diet isn’t necessarily superior when compared with other diets given the same calories, there are two advantages to the ketogenic diet you might want to consider if the goal is fat loss.The first advantage is appetite suppression. Ketosis can suppress appetite for some people if maintained consistently (13).Now this appetite suppression benefit generally takes about 3 weeks to take effect, so like any other diet, to reap the benefits, you have to be consistent (15).The second advantage to the ketogenic diet is early weight loss (7). This applies to all low carb type of diet as restricting carbs causes additional losses in water and glycogen at the beginning. However, studies show long term body composition is the same.Even though the long-term effects are the same, in my experience, the early weight loss of a low carb diet like keto can be very beneficial for clients who want to see the scale drop fast early on.This could ignite motivation in people who are easily discouraged when initial progress appears too slow even if most of the early weight is just water.Why the Ketogenic Diet Might Be a Bad Idea For Fat LossDespite being a viable weight loss diet on paper, people forget in practice, you have to actually stick to the diet consistently to reap the rewards.Some of the studies I mentioned earlier are metabolic ward studies or tightly controlled studies, meaning participants were housed and forced to eat the exact food instructed. This is great to study the effects of a diet with clarity, but this doesn’t tell us much about whether the diet is easy to stick to given your own free will.When you look at ketogenic studies where participants weren’t paid, housed, and forced to eat specific foods, it showed the ketogenic diet is not easy to adhere to (17).This is very similar to people I know who claim to be doing keto. Most people I see who do keto don’t have the ability to restrict carbs consistently and end up having cheat meals on the weekends which inevitably will kick you out of ketosis. Even if you ate no carbs the following week, it would take you half the week to finally get into ketosis in which you would stay for only a couple of days before cheating again.A true keto diet has very little to no carbs which is usually too restrictive for people to stick to for long periods. Research has shown us the only people who actually stick to it consistently are paid athletes and people housed in confined studies like lab rats.Still, the ketogenic diet can be a great weight loss diet if you can stick to it consistently. If you can’t, no sweat, there are plenty of other options that are just as good. Keto is simply just another tool to choose from in the endless toolbox of diets.What About Other Goals?Even though, the ketogenic diet started gaining mainstream popularity for the sake of weight loss, many influencers are promoting it for other goals like hypertrophy or performance.In reality, a ketogenic diet seems to be potentially suboptimal for both hypertrophy and performance.Let’s take a deeper look at these aspects.Keto and Athletic PerformanceWhen it comes to traditional sports performance, keto isn’t ideal both in terms of aerobic and anaerobic measures.This is because with a ketogenic diet, you lack carbohydrates and besides tasting really good, carbohydrates have other crucial benefits (28).For starters, when carbs are burned for fuel, they produce more energy than fat (18). On top of this, a carb sufficient diet will allow the glycogen in your muscles to be full along with replenishing it during exercise, both of which is critical for maximum performance (19).Here’s a systematic review in 2016 showing carbs are beneficial for performance particularly when exercising for longer than 90 minutes (20).In actual competition, victories are attained thanks to carbohydrates. Race winning moves, sports of long durations, and bouts of high intensity all rely heavily on carbs (21,22,23,24,27).Research has also indicated in concurrent training where both resistance and endurances styles of training occur, a ketogenic diet is not optimal (19).This study on CrossFit for example, concluded that a moderately low carb diet might be ok for short durations of CrossFit, but a higher carb diet is likely needed to maximize performance especially for longer demands (25).As far as pure anaerobic performance, this study showed keto isn’t as good either (26). You’ll likely lose power.Further Considerations for Athletic Performance on KetoAnother big thing to consider as it pertains to athletic performance is metabolic flexibility. This is a concept made famous by Dr. Mike T Nelson and it’s basically the idea of how flexible your metabolism is. If you’re in ketosis, your metabolism isn’t very flexible as it’s only adapted to fat and not carbs.Having a flexible metabolism means you can switch back and forth between fat and carb use instead of just solely using one.By going on keto, you’re less metabolically flexible. As carbs are restricted, an enzyme called PDH which controls carbohydrate use gets hindered (29).Once this enzyme is hindered, it doesn’t recover immediately. When you reintroduce carbs, you still won’t maximize on the performance benefits of carbohydrates for some time even