Low Carb/Keto lifestyle for skinny fat and endos?

[Rammstein]

http://scottabelfitness.com/low-carb-diet-extremely-high-fat/

How a world champion powerlifter and bodybuilder does “low carb”
by Scott | Dec 31, 2014 | Nutrition | 2 Comments
Kevin WeissWorld Powerlifting Champ Kevin Weiss and I get together at least once per week for coffee.
At our last get together I could tell Kevin had dropped a couple lbs.
“Back on the high-fat diet” I asked him.
“Yep”, he said.
You see Kevin is just several weeks out from the next World Championships and he wants to make weight for a lighter weight class. And when dieting, Kevin – who is a natural “meat tooth” (in contrast to my “sweet tooth”) – he always opts for the extremely high-fat diet approach.
Now with Kevin, I would never ask “So, you back to low carbs diet?”
That would be like an insult to him. Kevin is an astute student of the game. He knows that the term “low carb diet” has no relevance to what he is doing: it’s the extremely high fat diet that is more descriptive of his approach:
And this is the mistake 99% of people out there make. Over coffee, Kevin explained to me why he gave up trying to help people with this diet: “Scott, they just won’t take their fats high enough to make it work long-term.”
Right on top of it as always!
Weight-Loss Competition Diet
Kevin needs to drop some weight but still be able to perform at his best. And if you buy into industry nonsense you would think that since Kevin is a powerlifter his emphasis would be on getting in enough protein.
WRONG!
His emphasis is in getting in a high enough amount of fat.
In fact the protein macro ratio of his weight-loss competition diet, is just over 12%! That’s right! 12% Protein!!! Read on. This is what the “low carbs diet approach” was supposed to be all along – AN EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY HIGH FAT DIET. So I got Kevin to scribble down his meals for that day for me, but I’ll only show you two. I had a great laugh out loud moment: Check this “weight-loss diet” out:
Breakfast:
3 whole eggs
4 slices bacon
4 tablespoons sour cream
2 slices cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup heavy cream
Lunch
2 cups spinach
1 avocado
3 oz. regular ground beef
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 slice cheddar cheese
Meal Alternative
Sometimes he’ll have this meal option
2 teaspoons coconut oil
4 ounces prime rib
3 whole eggs
1 cup spinach
½ cup feta cheese
½ cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons sour cream
OK, so you get the picture: the true essence of a low-carbs approach that can actually work and not negatively impact metabolism is that it is EXTREMELY high in fat.
Kevin and I then discussed how many ladies we know who whine about being “carb resistant” would ever eat a diet high enough in fat to be metabolically constructive. On a lark, we decided to breakdown his macros for everyone to understand fully what I said in Part 1: a low carbs diet was NEVER MEANT TO BE A HIGH PROTEIN DIET!
Kevin’s “weight-loss high fat diet macro breakdown looked like this when all is said and done:
Protein: less than 13%
Carbs: 5%
Fat: a whopping 82%.
And then he corrected this by saying he forgot that later that day he was hungry so he had a whole avocado with cream cheese – this skews his macros even more, meaning his protein was less than 12%, and his fats even higher than 82%.
THIS; my friends – is the REAL intention and look of the “low carbs” diets. But how many of you are willing to adapt it in real terms. No, instead fitness industry twits, try and tweak the science of this and turn it into a “moderate fat” – “high protein” “low carbs diet” – and this was never the original structure of “the extremely high fat diet approach.” And the consequences of twisting this diet into a high protein, medium fat, low carbs diet -> is that it is metabolically destructive and creates a host of digestive issues to boot. Why? Because it is never done correctly to begin with.
Metabolic Shift
And let’s not forget metabolic shift involved in going to an EXTREMELY HIGH FAT approach. Kevin is quick to point out that when switching to his greater than 82% fat diet – the calories must be high at first to accomplish the “metabolic shift” involved with processing fats.
World Champion Kevin Weiss knows what he’s doing! Like me, he pays no attention to industry vogue trends. He follows the “low carbs diet” as it was originally designed and intended – as an extremely, extremely, high fat diet. He’s already noticeably losing weight -> digestion fine, performance fine; degree of difficulty for diet-compliance for him – negligible.
The reason industry consumers get into so much trouble with trying to go “low carbs” is because you twist what that is supposed to even mean; and unless you are willing to go extremely, extremely high fat then you should trash any notion of thinking low carbs is right for you.
Remember Web-MD and other academic sites correctly state that “the extremely high fat diet is VERY demanding and extremely difficult to follow.” They also comment that such a diet would be suited to a very limited proportion of the general public. Keep that in mind when you consider the “low carbs approach” – and realize that “fad” diets like Paleo, and Atkins, and South Beach – they are marketing “mutations” of low-carbs diets – far away from their original structure and design: and that means they will likely do more harm than good – and even more likely is that they will not be sustainable, long-term!
As usual I caution: Some of you will get it – some of you won’t want to!
UPDATE
Kevin just returned from the World Championships Raw Powerlifting, where he AGAIN won his weight class and made weight easily with “the extremely high fat diet approach.”

