CKD: Cyclical Ketogenic Diet

For five weeks, starting in January of 2008, I completed a cycle of the rigorous cyclical ketogenic diet.

The point is to consume almost only protein and fat to change your metabolic state into ketosis. Ketosis is when your body uses fat for energy, rather than carbohydrates (your normal metabolic state). When your body is using fat for energy, and you’re burning more calories than you’re consuming, your body will begin to use its own body fat for energy. Literally, you’re melting off the pounds.

In short, for six days a week, I almost solely ate chicken and cheese and learned to drink olive oil. Straight.

For that seventh day, in order to retain muscle mass, I had to go from eating less than 20 grams of carbs a day (which I got from 1/2 of a carrot), to eating almost 700g of carbs. This replenished muscle glycogen so that I would retain (but not build) muscle mass.

In the end, after 5 weeks, I had lost 17 lbs. It should be noted that one and one half of those weeks I did not exercise nearly as much. If I had, I would have lost between 20 and 25 lbs.

Here is the report I wrote when the diet was completed.

Time-line

Today is February 5th, 2008. I have been on this diet since January 7th, 2008 and will continue through this Saturday, February the 9th; a total of five weeks.

Body Mass

At the start of this, my body weight was 172.5 lbs. As of this morning, my body weight is 164.5. In three days, I expect my body weight to be between 157.0 and 159.0 lbs. Over the weekend, I expect my weight to increase, and settle next Tuesday below 160 lbs.

Fat Free Mass

The first week of this diet, I had my body fat measured by Meredith Health Services’ Human Performance Lab both with a 7-site caliper measurement as well as hydrostatic measurements.

Both results were different. The hydrostatic recording showed a fat free mass of 141.2 lbs. The 7-site caliper test showed a fat free mass of 144.9 lbs. For simplicity, an average is calculated and a fat free mass of 143.0 will be used.

Body Fat Percentage

The 7-site caliper measurements recorded a body fat percentage of 14.3%. The hydrostatic measurements, recorded a week later, were 16.4%. I was told that each measurement has an error margin of 4%. For the sake of simplicity, I split the two measurements and assumed a body fat percentage of 15.4%.

At the time of the body fat testing, I was 169 pounds. This means my fat free mass is 142.974 lbs, and is right in line with the previous average. Some extrapolations are:
0% Body Fat: 143.0 lbs
5% Body Fat: 150.5 lbs
10% Body Fat: 158.9 lbs
15% Body Fat: 168.2 lbs
20% Body Fat: 178.8 lbs

Body Composition Notes

It should be noted that the percentages above are based on the assumption that I do not gain or lose any muscle mass.

Especially since I am working out intensely, I will need to go in for another 7-site and hydrostatic measurement in order to accurately gage my body fat percentages.

However, as you will see, this specific diet does not promote rapid muscle mass gain, and therefore, at this time these measurements become relatively usable. With the next phase of my fitness plan, these measurements will become mostly irrelevant and I will need new 7-site and hydrostatic measurements in April.

The Diet Plan: The Cyclical Ketogenic Diet

Since anyone that may be reading this is surely bored to tears, I’ll start by saying this: For six days a week, I have eaten the following foods every day. By the end of this diet plan, that will be 30 days of eating this:
3 portions of protein. A portion is one of the following: A steak, chicken breast, can of tuna, or two protein shakes.
1/2, or less, of a carrot.
5.5 oz of cheddar cheese.
2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil.

The Principles of the Ketosis and Muscle Mass

Any low-carbohydrate diet is generally considered a “ketogenic” diet. Atkins, etc. A ketogenic diet is one in which your body’s metabolism goes into a state called ketosis.

Ketosis is when your body begins converting fat into fatty acids and ketones for energy rather than the usual metabolic process of converting carbohydrates into glycogen for energy. If you’re a relatively normal person, you have fat on your body. Going into a state of ketosis will use this body fat for energy. Thus, more rapid fat loss.

What makes this diet “cyclical,” and therefore different from a simply low-carbohydrate diet, is that you actually force your body into and out of this metabolic state each week, rather than simply staying in ketosis permanently.

