Let's go Keto!!

It Begins

So i started my cut down yesterday. However, i hadn't planned my food schedule well enough, so it was basically just a lower calorie day.

After a brief chat with one of my colleagues at work i have decided go Keto.

From his experience, people he has seen use Keto Diets have generally got leaner and kept the hard earned muscle that we all bust a gut for. And if they can do it, why can't i...?

What is Keto
A Ketogenic diet is one in which you eat a very high fat, protein and low carb diet. There are many different variations on the standard Keto Diet, of which i am using the Cyclical Keto Diet (CKD for short). This variation on the the diet enables me to have 5 1/2 days in the Ketogenic state to then have 1 1/2 days of Carb loading (i'm still going to keep my Carbs relativly clean). This will replenish glycogen levels in the body, and won't hinder the fat loss. It's a relatively complicated diet to get your head around to begin with, but once you've got all the number and foods sorted it can be pretty simple to implement.

"Getting lean is simple, but it's not easy" - Charles Poliquin

The idea with Keto is that your body starts to use fat as the main fuel source, instead of carbs. This should hopefully allow me to get leaner than ever, and with a good enough level of Protein in my diet, maintain my muscle mass.

The link below is the site i used to sort out the diet; i checked a few other sites, to cross reference numbers and information, this one seemed to be the most consistent and had pretty much all the information i needed. Feel free to have a read, especially if you're looking to try the Keto Diet...there's alot of stuff to know before you begin the diet.
http://tsampa.org/training/blog/archives/2006/10/

And this link also has some very helpful information on Keto for both men and women
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/refined_physique_transformation

The general idea with the food is that i get around 65-75% of my calories from Fat (around 170g in my case), around 20-30% Protein (about 160-170g), and minimal Carbs (0-10% - no more than 30g).
I will be hitting these numbers by eating a variety of meats, oils, nuts, and a few small bit of veg (like the good old fatty avocado). Consistency is key, so i'ts pretty much going to the same food day in, day out over the next 12 weeks...with the beautiful carb load on Friday eve into Saturday afternoon.
Obviously i'm going to missing out on a chunk of minerals and vitamins that i need to keep my body healthy, so i am supplementing with calcium, fibre and multivitamins; otherwise i'll probably just crumble into dust...not ideal in any way, shape or form.

Workouts
MicroCycle 1 of the "12 Week Body Plan" is an Upper to Lower body split, so yesterday was the Upper, today, the lower, and a day off tomorrow (Wednesday).
Again, i have planned out how the workouts are going to fit in with work, the Keto Diet (especially due to the Carb loading portion of CKD), and generally what other spare time i have. I have worked out that a simple 2 Days On, 1 Day Off approach will work well
The Upper Body workout yesterday was pretty good, looking forward thoroughly to todays leg session....we'll see how i'm coping after it.

I think that's enough for today....

I've spent far too long staring at this screen, and weighing out and cooking foods....time to train....

Trav.