[Rammstein]

http://scottabelfitness.com/real-low-carb-diet-1/

The REAL low carb diet — before the marketers got to it (part 1)
by Scott | Dec 23, 2014 | Nutrition | 1 Comment
Most of what you’ve been sold about “low carbs diets” is incomplete and misinformed.
I am not a fan of low-carbs diets to begin with… and that is when they are done right!
But what is passing for a “low carbs diet” now doesn’t even equate to the original intention or use of the low carb approach. I’m going to discuss the reality of low-carbs diets.
Today is part 1, but in part 2 I’m going to solicit some help from my friend and colleague Kevin Weiss who at competition time (and ONLY AT COMPETITION TIME!) follows the “true and authentic” low-carbs approach to lose weight, make his weight class, and lift like a champion. (And oh, he’s only a World Champion in Raw powerlifting – and bodybuilding as well.)
Low Carbs Diet Nonsense: What you NEED to Know
In the last two years I’ve devoted a fair amount of my research time to a specific niche of nutrition science.
I’ve been studying the “history” of various diets – how they came to be, how they came to be marketed; and what the real truth of modern nutrition is, based upon what nutritional science history reveals to us.
The “low-carbs diets nonsense” so many of you have bought into is not what the true intentions of the low-carbs diet approach was ever meant to be. More than likely you want to follow a low carbs diet-approach for cosmetic reasons. For others, you’ve been fed so much bullcrap junk science about carbs that you want to follow a low-carbs diet because you are ‘afraid’ of carbs. And that has a lot to do with the history of diet trends.
In the 1970’s the “low-fat” diet approach was the vogue trend and all the rage. And like any trend it had its victors. I myself to this day follow a low-fat, higher carbs approach. But there were and are no one size fits all diet agendas.
And a decade of “low-fat” madness didn’t work for everyone, although it did make people “afraid” of fats as a fuel source. Remember that as we move forward now.
Before there was Atkins, there was always talk in esoteric medical journals about an alternative approach to dieting – AS A WAY TO TREAT VARIOUS BRAIN DISORDERS (specifically, epilepsy).
This diet-approach to “treatment” was referred to as “the extremely high fat diet approach” for treatment. Look at that phrase carefully. This is where diet-psychology and marketing comes into play. It also is where something becomes “mutated” from one purpose to another, and twisted to fit some marketing agenda, even if it violates the rules and principles this thing is founded upon. And such was the case for the “low-carbs diet” approach.
Notice how I put “diet” after the low-carbs phrase: because this is where all the nonsense ensues.
Diet Industry Quandary
In the wake of the low-fat diet revolution; there was a diet-mentality madness associated with the word “fat” as a nutritional component.
The word to this day strikes fear into chronic dieters. Those professionals who believed strongly in a possible benefit for the “extremely high fat diet” approach… well they had a dilemma. In terms of diet-psychology, there was no way to “convince” the consumer – who had been led to fear “fats” – you that there was a benefit to “extremely high fats” as an approach to weight-control.
And this is the dilemma the marketers had. When you want to make money selling a diet “revolution” (as Atkins called it) you can’t do it by getting people to buy into a notion of a sudden 180 degree psychological flip from “low-fat” dieting (because fat is evil and makes you fat) and then expect them to believe “extremely high fat diet” is suddenly the key to weight control.
“Extremely High Fat” vs “Low Carbs”
To make a long story short, the Atkins generation skirted around the intent of the “actual” extremely high fat diet approach. “High-fat” was scary, but the term “low carbs” diet made more sense.
Just like “low fat” made fat the enemy to be feared for weight-gain, well now marketers could do the same by coining the term “low carbs” to fit their diet marketing agenda. The only problem with this is that the term “low carbs” is actually disingenuous to the REAL purpose of the extremely high fat diet approach.