if glycogen stores are replenished (29).With all this considered, at best keto is ok for athletic performance and at worse it’s vastly inferior to any other diet that includes sufficient carbs.Keto and Lifting PerformanceBut surprisingly outside of traditional athletic sports and concurrent styles of training, the evidence behind keto’s effect on pure lifting is not as clear cut.Most keto studies on strength training have major limitations like not controlling for equal protein as well as not testing for blood ketones to ensure ketosis is achieved and maintained.Considering the glaring limitations, some studies do show the ketogenic diet can maintain strength comparable to the control groups (30,31).This review article on carb’s effect on resistance training concluded it most likely depends on the volume, duration, and intensity (32). With more volume/time of lifting, carbohydrates become increasingly important.This lines up well with a study done on intermediate Olympic lifters, a sport in which volume and duration of intensity is fairly low compared to traditional sports (33). The Olympic lifters lost fat and muscle on a ketogenic diet, but was able to maintain performance. While Olympic weightlifting is considerably different than the strength training most people do to get jacked, this study at least shows the ketogenic diet can be advantageous for weight class restricted athletes looking to maintain performance.So what’s the verdict on keto’s effect on strength training?Considering the data we do have on traditional athletic performance and the limited data we have on keto’s direct relationship with strength training, my conclusion is that a ketogenic diet is likely fine for lifting performance given volume and duration is low.However, I do think a higher carbohydrate diet would be beneficial for maximizing strength training if your workouts involve a lot of sets/reps or go pass 1 hour.Keto and Muscle BuildingSome people will say you can’t build much muscle on keto because you can’t eat much protein without going out of ketosis.In theory this is true because protein can be converted into glucose which would stop ketosis, but when played out in practice, high protein intakes have been shown to not kick people out of ketosis as long as carb intake is very low (34).Research has shown as much as 2.8g of protein per kg of bodyweight doesn’t withdraw you from ketosis. That’s way more than enough daily protein to build muscle.As for not having sufficient carbs, we know that the muscle signaling enzyme mTOR is unaffected by carbohydrate restriction (35).So then this begs the question if protein is equal, is there any muscle building benefit or drawback to eating a ketogenic diet?The answer is yes. This infamous study done by Vargas and colleagues shows that despite being assigned a caloric surplus, the ketogenic group could not eat in a surplus and resulted in no muscle growth.This is not saying you can’t build muscle on a ketogenic diet, but it does show that it’s difficult to eat enough total calories on keto. This is likely because the ketogenic diet as discussed earlier is pretty good at suppressing your appetite.In general, I don’t recommend the ketogenic for muscle building. While it is possible, it’s not optimal because it makes it harder to eat sufficient calories and overall gym performance is likely compromised (32).Bonus StudyI have one more ketogenic study that’s important to highlight (36). This one compared a ketogenic diet with just a basic low carb diet.We know if calories are matched, the weight loss will be the same, but what I found interesting is that the low carb diet outperformed the ketogenic diet when it came to micronutrients.With the ketogenic diet’s drastically low carb requirements, you miss out on fruits, starches, and grains, all of which have plenty of valuable vitamins and minerals.It goes to show you two important things.If you prefer a low carb diet, a simple low carb diet is probably better than a pure ketogenic diet where carbs are practically banned.If you do choose to do a ketogenic diet, selecting nutrient dense foods is important to prevent nutrient deficiencies given your limited food choices.Wrapping it All UpI hate to sound like I’m bragging, but this is literally as comprehensive and unbiased of a ketogenic diet article as you’re going to get. Just like with all my other articles, I’ll be updating it if new evidence comes out.To recap everything into adorable little bullet points, here’s the key takeaways.The ketogenic diet’s goal is to put you into the state of ketosis. This generally takes 3-4 days of heavy carb restriction.Most people are not able to stay in ketosis because of dieting inconsistencies, not to mention there are annoying side effects to adapting to ketosis.Regardless of attaining ketosis or not, the ketogenic diet is like every other diet when calories and protein are matched. It can make you lose weight if you eat low enough calories and it can make you gain weight if you eat too many.The ketogenic diet can be a viable fat loss diet especially considering it’s appetite suppressing effects, but only if you can stick to it consistently which the research has shown to be hard to do given your own free will.The