The reason for this is that your body needs glycogen, supplied by carbohydrates, for rebuilding muscle tissue. For someone (such as myself) who is looking to either build or maintain their current muscle mass, a simple ketogenic diet does not supply the muscle glycogen necessary to prevent muscle loss. A solution is needed that allows the body to both build and maintain muscle mass, but also cut body fat at a rapid rate.

The Cyclical Ketogenic Diet: 6 Days a Week

Knowing the effects of two various metabolic states, the Cyclical Ketogenic Diet was created with the following guidelines: Eat absolutely minimal carbohydrates through the week, increasing your protein and healthy fat intake. One day a week, consume massive amounts of carbohydrates while maintaining protein consumption and reducing fat consumption since you want to kick yourself out of ketosis…and not consume *too many* calories.

1. Set a healthy target daily calorie consumption level that is in between fat loss levels and weight gain levels. For me, that’s about 1900 calories.
2. Start with a daily consumption of about 1g of protein for every pound of body mass. Multiply this number by four to calculate the number of calories this equates to. (So, I’ll eat about 170g of protein, which is 680 calories of protein consumption)
3. Start with a target carbohydrate consumption of 20g, or 80 calories.
4. Take your target number of daily calories, and subtract your protein and carbohydrate calories. (1900 – 760 = 1140 calories left to consume).
5. This result (1140 calories) becomes your target fat calories for consumption. Now, one gram of carbohydrates or one gram of protein is each equal to four calories. But, one gram of fat is equal to nine calories. So, divide the target fat calories by nine to get the grams of healthy fat consumption. ( 1140 divided by 9 = 126.6 grams of healthy fat)

This is what resulted in my consuming a half a carrot a day, three servings of lean protein, 1/3 of a pound of cheese, and 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, six days a week, for five weeks.

The Cyclical Ketogenic Diet: 1 Day a Week, 12 Hours

The above defines the meal plan that kicks you into ketosis in order to quickly burn fat. Remember, this is also when you don’t have the proper muscle glycogen necessary to maintain or build muscle mass. So, for 12 hours, once a week, you eat an almost-insane amount of carbohydrates to rebuild those glycogen stores.

For this, the calculation is to consume 10-12 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of lean mass. Since my initial diet plan was based on a lean mass of 136 pounds (a guesstimate), I consumed between 620 and 740 grams of carbohydrates on Saturdays.

In addition, my protein consumption held steady at 170g.

For fat consumption, you consume one gram per kilogram of lean mass. For me, this equated to 62g of fat.

In all, this meant that in 12 hours, I would consume over 4,000 calories. Going from eating less than 20g of carbohydrates a day to 700g, makes your body do…different…things.

Vitamins and Supplements

As a note, I consumed each of the following vitamins 90% of the days: Multivitamin, vitamin c, echinacea, glucosamine/chondroitin, and cod liver oil. For 2-3 days, I consumed a zinc supplement during a period I felt the possibility of sickness coming on.

Exercise

Weeks 1, 2, 4 and 5, I cycled at least three times a week. Weeks 1, 2, and 3, I lifted weights for at least one hour, three times a week. Weeks 4 and 5, this was two times a week.

For maximum benefits, your last workout of the week should be late on the day before the carbohydrate-loading period. This will allow for maximum muscle rebuilding that following day when muscle glycogen stores are replenished.

Data Measured

First thing in the morning and immediately before bed, I recorded my body weight. I also recorded my ketone output through urinalysis strips during the same times each day.

Psychological and Physiological Effects During the Diet

A pattern that I’ve noticed with most diets, especially the more aggressive ones, is that the first two weeks are generally an uncomfortable transition period. This diet was no different.

For the first two weeks, I felt significantly reduced energy levels which I compensated for by drinking a couple cups of green tea each day. After the second week, this was unnecessary, but I continued to drink green tea once or twice a day.

My moods weren’t generally down or up during this diet, but rather very steady. Due to my day-to-day lifestyle changing from frequent drinking and living out of a van, to completely cutting out alcohol, exercising five days a week for at least an hour, and simplifying some other things in my life, this may not be directly related to the diet alone. It should be noted, however, that there were no severe negative emotional effects during the diet.