The original notion of extremely high fat diets, was all about its effects on brain chemistry for people with brain disorders like epilepsy. It was never supposed to be about health, nutrition, weight-loss or metabolism. Those are just diet-industry created notions. Historically, the reason medical experts were emphasizing this diet was because of the influence of extremely high fats – and not because of the “low carbs” on the other side of that equation. The modern dieter doesn’t know any of this stuff.
Moreover, in terms of the real intentions of the “extremely high fat diet” Web-MD said this: “The problem with this diet is that it is EXTREMELY DEMANDING and should usually be undertaken IN A MEDICAL SETTING. The extremely high fat diet should provide 4 X’s as many fat calories as protein calories.” It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this is not how the “low carbs’ approach is being applied; especially in the fitness industry and the “get-lean” agenda.
The Low Carbs Diet is NOT a High Protein Diet!
You see Atkins and the rest of these diet pushers couldn’t sell a diet-agenda that suggests it is “extremely demanding” or that it should be followed in a medical/hospital setting. That certainly is no way to make money in the diet industry. So they just ignored “the truth” of the actual ketogenic diet approach – why it was designed to begin with (to treat brain disorders; and how hard it would be to follow if done correctly)
What ended up happening was a pop-culture unfolding of misdirected interpretation of the ‘extremely high fat diet’ as the new ‘low carbs diet.’ But since most dieters and pop-culture followers of “nutrition” still were convinced that “fat” was a bad word – now they were to add “carbs” to this of nutritional profanity as well. Dieters were now fearful of both carbs and fats – and the result is the complete misapplication of the low-carb diet agenda –which was always meant to be “an EXTREMELY high fat diet agenda.
“Protein-Sparing Nutrients”
You see the whole notion of a low carbs diet is that it can only work and work properly if fats are not only high – BUT EXTREMELY HIGH.
Get this through your heads – A LOW CARBS DIET WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE A HIGH-PROTEIN DIET!
Because followers of the diet industry’s agenda have been so misled to fear both carbs and fats, the whole low-carbs diet approach ended up becoming a high protein diet approach, because followers will never push their fats high enough for this diet to work as it is designed to work. And protein has been sold as some kind of miracle macronutrient.
And those who try to follow this faulty version of ‘low-carbs = high protein and medium fats’ – these people usually pay a high metabolic price for making this mistake. And don’t even get me started on the side-effects of a mis-applied ketogenic or low carbs diets. It’s a mess of digestive issues and other metabolic and health consequences. You can look up “side effects of keto-diets” for yourself – just do so on reputable sites like Web-MD, or Pub-Med.
Basic nutritional biochemistry teaches that carbs and fats are meant to be “protein sparing nutrients.”
This means that EITHER or BOTH carbs and fats must be high enough in the diet, to allow protein to be “spared” to be used to build and rebuild tissue as it is meant to do.
It’s this purpose and the nitrogen component of protein that makes protein special to begin with. But a high protein diet, usually means that either fats or carbs are not high enough – and this produces more harm than good.
And when it comes to the “extremely high fat diet approach” that the low-carb diet is REALLY supposed to be, the percentage of fat in the diet needs to be upward of 70% fats. In truth, the “low carbs” approach — when it is done correctly – it is actually a VERY LOW protein diet.
In Part 2, I’ll give you an example of someone who understands the truth of all of this – and that is that a “real” low carbs diet is an EXTREMELY high fat diet. And you will see someone who uses this knowledge to his advantage to lose weight easily, feel great with lots of energy, and to win World Championships.
The take away message for Part 1 though is that a “true and authentic” low-carbs diet MUST BE an extremely high fat diet in order to work in a positive way metabolically. The original low-carbs diet was never meant to be a high protein diet. Please read this take away message a dozen times or more, till it sinks in!
More in part 2!