ketogenic diet is subpar for athletic and typical sport performance.The ketogenic diet is fine for traditional weight lifting, but likely not optimal if your workouts are long or involve high volume.The ketogenic diet can build muscle, but is likely not optimal for hypertrophy as it’s hard to eat sufficient calories paired with the fact that lifting performance might be compromised.If you’re not careful, the ketogenic diet may leave you deficient in micronutrients as food choice is severely limited.That’s all for this one folks. Shoot me an email ([email protected]) if you have any further questions tickling your brain.ReferencesWheless, James W. “History of the Ketogenic Diet.” Epilepsia, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 2008, History of the ketogenic diet..Paoli, A, et al. “Beyond Weight Loss: a Review of the Therapeutic Uses of Very-Low-Carbohydrate (Ketogenic) Diets.” European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Nature Publishing Group, Aug. 2013, Beyond weight loss: a review of the therapeutic uses of very-low-carbohydrate (ketogenic) diets.Gregory, Rachel M. “A Low-Carbohydrate Ketogenic Diet Combined with 6-Weeks of Crossfit Training Improves Body Composition and Performance.” ClinMed International Library, A Low-Carbohydrate Ketogenic Diet Combined with 6-Weeks of Crossfit Training Improves Body Composition and Performance.Westman, et al. “Low-Carbohydrate Nutrition and Metabolism.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 1 Aug. 2007, Low-carbohydrate nutrition and metabolism.Owen, O E, et al. “Brain Metabolism during Fasting.” The Journal of Clinical Investigation, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Oct. 1967, Brain metabolism during fasting..Paoli, Antonio. “Ketogenic Diet for Obesity: Friend or Foe?” MDPI, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 19 Feb. 2014, Ketogenic Diet for Obesity: Friend or Foe?.Hall, Kevin D, et al. “Calorie for Calorie, Dietary Fat Restriction Results in More Body Fat Loss than Carbohydrate Restriction in People with Obesity.” Cell Metabolism, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Sept. 2015, Calorie for Calorie, Dietary Fat Restriction Results in More Body Fat Loss than Carbohydrate Restriction in People with Obesity..Bergouignan, Audrey, et al. “Increasing Dietary Fat Elicits Similar Changes in Fat Oxidation and Markers of Muscle Oxidative Capacity in Lean and Obese Humans.” PloS One, Public Library of Science, Increasing dietary fat elicits similar changes in fat oxidation and markers of muscle oxidative capacity in lean and obese humans..Prince, Allison, et al. “Oxidative Metabolism: Glucose Versus Ketones.” SpringerLink, Springer, New York, NY, 1 Jan. 1970, Oxidative Metabolism: Glucose Versus Ketones.Mergenthaler, Philipp, et al. “Sugar for the Brain: the Role of Glucose in Physiological and Pathological Brain Function.” Trends in Neurosciences, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Oct. 2013, Sugar for the brain: the role of glucose in physiological and pathological brain function.Cahill, G F. “Starvation in Man.” The New England Journal of Medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 19 Mar. 1970, Starvation in man..Veldhorst, Margriet A B, et al. “Presence or Absence of Carbohydrates and the Proportion of Fat in a High-Protein Diet Affect Appetite Suppression but Not Energy Expenditure in Normal-Weight Human Subjects Fed in Energy Balance.” The British Journal of Nutrition, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 2010, Presence or absence of carbohydrates and the proportion of fat in a high-protein diet affect appetite suppression but not energy expenditure in nor... - PubMed - NCBI.Gibson, A A, et al. “Do Ketogenic Diets Really Suppress Appetite? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Obesity Reviews : an Official Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Jan. 2015, Do ketogenic diets really suppress appetite? A systematic review and meta-analysis..Strasser, B, et al. “Fat Loss Depends on Energy Deficit Only, Independently of the Method for Weight Loss.” Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2007, Fat loss depends on energy deficit only, independently of the method for weight loss..Nymo, S, et al. “Timeline of Changes in Appetite during Weight Loss with a Ketogenic Diet.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 25 Apr. 2017,Chatterton, Simon. “The Effect of an 8-Week Low Carbohydrate High Fat (LCHF) Diet in Sub-Elite Olympic Weightlifters and Powerlifters on Strength, Body Composition, Mental State and Adherence: a Pilot Case-Study.” Researchgate,Tzur, Adam. “Adhering to the Ketogenic Diet – Is It Easy or Hard? (Research Review) • Sci-Fit.” Sci, 22 Mar. 2019, Adhering to the Ketogenic Diet - Is it Easy or Hard? (Research Review) • Sci-Fit.Zajac, Adam, et al. “The Effects of a Ketogenic Diet on Exercise Metabolism and Physical Performance in off-Road Cyclists.” Nutrients, MDPI, 27 June 2014, The Effects of a Ketogenic Diet on Exercise Metabolism and Physical Performance in Off-Road Cyclists.Knuiman, Pim, et al. “Glycogen Availability and Skeletal Muscle Adaptations with Endurance and Resistance Exercise.” Nutrition & Metabolism, BioMed Central, 21 Dec. 2015, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4687103/.Pöchmüller, Martin, et al. “A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Carbohydrate Benefits Associated with Randomized Controlled Competition-Based Performance Trials.