There’s something to be said for sticking to something so rigid and consistent like this. Psychologically, it’s a big win for me to know that I can do something this intense. I can honestly say that I’ve only heard of a couple of diets that seem to be more rigid than this (raw food diets and liquid diets). Given that I don’t want to ever give up meat, this is likely to be the most intense diet I’ve ever gone through. Should anything ever happen to me in the future that I’ll need to watch carefully what I eat, having gone through this, I know what to expect and that it will be easier than having not done this.

Common side effects of ketosis include certain changes in the smell of your breath, body odor, and perspiration. Frequent showering and oral hygiene seemed to take care of this.

It should also be noted that weight fluctuations on this diet can be enormous. In 12 hours one Saturday, I gained a full 10 pounds. 36 hours later 8 of those pounds were gone. Granted, most of that is likely water weight gained and lost, it’s still certainly significant. As well, weight loss during the week of 2+ pounds per day was not uncommon late in the week when ketone outputs were high.

Cholesterol Concerns

Everyone in the health industry that I’ve talked to had concerns with cholesterol levels…the consumption of high levels of fat and animal protein seem as though they would increase cholesterol to unhealthy levels.

However, “People who followed a low-carbohydrate diet for six months raised their good cholesterol and lowered their triglycerides, changes that can help lower the risk of heart disease, Duke University Medical Center researchers found.” Source: http://www.dukemednews.org/news/article.php?id=9412

Unfortunately, this is not something that I frequently measured, so I can’t speak from experience.

Notable Exceptions and Outlying Data

Weeks 1, 2, 4 and 5, I rode a bicycle at least three times a week. Halfway through week 2, I had bike problems that I did not fix until late in week 3. Thus, all of week 3, I did not perform cardiovascular exercise. It should absolutely be noted that I also did not go significantly into ketosis and my weight loss plateaued.

The carbohydrate-loading period immediately prior to week 3 was not closely monitored. I’m certain I met my carbohydrate and protein requirements. However, I’m also concerned that I consumed more than I should have in the area of fat consumption.

This lack of monitoring combined with a lack of fat-burning cardiovascular exercise set me back two full weeks in progress.

Notes for Posterity

If I am ever to do this again, or if anyone who reads this wishes to go through the same diet plan, there are a few crucial concepts to adhere to:

1. Every single calorie and nutrition value must be accounted for. If I had not had the slip-up I had before the third week, I may very well have already hit my long-term body fat percentage goals.
2. Do Not over-eat fats on your carbohydrate-loading phase.
3. Your daily carbohydrate consumption is absolutely critical and should be monitored more closely than anything else. I “generally” experimented with varying carbohydrate intake during the week and found that I could go into ketosis much more intensely (and burn fat faster) by continuing to cut my carbohydrate intake even further. If I ever do this again, I will consume 10-14g of carbohydrates rather than 20g per day.
4. Cardiovascular exercise is absolutely essential. And the more you put in, the more exponentially you’ll see returns from it. I don’t know why I didn’t think about this, or read about it, beforehand…maybe I did and just didn’t notice. But when I wasn’t on my bike in week 3, my weight pretty much held steady. Compared to losing 5 pounds a week the two previous weeks, this was both frustrating and enlightening. Honestly, for me, cardiovascular exercise wasn’t part of this plan, and is actually part of something else I’m working toward, but I’m so glad I had it as a part of it.
5. I found that when I ate all of my carbohydrates before 5pm, and finished eating before 9pm, that my weight fluctuations were much more stable and weight loss occurred much more rapidly. This is a practice that I look forward to implementing.
6. If you can, eat carbohydrates low on the glycemic index. Another practice I’ll be adopting.

Next Steps for Me

I’ve been contemplating how long I’m going to be staying on this diet…if I’m going to do one more week, or three. I finally decided to do only one more week.

Honestly, it’s not because of the dieting, but rather because of the muscular results. I’m doing all of this to achieve a specific outcome by a specific time. I’ve cut a significant amount of body fat in a very short period of time, but my strength levels are simply holding steady. Since this is the area that I want to focus on next, my next regimen will be a combination of cardiovascular training in addition to significant and targeted strength training.

This diet has served its purpose, but it’s simply time to move on to the next part of the plan which, while not reducing body fat as quickly, will build strength and muscle mass much more quickly.

For those who are curious, the meals will be much more flexible and my daily nutrition levels will remain a steady consumption of 40% lean protein, 40% low-GI carbohydrates and 20% healthy fats for the next couple of months.