[Rammstein]

http://gregorytaper.com/2013/10/25/sugar-resource-page/

“There is a great anti-sugar cult, with even moralistic overtones, equating sugar craving with morphine addiction. Sugar craving is usually caused by the need for sugar, generally caused by hypothyroidism. When yeasts have enough sugar, they just happily make ethanol, but when they don’t have sugar, they can sink filaments into the intestine wall seeking it, and, if the person is very weak, they can even invade the bloodstream and other organs. Milk, cheese, and fruits provide a very good balance of nutrients. Fruits provide a significant amount of protein. Plain sugar is o.k. when the other nutrients are adequate. Roots, shoots, and tubers are, next to the fruits, a good carbohydrate source; potatoes are a source of good protein. Meat as the main protein can provide too much phosphorus in relation to calcium.”
—Ray Peat, PhD

[Teutonic Knight]

Im sooo sick of cutting cals to get to 8-10 percent bf.

I need a lifestyle change. Is Keto healthy in the long
Run? Is it possible to run it year round during "bulks" and "cuts"?
I want to be lean year round. So sick of being self conscious of my flab in winter and then struggling to maintain low BF during summer.

And by keto I dont mean chowing on cheap bacon from disgusting and unethical factories, or 80/20 conventional cheap burger patties from costco. Im talking fish, veggies, nuts, some eggs and chicken and grass fed meats

Just relocate to nice warm climate & don't eat a la American style , eating burgers 

[dseiler]

I was on a keto diet for my last show, I did 8 weeks straight with only 2 refeed meals, I will say that it got me shredded but its a mindfuck at times, my body was making progress fast weekly, sometimes daily, but I had no pump whatsoever when training, if you can get past that part mentally, then you are golden, but my fats were high, lots of grass fed beef, salmon, avocado, brazil nuts, omega 3 eggs, mac nut oil.

Was it difficult to train and lift heavy during keto? Get exhausted quicker?

[Go 4 It]

Was it difficult to train and lift heavy during keto? Get exhausted quicker?

no, I actually maintained my strength even though I was losing weight, by the end of the prep I dropped about 20 pounds, my lifts were on par at with what I was lifting in the off season, but no pump, which just messes with you mentally.

[Thong Maniac]

Interesting stuff. Im gonna try hi fat but im worried about brain and heart health.

Glad this convo got back on track

[Erik C]

Interesting stuff. Im gonna try hi fat but im worried about brain and heart health.

Glad this convo got back on track

Your brain is made up of mostly cholesterol. You need fat for a healthy brain, and for nerves too.

There is no relationship between dietary fat and heart disease. That's based on the old faulty "lipid theory of heart disease" made up by the old charlatan Ancel Keys.

You also need fat for your body to produce hormones, and to have your immune system functioning properly. Every cell in your body, including muscle cells, requires dietary fat in order to have the thin lipid layer around it, that differentiates one cell from another.

Your whole body is built out of fats and proteins. No carbs required.

[Straw Man]

http://scottabelfitness.com/low-carb-diet-extremely-high-fat/

Abel makes an important point which is often overlooked (or not understood).
The Keto Diet is a high fat and moderate to low protein die.  Eating high protein defeats the purpose
Also, most people can't jump into eating that level of fat over night ( I know I can't)

[Straw Man]

Here are two good non-BB websites about keto diets that I've followed for a couple of years

http://eatingacademy.com/

http://www.dietdoctor.com/

[ritch]

Abel makes an important point which is often overlooked (or not understood).
The Keto Diet is a high fat and moderate to low protein die.  Eating high protein defeats the purpose
Also, most people can't jump into eating that level of fat over night ( I know I can't)

Very good post here. True how the fats make ya feel nauseaus and give me the shits if taken from oil.