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, BioMed Central, 11 July 2016, A systematic review and meta-analysis of carbohydrate benefits associated with randomized controlled competition-based performance trials..van Loon, L J, et al. “The Effects of Increasing Exercise Intensity on Muscle Fuel Utilisation in Humans.” The Journal of Physiology, Blackwell Science Inc, 1 Oct. 2001, The effects of increasing exercise intensity on muscle fuel utilisation in humans..Helge, J W. “A High Carbohydrate Diet Remains the Evidence Based Choice for Elite Athletes to Optimise Performance.” The Journal of Physiology, John Wiley and Sons Inc., 1 May 2017, A high carbohydrate diet remains the evidence based choice for elite athletes to optimise performance.Ben M. Krings, et al. “Effects of Acute Carbohydrate Ingestion on Anaerobic Exercise Performance.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, BioMed Central, 10 Nov. 2016, Effects of acute carbohydrate ingestion on anaerobic exercise performance.Hawley, John A, and Jill J Leckey. “Carbohydrate Dependence During Prolonged, Intense Endurance Exercise.” Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), Springer International Publishing, 2015, Carbohydrate Dependence During Prolonged, Intense Endurance Exercise..Escobar, Kurt A, et al. “The Effect of a Moderately Low and High Carbohydrate Intake on Crossfit Performance.” International Journal of Exercise Science, Berkeley Electronic Press, 1 Oct. 2016, The Effect of a Moderately Low and High Carbohydrate Intake on Crossfit Performance.Wroble, Kymberly A, et al. “Low-Carbohydrate, Ketogenic Diet Impairs Anaerobic Exercise Performance in Exercise-Trained Women and Men: a Randomized-Sequence Crossover Trial.” The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Apr. 2019, Low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet impairs anaerobic exercise performance in exercise-trained women and men: a randomized-sequence crossover trial..Burke, Louise M, et al. “Low Carbohydrate, High Fat Diet Impairs Exercise Economy and Negates the Performance Benefit from Intensified Training in Elite Race Walkers.” The Journal of Physiology, John Wiley and Sons Inc., 1 May 2017, Low carbohydrate, high fat diet impairs exercise economy and negates the performance benefit from intensified training in elite race walkers.Chad M. Kerksick, et al. “ISSN Exercise & Sports Nutrition Review Update: Research & Recommendations.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, BioMed Central, 1 Aug. 2018, ISSN exercise & sports nutrition review update: research & recommendations.Stellingwerff, Trent, et al. “Decreased PDH Activation and Glycogenolysis during Exercise Following Fat Adaptation with Carbohydrate Restoration.” American Journal of Physiology. Endocrinology and Metabolism, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Feb. 2006, Decreased PDH activation and glycogenolysis during exercise following fat adaptation with carbohydrate restoration..Meirelles, Claudia M, and Paulo S C Gomes. “Effects of Short-Term Carbohydrate Restrictive and Conventional Hypoenergetic Diets and Resistance Training on Strength Gains and Muscle Thickness.” Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, Uludag University, 1 Dec. 2016, Effects of Short-Term Carbohydrate Restrictive and Conventional Hypoenergetic Diets and Resistance Training on Strength Gains and Muscle Thickness.Rhyu, Hyun-Seung, and Su-Youn Cho. “The Effect of Weight Loss by Ketogenic Diet on the Body Composition, Performance-Related Physical Fitness Factors and Cytokines of Taekwondo Athletes.” Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation, Korean Society of Exercise Rehabilitation, 31 Oct. 2014, The effect of weight loss by ketogenic diet on the body composition, performance-related physical fitness factors and cytokines of Taekwondo athletes.“Carbohydrate Restriction: Friend or Foe of Resistance-Based Exercise Performance?” Nutrition, Elsevier, 6 Oct. 2018, ScienceDirect.Greene, David A, et al. “A Low-Carbohydrate Ketogenic Diet Reduces Body Mass Without Compromising Performance in Powerlifting and Olympic Weightlifting Athletes.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Dec. 2018, A Low-Carbohydrate Ketogenic Diet Reduces Body Mass Without Compromising Performance in Powerlifting and Olympic Weightlifting Athletes..Tzur, Adam. “How Carbs and Protein Affect Ketosis (Keto Research Review) • Sci-Fit.” Sci, 27 Nov. 2018, How Carbs and Protein Affect Ketosis (Keto Research Review) • Sci-Fit.Escobar, Kurt A., et al. “Carbohydrate Intake and Resistance-Based Exercise: Are Current Recommendations Reflective of Actual Need? | British Journal of Nutrition.” Cambridge Core, Cambridge University Press, 20 Dec. 2016, Carbohydrate intake and resistance-based exercise: are current recommendations reflective of actual need? | British Journal of Nutrition | Cambridge Core.Johnston, et al. “Ketogenic Low-Carbohydrate Diets Have No Metabolic Advantage over Nonketogenic Low-Carbohydrate Diets.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 1 May 2006, Ketogenic low-carbohydrate diets have no metabolic advantage over nonketogenic low-carbohydrate diets.

The best keto secret is that in most cases, keto is overrated. I’m serious. That’s the unbiased truth keto fanboys will never tell you. Here are the pros and cons of keto based on science, so you can decide for yourself.The No Nonsense Ketogenic Article of Your DreamsThe ketogenic diet is probably the trendiest diet ever. It’s also probably the most misunderstood diet ever as marketers and influencers love to take advantage of it’s popularity by overexaggerating claims and taking science out of context to hype up ketogenic products.Ultimately, you’re wondering, is keto truly good or bad for you? Is it overrated or can it be useful? Let’s answer this looking at the unbiased science, shall we?What is Keto? (pronounced key-toe not ket-toe)So, what even is keto? The ketogenic diet is essentially a moderate protein, high fat, and very low carb diet. The goal of this diet is to toss you into a state called ketosis by severely restricting carbohydrate intake.This carbohydrate limit for keto is generally about 50 grams a day (2,3). This is not a set in stone limit for everybody as mild ketosis has been seen in some people with slightly higher intakes, but generally speaking you’d want to stay under about 20-60g of carbs daily to remain in ketosis. This likely means the only carbs you can eat are fibrous vegetables.What the Heck is Ketosis?So being on a ketogenic diet puts you into ketosis. Ketosis is where your body’s primary fuel source of glucose and fat switches to primarily using fat and ketones (4,6).Your brain in particular, uses primarily glucose. It can’t use fat so when carbs are severely restricted on keto, your brain switches to using ketone bodies that your body produces. Ketone bodies also called ketones are essentially an alternative fuel source for your brain when glucose isn’t available and despite what keto zealots will tell you, ketones are likely not the ideal fuel source for your brain when compared to glucose (9,10).As for the rest of your body it begins to utilize fat more as opposed to glucose (carbs). This might negatively affect you depending on your goal, but we’ll talk more about that later.This entire process of converting to ketosis generally takes about 3-4 days and usually isn’t pleasant to adapt to (5). This is why people often report what they describe as keto fog or keto flu within the first few days/weeks attempting the diet describing symptoms of sickness or fatigue (16).While on keto, it’s also common for people to report bad breath known as keto breath because of the presence ketone bodies in the blood (6).A bit random, but it’s interesting to note that ketosis can also occur with extended fasting and times of starvation (11).How Keto StartedEven though your annoying co-workers on keto might make this diet sound new and flashy, it’s actually not new. The ketogenic diet has been frolicking around for an entire century and if you’ve been attentive, it spikes in popularity every couple of years, then dies down slightly before spiking up again.And this might be shocking, but keto actually didn’t start as some flashy fat melting diet popularized by celebrities. It actually started way back in the 1920s where doctors used it to treat epilepsy (1).Epilepsy is a neurological disorder associated with seizures. 1 in 26 people will develop epilepsy and fortunately the ketogenic diet has been shown to help.What About My Love Handles Bro?You’re probably thinking, “that’s great and all that keto helps children with seizures, but what about my weight loss goals bro? Is keto good for that?”Yes, keto can definitely be good for weight loss, but it isn’t magical or superior to other diets as keto marketers would have you to think.When people first learn about ketosis, many misunderstandings arise.Because you do burn more fat than carbs while in ketosis, it leads many to believe you’ll lose more fat on keto.Unfortunately, what marketers don’t want you to know is that burning and losing fat are completely different. You can burn more fat, but not necessarily lose more fat off your body.How is this so?Well, your body adapts to the fuel source you provide it. With extreme fat intakes and extreme carb restrictions, your body is obviously going to burn more fat and less carbs because that’s what you’re providing it (8,12).Burning fat simply means your body is oxidizing it as fuel. On the other hand, to lose fat, you have to burn more total fat than you store or in other words, you have to be in a caloric deficit.When tightly controlled studies comparing low carb vs low fat diets, even though the low carb group burned more fat, it also stored more fat making the net outcome the same when calories and protein intake are equal (7).This is why despite the hype behind ketosis, fat loss is not superior on a ketogenic diet given calories and protein in a diet is matched.Net energy balance (calories in vs calories out) still determines fat loss not ketosis (14). This is also to a good time to bring up that the ketogenic diet shares the same awful potential as every