But the joys of being an ecto, eating ice cream, fries everyday and never getting really fat. Ah,hahaha....

[stavios]

I just tried the anabolic diet this last month

I ate 4000 cals per day, and despite loosing weight, after 4 weeks I was looking like fucking shit.

after the first 2 carbs up, I was gaining all my fulness back.

but the 3rd and 4th week, I was carbing up and still looked hyper flat and bad

switched back to my old way of dieting, high carbs mod protein low fat

[Thin Lizzy]

Abel makes an important point which is often overlooked (or not understood).
The Keto Diet is a high fat and moderate to low protein die.  Eating high protein defeats the purpose
Also, most people can't jump into eating that level of fat over night ( I know I can't)

The reason for this is that Ketosis is a starvation safeguard. The brain would rather run on glucose.

So, when more than enough protein is present, it's converted to glucose via Gluconeogenesis.

[Thong Maniac]

I just tried the anabolic diet this last month

I ate 4000 cals per day, and despite loosing weight, after 4 weeks I was looking like fucking shit.

after the first 2 carbs up, I was gaining all my fulness back.

but the 3rd and 4th week, I was carbing up and still looked hyper flat and bad

switched back to my old way of dieting, high carbs mod protein low fat

Can u show what a low fat diet looks like? Like how/what your meals look?

[Straw Man]

The reason for this is that Ketosis is a starvation safeguard. The brain would rather run on glucose.

So, when more than enough protein is present, it's converted to glucose via Gluconeogenesis.

I'm not in any way proclaiming to be an expert on this subject but I've read that being in a ketogenic state is actually beneficial to the brain in some circumstances. 

[Thin Lizzy]

I'm not in any way proclaiming to be an expert on this subject but I've read that being in a ketogenic state is actually beneficial to the brain in some circumstances. 

I've heard this, too, but if this is really the case, why is the body so quick you out of Ketosis? The logical answer is that the body prefers to not be in it.

[The True Adonis]

I'm not in any way proclaiming to be an expert on this subject but I've read that being in a ketogenic state is actually beneficial to the brain in some circumstances. 

Yes, I would love to have a surgeon or an airline pilot in ketosis.   

[Straw Man]

Yes, I would love to have a surgeon or an airline pilot in ketosis.   

you wouldn't know if they were or weren't

[Competitor 9]

you wouldn't know if they were or weren't

If you got close enough you can smell the keytones

[The True Adonis]

you wouldn't know if they were or weren't

Do you get funnier in ketosis?  (I hope so.)

[Erik C]

Yes, I would love to have a surgeon or an airline pilot in ketosis.   

Yeah, I always prefer surgeons and pilots who are hypoglycemic or diabetic, from high carb diets.

[Straw Man]

If you got close enough you can smell the keytones

true but he might smell it on his breath if he were close enough but it would have no negative effect on performance and possibly have an positive effect

[The True Adonis]

Yeah, I always prefer surgeons and pilots who are hypoglycemic or diabetic, from high carb diets.

I would love to have an obese pilot.  He`s not gonna crash the plane because he is looking forward to brunch when he lands.

[Competitor 9]

true but he might smell it on his breath if he were close enough but it would have no negative effect on performance and possibly have an positive effect

I don't no man, when I went Keto I went to the grocery store once and completely forget where I was and why I was there. I also missed my exit to work and drove like 5 miles before I relized what I was doing. It also messed with my emotions bad

[Straw Man]

I've heard this, too, but if this is really the case, why is the body so quick you out of Ketosis? The logical answer is that the body prefers to not be in it.

your body probably does what is easiest

again, I'm not claiming to be any kind of an expert (yes, I know this shocking for GB.com where lack of actual knowledge translates into overwhelming confidence in one's opinion on a topic)

Here are some sources of additional info

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/2013/10/01/the-fat-fueled-brain-unnatural-or-advantageous/

http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/2013/10/deep-dive-ketosis-navy-seals-extreme-athletes-busy-executives-can-enhance-physical-mental-performance-secret-weapon-ketone-fuel/