other diet on this planet which is, it still has the potential to make you fat.Even though ketosis might sound great, it doesn’t miraculously save you from excess calorie consumption. If you eat more calories than your body can burn over time, you will still gain fat regardless if you’re in ketosis or not.Why the Ketogenic Diet Might Be a Good Idea For Fat LossEven though the ketogenic diet isn’t necessarily superior when compared with other diets given the same calories, there are two advantages to the ketogenic diet you might want to consider if the goal is fat loss.The first advantage is appetite suppression. Ketosis can suppress appetite for some people if maintained consistently (13).Now this appetite suppression benefit generally takes about 3 weeks to take effect, so like any other diet, to reap the benefits, you have to be consistent (15).The second advantage to the ketogenic diet is early weight loss (7). This applies to all low carb type of diet as restricting carbs causes additional losses in water and glycogen at the beginning. However, studies show long term body composition is the same.Even though the long-term effects are the same, in my experience, the early weight loss of a low carb diet like keto can be very beneficial for clients who want to see the scale drop fast early on.This could ignite motivation in people who are easily discouraged when initial progress appears too slow even if most of the early weight is just water.Why the Ketogenic Diet Might Be a Bad Idea For Fat LossDespite being a viable weight loss diet on paper, people forget in practice, you have to actually stick to the diet consistently to reap the rewards.Some of the studies I mentioned earlier are metabolic ward studies or tightly controlled studies, meaning participants were housed and forced to eat the exact food instructed. This is great to study the effects of a diet with clarity, but this doesn’t tell us much about whether the diet is easy to stick to given your own free will.When you look at ketogenic studies where participants weren’t paid, housed, and forced to eat specific foods, it showed the ketogenic diet is not easy to adhere to (17).This is very similar to people I know who claim to be doing keto. Most people I see who do keto don’t have the ability to restrict carbs consistently and end up having cheat meals on the weekends which inevitably will kick you out of ketosis. Even if you ate no carbs the following week, it would take you half the week to finally get into ketosis in which you would stay for only a couple of days before cheating again.A true keto diet has very little to no carbs which is usually too restrictive for people to stick to for long periods. Research has shown us the only people who actually stick to it consistently are paid athletes and people housed in confined studies like lab rats.Still, the ketogenic diet can be a great weight loss diet if you can stick to it consistently. If you can’t, no sweat, there are plenty of other options that are just as good. Keto is simply just another tool to choose from in the endless toolbox of diets.What About Other Goals?Even though, the ketogenic diet started gaining mainstream popularity for the sake of weight loss, many influencers are promoting it for other goals like hypertrophy or performance.In reality, a ketogenic diet seems to be potentially suboptimal for both hypertrophy and performance.Let’s take a deeper look at these aspects.Keto and Athletic PerformanceWhen it comes to traditional sports performance, keto isn’t ideal both in terms of aerobic and anaerobic measures.This is because with a ketogenic diet, you lack carbohydrates and besides tasting really good, carbohydrates have other crucial benefits (28).For starters, when carbs are burned for fuel, they produce more energy than fat (18). On top of this, a carb sufficient diet will allow the glycogen in your muscles to be full along with replenishing it during exercise, both of which is critical for maximum performance (19).Here’s a systematic review in 2016 showing carbs are beneficial for performance particularly when exercising for longer than 90 minutes (20).In actual competition, victories are attained thanks to carbohydrates. Race winning moves, sports of long durations, and bouts of high intensity all rely heavily on carbs (21,22,23,24,27).Research has also indicated in concurrent training where both resistance and endurances styles of training occur, a ketogenic diet is not optimal (19).This study on CrossFit for example, concluded that a moderately low carb diet might be ok for short durations of CrossFit, but a higher carb diet is likely needed to maximize performance especially for longer demands (25).As far as pure anaerobic performance, this study showed keto isn’t as good either (26). You’ll likely lose power.Further Considerations for Athletic Performance on KetoAnother big thing to consider as it pertains to athletic performance is metabolic flexibility. This is a concept made famous by Dr. Mike T Nelson and it’s basically the idea of how flexible your metabolism is. If you’re in ketosis, your metabolism isn’t very flexible as it’s only adapted to fat and not carbs.Having a flexible metabolism means you can switch back and forth between fat and carb use instead of just solely using one.By going on keto, you’re less metabolically flexible. As carbs are restricted, an enzyme called PDH which controls carbohydrate use gets hindered (29).Once this enzyme is hindered, it doesn’t recover immediately. When you reintroduce carbs, you still won’t maximize on the performance benefits of carbohydrates for some time even if glycogen stores are replenished (29).With all this considered, at best keto is ok for athletic performance and at worse it’s vastly inferior to any other diet that includes sufficient carbs.Keto and Lifting PerformanceBut surprisingly outside of traditional athletic sports and concurrent styles of training, the evidence behind keto’s effect on pure lifting is not as clear cut.Most keto studies on strength training have major limitations like not controlling for equal protein as well as not testing for blood ketones to ensure ketosis is achieved and maintained.Considering the glaring limitations, some studies do show the ketogenic diet can maintain strength comparable to the control groups (30,31).This review article on carb’s effect on resistance training concluded it most likely depends on the volume, duration, and intensity (32). With more volume/time of lifting, carbohydrates become increasingly important.This lines up well with a study done on intermediate Olympic lifters, a sport in which volume and duration of intensity is fairly low compared to traditional sports (33). The Olympic lifters lost fat and muscle on a ketogenic diet, but was able to maintain performance. While Olympic weightlifting is considerably different than the strength training most people do to get jacked, this study at least shows the ketogenic diet can be advantageous for weight class restricted athletes looking to maintain performance.So what’s the verdict on keto’s effect on strength training?Considering the data we do have on traditional athletic performance and the limited data we have on keto’s direct relationship with strength training, my conclusion is that a ketogenic diet is likely fine for lifting performance given volume and duration is low.However, I do think a higher carbohydrate diet would be beneficial for maximizing strength training if your workouts involve a lot of sets/reps or go pass 1 hour.Keto and Muscle BuildingSome people will say you can’t build much muscle on keto because you can’t eat much protein without going out of ketosis.In theory this is true because protein can be converted into glucose which would stop ketosis, but when played out in practice, high protein intakes have been shown to not kick people out of ketosis as long as carb intake is very low (34).Research has shown as much as 2.8g of protein per kg of bodyweight doesn’t withdraw you from ketosis. That’s way more than enough daily protein to build muscle.As for not having sufficient carbs, we know that the muscle signaling enzyme mTOR is unaffected by carbohydrate restriction (35).So then this begs the question if protein is equal, is there any muscle building benefit or drawback to eating a ketogenic diet?The answer is yes. This infamous study done by Vargas and colleagues shows that despite being assigned a caloric surplus, the ketogenic group could not eat in a surplus and resulted in no muscle growth.This is not saying you can’t build muscle on a ketogenic diet, but it does show that it’s difficult to eat enough total calories on keto. This is likely because the ketogenic diet as discussed earlier is pretty good at suppressing your appetite.In general, I don’t recommend the ketogenic for muscle building. While it is possible, it’s not optimal because it makes it harder to eat sufficient calories and overall gym performance is likely compromised (32).Bonus StudyI have one more ketogenic study that’s important to highlight (36). This one compared a ketogenic diet with just a basic low carb diet.We know if calories are matched, the weight loss will be the same, but what I found interesting is that the low carb diet outperformed the ketogenic diet when it came to micronutrients.With the ketogenic diet’s drastically low carb requirements, you miss out on fruits, starches, and grains, all of which have plenty of valuable vitamins and minerals.It goes to show you two important things.If you prefer a low carb diet, a simple low carb diet is probably better than a pure ketogenic diet where carbs are practically banned.If you do choose to do a ketogenic diet, selecting nutrient dense foods is important to prevent nutrient deficiencies given your limited food choices.Wrapping it All UpI hate to sound like I’m bragging, but this is literally as comprehensive and unbiased of a ketogenic diet article as you’re going to get. Just like with all my other articles, I’ll be updating it if new evidence comes out.To recap everything into adorable little bullet points, here’s the key takeaways.The ketogenic diet’s goal is to put you into the state of ketosis. This generally takes 3-4 days of heavy carb restriction.Most people are not able to stay in ketosis because of dieting inconsistencies, not to mention there are annoying side effects to adapting to ketosis.Regardless of attaining ketosis or not, the ketogenic diet is like every other diet when calories and protein are matched. It can make you lose weight if you eat low enough calories and it can make you gain weight if you eat too many.The ketogenic diet can be a viable fat loss diet especially considering it’s appetite suppressing effects, but only if you can stick to it consistently which the research has shown to be hard to do given your own free will.The ketogenic diet is subpar for athletic and typical sport performance.The ketogenic diet is fine for traditional weight lifting, but likely not optimal if your workouts are long or involve high volume.The ketogenic diet can build muscle, but is likely not optimal for hypertrophy as it’s hard to eat sufficient calories paired with the fact that lifting performance might be compromised.If you’re not careful, the ketogenic diet may leave you deficient in micronutrients as food choice is severely limited.That’s all for this one folks. Shoot me an email ([email protected]) if you have any further questions tickling your brain.ReferencesWheless, James W. “History of the Ketogenic Diet.” Epilepsia, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 2008, History of the ketogenic diet..Paoli, A, et al. “Beyond Weight Loss: a Review of the Therapeutic Uses of Very-Low-Carbohydrate (Ketogenic) Diets.” European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Nature Publishing Group, Aug. 2013, Beyond weight loss: a review of the therapeutic uses of very-low-carbohydrate (ketogenic) diets.Gregory, Rachel M. “A Low-Carbohydrate Ketogenic Diet Combined with 6-Weeks of Crossfit Training Improves Body Composition and Performance.” ClinMed International Library, A Low-Carbohydrate Ketogenic Diet Combined with 6-Weeks of Crossfit Training Improves Body Composition and Performance.Westman, et al. “Low-Carbohydrate Nutrition and Metabolism.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 1 Aug. 2007, Low-carbohydrate nutrition and metabolism.Owen, O E, et al. “Brain Metabolism during Fasting.” The Journal of Clinical Investigation, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Oct. 1967, Brain metabolism during fasting..Paoli, Antonio. “Ketogenic Diet for Obesity: Friend or Foe?” MDPI, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 19 Feb. 2014, Ketogenic Diet for Obesity: Friend or Foe?.Hall, Kevin D, et al. “Calorie for Calorie, Dietary Fat Restriction Results in More Body Fat Loss than Carbohydrate Restriction in People with Obesity.” Cell Metabolism, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Sept. 2015, Calorie for Calorie, Dietary Fat Restriction Results in More Body Fat Loss than Carbohydrate Restriction in People with Obesity..Bergouignan, Audrey, et al. “Increasing Dietary Fat Elicits Similar Changes in Fat Oxidation and Markers of Muscle Oxidative Capacity in Lean and Obese Humans.” PloS One, Public Library of Science, Increasing dietary fat elicits similar changes in fat oxidation and markers of muscle oxidative capacity in lean and obese humans..Prince, Allison, et al. “Oxidative Metabolism: Glucose Versus Ketones.” SpringerLink, Springer, New York, NY, 1 Jan. 1970, Oxidative Metabolism: Glucose Versus Ketones.Mergenthaler, Philipp, et al. “Sugar for the Brain: the Role of Glucose in Physiological and Pathological Brain Function.” Trends in Neurosciences, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Oct. 2013, Sugar for the brain: the role of glucose in physiological and pathological brain function.Cahill, G F. “Starvation in Man.” The New England Journal of Medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 19 Mar. 1970, Starvation in man..Veldhorst, Margriet A B, et al. “Presence or Absence of Carbohydrates and the Proportion of Fat in a High-Protein Diet Affect Appetite Suppression but Not Energy Expenditure in Normal-Weight Human Subjects Fed in Energy Balance.” The British Journal of Nutrition, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 2010, Presence or absence of carbohydrates and the proportion of fat in a high-protein diet affect appetite suppression but not energy expenditure in nor... - PubMed - NCBI.Gibson, A A, et al. “Do Ketogenic Diets Really Suppress Appetite? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Obesity Reviews : an Official Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Jan. 2015, Do ketogenic diets really suppress appetite? A systematic review and meta-analysis..Strasser, B, et al. “Fat Loss Depends on Energy Deficit Only, Independently of the Method for Weight Loss.” Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2007, Fat loss depends on energy deficit only, independently of the method for weight loss..Nymo, S, et al. “Timeline of Changes in Appetite during Weight Loss with a Ketogenic Diet.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 25 Apr. 2017,Chatterton, Simon. “The Effect of an 8-Week Low Carbohydrate High Fat (LCHF) Diet in Sub-Elite Olympic Weightlifters and Powerlifters on Strength, Body Composition, Mental State and Adherence: a Pilot Case-Study.” Researchgate,Tzur, Adam. “Adhering to the Ketogenic Diet – Is It Easy or Hard? (Research Review) • Sci-Fit.” Sci, 22 Mar. 2019, Adhering to the Ketogenic Diet - Is it Easy or Hard? 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